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.

A book about what it means to find family and belonging in a world where you are pushed to your limits by those you love. This book felt like the wonderful love child of the 'Shadow and Bone' series with the writing style of 'Serpent and Dove'.

This book is a great read for any lovers of fantasy who wants something quick and engaging. I loved the writing style of this book, but found that I wanted it to be a much longer novel! Hughes use of language is so gorgeous that I wanted more world building, more narrative description of the characters and their surroundings and a universe in which you could truly escape into.

I loved the characters of Nyx and Helenia in this book and felt that towards the end they dominated the telling of the story. I liked the transition from the Destroyer to Elodie and thought it made her a much more sympathetic character.

It takes a while to full understand the characters and I do wish some of the other characters had been slightly more 'fleshed out' like Albinus, Sarai and Saasha as I feel like that could have really added to the story and the sense of betrayal overall.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, but it felt so good that it should have been longer or even a series. It would be really fun to return to this universe either through a book with an alternative narrative (perhaps one written from Helenia's perspective) or a sequel (maybe a book following Helenia in the aftermath).

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!

ARC provided via NetGalley in an exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 2.75 stars
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A girl with a black crown. A boy who believed.

This fantasy stand-alone book follows the story of Tal, a boy who swore an oath of service to the heartless Destroyer, a girl with the gift of deadly fire magic. However, a rebel attack changes everything and leaves the Destroyer without her power and her memories.

“And finally, with the moon bright above, with the Alloyed Palace gleaming like a monster, and with his god utterly silent, the boy began to understand exactly what his belief would require of him.”

The book started off very strong and the prologue immediately got me hooked. The story had a lot of potential and an interesting plot and I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of the book. The writing style was so intriguing and I read the book in two days.

However, the fast paced writing style soon got too fast – at the expense of the worldbuilding. The history and generally the whole magic system was lacking, we also do not get a sight into the rebellion and many questions went unanswered.

“She was fire, she was mercury, she was death."

Mercurial is a very character driven story – additionally to the main characters Tal and the Destroyer we also get to know Tal’s sister Nyx and her girlfriend Helenia. And, my personal highlight in this book, a sledding dog called Maluk.

This book touches topics like religion and redemption. I really enjoyed the morally grey character that the Destroyer was, so brutal and yet inside so afraid and insecure. Tal was also a mess of emotion, torn between his feelings and his belief, constantly in inner conflict. Both were so human, flawed and not the stereotypical “badass” characters, which really added a lot to the story and made it special.

“The Destroyer held out her hand. And then the pain began”

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the love story. It probably would have worked out if it had been given time to build, but it felt rushed and to be honest, toxic. Years of hate do not just dissolve in a few days and do not erase the complicated relationship Tal and the Destroyer have.

Summary:
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fast paced, quite dark and very character driven upper-YA story.

Mercurial is a Young adult fantasy novel written by Naomi Hughes. Set in the magical world of The Alloyed Empire, it follows three different characters; a princess with a stone heart and a mask of cruelty, a young guard trapped into protecting the princess and a sister that longs to save her brother and free the kingdom. The princess -AKA the destroyer- is known for her cruelty and her ruthlessness. She is harsh and strict but under the mask lies a young and broken woman. Years ago, Tal wanted to save The Destroyer from becoming worse but in the end, he ended up being bound to her by an oath of protection. Now, Nyx -Tal’s sister- has vowed to save her brother, kill The Destroyer and save the kingdom from the Empress and The Destroyer. Mercurial is a story of love, friendship and how the manipulation of a child can lead to destruction.

I am pleasantly surprised by this book and I had lots of fun reading it. This is the epitome of good, YA fantasy. There are good characters, a little romance and a well-developed world.

The writing was great, it is written in third-person which is my favourite perspective to read from. We jump between the perspectives of Tal, Eloide (The Destroyer) and Nyx. This was a short book but it was well-written and very easy to get through. The writing did feel like the writing from a middle-grade novel, but I didn’t mind it all. Overall, the writing was great, though it was written more for the audience of the middle grade genre, rather than YA.

The Plot was well articulated and had some really unexpected twists. The plot was original and I enjoyed how it flipped between time periods, which gave us a really interesting look at some of the characters and their backstories. Like I said earlier, this was short but it was still really engaging and had me at the edge of my seat at multiple points of the book.

The characters of the book were great!

Tal had some really interesting internal conflict and it added alot of depth to the plot and to his character in general. He was loyal and kind but he was also fiercely protective of the people he loved and was willing to give up everything for them.

The Destroyer (Elodie) was the most interesting character in this book. We can clearly see who she would have become, if it were not for her past. In the beginning, I thought her cruel and ruthless but by the end, I liked her and I understood her much better

Nyx was also a great character because of how much she cared for the people she loved as well. She gave up her dreams and hopes, just to save her brother and she risked her life multiple times in the book to ensure the safety of others. Her relationship with Helenia was so cute and I would totally read a book based entirely off their relationship.

Overall, I really liked this book! The writing was pretty good, the plot was original and fast-paced and the characters were dynamic, interesting and very morally grey.

That’s it! Thank you for reading my review and I hope it helped.

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!

4.5 stars. This book has an amazing plot! It is very twisty and super fast-paced. The writing, the plot and the characters are all very well done. I was never able to predict the ending of this book, not even once. Now the world building, was phenomenal. Magic, mountains and new exciting creatures paint an amazing world. The magic was so bound to the plot. I loved it. The writing style really let me be immersed in the story, and in the end this book felt magical. This book is a real hidden gem, I highly recommend it!

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.

I really like how this book is no the basic YA story. Though. I would like to mention that this book has a younger in tone prose though the plot is a bit more YA so it creates a strange dichotomy.

"Finding the end of a journey satisfactory does not erase the pain of the path that brought you here."

TW: mass murderer, patricide, unintentional drug abuse

Excuse me, but that couldn't possibly be the end, I need a epilogue at the least.
I'm honest, this story will not be for everyone, but I do enjoy evil characters and their path to villainy, so the story of a frightened girl that would level cities at her sister's command was compelling.
This story starts a bit slow, but it picks up rapidly and it has an easy flow, I found the book gripping and couldn't put it down passing the 20% marker.

Tal is a boy that believes in the vision his God sends him, and two years later of his last choice he just feel betrayed, the path his God sent him upon was one plagued with dead and no way out, but he's on the brick of discovering that nothing is set on stone, because stone crumbles and the web of deceits that lay beneath unravel a story that can change the future of his country.


"Someday the pain may be distant enough for me to forget it, to remember only the rightness of the ending."

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.


This had such high potential but it didn’t really land for me. I really did enjoy Tal, he was a great main character. I wish the world was a little more fleshed out but I suppose as a standalone it wasn’t going to get more detailed. The magic system was very interesting (I always enjoy blood-type magic), but I wish we could have see more. Other types were mentioned but you didn’t really see them. Also the religious parts went completely over my head but maybe that’s just me. Overall this was an okay read. Not bad but not amazing.

This book was un-put-down-able! Such a wonderful gender-bent inversion of Beauty and the Beast trope! The story completely ensnares you, and soon you find yourself musing "I wonder how's the author going to pull this plot twist off... oh wow, amazing how she's done it!". None of the characters seems to be out of place and all of them are well-thought-out and full-fledged (I love it in a book!). And the setting... lush, unique and utterly captivating! I would love to see more stories set in the same world, but, unfortunately, author stated that this would be a standalone.

Oh. My. Goodness. This book was everything I love in a novel and more!

Mercurial follows the characters of Tal and Elodie trying to survive being smack dab in the middle of an impending war while being on opposite sides, yet forced to work together by a metal sworn oath.

I love how unique the magic system is in this novel, as it is based off the different kinds of metals. It truly was unlike any magic system I've read in a book and I loved how well explained it was, as often I find myself quite confused with how the magic works in some fantasy novels.

The characters were relatable, complex, and I enjoyed reading them because they were flawed. None of the characters were 100% morally corrupt or morally centered, they simply were human, making mistakes while also making some right decisions. At the end of the day, I definitely enjoy reading complex/flawed characters because they are a lot more relatable.

The only reason for the 4 stars was that I was really hoping for some sort of epilogue to showcase the aftermath of the events in the book, without it, it seemed the ending was a tad rushed.

Ultimately, if you enjoy a good standalone fantasy with a stellar magic system, a romance to lovers novel, and relatable characters, this book is for you!

*A special thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for a review!*

“she was fire, she was mercury, she was death. she was a weapon in the hands of her empress.”

okay okay, lets talk mercurial. when i started this, i was reading possibly my worst read series in the world, so my hopes for this were not that high, i just needed something simple to read. but holy, did i enjoy this book. there are a few trigger warnings, such as poisonings, torture, stabbings, religious martyrdom, vivid descriptions of blood and a few more (you can find those on the authors review of this book). but lets get onto the review (it wont be much indepth as ill rather not give out spoils)

my favorite thing to talk about: the characters

“once, there was a boy who believed”
tal. i loved tal. i love his arc, i love who he is, i love what he stands for, although he is mostly confused throughout the entire book (does he trust the destroyer, does he not? who knows? certainly not him). the man made the dumbest decisions at times but i love him so its fine.

“once. there was a girl who was afraid”
the destroyer was OMG. thats it. thats how i would describe her. she has possibly my favorite character growth and is just full of surprises. she went from heartless warrior to understanding people AH, it was so good to read about. she was so flawed, so violent, such a mess, but so interesting to read about.

“nyx believed in exactly one thing, and that was her brother tal”
now onto my absolute favorite character who i would die for, nyx. nyx is so powerful, so overprotective, and has killer vibes. she, frankly, will kill anyone who hurts her family, and actually said she would (scary stuff). her trust in tal throughout the entire book was fantastic. her character had the most personality and the most attitude for sure. she made reading this book so much fun.

lets talk plot:

this story surrounds a character called the destroyer, who everyone fears in alloyed empire. tal is a royal guard who has to protect the destroyer, who wants to take advantage of the fact she is now powerless to, more or less, destroyer the destroyer (see what i did there). however, what is a fantasy without love right? so of course, tal has to stop himself from falling. and we cannot forget nyx, who is angry that her brother is protecting said destroyer, and plans on killing the destroyer to get tall back. the story follows the journey of these three unique, but not all that different characters.

not once in this entire book was i sure about where we were going with this plot. its full of twists and extremely fast paced ( although it does have a rough and slow start). it has vengeance and fantasy, it's the perfect recipe for a great book. i do have to say though, its not a perfect book, which any book rarely is. i felt we could have had more information of what happened in the two year jump from the prologue to chapter one. however, for what i read, it was super interesting and really well developed.

the world building was outstanding. usually, standalones either have great world building or the trashiest one. but i'm glad to say, i loved this world. also, religion does play a part in here, but it was mostly seen around tal and him coming to terms with the fact that his life is not to be determined by god, but by his own choices (which i think was done wonderfully, it does not throw religion on you at all).

ofc there was romance in this, which i very much enjoyed. i would call it kind of an enemies to lovers, although the destroyer never really hated tal, just would not think about her feelings. but tal definitely hated the destroyer in the beginning.

would i recommend this? yes
will i shove it down everyone's throat? yes
will i make this book my personality for the next two weeks? yes

Mercurial by Naomi Hughes - Pub Date 3/16/21

This book was a surprisingly good YA fantasy novel for me. Recently, I have noticed that I am finding myself more and more disappointed by Young Adult Fantasy, craving a little more complexity and romance. I was mentally prepared to be unimpressed with Mercurial.

Premise: Everyone in the empire fears The Destroyer. With the metal in her veins, she can destroy a town in moments. Her bodyguard, Tal, has sworn to protect The Destroyer with misguided hopes that he can change The Destroyer's mind to save his people but after two years of trying, he is hopeless. But after a rebel attack leaves the Destroyer without her abilities, can Tal end the reign of terror?

This book had a unique magic system with fairly good enemies to lovers trope and a morally grey female protagonist. It did have LGBTQ+ representation with the supporting characters which I did appreciate but (just as an aside) I would LOVE to see more fantasy books with queer leads.

The cons were it was located in a relatively generic YA dystopic universe and the male lead was a little too perfect. However, the negatives didn't take away my enjoyment of the story, and that is what matters IMHO.
✨3.75/5

Thank you to Netgalley & IBPA for this eARC in return for my honest review. My opinions are always my own. Pinky Promise!