If We Shadows Have Offended: Fighting the Fae in Brittany N. Williams’s Saint-Seducing Gold
By Alana Joli Abbott | April 25, 2024 | 4:52pm
BOOKS REVIEWS BRITTANY N. WILLIAMS
If We Shadows Have Offended: Fighting the Fae in Brittany N. Williams’s Saint-Seducing Gold
The year is 1606. Queen Elizabeth is dead, King James has taken over patronage of William Shakespeare’s theater troupe (now the King’s Men), and Joan Sands is in over her head when it comes to the fae who are invading England. That’s the premise of Brittany N. Williams’s “Forge & Fracture” Saga, which continues in this month’s release, Saint-Seducing Gold. The books are infused with drama—both on stage with the players and on the streets of London—swordplay, romance, murder, and mischief. Williams leans heavily into her Shakespearean influences, brings to life a system of magic inspired by Orisha worship, and presents her fae as both monstrous and beautiful.

To set the scene, when Joan takes the stage of That Self-Same Metal, which came out a year ago, the audience sees her world for the first time: the Globe Theater, where she works with the King’s Men as their fight coordinator. Joan is a gifted choreographer and fighter, in part because of her unique connection with Ogun, the Orisha of iron and war. Ogun’s blessing allows Joan to shape metal, especially iron, which makes her gifted in all sorts of metal work, including dulling the stage blades to make them less dangerous to her actors (who do not always follow her directions as well as they should). She and the other Orisha worshippers of London can see fae in their midst—it’s a blessing from their patrons—and they’ve long known that creatures of magic exist side by side with humanity. But something has shifted the balance, and when Joan overhears her godfather, Baba Ben, explaining that the king must renew “the Pact” or things will go badly, she begins to get a peek into the very, very bad things that are about to happen.


Without the king’s willingness to believe in something he dismisses as superstition, Baba Ben is arrested, and the Pact falls, and the fae—the most dangerous ones among them—are no longer bound to simple acts of mischief. Fae who were banished to the fairy world entirely are now free and roaming about, causing devastation wherever they walk. One of them, Auberon, seems to be the greatest threat, and after Joan foolishly saves the life of a young man, she gains the attention of Lord Salisbury, the king’s spymaster. He tasks her with killing Auberon and ending the fae threat, or he’ll bring harm to her family.

To avoid detailed spoilers, it seems by the end of That Self-Same Metal that Joan has at least brought some stability back to London, though it has gained her the unwanted eye of the spymaster, who remains a danger to her entire family. But as the early pages of Saint-Seducing Gold open, readers learn that the fae threat is still only beginning, and Joan has far greater enemies to worry about. Titanea has disguised herself as Queen Anne and is infiltrating the Royal Court. To make matters worse, she’s taken a liking to Joan and intends to keep her close, ordering her to become a lady-in-waiting. While this elevates Joan’s status, it also tears her from everything she cares about: her father’s goldsmithing, the King’s Men, her beloved twin brother, James, and one of the actors, Nick Tooley, with whom she hopes she might one day reach an understanding. It also puts her once again in the path of Lord Salisbury, who is determined that Joan’s rising star should fall in the most disastrous way possible—even if he has to accuse her of witchcraft and see her burned.


With the help of Rose, the half-mortal daughter of Robin Goodfellow, Joan navigates the court, hoping to find a way to rescue her godfather from the Tower of London and re-establish the Pact before Titanea causes more harm. But there are limits to what Joan can do, and secrets she may not be able to keep. And as the danger grows, so does the violence, and Joan knows there’s no way to save everyone she loves.

Joan is a strong protagonist; she’s seventeen as Saint-Seducing Gold opens, and the world-shaking events happening around her are frequently cast in relief against her own inner turmoil. How should she relate to her Orisha, especially when at times the spirit seems to want to be in control? What can she expect from her future, especially when her fortune changes so rapidly? Whom is she allowed to love—and, if she loves two people, can she make that work for all of them? All of her messy teenage chaos is on full display as she tries to manage it, and keep her own stray thoughts and desires from interfering with her quest to keep her community safe. (The love triangle that began in That Self-Same Metal, in which Joan is attracted to, and possibly in love with, both Nick and Rose, is less of a question in the second book, and more of a logistics and communication problem, which is a refreshing take on that particular YA trope.)

She also has to face the racism of her city and time, especially at the Royal Court. Williams points out very deliberately that queer people and people of color were absolutely present in London during Shakespeare’s days (fae presence, however, is debatable). While Joan and her family—and the whole Orisha worshiping community—never question their own value, some of the people in power make sure to point out the status differential between them. Slurs, especially from certain members of the royal household, sting Joan, though she does her best not to let that show. She faces disrespect with resilience, unwilling to let those who insult her have the upper hand. (It’s also that defiance that constantly draws the ire of Lord Salisbury, no doubt because he believes she should show him deference.)


But while Joan is the star of the novels, especially for the target YA audience, adult readers who also love YA may find themselves more deeply invested in the setting itself, with its fairy-story horrors (the red caps are particularly brutal, but they’re not the most dangerous among the fae). Williams casts Shakespeare as a light-skinned descendent of Orisha-worshiping people himself; he carries an Orisha blessing, just like Joan. Readers familiar with Shakespeare’s company will no doubt recognize many of the members of the King’s Men, especially star actor Richard Burbage. The sights and sounds of London, minus the fae, are drawn with a great sense of realism, both the opulence of Whitehall and the gory spectacle of London Bridge, with the heads of traitors decorating its spires. The camaraderie and packed crowd of the Globe, especially among the groundlings, gives readers a sense of what it might have been like to watch Shakespeare’s plays when they were new. (Saint-Seducing Gold features a possible first performance of the Scottish Play, and quite possibly the first occurrence of that play’s famous curse.)

With its depth of setting, unbridled danger of the fae, and a protagonist determined to stand between her friends and danger, the “Forge and Fracture Saga” is a perfect series for theater lovers to pick up. (Williams is, herself, a Shakespearean actor with plenty of stage combat experience, and it shows in the way she writes.) While this second installment ends on a cliffhanger, it also lands our heroes in a place of hope that they will be able to overcome. And it leaves readers hoping that the concluding volume doesn’t come too far in the future!


Saint-Seducing Gold is available now.

Alana Joli Abbott is a reviewer and game writer, whose multiple-choice novels, including Choice of the Pirate and Blackstone Academy for Magical Beginners, are published by Choice of Games. She is the author of three novels, several short stories, and many role-playing game supplements. She also edits fantasy anthologies for Outland Entertainment, including Bridge to Elsewhere and Never Too Old to Save the World. You can find her online at VirgilandBeatrice.com.

I absolutely love this story. I didn’t know how much a wanted a fantasy about fae and Orisha blessed people in Shakespeare time until I read this series. I can’t wait to read more from this author

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I loved the first one (and I did enjoy this one), but I think this fell victim to the "second book in a trilogy" problem where it sets up a LOT of stuff for the remaining book...but not a whole lot actually happens in this. There's a lot of rising tension and problems, but by the end I was looking at the percentage I had remaining and going "how do I only have 20% left? I feel like things are just now developing"

Regardless of that, this series is still a delight for those who love Shakespeare, Shakespeare's London, History, and Orisha-inspired fantasies. Like, SHAKESPEARE? MAGIC? ORISHA? On top of Joan being able to wield metal like she does AND THEN YOU ADD IN HISTORICALLY LEGEND ACCURATE FAE (like, red-caps are terrifying).

Anyways, I still utterly consumed this and need the next one now.

Thank you NetGalley and Amulet Books for the e-arc!
This is shaping up to be a fantastic trilogy! I flew through the first book when it came out and the second book went the same way. After the cliff hanger that was the first book, I was INVESTED! I think this world is so unique with the ties to Shakespeare and fae magic. Joanne is a fantastic main character and I love getting to learn more about her and her story.
Also 10 out of 10 obsessed with these covers.

Picking up the plot where That Self-Same Metal ended, Williams takes readers back into Shakespeare's England where Joan Sands is very much in danger... as is the rest of London.

Saint-Seducing Gold definitely does not suffer from the second book slump. Selfishly I was a little bummed that not much of the plot revolved around any of Shakespeare's plays, but I understand why this book was focused elsewhere. But the conflict kept me on the edge of my seat, I appreciated the development in the romantic side of Joan's life, and now I will be anxiously waiting for the third book in this series to find out what happens next.

The author's note at the end adds more depth to the background of this world and the characters in it.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, ABRAMS Kids, and Amulet Books in exchange for an honest review.

After That Self-Same Metal ending on an incredible cliffhanger, I was immediately desperate for more. Fortunately in the follow-up, Saint-Seducing Gold, author Brittany N. Williams doesn’t make the reader wait before launching back into the world of Joan Sands, The King’s Men, and the powerful Fae that threaten life in 1600s London as they know it. The book hits the ground running for a breathless, fast-paced adventure that hits on everything we loved about the first book, and taking them even further as the stakes continue to grow.

At the heart of the story, of course, is Joan, who has now become a Lady-in-Waiting to the Fae queen Titanea - herself still posing as the mortal queen - as a way for the mercurial Fae queen to keep her close. This pulls her away from both her family and her beloved troupe of players as she is now thrust into the sneaky political world of the Royal Court, a far less accepting place than the communities Joan usually calls home. Not that this stops Joan from working with her family and friends to try and find a way to reforge the pact between humans and the Fae before it’s too late.

For all that the Fae side of the plot is full steam ahead practically from the word go, in Saint-Seducing Gold Williams strikes a much-needed balance, knowing when to bring down the intensity and give Joan quieter moments with James and their parents, with Nick and Rose, the two loves of her life, and with her old theater troupe — including one scene in particular that blends all of these elements and called back to one of my more niche Shakespeare faves that had me unexpectedly emotional.

It’s hard to dive into the super-specifics of the parts of Saint-Seducing Gold that worked so well without giving away the twists in the story, but suffice it to say anyone who has an appreciation for Shakespeare and the era in which he lived and worked will enjoy this book, and anyone who has ever had to carve out a place in a world that doesn’t know what to do with them, will find themselves reflected back in a beautiful, thoughtful way that makes this series a must-read for book lovers of all ages.

Saint-Seducing Gold hits shelves on April 23. Special thank you to Abrams Books for an advance copy for review purposes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!
After reading the thrilling first book in this series, That Self-Same Metal, I was so excited for the second book in this series, and it did not disappoint. Williams's Shakespearean world is magical and exciting, and now I will be impatiently waiting for book three!
Set directly after the events in the first book, Joan Sands is continuing her battle with the Fae, especially now that Titanea has taken Queen Anne's place. After being named a lady-in-waiting, Joan must now live in the palace and continue her battle from the inside. With her family and friends helping, will she be able to stop Titanea from taking over court?
This might be the first YA book I have ever read has a polyamorous love story, and I am 100% here for it. Good riddance to the love triangles and "who will they pick" notions. Let Joan love whoever she wants. I'm interested to see how it will play out in the next book.
The only reason this isn't a five star review is because I found the beginning of the book to be a little jarring, after having read the first book a few months ago. It took a few chapters to get back into the flow of the story. It would have helped to have a small recap or overview of the events in the first book before jumping into the action.

I was curious to about where the second book would lead Joan. She ends up in the queens courts having to deal with a lot more attention. There is a great deal more action in the second book that kept those parts fast paced and fun to read.
Thank you Brittany N. Williams and NetGalley for letting me read this book.

Saint-Seducing Gold is the second book in The Forge & Fracture Saga. It takes place after the breaking of the fae pact and continues with the troupe secretly apposing the fae. Joan is a rash well meaning girl. Unfortunately, mistakes can cost lives. Joan is called to be a lady in waiting to Queen Anne and must bide her time while in the spotlight.

Saint- Seducing Gold was easy to follow and filled with action packed scenes. I do feel like there wasn’t as much character development as I would prefer. Joan got in trouble more than once for rash actions and was apologizing more than needed. IT felt like she had not learned from any of her mistakes. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I received an ARC and am leaving a review of my own volition.

A great addition to this series! I love Joan and this cast of characters (most of them anyways haha), and I'm eagerly anticipating the next one.

The court of James I is a treacherous place -- and that's even before the Fae are involved. And now that Joan Sands, magical metalworker blessed by Ogun, has been made a reluctant lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, she must navigate a course between petty enemies, the deadly hatred of Robert Cecil (the king's spymaster), his lovelorn and manipulative son William, and the Fae queen herself, Titanea. With her godfather Baba Ben imprisoned in the Tower, it's up to Joan to find a way to reforge the ancient Pact between humans and the Fae -- before the entire Orisha community is destroyed.

Whew, this second book in the Forge and Fracture Saga was loaded with action! Not only does Joan have to find a balance between proper behavior for the court and drawing on her magical power to fight enemies, but her family and her colleagues among The King's Men (Shakespeare's theatre company) have their own hazardous parts to play. While there isn't a huge amount of new character development in the book, I loved seeing how Joan was able to tap into her connection with Ogun and explore her own powers. The fight scenes were thrilling to read, and Shakespeare and his troupe always entertain me.

I'm still enjoying this much more colorful Elizabethan/Jacobean world (more characters of color, more range of gender and sexuality) and can't wait for the final book of the trilogy. 4 stars.

Thank you, Amulet Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.