Is BookTok's Latest Romantasy Obsession Worth Reading?
A book review on Quicksilver by Callie Hart, the romantasy book everyone and their mothers keep hyping up online.
BookTok’s latest romantasy obsession has the same humble beginnings as previous titles that have been paraded around on BookTok and other bookish online spaces. With a quiet release this past June, this book has slowly but surely gained more of an online presence and became the latest romantasy obsession bookish creators can’t stop talking about.
I am talking about here is Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Originally indie published, this book has gained such a momentum among readers and legions of fans that the book is now going to be traditionally published this December by Forever at Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. With over 78k ratings on GoodReads and an average rating of 4.45 stars, chances are you have probably heard about this book in any online bookish space you come across.
Since so many people have been talking about this book, I decided I wanted to check this book out and see if it’s really worth the hype. As one of the books I put on my October TBR, I was finally able to read it last week because it worked well for one of main quest prompts I needed to complete for the Fablen Readathon hosted by Margaret at TheWordN3rd.
That being said, I’m going to go over everything you need to know about Quicksilver by Callie Hart as well as whether or not I think the book is worth all the hype it’s receiving.
Summary
There’s a good chance that you already know what this book is about (or at least have a vague idea on what the book is about). But if you don’t, I have quoted down below the official book description from Callie Hart’s author website.
Do not touch the sword.
Do not turn the key.
Do not open the gate.
In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water.
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.
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 herself 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…
Content Warnings & Closed Door Modifications
Content Warnings
Violence
War
Blood/gore
Vomit
Infertility
Forced sterilization (recounted)
Suicidal thoughts
Death of parents (recounted)
Physical injury
Murder
Decapitation
Closed Door Modifications
Chapter 22 (some parts)
Chapter 27 (some parts)
Chapter 37 (some parts)
My Review
It’s a bit slow to start. The first five chapters are pretty much dedicated to world-building, which took a bit for me to fully understand it, and you don’t get a whole lot of action or plot until Chapter 6. However, if you can push through, you’ll find that the book is definitely worth the slow start.
You have no idea what she is. What she could be. You should call her Majesty (pp. 357).
With the pacing picking up in Chapter 6 and as you get further into the book, Quicksilver definitely lives up to its promise of action-packed excitement. For me, it was a bit too gory for my liking, especially with Hart’s descriptions of some of the magical creatures featured the book as well as some combat scenes. However, if you’re the type of fantasy or romantasy reader that doesn’t mind stories leaning heavily on action scenes and gore, you’d probably will have a good time with this one. Plus, this book has so many twists and turns that my jaw was wide open by the time I finished the book.
What I really liked about Quicksilver was the character dynamics that Hart features in the book. Each of the prominent characters of the book had their opportunity to showcase their strengths and weaknesses as well as how that relates to the rest of the characters, such as Kingfisher’s tendencies to shove away others despite needing them or Saeris’ determination (or stubbornness, depending on who you ask) amidst the actions of the book.
And I couldn’t say it because I was scared. Of what it would do to me when I did. It would be like acknowledging you were here after all this time (pp. 492).
I also felt that there was a good build-up in the relationship between Saeris and Kingfisher. Those two literally embraced the enemies-to-lovers trope that they found themselves in this book, and fans of that trope will love this book. Both Saeris and Kingfisher complemented each other well, his kind of morally grey matching her kind of morally grey, and you can really tell in the writing that those two were meant to be together.
I’ll be grateful for every second that I can say that I belong to you, Saeris Fane. Eighty years or eighteen hours. It doesn’t matter to me. It’ll still be the highest honor of my life (pp. 518).
Final Verdict
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book and I ended up rating it 4.5/5 stars.1
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and the next book is scheduled to be released in Fall 2025. As I’ve mentioned throughout this post, if you like any of the following, you will enjoy this book:
Action-packed romantasy
Morally grey heroes
Enemies-to-lovers (who are also Fated Mates)
Which I rounded up to 5 stars when I was writing my GoodReads review on this book.