Series: Fae & Alchemy

Synopsis:

Duty. Blood. Honor. Power.
Saeris Fane doesn’t want power. The very last thing she needs is her name whispered on an entire court’s lips, but now that she’s been crowned queen of the Blood Court, she’s discovering that a queen’s life is not her own. A heavy weight rests upon her shoulders. Her ward—and her brother—need her back in her homeland…but the changes that have strengthened Saeris have also made her weak. Born under blazing suns, Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver. Which means that, once again, she must send someone else in her stead...

“Keep your mouth shut. Stick to the shadows. And for the love of all seven Gods, do NOT crack any jokes.”

Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate has defeated armies and survived all manner of horrors, but traveling back to Zilvaren with Carrion Swift might just be the death of him. The male just will not shut up. Hidden dangers await them down the narrow alleyways of the Silver City. Unfolding secrets pose impossible threats. Fisher must wrangle the smuggler and accomplish his goals quickly if he wants to see his mate again.

A darkness falls across Yvelia. The realm and their friends are in danger. Together, Saeris and Fisher will pass through fire and brimstone to save them.

Review:

Spoilers Below….

Brimstone reminded me of the movie Bedtime Stories where the kids kept piling on these ridiculous aspects to the story, and it just builds into an over the top adventure.  Like with the ‘book’ (I really struggled with this plot device), to what she is, to who is attacking, to that ending.  As someone who can suspend my belief and fall for mythical creatures, I definitely struggled at times.  This story felt disjointed, and not cohesive.

But here’s the thing, I love so many of these characters.  I loved watching them struggle and work together.  Saeris, Fisher, Onyx, and Carrion are my top favorites.  So yes I shed a few tears.  But I also found myself bored at times and skimming.  I missed the pace from the first book.  I wanted to be consumed, and I never felt that with Brimstone.

But my biggest struggle were the plot holes or things that didn’t make sense.  They were…..

*We were told that he got Quicksilver in his eye because of the first pool he went in without a relic.  But then at the end when he tells about how this is the pool he was forced to go in, it’s not even a Quicksilver pool.  It’s something else and it states it is not Quicksilver.

*In Quicksilver it was a huge deal she sat on his right.  In Brimstone she wrote her to sit on his left.  Why??? 😞

*Those creatures were impossible to kill and kept absorbing their power.  So then how did they kill and defeat them outside the Satyrs home at the end when nothing has changed?

*A fae’s true name is to be sacred and never used.  He then just switched his name to his true name and uses it and nobody even blinks?  

The story ended at a great stopping point.  One where we can kind of breathe, but want that next book now.  And while I usually give the middle book some leniency, I just couldn’t find it here.  So, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that the final book in the series pulls me back into this series because Quicksilver is still one of my favorite stories ever.

Synopsis:

Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details...

Review:

Quicksilver was a forced proximity, found family, enemies to lovers romantasy that I absolutely devoured!  With a fascinating world and characters that had you rooting for them, I easily got lost in these pages.  If you like fierce heroines, shadow daddies, and political intrigue, then definitely add this one to your tbr!

It isn’t disease that’s contagious in my ward, Captain. It’s dissent. Anarchy and rebellion spread like a wildfire.

Saeris Fane was smart, brave, cunning and I liked her instantly!  Especially since she could be fierce and would fight till her last breath!  She lived in a harsh world that constantly pushed her down.  But she tried her best to survive.  Listening to her thoughts, they made me laugh and had me cheering her on!  When she reopened a gateway between realms, I was so excited to see what happened next!

Death had come for me, with wavy black hair and wicked green eyes.

Kingfisher, oh I have so many thoughts on him.  He was a shadow daddy, who had absolutely no qualms about letting his a**hole side shine brightly haha.  I was constantly searching for clues that he did have a heart.  Those tiny moments of kindness he would show us, it proved that his black heart could beat!  So while he could be kind…it was when he wanted to.  But I loved his sneaky ways, his smartass comments, and most of all his filthy mouth!  

Every time I thought I’d reached the limit of how much one living being could detest another, he went and proved to me that I was capable of so much more.

The banter and animosity between Saeris and Fisher was fabulous!  They made me laugh out loud.  And I loved how much they both would mess with the other.  They were so entertaining!  And when they crossed the line to more, they were scorching hot!  I don’t want to say more, but the further we got in the story, the more and more obsessed I got with the two of them!

Fisher drew his bottom lip into his mouth, eyes the softest I’d ever seen them. Gently, he gathered the flyaway hair that had escaped my braid and carefully swept it behind my ear. “Breathe, Little Osha.”

With swirling secrets, blood oaths, battles, and obstacles that seemed insurmountable, Quicksilver held me in the palm of its hands!  I even cried while reading this story.  And shockingly Carrion even wiggled into my heart, I adored him!  Plus I heart Onyx with my whole heart!  Also, the ending left at the perfect stopping point.  Yes there was a lot up in the air, but we were left at a point where we could breathe and be so excited for what is to come!

Other favorite quotes…

I was going to shank him in the neck with my very dull butter knife. Then he’d see how proficient I was with a blade.

“You don’t have a clue who I am,” he rumbled.
And maybe he was right about that. But I was beginning to. Beginning to figure him out.

A part of me knew that Fisher himself was the trap, and I was well and truly snared…

He buried his face into the crook of my neck, groaning, and the thought rose to my mind unbidden. Dangerous.
Bite me.

War was at the doorstep. Tomorrow was uncertain. Hell, today was uncertain, but this tiny moment was real.