Review: Quicksilver by Callie Hart
Table of Contents
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About the Book
Book Details
Title: Quicksilver
Author: Callie Hart
Series: Fae & Alchemy #1
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy Romance/Romantasy
My Rating: ⭐⭐
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit open door, lots of details.)
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Read more about my rating system here.
The Story
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...
“I’ll be grateful for every second that I can say I belong to you.”
Review
I’ll start by saying that if I had read this book when I first got into romantasy two years ago, I probably would have been obsessed.
Quicksilver had a lot of potential. It included all the elements of a fantasy romance I typically enjoy, but they felt thrown together haphazardly, which made the plot confusing and hard to follow. It’s like the author knew what made popular romantasy books work but had no idea how to effectively use those themes and tropes in her own story.
This book starts with in a way that every seasoned veteran of the fantasy genre has seen before: we meet our FMC doing something unsavory or downright criminal for survival, they get caught by the authorities and a chase ensues, her hidden magical powers activate, and she gets sent on a mission to save the world. And the clichés are all here for the ride too: fae vampires, red-headed witches, tattooed shadow daddies, and on, and on.
Because so many major romantasy elements were packed in, none of them were executed well or with any depth.
And listen, I’m no literary critic. I’m willing to overlook issues like the ones in Quicksilver if the romance is good—but even that felt hollow to me.
Overall, I wish I had loved Quicksilver as much as everyone else seemed to. It just felt like a huge missed opportunity.
What I liked
Quicksilver & Alchemy theme: I thought the concept of an alchemist who can speak to sentient metal was really interesting. Honestly, I found a lot of the short conversations between Saeris and the Quicksilver more engaging than anything else in the book.
Carrion: Carrion singlehandedly carried this book, and I wish we had gotten more of him. He’s sarcastic, funny, but is also such a supportive friend to Saeris.
What I didn’t like
Pacing: This book was 615 pages long and really did not need to be. A lot of the opportunities Saeris had to learn plot-critical information—either through eavesdropping or direct conversation—were conveniently cut off and never revisited. It felt like the author was trying to build intrigue, but eventually there were too many open questions and not enough pages left to answer them in a satisfying way. Nothing important or relevant happens until about 85% into the book, when it suddenly veers off into an entirely different story. It’s not a surprise twist—it’s just an avalanche of revelations that render most of the earlier story irrelevant. Which brings me to my next point…
Dropped subplots: The first half of the book set up several subplots, such as the main reason Saeris was brought to the fae realm or her mission to get home and save her brother. Kingfisher brought Saeris to the fae realm to use her magic to solve a problem he was having. Almost 70% of the book centers around her figuring this out. She finally accomplishes the misson —but before she can tell Fisher, yes you guess it, a battle scene breaks out and we never hear about it again. That whole subplot just disappears and is never mentioned again. The more I think about dropped threads like this, the more I find myself making excuses for them. But honestly, I shouldn’t have to write the plot for the author.
Romance: I don’t want to spoil the romance so I’ll talk as obliquely about it as I can. The path the author chose for the romance was too convenient of an excuse for not building a believable romance. There were a few cute scenes and some spice, but there was no slow burn or tension in sight. Saeris went from hating Fisher (for unclear reasons!) to just… not hating him. And then boom! They can’t resist each other. I typically love the trope that was used in here but executed this way just felt like lazy romance writing.
Overall Thoughts
With a 4.35 star rating and 556,025 ratings as of this review, I am clearly in the minority with my opinion on this book. Between the trope overload and chaotic worldbuilding, I could not enjoy by time reading this.
If you’re new to the fantasy romance or romantasy world, you might like this, but in my opinion, there are so many better reads out there!
Quicksilver FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
Is Quicksilver part of a series?
Yes. Quicksilver is the first book in the Fae & Alchemy series.
When will the next Quicksilver book come out?
The next book in the Fae & Alchemy series, Brimstone, comes out November 18, 2025.
What are the spicy chapters in Quicksilver?
Chapter 12, “Fox” (Kissing)
Chapter 20, “Ammontraieth”
Chapter 22, “The Itch”
Chapter 27, “Marked”
Chapter 37, “Much sharper”
Does Kingfisher die in Quicksilver?
No, Kingfisher doesn’t die in Quicksilver.
Are Kingfisher and Saeris mates in Quicksilver?
Yes. Kingfisher and Saeris are mates in Quicksilver.
Quicksilver Spoiler Recap
If you haven’t read the book yet, stop reading here unless you want the ending spoiled. I put together these spoiler recaps, so readers can refresh their memories on the ending instead of re-reading the whole book.
So without further ado, here is how Quicksilver ended.
A ton happens in the last 14 chapters, so this is a detailed recap of the ending. I split these up by chapters and labeled major scene changes, so you can find the chapters you need.
Chapter 31:
Vampires attack the camp. The group breaks the river ice, but vampires walk up from the riverbed and a battle begins.
Solace (Saeris’s sword) reveals itself as a god sword and starts speaking to her and uses it in battle. Lorreth arrives and uses his new sword to wipe out all vampires on their side of the river.
Once Fisher, Ren, Saeris, and Larreth defeat the vampires, they hear someone calling Fisher’s name. Everlayne is seen across the river in Vampire territory surrounded by vampires.
Chapter 32:
Everlayne was kiddnapped and has been bitten by Malcolm (vampire king) and is now enthralled to him. This means she can’t leave and likely has only a few days to live.
Taladaius (Malcolm’s second-in-command) appears and delivers a message: Malcolm wants both Fisher and Saeris in exchange for Everlayne.
Chapter 33:
The group starts brainstorming ways to rescue Everlayne.
Danya tries to take Lorreth’s sword and her hand explodes, so the group has to go back to Cahlish.
Remember: Saeris destroyed Danya’s sword and tried to recover it by reworking the metal, but Lorreth accidentally spilled his blood on it first. The Quicksilver instead bonded to him.
Before leaving for Cahlish to fix Danya’s hand and do research in the library, the group swears Saeris into their brotherhood. Fisher says Saeris’ name for the first time during the oath.
Chapter 34:
It’s here that we get the first time another character mentions Fisher and Saeris potentially being mates. Danya is horrified to see Saeris sitting to Fisher’s right at the end of the table because traditionally that’s a seat reserved for wives. Ren tells Danya off and hints that Fisher and Saeris are fated mates.
Saeris begins crafting relics for the upcoming fight.
While working with Quicksilver, she receives a message to “save Kingfisher and Yvelia.”
Saeris sees tattoos on Te Lena that match hers—turns out they’re traditional marriage marks. These marks stem from myths about mating bonds. Te Lena doesn’t believe in them, but Saeris learns she has god-binding powers.
Chapter 35:
Saeris is understandably furious with Fisher.
They have a heart-to-heart: Fisher admits he never hated her, his nickname for her means “most sacred,” and he fears losing her.
We also found out that Fisher’s mother was an oracle who foresaw Saeris, even drew her (except with fae ears).
Saeris also hears how sick Fisher is. His relics are weakening and he’s sleep-deprived.
Their conversation is interrupted and left unresolved.
Chapter 36:
A witch is enlisted to help remove the toxin from Everlayne once she’s rescued.
Chapter 37:
Fisher and Saeris decide to spend one last night together without thinking about their problems.
They return to the apartment in Ballard, which Fisher has been making livable for them.
He accepts their bond and tells her he loves her. She’s considering whether to accept the bond but Fisher tells her he doesn’t want to hear her answer yet.
Chapter 38:
Saeris wakes up to find Fisher gone. He leaves a heartfelt goodbye letter, explaining he’s going to get Everlayne and push her through a portal in Cahlish.
Saeris is devastated but a portal is already there to take Saeris to Cahlish. She shows everyone the letter.
The group is trying to figure out a plan to get to the vampire territory and save Fisher. Carrion points out that there is a delay between the time someone comes through the portal and it closing that’s around 10 seconds.
Their plan is to wait for Everlayne to come through the portal. Te Lena and the witch will attend to her while everyone else rushes back through the portal to get to Fisher.
They have a couple hours until they expect the portal to open up so Saeris makes Carrion a sword.
The portal unexpectedly opens from the ceiling, so Everlayne falls and breaks the table that they need to stand on to reach the portal.
Only Carrion, Saeris, and Lorreth make it through in time. Ren is left behind.
Chapter 39: Now in Vampire Territory
The portal drops Saeris, Lorreth, and Carrion into a lake at the bottom of a cliff. They climb up that cliff.
At the top, they find an amphitheater filled with people chanting “annorath mor” (“release us”).
In a pit containing a labyrinth, they see Fisher on a raised dais.
Harron (Madra’s former guard from the beginning of the book) finds the group. He opens a vortex to bring them to the dais.
Chapter 40:
Malcolm, Madra, and Belikon are seated on the dais. Turns out they are all related.
Despite Madra closing the Quicksilver, the trio is reuniting.
Belikon allowed the war to continue because the dead fed his brother’s vampire army.
The audience is revealed to be burned victims of Gillethrye. This is the event that haunts Fisher. Malcolm formally releases Fisher from his oath, so he can finally talk about it.
Chapter 41:
Fisher is finally able to talk about what happened at Gillethrye:
While defending against a battle elsewhere, Malcolm’s vampires attacked the town. If the vampires were able to attack the humans, those humans would turn into vampires and Malcolm’s army would grow.
Fisher confronted Belikon, who offered a cruel coin toss:
Leaf side = survivors spared.
Fish side = the city destroyed.
Belikon tricked Fisher. The coin never hit the ground—they caught it mid-air—binding Fisher in a magical oath.
To prevent Malcolm’s army from growing, Fisher burned the city himself.
Malcolm took Fisher prisoner and created a labyrinth and hid the coin at its center. Fisher searched for 55 years before escaping through the Quicksilver pool that Saeris opened up at the beginning of the book.
Fisher suddenly takes Solace from Saeris and kills Belikon.
Chapter 42: Labyrinth
The group is able to flee into the labyrinth. Fisher warns the labyrinth moves and houses creatures. They fight and kill a massive blind spider demon.
Saeris uses her senses to guide them toward the Quicksilver pool.
They enter a room filled with coins, where Malcolm, Madra, and Belikon are alive. Malcolm was able to heal Belikon.
The group finds out the real coin is missing, but they know it has Quicksilver in it. Saeris is tasked with finding the coin.
In order to create a distraction, Carrion taunts Malcolm, who bites him—but Carrion’s blood harms Malcolm.
Carrion reveals he is Carrion Daianthus, son of the last Yvelian king and queen.
In the chaos, Saeris runs off to find the coin.
The Quicksilver offers to help her find the coin in exchange for a favor. She agrees and finds the coin inside the spider’s body.
When she retrieves it, Malcolm grabs her.
Chapter 43:
Carrion’s blood melted Malcolm’s skin. Malcolm demands Saeris help him.
Saeris is confused by this because she thinks she can only work with Quicksilver, but Malcolm tells her she can work with all the element and is able to restore his power.
Saeris stabs Malcolm and he slashes open her stomach.
During this distraction she grabs the coin without him seeing it and drops it. The coin just needs to land and she breaks the oath and kills Malcolm but she is also dying.
Fisher and Malcolm’s second finds her. Saeris refuses to let Fisher give her part of his soul to save her. Turns out, Taladaius isn’t evil and he can help her live but only if he turns her into a vampire. Fisher tells him to do it.
Chapter 44: Scene with Zareth
After Malcolm’s second bites Saeris, Fisher picks her up to take her back through the portal but the Quicksilver decides it’s time to call in the favor.
The Quicksilver wants an audience with her, and she agrees. She’s taken to the Quicksilver pool in the labyrinth and is transported to a place with birds and a blue sky.
Two young women are watching her and they turn out to be the goddesses Bal and Mithin. They ask her what it’s like to sleep with “our father’s champion”. Apparently, they mean Fisher.
Bal and Mithin bring Saeris to their father Zareth, god of chaos. Turns out, he’s the voice of the Quicksilver.
He shows Saeris the tree of life, which is representation of every universe -- 1 leaf = one universe. There are some branches and roots that are dying.
He reveals that he attempted to sway the fates to keep her and Fisher apart by making her human instead of fae. He explains their bond is so strong that it extracts an equal and opposite reaction other universes that results in most of the tree dying.
Zareth wants to prevent this but can’t see a path to take that saves the universe with certainty. He only sees paths with destruction or an unclear result.
In all the paths with uncertain futures, the one common factor is that Saeris and Fisher are together and God-Bound. Saeris finds out her script tattoo marks them as Zareth’s and protects them from the other gods. That’s because the other gods just want to kill Fisher, weather whatever happens to the existing universes, and start fresh with a new tree.
This would make Bal and Mithin sad, so Zareth is willing to take a chance to save Fisher.
Saeris can save Fisher by truly accepting him as her mate then agree that her thread of life be severed from the universe. Once she cuts the thread, none of the gods can affect her future or see her. They also won’t be able to help as she goes down this path to save the universe.
The choice is hers and she agrees to save Fisher. Zareth says he must make her into something the universe has never seen before to make her unrecognizable.
Zareth pushes Saeris back through the Quicksilver.
Chapter 45: Vampire Castle
Saeris wakes up and Taladaius is there. He shows her that she’s vampire and fae, which has never been seen before. They aren’t sure what traits of either she’ll have, but they know she’s no longer human.
Fisher asked everyone to wait for him to explain to Saeris where they are and what happened.
In the meantime, we learn more about Carrion. Fisher’s father took Carrion to Zilvaren and glamoured him to save him from Belikon. Carrion knew he was fae but with the Quicksilver closed, he couldn’t go back to Yvelia and claim his throne.
We also learn that Everlayne is okay and that Belikon and Madra fled the battle when Saeris swept away the death magic and allowed Fisher and Larreth’s sword to channel again.
Carrion’s blood was able to harm Malcolm because Carrion’s father’s blood was used to create the blood curse. Vampires cannot drink from living members of the bloodline that created them nor can they enthrall them. It should have killed Malcolm immediately but he was too powerful.
This is why Malcolm had Belikon kill Carrion’s parents — He knew they were the main threat against him.
Fisher comes into the scene here. The witch and Te Lena having been working to remove the Quicksilver from Fisher, so he’s healing.
Fisher finally tells Saeris that they are in Ammontraieth. In Fae courts, the crown is passed to the whoever killed them if they don’t have an heir. As Malcolm was the only king in the Vampire court, he didn’t name an heir. That means Saeris is to become the new queen of Sansaroth in two days.