Elodie has my heart. Once you start reading this book you can't stop. It took me two days to read it because I was working, but once you read Elodie and Tal you can't stop thinking about them, I couldn't stop. It was my first book from Naomi and it was flawless and the cover? I am obsessed.

I should start with the story, it was unique I like the way how Naomi got me thinking about if it was their God or ours, call me crazy or the way you want, but when Tal gets mad with the Unforged God I understand that because if you are a believer you know that sometimes that happens with you or not, but when Hel said: Anger is not the absence of belief. I just love that. Bye.

I knew it was an enemies to lovers, but I did not know that it will be so damn good. Like they were enemies, he wanted to kill her, and then he was falling for her, but you know the best part? It wasn't in a rush, you get to grow with Tal and Elodie, you get to know them so well that you cry when they cry and you smile when they do.

Is a short book and that doesn't matter, you know why? The writing, the world-building, the plot, the characters are well done. Is impossible not to like this book. Have to admit that "the bodyguard crush" got me since the beginning (my bad).

Nyx... Well, she is a great character and I admire her because she sacrifices everything for her brother and as a sister, I would do the same, even tho she irritated me, but I understand her, and that the important thing here.

This book was magical, thank you.

I really enjoyed the characters, but I felt as though they needed more refinement. Also, I thought the world building was a bit sloppy and left the reader confused.

Mercurial for me was a whirlwind of a book. The author threw me into this complex and interesting world made of metal. Hughes makes you fall in love with a handsome boy, Tal, who is committed to his faith and his love for family and friends. Hughes describes a fiery girl, Elodie (The Destroyer) who on the outside is cold and diabolical, but inside is a scared and lonely shell of a person. Then there is the intense loving girl, Nyx, sister to Tal and has an intense love for her brother and the people she cares about. Hughes describes these characters well and their motivations make sense with who they are. It was really hard for me to deal with some of their decisions as I read, but I loved the characters and believed that the decisions were better toward the end of the book.
Naomi Hughes truly did a good job displaying a characters need to find their own voice within their faith. While I am not usually a person who talks/ really believes in faith, I understand the complication of believing in something whole heartedly even though it feels like it is failing you. Hughes does an amazing job describing who Tal is and how he combats his issues with his faith given his dire situations. Hughes also describes the duality between loving someone you are suppose to hate and how some of this can be hard to comprehend and put together, morally and emotionally. Both Nyx and Elodie had things that they wanted to sacrifice and change. Both ended up doing it for the same person because of love, more than for their own greed and self preservation. Mercurial is a book I would definitely pick up again and again. Honestly, I want more of this world because I think Hughes did a great job with building it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves enemies to lovers, complex characters, multiple points of view and fantasy. This book definitely left me in a little reading slump, so I would recommend anyone who can to try it out.

This was a compelling read with a unique magic system, however at times it felt like the pacing was rushed and I think it could have benefitted more from being a duology. Certain parts seemed too condensed down that the book didn't always feel fleshed out. The romance felt a little too 'insta-love' and rushed, given the character's circumstances this made it a little hard to connect with and find believable. This book still has a lot of potential and I definitely sound it easy to read.

3.5 stars

This is a hard book for me to review because there are some things I really enjoyed about it, but there are also things that I had a hard time with.

I really liked Tal and Elodie. Their character arcs were done well and I felt so bad for them with all the pain they felt! They were fascinating to read about, and they were my favorite part of the story.

The world building was also very interesting, and I loved the religious aspect to it! The themes of belief explored by Tal were beautifully written, and I teared up a bit during an emotional scene of realization that Tal had.

The hardest thing for me about this book was how dark and violent it could be. It’s a dark world, and I understand why it was written that way, but I personally prefer books that aren’t so violent. I’ve read many books with fighting and battles in them, but there were a lot of descriptive, gory details in this book which I found disturbing. I also really dislike reading torture scenes, and there were several of those in this book. I understand why they were there, and they didn’t feel gratuitously violent, but torture scenes make me feel sick so I dislike reading them.

There is also a prominent LGBT romance in the book, which I was not aware of when I requested it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Content:
Swearing: Moderate (no s or f words, but the words that were used were used multiple times)
Romance: nothing more than kissing, LGBT romance
Trigger Warning: torture scenes

I was provided an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Mercurial we follow 3 characters, Elodie aka the Destroyer, right hand and sister to the Empress, Tal who was reluctantly lead by his God to swear his loyalty and protection to the Destoryer, and Nyx, Tal's older sister and member of the rebel group called the Saints. After a rebel attack leads to Tal and Elodie stranded, they start to learn there is more to the other than meets the eye.
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I so desperately wish this book had been written as a duology because unfortunately, as a standalone, everything about it felt rushed. I thought the storyline was super compelling, the magic system was unique, the characters and romance had a ton of potential, the world and politics were complex, but I felt like we never got time to enjoy and get to know all of that. So much action was condensed down that none of it felt fully fleshed out. I would have loved to see more time with Elodie and Tal while she doesn't have her memories where they actually get a chance to get to know each other, but instead of actually seeing that happen we are told they start to have a new understanding of each other. I would have loved to know more about the politics of the world and the magic but that was pushed aside for the unfortunately underdeveloped romance. I also felt like Nyx's pov didn't really add that much to the plot until the last 5% of the book. I would have loved to see more about the rebellion from her, or seen more of her inner struggle with following orders vs doing what she felt was actually right, but instead she just sorta added narration on what Tal and Elodie were doing.

Overall, I really enjoyed the idea of the book but I just wanted so much more from it.

Wow.

I am always hesitant to read extremely cliché novels but I often drift back to them because I like certain tropes. This book was amazing because you get amazing tropes that everyone loves <(like enemies to lovers)> while also adding a ton of plot twists and unexpected decisions.

Hughes uses not only amazing worldbuilding and representation, but writing that truly resonates with readers. You don't have to be part of the minority groups in this novel to connect to them due to the humanity that Hughes writes into the pages. She writes a a relatable story of finding your place in the world, struggling with faith and religion, and deciding your own destiny. (And I'm a sucker for a good character arc <3 )

Extremely well done.

I wanted to like this so much, but unfortunately this triple-perspective story was filled with tropes I'm not a fan of and the story just fell a little flat for me.

Let's start with the characters first:
I actually quite liked all of them. Tal, The Destroyer, Nyx, every single one of them had something that I liked. Usually, there's at least one character I dislike, but in this book I couldn't find any besides the villains. They're all standard issue YA fantasy characters, but it worked in the story, so I don't have any complaints. I did like the secondary characters better, in this case Nyx and her girlfriend Helenia. I enjoyed their relationship a lot and I could really tell they loved each other.

Writing and plotwise I have very few complaints as well. The writing flowed nicely and captured my attention enough to keep me hooked to my e-reader to find out what would happen to the characters next. Again, there are several tropes that I dislike, but that shouldn't take away that I liked the writing. I found the plot a little predictable, but as someone who's swallowed basically all fantasy books since she could read, I don't find it something to actually remark on.

I quite enjoyed the introduction of a new magic system based on metals. I don't think I've heard of it before and I enjoyed the premise. A lot of thought went into it and I can definitely appreciate that.

I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope as I felt it wasn't very well done, which is probably why I've given this book three stars. Even though it is explained that these characters have had feelings for each other for a while now, for me it kind of felt as if they fell in love only when Eloise got her amnesia and suddenly a switch was flipped between them. I feel like the story could've done with a little more leading up to their eventual romance.

Overall, I think it was an enjoyable read with a nice writing style. It might not be for everyone, but I can definitely see people really enjoying it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was stunning. I adored the characters, and the worldbuilding drew me in. One thing that I didn't like was how after all that Tal had been through working for the Destroyer, as soon as she lost her memory, all it took was 24 hours for him to go from hate to love, and that seemed a bit strange and forced to me. That said, after those 24 hours, I did end up enjoying seeing how they grew, and other than that one problem, the book felt a lot more enjoyable. If you enjoyed Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, then you should give this a try.

I think that overall it's a great book, and I love the writing style, I only wished more of the characters. I loved most of them, but some of them could have been used more, and could have been wrote more completely

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of Mercurial in exchange for an honest review.
Mercurial follows the story of Tal and 'The Destroyer' and Nyx - how each of their lives and intertwined with each other.
I did find that the first few chapters felt slow, but they were building up the world and atmosphere for when the plot truly kicked in. Once the action started, I found myself engrossed in the world that Hughes has created - fully immersing myself in the novel.
I enjoyed the character arcs and I loved the interactions between them all, nothing felt forced and all dialogue flowed naturally.
Fans of 'RED QUEEN' and 'FURYBORN' should enjoy this book.

This was a really interesting book! But.. it just fell flat for me.
It started off pretty strong, and really continued to go strong until the scene where the Destroyer loses her memory. She's a ~new person~ and all that jazz and the way her and Tal interact is cool, but at the start of the book Tal is basically shown to hate the Destroyer and as soon as the Destroyer loses her memory he's just like oh guess I shouldn't kill her. And yes, redemption arcs exist, but I feel like she didn't really get redemption at least not in the way that she should have. And yes the world building was decent the way the powers in this world worked was interesting, but I just feel like everything fell into place too nicely for this type of plot and yes there was that plot twist at the end which honestly I wasn't expecting but overall this just didn't work right and it could've been done better.

Firstly, I love the cover, I'm not normally a fan of people on the cover but there's something about this one which i really like. So this is an enemies to lovers which is my favourite trope and this book does it so well. The way Elodie loses her memories which allows the romance to occur along with character development, I loved; it was different and enjoyable. I loved the magic in this with how it's based on metals as their god is called the Unforged God. Different metals are associated with different powers, such as mercury being fire. I think my favourite character was Nyx, she wants to save the people she loves (her brother and girlfriend) but her character also wants revenge which I thought was interesting seeing how far she will go to get it. The ending left me wanting more and i hope the author writes more with these characters. I gave this 5 stars.

FINALLY FINISHED THE ARC, I personally was torn between giving this book 5 stars or 4 stars but yep, so far I can only give it 4 stars.

I CRIED A LOT WHILE READING THIS AND DAMN THE ANGST FEELING BETWEEN OUR MCs IS JUST SO SO SO REAL AND EMOTIONAL. This is one of 'enemy-to-lovers' trope books that I can stomach and LOVE IT. I love the world-building, characters, characters' development throughout the book. The plot is pretty good but because this book is standalone, there are some parts that for me I feel to be a little bit rushed and weird. AND THE ENDING GODDAMNIT I hope the author will at least give an epilogue or maybe chapter 27 as the closing of this book. I don't like the ending. it doesn't really tell me wtf is going to happen after Tal was saved (bcs of the crown).

I need more Tal and Elodia omg I just really need them. We haven't see Tal really forgive Elodia 'completely' after what she'd done during 2 years before.

I NEED SPIN OFF FOR THIS BOOK OR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WORLD OMG JUST PLEASE.

The version of Tal the reader is introduced to in the prologue of Mercurial is idealistic, naive, and unflinchingly devotioned to his god. The hopeless, faithless side of him that we encounter in the opening chapter is similarly intriguing and complex. However, neither of these unique contradictions can make up for the spinless, maleable stranger he becomes.

I’m going to come straight out and say it; Mercurial plays on the enemies to lovers troupe, and it doesn’t do a particularly good job of it. For two years, Tal was forced to murder and torture people. He despised the Destroyer, whom he was bound to serve, and outright wished her dead.

But don’t worry. The aforementioned Destroyer develops amnesia and temporarily becomes an entirely different person. During the span of 24 hours, a traumatized Tal goes from resentmenting and hating her to falling in love and saving her. It didn’t seem realistic that Tal went from despising her to loving her in such a short time, but so be it.

The instant healing potions were also a little unbelievable. It seemed like a cheap excuse to drag the main characters through all sorts of tough situations without any lasting or detrimental effects.

Despite these flaws, Mercurial was still a good read. The plot was fast paced and the secondary characters were awesome. Nyx definitely matured throughout the course of the book, and although she proved infuriating at times, I’m satisfied with where she ended up. Helenia, Nyx’s girlfriend, was also pretty cool. She really cared about Nyx and her god, and she remained true throughout the duration of the book, which is more than I can say about some of the main characters.

This book also features a loveable dog, which I’m always a sucker for. Overall, Mercurial was definitely a solid read. The political system and metal-related superpowers were fresh and unique, and I could tell a lot of thought and time was put into it. I’d recommend this book to people looking for an unconventional, thought-provoking read.

I received an ARC of this copy via Netgalley, opinions are my own.

I can’t quite describe how I feel regarding this book. Some characters were downright intolerable. But there was potential here, so give it a go if it seems up your alley!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!

This was a thought-provoking, well-written and absorbing YA fantasy story with great world-building that addressed matters around faith and spirituality really beautifully.
Despite being an action-packed adventure, at its core is a story of how faith makes and breaks us which will appeal to younger readers who are still discovering themselves and their identity.
The origins of The Destroyer were also unexpected and well-written.
The prose is overall lyrical and poetic but at times this tipped over into a being a little overwhelming and the long drawn out descriptions of things became little cloying at times making some passages too dense.
Overall a lovely story with main characters that you want to build an emotional connection with.

This novel is an amazing and entertaining story. I absolutely loved the way the characters evolved through the events that happen, and I found the ideas behind the metal religion extremely interesting. The world this takes place in is a very complex and well-thought out one, completely different than many of the other fantasy novels I have read. I recommend this book wholeheartedly, you won't regret getting to know Tal and everyone else.

Mercurial had me hooked from the beginning with its Avatar-esque cover and magic system, interesting plot with oaths and revenge, and the enemies to lovers trope. I was hooked most of the way through, and I truly enjoy Naomi Hughes's writing. However, this book didn't live up to my expectations. First, there wasn't enough room in this book to do the world/politics/magic justice. Second, the enemies to lovers trope rapidly turned into instalove. Third, everything at the end resolved rather quickly and easily. Fourth, I was missing some key character development from the main characters. This book was 412 pages, yet I felt like I needed soooo much more from almost every aspect of the book: characters (main and side), plot, romance, magic, and world building. Because of this, I'd be very interested in seeing more books written in this world. I really did enjoy reading this for the most part.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3

Thank you, NetGalley and Naomi Hughes, for the review copy!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Naomi Hughes for sending me an eARC of this book for an honest review.

“Once, there was was a girl who was afraid. She was afraid now. She had always been afraid. Her fear and her rage were twin hearts beating within her.”

I was very lucky to be able to read this before the publication date, which is tomorrow. Mercurial is a fantasy stand-a-lone about Tal who becomes a bodyguard for a princess known as the Destroyer (or Elodie by the reader). He becomes this cruel princess’s bodyguard because his god wanted him to save her when it’s the right time. This story includes blood magic, religion, adventure, enemies to lovers, likeable characters, and wonderful relationships.

The blood magic in this story is very unique. The magic takes the names of different metals such as, silver, copper, or iron, etc. Each of these gives you a different power and blood color.

Since this is a stand-a-lone novel there wasn’t a whole lot of world building, though I think that it could be built on a ton if the author ever decides to make a sequel.

The main and side characters were pretty likable but we don’t get to know as much as we want to about them. Tal and Elodie are the biggest characters that were talked about in this book. A large part of this story is about Tal’s struggle with his faith in the Unforged God. He thinks his god had betrayed him by sending him to the Destroyer and he tends to grapple with right and wrong throughout the book. Elodie is a princess who has been afraid her whole life and the only way to make herself look strong and not weak is by being cruel. I like how Tal’s half sister, Nyx, was very protective over him and she was spunky and always ready to fight. Tal a Nyx had such a close bond and it was so heartwarming to see. Helenia and Nyx’s relationship was all about opposites attract. Helenia is the peacemaker, the good cop, and Nyx is the troublemaker and the bad cop.

Even though this book talks about serious topics, it was actually quite humorous and I found myself laughing out loud often.

The story altogether takes a while to pick up the pace, but once it does you don’t want to put it down.

I think for Naomi’s first self published book she did an absolutely amazing job and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future.