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.

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.

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.

“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

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Mercurial follows the Destroyer, a cold-hearted weapon of the Empress, Tal, her reluctant bodyguard sworn to protect her, and Nyx, Tal's sister and would-be assassin of the Destroyer. All three perspectives were a joy to read. Hughes does a great job showing instead of telling, and many subtle things are revealed from the very beginning in each POV that you only see at the end of the book.

Okay, first of all, I ADORED this book. Seriously. I started reading it and couldn't put it down until I finished it a few hours later. I can't remember the last time I was so engrossed in a novel that I read it in a day. If you like enemies to lovers, you will enjoy this story. The romance is so complex and real. It's not perfect – it's messy and human and all over the place. It's such a great story about redemption and forgiveness. Who deserves it? Can it happen for everyone?

And the worldbuilding is fantastic as well. The magic system is unlike one I've ever read about before and it's so thoughtfully combined with science/metallurgy. And as the story progresses, it only becomes more and more interesting.

5/5 stars from me. This was truly a pleasure to read and I cannot wait to buy my own physical copy when it comes out in March.

I was provided with an eARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think we can all agree that nowadays plots are all kinda similar, but when I found this book I was like “yes, finally something NEW”.
It’s got a magic system connected to metals, memory loss, a bodyguard love interest who actually doesn’t want to protect the person he’s supposed to protect (or does he?), betrayal, deceit and a cute lesbian side couple.
For most of the book I wasn’t sure if they were going to actually hurt each other or not, and THAT’s when you know a book is good.
I also really enjoyed the religious talks and differences in theories and beliefs inside the same religion. I have never seen something so real and close to everyday life inside a fantasy book.

I have received an ARC from Mercurial in exchange for a totally honest review.

Let's be honest, when I read the synopsis I saw that it promised me an enemies to lovers and magic; what does that mean? That the book had me deep inside without thinking twice. And okay, it is true that there are several clichés that the author has exploited: visions, enemies to lovers, blood magic, differences between silver blood (magic) and red blood - hello, The Red Queen.

But don't panic because I really liked this story and I have enjoyed it. So I start at the beginning: Tal takes an iron oath to The Destroyer guided by his visions from his god, and after two years, everything changes in the wake of an assassination attempt. Nyx, Tal's sister, has created a plan to free her brother and take down The Destroyer but… at what cost?

Well, I could go a little further as the synopsis tells it but… I'm going to stay there. I want to talk to you about the GOOD points of the story and for that I have to talk about Elodie (The Destroyer, although now I will use her name); she is the sister of the empress, she can control fire and together with Tal she feels safe. She has been a strong protagonist, with an evolution throughout history that I have believed and with a past that, although somewhat predictable, continues to touch.

Regarding Tal, his charisma and duality have enchanted me, seeing how he ends up questioning what his god asked him, how those doubts affect his decisions throughout the book, is the key to a plot with twists that leave you with your mouth open. . Yes, it is true that I would have liked to see more about her powers, to have exploited that part more ...

Last character I want to talk about is Nyx, also important and who has given me the sapphic representation of the book that she did not expect and that I have been grateful for, but the chapters of her have sometimes seemed useless in terms of the plot. It is true that her relationship with certain characters makes us see other points of view, but sometimes it felt that it was more filling than anything else.

I can’t finish the review without saying that I wish Naomi would exploited more the religion in this book — It is something I always enjoy in the stories and seeing how heavy it was here, I expected more. But this part is just about myself and the things I expect sometimes, some of them not even being necessary to understand the plot.

At the end, I would like to emphasize that I appreciate that it is a standalone book. Usually, these types of stories tend to develop over several books and sometimes they even lose the thread. This is not the case with Mercurial, here we have a beginning and an end that has been well developed and has left me with a very good taste in my mouth.

ARC provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Genres: Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy | Teens & YA

I found Mercurial through NetGalley's "Available Now" section and it was a hidden gem of a find. Having only read the brief premise I wasn't exactly sure what to expect going into this book but it ended up being one of my favourite reads of 2021.

It jumps straight into the action with the first sentence: “Once there was a boy who believed.” This had me hooked straight away, quickly becoming obsessed with Hughes' beautiful descriptive language but also the characters. Each of the three characters have depth and flaws, which allows for an amazing, believable character development arc.

One of my favourite things about this book was the plot, which contains one of my favourite tropes (enemies to lovers) and is so well done. The narrative is fast paced and intriguing at every page, the twists and turns immerse you into a magical story.

Overall, I would give this book 5 stars. I loved it wholly! The strong representation within the characters amongst the story, the plot, writing style, all of it made this book a truly magical read.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, I loved every part of this book.

Mercurial by Naomi Hughes
*Thank you to Naomi Hughes and NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review*
3/5 stars - Spoilers ahead and as always check trigger warnings before reading.

Read this book if you want enemies to lovers, ‘I have to protect you but I hate you’ trope, morally grey and diverse characters!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It took me a little bit longer than it usually does to read a book, I think because the beginning was a bit slow and I would have liked more world-building but I think the gradual explanation is intentional. I enjoyed this book and I found myself hooked towards the end.

Let’s start at the beginning. We’re introduced to our two main characters: Tal, a silver Smith who is able to see the future, and The Destroyer, a powerful girl who is the executioner of her sister, the Empress’s, will. Tal swears an oath to The Destroyer at the urging of his God; however, he quickly comes to realise The Destroyer has earned her name and that he will have to serve her in ways that won’t be pleasant. We follow along as an assassination attempt is made against The Destroyer, whose magic source subsequently runs out. We’re introduced to Nyx, Tal’s sister, who is determined to save her brother. As we read, we come to see who The Destroyer is without her magic, the lengths Nyx will go to in order to save her brother and how Tal feels in relation to his God and to The Destroyer.

Like I said, the beginning felt a little bit slow, despite the plot being quite fast-paced overall, and I think this could have been addressed by more world building taking place at the start (and throughout now that I think about it). Whilst we’re introduced to the characters, we don’t actually know how society works or what the town they live in is like or the details of their magic. I understand there are some specific plot points which are left until later on in the book for a reason, but I really feel like the concepts needed to be fleshed out more in this book. The idea behind this book was brilliant! The plot had me hooked, despite being a little bit lost at the beginning. I would have liked more of a resolution at the end, for example when happened with Nyx’s mom? But I believe there is a novella attached to this series so maybe that will answer my questions.

There’s a bit of blind worship towards a God which takes place that makes me uncomfortable, so I won’t go into much detail but if you’re not a fan of plots that do have an element of religion in it, then this isn’t for you.

I liked the characters! The main characters, Tal and Elodie were nicely fleshed out. Their relationship felt a little bit rushed in some places, but I liked them together. I liked Helenia as she was consistent in her beliefs and her point of view was clear to see. On the other hand, I wasn’t a massive fan of Nyx’s narrative. I disliked reading how jealous she was that her brother had chosen Elodie over her.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, easy to read, YA fantasy book with enemies to lovers, wlw, poc, morally grey characters and an interesting plot then this is for you.

Eternally grateful to Netgalley and Naomi Hughes for providing me an ARC of Mercurial in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to finish this book, but unfortunately, I couldn't, I got to chapter ten and realized it is not the kind of book that I like, it is a good book, but it's just not for me, but I would seriously recommend that you give it a shot when it comes out in March.

My only problem with this story is that I now want a squeal instantly and this one is not even out yet! Every single one of the main characters has so much depth, character development and flaws that it was impossible to not love them all and hate them all when they made less then great, but very human choices. I loved the entire idea of powers coming from metals and this story executed it so flawlessly! The world building is fantastic and the pace is just right! It has some fantastic banter dialog and follows some common tropes like enemies to lovers but in a new refreshing way. This is a book I will not stop talking about for a while!

Looking back on this entire story, I'm surprised at how much world-building the author fit into it without it feeling forced. Like, I now have an idea of their magic system, their political system, the feel of the world, without there ever having been sections of the book where I, as a reader, thought, "Ah yes, here's that break from the story to fill me in on how this world works." I also really appreciated the fluid writing style, sometimes straight to the point, sometimes very funny, and sometimes nearly poetic.

I liked how the characters were fleshed out. I empathized with Tal and his struggle with faith. I felt like I should like Nyx more than I did, but her character was a little too...abrasive? overly violent?...for me to really like her. I did like Helenia - a sweetheart, but strong. The Destroyer was a very complex character and it was interesting and kind of heart-breaking to watch her story play out.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and I think further stories in this world would be interesting, although I understand that so far, the author plans for this to be a stand-alone novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fantasy super-fan, this is what I like to see! A great plot, great characters, great writing! Don’t be put off by the cover, this is an amazing story that kept me at the edge of my seat and reading all the way through. Brilliant, Naomi Hughes! Brilliant!

Many thanks to NetGalley, IBPA and the author for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I picked MERCURIAL simply because I love this genre. I have been deeply entrenched in stories of fantasy, rebellions and romance the past few months, so this story just checked all the boxes! Also, I love the cover art!

THE STORY:

MERCURIAL is centred around three main characters: the Destroyer; her bodyguard, Tal; and Tal's sister, Nyx. Tal swears a super-strong oath to protect the fearsome Destroyer because his God asks him to in a vision. But the kind and gentle Tal soon regrets it when he gets front row seats to every horrible thing the Destroyer does. Meanwhile, Nyx is dead-set on getting her brother back, so she trains to be a badass rebel assassin.


Then two years later, these three cross paths when Nyx tries to assassinate the Destroyer. The Destroyer ends up with her memories wiped out and her powers go poof! Tal is left with Elodie, the girl who's the Destroyer but she's not. LOL! Now Tal has to figure out what exactly he feels towards Elodie AND keep his sister from killing this memory-less version of the Destroyer! Trust me, this story is just starting!

THE CHARACTERS:

I think it is fair to say that Elodie and Nyx are antiheroines. And OH MY GOD I LOVE IT! I love this story mostly because the gals take on stronger, more powerful roles than the hero, and it. Is. So. Refreshing!

Tal was such a sweetheart and my heart goes out to this fella who is trying to figure out himself, his God, his life's purpose and how to keep his sister from the girl he might like.

Elodie is by far my favourite character, whether she's being the Destroyer or not. I love her twisted relationship with her sister, the Iron Empress, and her journey throughout the book just kept me on my toes the whole time.

Now, Nyx is a super badass character... but she can be so stubborn that it kept getting on my nerves! Going deeper into the book, I started to understand a lot more about her and she grew on me, she really did, but I just can't forgive her for some of the things she did. Also, I wish there had been more scenes with Nyx and Helenia; they're such a cute couple and I love their dynamic!

THE PLOT:

How can I even talk about the plot without spewing spoilers? I don't know but let me try!

The plot was deceptively more complicated than I could have ever imagined! Some really well-placed plot twists were just chef's kiss! I cannot stress enough how well-structured this story was!

Also, I love how Hughes took the time to explore the main characters' backgrounds and help us understand their actions, even the fearful Destroyer. This did slow down the story in the beginning but I think it adds the crucial bits to the characterisation that really gets the story going later.

And that last few chapters! I cannot describe the suspense without swearing a bit, so that's how good it was. I had to keep taking breaks because I felt like I was living the story! However, I was left in almost tears when I finished the last bit because I just wanted more! (P.S. Hughes did announce on her Twitter that she'll be releasing a short story set 15 years later AND I WANNA SCREAM!)

THE WORLD-BUILDING:

MERCURIAL has such an interesting and unique magic system. I am just blown away by Hughes' concepts of metal magic! It. Is. So. Good! I wish I lived in the Alloyed Empire and had all these powers! It was pretty fun to try and guess what powers each metal magic might be!

The politics in MERCURIAL is another plus point. To my non-political mind, this story had a very good system of politics. It plays such an important role in the whole plot, so I was worried about plot holes popping up, but Hughes really nailed it! Everything just fell together flawlessly!

THE THEMES:

I wanna really talk about the spiritual themes in this book! Normally I wouldn't touch on a topic that can get controversial so fast, but I am so impressed by how Mercurial handled it. My favourite bit was about how interpreting scriptures doesn't mean taking them literally but looking at what is underneath all of it. This was also a reason why I love Helenia's character; I just loved her outlook on her religion.

MERCURIAL also discussed many other heavy themes, like family, love, and retribution. I love how Hughes tackled these themes.

Like when it comes to family, it wasn't about trying to live happily as a family, but more of what does family mean to you? Would you do so and so for your sister or brother?

Even love didn't necessarily mean a typical love story; there was a lot of soul-searching and self-reflection for both parties before much romance really happens.

FINAL VERDICT:

MERCURIAL is a definite five star read! I am just so happy I picked this book and it is one of my best reads this year! Definitely re-read worthy as well, so I'm gonna give this one another go later this year maybe. I am in love with this whole book! How did Naomi Hughes write this perfection?!?