An excellent continuation of THE OBSIDIAN TOWER, THE QUICKSILVER COURT picks up where we last left off and weaves a tale of intrigue and power as our characters face new magic in this sprawling tale of demons and mages.

This is the prefect read for any fantasy fan! I absolutely loved the world that Melissa Caruso created and fell in love with her characters. I have never been so involved with a read and cannot wait to share with all of my friends!

With her Swords and Fire trilogy, Melissa Caruso quickly became one of my read-sight-unseen authors, and the start of her new Rooks and Ruins saga, The Obsidian Tower, happily propelled me into a new adventure set in the same world. In that first book I enjoyed discovering her new central character, Ryx, whose “broken” magic kept her from any kind of human contact because her touch drains any kind of living energy: at the end of The Obsidian Tower, Ryx had been accepted in the found family of the Rookery, a group of secret agents of sorts, dedicated to fighting unruly magic use, but had also unwittingly allowed the escape of some demons so far locked up in the prison guarded by Ryx’s ancestral home of Gloaminguard.

As The Quicksilver Court starts, the already tense situation caused by the demonic escape heightened the political turmoil between the long-time opponents of Raverra and Vaskandar, and the Rookery is tasked with the mission of finding a terribly powerful artifact that could be hidden in a realm where politics are a quite slippery affair and every move could lead to disaster. As Ryx and her friends try to deal with the delicate situation, they are made aware that the escaped demons are further complicating the already knotty circumstances and that the Summer Palace in the realm of Loreice might prove a deadly trap. I don’t want to share more of the story because The Quicksilver Court offers such an almost unending stream of surprises, revelations and twists that to anticipate even the smallest of them would be very unfair to potential readers.

Plot-wise, the backbone of this story feels like one of those escape games where the players must find their way out in a constantly changing maze where unexpected dangers lurk, and no one can anticipate what awaits around the next (usually dark) corner: the overall effect is quite sinister, conferring to the novel a suffocating sense of impending doom that’s made even more ominous by the contrast with the chiseled beauty of the setting and the elegance of the denizens of Loreice’s Summer Palace, a place where fashion is used as a political statement. Faced with a set of equally impossible choices, the Rookery needs to deal with terribly high stakes that end up transcending the “merely” political and move over the treacherous and apparently invincible terrain of demonic power.

Indeed, Ryx and the Rookery are put to the test in the most harrowing ways imaginable, which brings the revelation of many long-held secrets that might fracture their bond, and as far as Ryx herself is concerned those revelations bring forth a discovery that affects both her past and her future: to say that I was completely floored by this epiphany would be a huge understatement and at the same time I’m eager to see how this will affect her involvement in the Rookery for the next book.

The trials our protagonists are put through offer however a powerful way of expanding their characters and showing us more of their personalities and their past: there are some heartbreaking moments in which I felt for them deeply, because so far Melissa Caruso had presented them in a light-hearted fashion, even when they were facing difficult circumstances and almost-impossible tasks - the affectionate banter between them was one of the delights of the story, and seeing them so exposed and deeply wounded was difficult and painful to bear. And yet, nothing brings characters into sharper relief than pushing them to the limits of their endurance, and seeing what they are truly made of: all of the Rookery members came through with flying colors, their inner dynamics certainly changed but in an interesting way that promises intriguing developments for the future.

As for Ryx, if I felt great empathy for her in the previous book, here she had my total admiration because she showed once and for all that despite the cruel drawbacks life heaped on her she has grown into a strong, determined individual who is unwilling to sacrifice her personal integrity, no matter the cost. For someone who was forced to live a sheltered life, she keeps showing a degree of flexibility and strength in the face of adversity that promise to turn her into a formidable person whose unbreakable core of humanity can temper any negative influence she might suffer.

Once again Melissa Caruso confutes the notion that the middle book of a trilogy is usually the flimsy one: with The Quicksilver Court she considerably raised the stakes in a narrative background that was already delightfully complicated, all the while adding intriguing facets to her characters and their internal relationships. My expectations for the final installment in the Rooks and Ruins trilogy (and for her future production) are quite high and I know they will not be disappointed.

All I have to do is just wait…

In this sequel to the exciting Obsidian Tower, Ryxander and her new friends, who make up the special ops group "the Rookery" travel with the atheling Severin to a neighboring court to save the world from the demons they unleashed in the last book. As soon as they enter the palace, they become embroiled in the schemes and machinations of the demons and the human courtiers. They uncover some of each other's pasts, learn more about the different natures of the demons, and reveal a surprising secret about Ryxander herself. The pace is fast and the plot is well-woven. Compared to some of the books I've read recently, the plot and characters' actions make sense and are easy to believe. There's a sweet romance, too. It's delightful and exciting.

There were two things I particularly loved about *The Obsidian Tower*. One was that the thing that everyone was saying Must Never Happen (opening the magically sealed door in the titular Obsidian Tower) didn’t happen at the climax of the story - it happened at the beginning, and the book was about dealing with the fallout rather than an “it’s obvious where things are going, the only question is how we get there” kind of thing. The other was the *incredibly* likable protagonist, Ryx.

I’m happy to say that we get plenty more of both things in book 2.

For reasons that are obvious to everyone who read book 1, Ryx isn’t staying at home with her grandmother any more. She’s off with the Rookery, and they get a job that takes them to a Versailles-like palace complex in the neighboring empire. The lion’s share of the story takes place within the confines of this palace and its grounds.

I can’t say too much about the plot without spoiling things, but as the story plays out we learn a great deal about the Demons (surprise, surprise, but there’s more than just Discord and Hunger about). We learn a lot about Ryx’s personal history, and we learn more about her “broken” magic. And we get development of her relationship with Severin.

And there are DEVELOPMENTS. Oh boy, are there ever DEVELOPMENTS. And once again, what could have been a climactic reveal is instead revealed to the reader early (not quite as early as the opening of the door in book 1, but still early). And we get an entire book dealing with the consequences.

Overall, an excellent follow-up that left me anxious for book 3. Strongly recommended.

The second novel in Melissa Caruso’s Rooks and Ruin trilogy picks up right where the first book left off and at a dead run at that. Between a change in setting, stakes and complications elevated to the point where many problems faced by Ryxander and friends in the first novel pale in comparison, and compelling character work on all fronts making you care deeply about the cast, The Quicksilver Court captivated me from start to finish.

If you’re a fan of adult fantasy and enjoy…
-An LGBTQIA+ cast—protagonist Ryxander is bi, and there’s a sapphic relationship between two secondary characters, a nonbinary side character, and a bi and polyamorous side character
-Layered political intrigue with several factions at play
-Characters who rely on diplomacy instead of violence—even if they are possessed of potent corrupted death magic
-Women being badass in a variety of different ways
-Demons and dark magic and mystery in every corner
-Broody, traumatized love interests
-Found families composed mostly of queer misfits
-Favourite fantasy tropes and archetypes but executed really REALLY well

Then you should definitely be checking out this series! I highly recommend it and consider it one of my underrated faves of 2021 and overall.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

The Quicksilver Court by Melissa Caruso is the second in the fantasy/sci-fi Rooks and Ruin Trilogy.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Orbit Books (and in particular Angela Man) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Information:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
In a world where the magical and non-magical people live together, demons are now roaming the earth due to Ryxander inadvertently unsealing the Obsidian Tower. Her magic is "broken", but she has recently discovered that a "jess" on her arm will allow her to touch other people without killing them.  Her Grandmother is now not only a Witch Lord  (Lady of Owls), but the Demon of Discord, and has kicked Ryx out of Gloamingard, the only home Ryx has ever known.  Ryx has joined the agents of the Rookery.  Although the Rookery usually deal with accidents caused by old magical artifacts, they are now dealing with the demons. Among her new friends are Ashe, Kessa, Bastian,  and Foxglove.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Ryx is trying to figure out how to save the domain of Morgrain, and of course Gloamingard.  She also wants to save her grandmother who is now fused with a demon.   While the Rookery stands with her, their main job is to try to find a way to defeat the demon within her grandmother.  Unfortunately, the Serene Empire has decided not to help Morgrain, and instead plans to attack, and to kill Ryx's grandmother.

Meanwhile, there is chaos on other domains as well.  Raverra is having problems within it's Council and the Zenith society and their alliance with the Demon of Hunger (Aurelio).  Eruvia is trying to get a Conclave together but also having problems.

When it is learned that a powerful magic weapon is out there, everyone is on the hunt.  The Rookery heads to the Summer Palace, where they encounter more trouble than they anticipated. Severin, heir to the Shrike Lord, rather unwillingly joins them in their search. They will all have to face their fears, as more than just the Demon of Hunger awaits.


My Opinions:   
Well, the world and character building that the author created in the previous book continues in this one.  It is a complex world, with many characters, some human, some demonic, and then there are the beasts.  Although done very well, it is still a complicated scenario, and initially difficult to keep track of who is in which domain, or empire, or world....okay, I'm being a little facetious, but between the "Council of Nines", the "Conclave", the Witch Lords, the Empires....sometimes it was a little much.

As well, the length of this book is a little off-putting, but that being said, there isn't a word I would want to strike!

One of the main topics of the book delved into looking inside yourself, to find the true you.  It is about accepting what you find, both the good and the bad.   It is also accepting the faults of others, and letting the past go.  As well, it looked at secrets that are kept, and that often they are kept to protect someone.  Sometimes not.

I really like the characters (even some of the demons).  They all have depth, and even those that are not human are intriguing.  I think Whisper may be my favorite next to Ryx, but both Severin and Bastian are close thirds.

I can't wait for the next book in this trilogy!

The Quicksilver Court is the second book in Melissa Caruso's "Rooks and Ruin" fantasy trilogy, after last year's The Obsidian Tower (my review here). The trilogy takes place in the same universe (albeit 150 years later) as her Swords and Fire trilogy, whose second and third books I really really enjoyed, particularly more than that trilogy's first book (The Tethered Mage). I'd enjoyed The Obsidian Tower a bit, even though it was a bit less ambitious fantasy novel than its predecessor trilogy, and so was hoping this second novel in this trilogy would take a similar leap.

And well, The Quicksilver Court is a fun and solid fantasy novel, with an enjoyable lead protagonist and a solid plot that never drags, helped by Caruso's very solid prose and dialogue, which I've always tended to rip through very easily. At the same time, it doesn't really take that leap I'd hoped for, with the book relying upon a mid-book plot twist you'd see coming a mile away (if not a book away) and the secondary characters just don't quite match up to the prior trilogy's, which is a little disappointing. Still this is certainly an enjoyable read, and I will be back for the conclusion for sure.

Spoilers for book 1 are inevitable after the jump:

-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------
Ryx never thought she'd be away form Gloamingard, her home, for long. But then again, she never thought she'd open the Door either, or that it would release some of the nine Demons of legend back into the world...or that one such demon would merge with her grandmother, the Witch-Lord of Morgrain. So now she finds herself, alongside Severin, her fellow Vaskandar Atheling, working with the Rookery, a group of oddball fighters, spies, and scholars working to handle unknown magical threats on behalf of both Vaskandar and the Empire. And no magical threats are more important than the now-release demons like Discord...or the ominiously missing Hunger and his terrorist human allies, the Zenith Society.

And when the Rookery receives word that the Zenith Society has stolen a seemingly impossible to use but absolutely destructive weapon and taken it to the subordinate country of Loreice, the team departs for there at once, hoping to find out what the Zenith Society and Hunger are up to and stop them. But what they find there is a demonic presence far more dangerous than they imagined, one that must be impossible for them all to control...and that's before considering Ryx's friend, the "chimera" Whisper, now revealed to be one of the demons himself.

What the Rookery finds in Loreice will threaten to tear them all apart - and for Ryx, it will threaten to do far worse.......
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The Quicksilver Court's greatest strength is its strong prose and dialogue and its lead character in Ryx, who is a really enjoyable and likable heroine. In some ways, Ryx's life has actually changed for the better - she has companions she can call friends, a love interest in Severin who seems to return the affection (although both of them are too busy to really think much about it), and thanks to the Jess on her wrist, she can touch someone without her power going out of control and killing them....at least until she's unleashed and the Jess is knocked out by her own power. Of course that came about with all that she knew seemingly being torn out from under her - she accidentally unleashed demons onto the world, one of whom merged with her grandmother, another of which possessed a man she thought of as a friend and who turned out to be an enemy, and the friendly chimera she always trusted turned out to be yet another demon.

But Ryx is still who Ryx is, which is a person who wants to help make things better, even with her power being too dangerous to use - whether that be through diplomacy as it was in the old days or through other methods in alliance with the Rookery's various talents - Ashe's magical swords, Bastian's scholarship, Kessa's work as a spy, etc. And she has a lot of guilt towards her unleashing of the demons, so she's desperate to make up for it, all of which makes her an easy character to like as she grows throughout this book....and has to deal with further repercussions of her own power and the demons' mentalities.

The rest of the cast doesn't quite measure up to Ryx unfortunately - whereas two of the secondary characters from the first trilogy were incredibly fun, the side characters here are a bit more generic and less interesting, even as their own pasts and relationships become more important. They're fine and work well off Ryx, but I didn't really grow to care about them - and the same holds true of Ryx's love interest Severin who again is kind of boring and generic.

Fortunately, while the plot doesn't deal with any super interesting themes like the last trilogy, it works pretty well and is written highly effectively. The book relies on a mid-arc twist that any reader will have seen coming since the last book, but it works that twist in well enough, with the book dealing with the implications in a way that does surprise to some extent and doesn't so far shy away from those implications. And the ending is satisfying, even if it does throw in a last minute cliffhanger that almost feels lazy in how it pulls off another plot turn that everyone will see coming a mile away.

So yeah, this is a fun and solid fantasy novel, one that I enjoyed, but not one that ever really hits the level of greatness, and definitely seems a mark below the last trilogy by Caruso.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one, but overall it was still pretty good. The plot has some in holes in it and I found the writing lackluster but I still really like the characters.

Another wonderful magical adventure from Melissa Caruso! The surprise turn this one takes introduces a fabulous new set of pressures and complicated relationships. Tightly plotted and ever-exciting.

A tightly plotted, thrilling follow up to the Obsidian Tower - despite being almost 500 pages long, I devoured this in an evening. Stakes are raised, friendships are deepened, and more truths are uncovered in this well paced sequel.

Really enjoyed the first one of the series, but this missed a little bit of the mark for the second book. I think part of the problem is maybe that I read the first one as an ARC too, and it was a bit too long ago - I remember it being really clever, quick, and unexpected. It's been a while since I've gotten really into high fantasy as a genre, and Obsitian Tower blew me away. I think sometimes the problem with the second in a trilogy is it struggles to find its place after a killer first novel, and then has a lot of legwork to do waiting for the third.

Ryx is a great character, and there were still some really excellent twists in this book. The writing is really strong, and the way Caruso tells a story itself is top notch. Worth a read, and I'm excited for the next one, this one did its job of setting up my desire to find out what ends up happening!

still great (some sweet twists in there, too) but a little long for a sequel. Can't wait for the third one!