This will not be objective in any way because this is absolutely my favourite series and I would read a 12000 page book on Severin washing his hair.

I’m very late writing this review and since reading this book I have reread book one, the previous trilogy, and part of this and I am truly in awe of how incredibly talented the author is with not only forming a great individual story but having such incredible foreshadowing that creates an incredible series arc. This series is effortlessly brilliant and a great display of accessible political fantasy. Character building is exceptionally done with such a diverse cast of personalities that form the found family that are at the centre of this series. I would say character development is Caruso’s speciality, but their world building is just as good. Yes, this is an expansion of the author’s previous series but there really is no need to read the original before this, its just a nice extra having that background. I really loved this book and the plot progressions and revelations, I can not wait until the third instalment is out.

I've tried to get into the Quicksilver Court several times but I've struggled each time. I think because I have grown out of YA as I have aged and despite this being marketed as Adult this has very YA vibes. I read the first book a while ago and enjoyed it but since then my YA tolerance has gone down.

In adult fiction, I expect a level of complexity and depth especially with respect to characters. I expect maturity and I expect shades of grey, morally ambiguous situations. I expect complex world building, twist and turns. I expect sex, blood and gore. And even without all of that, I at the very least expect showing rather than telling. This series is not living up to my expectations - the characters were a bit naive and one dimensional at times.

If this was marketed as YA, I would perhaps have had different expectations.

Rating is N/A but for the sake of Netgalley requirements, I'll rate it 3 stars.

Maybe one to revisit if I'm ever in the mood for more YA vibes.

Strangely enough, I preferred the first book to this. This is something which the vast majority of people on Goodreads seemed to do the exact opposite of.
That is not to say that this story added a lot more to the previously described world. I would not recommend reading it without knowing about/ or reading the first because nothing in the chaos will make sense otherwise.
This review will obviously be for those who have read the first and are considering the next. Otherwise, I hope the previous statement has warned you from perusing this further. Not that I post any spoilers, but the progress of this story is probably a series of 'spoilers' all on its own.
Our leading lady is a person who has led a literal sheltered life (for more reasons than we knew on the first visit). She has finally found 'her people', or so she hopes. They get an assignment that leads them into a trap, and what follows is the bulk of the plot. This is the part I had a problem with. I coasted on the varying emotions that were described until the trap sprung, but it felt like they were scheming for an inordinately long number of days. It dragged, and although the content was unique, and I still plan to read the next because I have to know how things end, I did not enjoy the book as much as I hoped to.
The conflicting emotions and the situations are what works for this series. There is no one exact way for people to behave a certain way. It seems like an impossible task to create a new normal in this troubled world, with so many factions vying for dominance, some with more confidence than others. I do not retain the names of factions in my head when I read such books, but given the differing viewpoints and behaviours, it is not difficult to keep them apart.
I recommend this series to people who like trying different types of fantasy.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I really enjoyed this book usually I find the second books a little of a let down however the opposite is true for this one, I think I might have enjoyed it even more then the first and I loved the first. I can’t wait to read the next.

Review on my blog, 6th January: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/01/06/the-quicksilver-court/

This was so good. So, so good. Throughout 2021, I buddy-read all of Melissa Caruso’s books with Alu (https://tome-reader.com/), and she has firmly established herself as a new insta-buy author - and possibly my favourite author of 2021.

We read The Obsidian Tower first and then, while we were waiting for The Quicksilver Court, we read the entirety of the first series, starting with The Tethered Mage. I absolutely love every single one of the books, but I do think that The Quicksilver Court is my favourite of the lot. Melissa Caruso is definitely getting better with every single book as the stakes build and build (though I did miss Kathe in this book, not gonna lie).

The Quicksilver Court builds on the political intrigue and tension in The Obsidian Tower in a spectacular way. It takes place over the course of only a few days, with all the characters trapped in one location, and I really love the intense feeling that’s created by the fast pace of this book. We get a lot of answers to the questions we had at the end of The Obsidian Tower, as well as building up to an ending that has me absolutely chomping at the bit for the third book in the Rooks and Ruin series. I can’t wait to see how this series ends, and I hope Melissa Caruso never stops writing books in this series.

We get more character development from all of the characters in the Rookery, as well as uncovering more of their backstories as they become closer to Ryx, but what I truly loved was some of the moments of tension between the members of the Rookery, some of which had me so anxious that I could feel an actual pit in my stomach as I was reading.

The two series do absolutely standalone, but honestly I recommend reading Swords and Fire and then reading Rooks and Ruin because they’re some of my favourite books I’ve ever read, and you’ll enjoy the way that Rooks and Ruin expands on the world-building a lot more if you’ve read the earlier books - but you can read them in any order, because Rooks and Ruin is set 200 years later.

4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2021/11/11/the-quicksilver-court-rooks-and-ruin-2-by-melissa-caruso/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Oh What a Tangled Web

The Quicksilver Court is the second book in the Rooks and Ruin series by Melissa Caruso and was another entertaining instalment that managed to balance both light and dark elements at the same time as packing an emotional gut punch.

Before starting this review I would say that this will contain spoilers for book 1 so if you haven’t yet read The Obsidian Tower then you might want to make a hasty departure right about now. This is not a drill people – get out of here! Also, this is not a series that you can jump in part way through. Reading the first book is essential in my opinion if you’re to have any chance of understanding the dynamics at play here.

So, The Quicksilver Court picks up almost immediately after the conclusion of book 1 and shoots straight out of the gate with impressive pacing. The Rookery sets off on a journey to the Loreician court, on the face of it they’re searching for a missing demon (Hunger) who may well be infiltrating the Summer Palace, in reality they’re in search of a missing artifact, basically a weapon of mass destruction, politics being as they are though, this is all wrapped up with court etiquette, scheming and guarded conversation – well at least it’s all sugar coated for a little while, until everything goes swiftly downhill.

To be honest, the winning element of both books in this series so far is the characters (in fact the plot plays second fiddle to the characters imo) and in this particular instalment we’re due to learn a heck of a lot more about all of them. Be prepared. Caruso manages to include plenty of food for thought here particularly with the inclusion of demons that are not totally bad and humans that are certainly not totally good. All the Rookery are back, a number of demons that escaped that I won’t name here, other than Hunger of course who we met in No.1. Severin once again plays a key role and the relationship that started to develop with Ryx gathers pace in a beautifully measured way. And, Whisper, the enigmatic more-than-a-cat and Ryx’s grandmother, The Lady of Owls. To be honest there’s such a lot to like here that it would be difficult to pin down a favourite. Of course Ryx and Severin stand out and the Lady of Owls steals the show a little every time she makes an appearance.

On top of these already familiar characters we have the Queen and her advisor, I don’t want to say too much at this point but expect the unexpected. Finally, the Zenith Society who have teamed up with Hunger/Aurelio. The Zenith Society are already known to the Rookery and in fact this particular thread leads to a number of reveals that shine a new light on this previously happy-go-lucky team.

The setting. Well, we’ve moved to the Summer Palace – I couldn’t help think of the elaborately decorated Palace of Versailles with it’s ostentatious rooms dripping with gilt work and ornamentation. The setting couldn’t be more different than the Obsidian Tower. Where Gloamingard is all about the twisted passages and dark mystery the Summer Palace is a place of extreme beauty (although of course it’s about to play host to some despicable beings undertaking despicable acts). I’m going to confess that the setting is one of the elements of this instalment that gave me slightly mixed feelings. In one respect the setting was well drawn and easy to envisage and in fact really adds an extra layer of creativity to the events that take place BUT – and this is a slight spoiler, this story is contained, or restricted to the one setting (not so much locked room as locked palace). Okay, this is a Palace with extensive grounds but it started to feel slightly repetitive and perhaps even a little incredible in terms of the good guys escaping notice and avoiding trouble in such an enclosed space.

Slight hesitation aside. What I also really enjoyed here, apart from the characters, twists and turns and the emotional rollercoaster that followed is the strange mix of dark and light -not just in terms of the characters as outlined above but more the jump from humour to horror and back again. Ryx is a great character to follow. She isn’t all kickass, unbeatable ‘here I come to save the day’ so much as flying by the seat of her pants, improvising all the way barely staying alive by the skin of her teeth. What also makes her really good is the real sense of vulnerability that is on display. She now has friends, and potentially a romantic love interest and whilst this makes her ridiculously happy (when she’s not simply trying to stay alive) it also places her in the position of having things that she can now lose.

In terms of criticisms. Apart from the ‘locked palace’ element. This ends on a cliffhanger. Personally I don’t mind a good cliffhanger although they do make me very anxious to have the next book in my grabby little hands.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

This wasn't my favourite Melissa Caruso book, I felt the story really fell a bit flat in this one. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of demons in books in general. We're re-united with Ryx and The Rookery after the end of events in The Obsidian Tower, with some of the nine demons let loose in the human world, but not knowing which ones.

There are plenty of reveals in this book that I did not see coming, which kept me interested until the end even if the pacing wasn't quite working for me. Some of Ryx's interactions with the demons were electrifying, but overall the demons felt a bit like caricatures.

I enjoyed the way some of the reveals affected the dynamics of the characters in The Rookery. It made things interesting given the closeness of the group. I did miss the human politics from the first book and previous trilogy though, as I feel like this is where Melissa Caruso thrives.

Overall, not a bad middle book and I'll still be picking up the third one. The ending sure did drop another bombshell, even if a bit random.

First things first – if you happen to pick up this offering without having read The Obsidian Tower, then put it back on the shelf and track down the first book. This one follows immediately on from the climactic ending, and you’ll struggle far too long trying to work who is doing what to who – and the plot doesn’t hang around.

I love this world. Caruso’s vivid depiction of this extraordinary place, where beauty is all too often lethal and people regularly die in horrible ways drew me in and held me entranced throughout. At 480 pages, it’s not a short book – but I tore through it as I was unable to put it down. I fell deeply in love with Ryx from the first time I encountered her and her heartbreakingly terrible magic – if she comes into contact with any living thing, it dies. Ways are found to halter her magical power, so that eventually she is able to touch plants, animals and people without harming them. But those long years when she couldn’t has left scars. At the end of The Obsidian Tower, I was left with some mighty big questions – and I’m delighted to say The Quicksilver Court answers them.

Ryx’s desperate gratitude that at last she has friends and allies who really care for her makes her wonderfully vulnerable, which works well in a character with such powerful magic. And the magical group she belongs to – the Rookery – all have complicated and desperate backstories that we learn about in amongst the plotting, politicking and mayhem that ensues. But… oh my goodness – I didn’t begin to guess the big plot twist that comes about three-quarters into the book. What a doozy! I was tempted to rush back to reread The Obsidian Tower and look for the clues and see what I’d missed. Though of course, I didn’t. But it literally changes the whole dynamic, ramping up the stakes and danger to the world – and of course, to Ryx. Caruso writes with power and commitment that makes all her main characters larger than life – particularly her antagonists. The demon, Nightmare, is really a satisfying villain I loved to hate.

This was one of the most intense, emotional reads of the year and I finished it with a sigh – because there is also a whopping big cliff-hanger right at the end. You may have gathered that I enjoyed this one – indeed, it’s made my Outstandings Reads of the Year list. Very highly recommended for those who like their fantasy swathed in mystery, vivid settings and charismatic characters possessed with murderous magic. While I obtained an arc of The Quicksilver Court from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

I love all of Melissa Caruso's Tethered Mage/ Rooks and Ruin books and was waiting for the next instalment of the latest series with huge anticipation.. She didn't disappoint either. The Quicksilver Court is an exciting addition to the series. We rejoin Ryx and her friends from the Rookery as they unravel the mysteries and dangers surrounding the return of the nine demons to their world, all against the backdrop of a glittering and dangerous court where even the Queen hides unexpected and deadly secrets. Without giving away any spoilers, I loved the plot twist in the story and can't wait to see what happens next! I recommend this to anyone who wants an enthralling read about a magical alternative world full of magic, assassins, witches, vampires, aristocrats and spies!

THE OBSIDIAN TOWER introduced us to a Vaskandran aetheling (powerful mage from ruling line) in a Vaskandran setting - the complete opposite to the original trilogy, where a Raverran was the heroine and Vaskandra was the unknown enemy. In THE QUICKSILVER COURT, Ryx heads into the empire, and it's completely alien to her. The customs, the way of life, the power structures.

Having loved the "original trilogy" and then re-reading the previous book just before diving into this one, I loved the contrast in Ryx's outlook. It made the stepping around politics very different - particularly given who the opponents are. It lets everything be far more direct - and there's less politics than in the other books (to the point that I'm not sure if I'd call it political fantasy.)

Instead, it's more of an adventure - except the adventure is more like "how do we stop everything getting worse because everything's going wrong? Oh no, it got worse." It has a really different vibe, chaos and disaster and horribly overpowered enemies that Ryx has to stand up to. I really liked this, because these are not human threats you could talk your way around. They're demons who have a very different concept of what is proper. If they were handled like human politics, it would have felt so wrong.

To add to that difficulty, Ryx and the Rookery also find their pasts coming back. The group is straining, but they have to work together to win. I really loved the dynamics and heartbreak as secrets came to light or old foes returned to haunt characters.

The book has a brilliant mid-point reveal and reversal. They're so hard to do in books, build up expectations and then flip it all, without feeling contrived or undeserved. But THE QUICKSILVER COURT manages it brilliantly. And, as with any good midpoint reversal, it raises the stakes and complicates the goal manyfold.

One book to go, THE BONE CHAMBER, which is not a very promising title for things going the heroes way!

A great follow up to the first book!
Ryx is such a great MC it's lways a delight reading about her.
The world building and characters are written so well! The Quicksilver Court was filled with action pack adventure, it proved to be such a fun read!
There were points in the book that felt a little draggy which really slowed down the pacing, but other than that this was a solid read!
Can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes!

“Nothing Must Unseal The Door”
This is the Gloamingard Lore, but the door has been opened and demons set free, and horror reigns far as the eye can see.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis: Ryx’s blood unsealed the door and freed a handful of the demons locked behind it. Now demons are back in the world, and the Graces are long gone. Tensions rise between nations, and the Rookery are tasked with finding a powerful artifact. But, as the Rookery well know, their missions are hardly as simple as they seem.

CW/TW: Murder, trauma, violence, death, blood, gore, manipulation.

SPOILER WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOK1: THE OBSIDIAN TOWER, IN THE ROOKS AND RUIN SERIES.

Book Review: The Obsidian Tower (Rooks And Ruin #1), by Melissa Caruso

Oh how wonderful it was to be back in this world, I forgot just how much I love Ryx and the Rookery! The Quicksilver Court, by Melissa Caruso picks up a little after where book 1 ended. Ryx has been cast out of Morgrain and is with the Rookery, and Severin. The Demons, Hunger and Discord, are free and causing problems in the world, with Discord reigning over Morgrain and Hunger lurking in the dark in (traitor Aurelio’s body). However, if this wasn’t bad enough, this book introduces us to another problem – a powerful artifact is out in the world and the Rookery must find it before it puts Ryx’s home in danger. Caruso really raises the stakes in this sequel, and the poor Rookery are put through the wringer.

Caruso creates another action-packed, twisty story full of intrigue, tricky politics and dark secrets. While book 1 doesn’t shy away from a darker story, this book dives head first into all those dark secrets and stories hinted at in book 1. This definitely has a darker tone and atmosphere that pulls at the heartstrings and builds tension. Without becoming too spoilery, this book follows a few main elements, firstly, the overarching issue of the freed demons is explored more in this book – we se more of Discord and Hunger and their effect on the world. Through this part of the plot we learn more about the demons as Ryx tries to solve her failure of opening the door in the first place. The second element of the plot is the powerful artifact the Rookery have been tasked to retrieve. This leads to the Rookery arriving at a certain court where politics is everything and the Rookery must tread carefully. Thirdly, the Rookery is central to the story, I really liked how their dynamic was explored, especially with the addition of Ryx and Severin, but also without them.

I really enjoyed how this book progressed the story further from book 1, and I loved how each of the elements slowly came together to create a bigger picture. I loved the demon element of the plot, the political intrigue was fascinating, the idea around the artifact thrilling, and the battles the Rookery faces were well executed. This book is a bridge too book 3 but it has a lot packed into it and is important all on its own too. It was truly thrilling and fascinating watching how dark histories, secrets and promises came into play in this book – not only did it make the story dark, interesting and action-packed but it also added tension, evoked emotion and added so much depth to all characters in and associated with the Rookery. I truly adored how we got to see more of each member of the Rookery, and delved more into their own stories, it was heart-breaking and needed. Moreover, it allowed Ryx to see more of the Rookery, and her place in it which was quite interesting to watch play out.

Of course we also explore much more magic which was intriguing. We delve more into Ryx’s broken magic, the magic of the Demons and we even see more of Severin’s! This was an intensely magical read, where we see the true power behind a lot of the magical forces in the story.

While the plot is magical, action-packed, dark and heart-breaking, it is the characters that truly make the story shine. From the relationship and connections between them, to their own choices and abilities coming in to play throughout the story, it made the characters all the more real and made the stakes of the story much more impactful. We delve more into Foxglove’s secrets, Bastian’s trauma, Kessa’s loss, and Ashe’s rule’s – and we watch as each character is pushed to their limits. I adore the Rookery and this made me love them even more, I particularly felt strongly for Kessa, but my heart went out to them all. As per usual, I loved Ashe too! Her and Kessa’s dynamic and relationship is one of my favourites. I also loved how we explored more of our chaotic Ryx, I love her so much she is so smart and diplomatic but she honestly cannot avoid danger, but I really enjoyed watching her stick to her ways and try to figure out what to do. It was also incredibly fun to watch Severin and Ryx’s relationship progress, especially with Ryx’s terrible socialisation skills, and Severin’s own issues. Severin gets a lot more time in this story too which was brilliant, I love him aswell! He doesn’t exactly fit in with the Rookery and yet, we see him progress and develop in this book despite that.

You are in for a lot of surprises in this book! Get ready to have your heart torn out. I really enjoyed this sequel an I loved the dark overlooming plot and powers behind this story, it acted well as a sequel and sets up nicely for the next book.

Overall: This book was an intense, emotional, magical and action-packed read with a much darker tone than before and with much higher risks. We get lots more character development, secrets, promises and histories are revealed, and tension between nations are rising. With hidden powers behind twisty plots and the Rookery challenged more than before, a lot rests on Ryx. A truly brilliant read, an excellent sequel and a fantastic build up to the next book.

*I received a #Netgalley eARC from #Orbitbooks in exchange for an honest review – thank you!*