Brimstone

***SOME SPOILERS AHEAD***I believe i said this in my last review, but Hart's writing is so refreshing. Going from other fantasy books (won't name names, but IYKYK), where the writing was sloppy, slow, full of fillers and clearly not well thought out, this series has so far delivered.The character building is on point. The storyline makes sense and has very little fluff. I truly love and appreciate. The fact that our heroines in this book are mature and are not arguing over pointless things every other chapter. The love, respect, and trust that these characters have in one another is so great. I must say, Carrion continues to be my favorite character. He is the perfect comic relief. It seems so genuine and is so perfectly timed, without it feeling like it's being overdone. There were s few times that he literally made me laugh so hard that my eyes teared up!So you must be wondering why the 4 starts instead of 5?There are a few things about this book that really, really, bothered me. Total eye roll moments.For one, Saeris' powers. She's skilled, she's tough, she's resilient, all characteristics i enjoy. However, the fact that she was able to pick up on some of her powers so quickly were "oh, come on!" moments for me. I get that she is capable and ask that, but she went from human, to fae, to vampire, and suddenly knows how to navigate those powers? Sure. Prime example for me was her bringing Onyx back to life. I mean, come on! I honestly cried my eyes out when he died, but I think the fact that she managed to do something that is considered impossible was frustrating. As much as I loved that little fox, her reviving him killed that part of the book for me and what sacrifice he made for her.Then there's the ending. Um... what?! Im so confused. So Fisher, Kayden, is half-God? Son of a God? I'm so confused. And if he had those abilities to break free of the hold from Crave and the other guy, how was he not able to kill Belikan or avoid being trapped in that tree?*sigh* just a bit confusing and frustrating, but overall, still a really good read that i would recommend! I cannot wait for book 3!

Because I loved Quicksilver so much, I was really worried about the second book. It seems like it's always the ones where expectations and hopes are the highest that let you down the most. Callie did not disappoint with the second book! It was honestly just about perfect.I saw a couple reviews calling this book "filler." I honestly have no idea why or what they would have liked to see from a second book instead. I suspect that maybe the focus not being on the romance aspect was a let down for some people. I'm not one of those people. In book 2, Saeris and Fisher are just together and the exciting story continues. There's no angst or pointless fighting between the main couple. I'm so grateful for that. It's such a mistake when authors do that. I've given up on series over it. Callie tells a crazy story in the world she's created and there's still mystery and things unfold unexpectedly. There's humor, action, feels. It's the whole package. Never a dull moment.We meet new characters and see new places. I suspect one or two of the new characters will get a spin-off series. There's a whole new monster to fight. Callie really keeps the reader hooked. She was born to write fantasy! Nothing about it felt stale or overdone. Carrion is so funny and likeable. I like the amount of page time that he got.And of course, like the first book there were some "WTF" moments. And if anyone says it was predictable or they saw it coming, they're lying. Callie weaves a masterful story. It's going to be one heck of a movie!!!!! Can't wait for book 3!!!!

Brimstone Review 4 ⭐️ I really liked Brimstone. I liked it more than Quicksilver. The dual POVs elevated Brimstone and I think would've done the same for Quicksilver, if maybe started about halfway through. KF POV brought a depth to the worldbuilding that Searis POV isn't able to do. We understand what's happening in Brimstone far more because of KF. The dialogue is improved. There's less cussing, which I don't have a problem with, it's just there so much of it in QS that's it's distracting from the story. Cussing should like exclamation points. In Brimstone, I feel it's used more appropriately, and the overall dialogue is tighter and more on point. There's less rambling in conversations. In QS, there were several conversations that seemed to loop for the sake of looping. It starts off slow and it took me until about 30% to really get into it. I wasn't sure I'd be able to read it at first because I was having a hard time connecting to the story and KF and Searis, but then it finally grabbed me during KFs POV and I was in the story. The middle is far more interesting because we get some more backstory and characterizations fleshed out. The end speeds up to the point I felt like I missed a scene. There's a point I had to go back and check, nope, I didn't miss anything. It was jarring to go from details, details, details to a huge jump in location. Still not sure how I feel about that. Plot device? Overall, I good read, entertaining, would I reread... I don't think so. Will I read the next book, oh definitely.

Let me start by saying this: not every book in a series is going to land with the same impact as the first, and that’s okay. This is only book two, and there’s still room for the world and characters to grow. And I do know that. I also want to say upfront that this book is beautifully written. I adore Callie Hart, always will, and I’ll absolutely be continuing this series. She’s an author that when I see a book it will always be an auto buy because she’s excellent!That being said… Brimstone was a tougher read for me. I went into it wanting to love it, to shout about it from the rooftops the way I did with Quicksilver. But I have to be honest, this one wasn’t my favorite. And that’s OKAY!The plot felt very confusing, layered, and at times overwhelming. There was so much happening all at once that it felt like someone handed me a puzzle where all the pieces were there but scattered, and I kept trying to figure out how they connected but I just couldn’t quite get the full picture. I often found myself confused about who was where, what was happening, and why new conflicts were being introduced before previous ones had settled.That said, there were things I really loved.✨ Særis’s development in her alchemy and power was incredible! One of the best parts of the book.✨ The entire plot with finding Kingfishers real name, a masterpiece!!! Loved this so much!✨ Loved the inclusions of the past with Fisher connecting to the future with Saeris (keeping this vague so no spoilers)✨ The fast-paced action scenes were vivid and exciting. There were so many scenes with my jaw on the floor.✨ And Kingfisher and Carrion? Their moments were some of my absolute favorites. Their interactions had so much spark and depth.It wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t hit as hard for me as Quicksilver did. I devoured book one immediately, but Brimstone left me feeling a bit lost and unsure of what direction things are headed next. I do love this world, I do love these characters, and I’m absolutely planning to continue the series. I’m hopeful book three will pull all these threads together in a way that makes everything click!Lastly, one thing I have to absolutely rave about: the audiobook. It is PHENOMENAL. The voice actors are incredible, their chemistry is so good, and the production is beautifully done. If you haven’t listened yet, it’s worth it for the performance alone.Overall: a mixed experience, but still a world and group of characters I’m invested in. And I can’t wait to see what comes next!

It makes me sad to even write this. As someone who LOVED Quicksilver I had high hopes for Brimstone and with the exception of the last 25% this book the rest mostly fell flat for me.The writing was clunky. The pacing was off. The plot was murky. I think Callie tried to do too many things inside these 700 pages. Half the time I was confused on where we were and what was happening. Saeris just seemed to be spinning her wheels for most of the book until she finally found her fire and her purpose towards the end. Fisher was all over the map. Literally. The majority of the book just felt like a long giant breath we were holding until FINALLY somewhere along the way we found an interesting plot. The parts that should have been made a focus weren’t. A huge swath of this book was about a court that basically doesn’t exist by the end so what was the point of spending 500 pages talking about it? This was too long of a book for very little to actually happen which can unfortunately be the case with a lot of second books in a trilogy. Had it not ended the way it did it probably would have been 3 stars but she has at least set us up for what I hope will be a good book 3.The romance between Saeris and Fisher was still there and still hot so that at least helped. Fisher’s mouth is probably still the best thing about it. Carrion, bless him, brought the comic relief and the only character development in this rag tag group. He and Taladiaus were the more interesting of the side characters. Oh and Onyx. Save the fox at all costs.This wasn’t a bad book. There were still parts that had me in its grip but overall just feeling massively disappointed. But I love the world and I love the characters so for that it’s 4 stars and I hope for more in the next book.