My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Metal Slinger (Fire & Metal, #1)

Author: Rachel Schneider

Format: borrowed (KU)

Pages: 497

Publication Date: 5/12/24

Categories: Romantasy, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers

Brynn has spent the better part of her life waiting for the chance to attend the annual market hosted by the Kenta, the very same people who exiled the Alaha to live a life over the sea. A rite of passage for all young guards, she’s not sure what to expect from it, but breaking a century- long peace treaty certainly isn’t on her map.

Neither is the encounter with an enemy soldier.

Returning home to Alaha, she’s confronted with the aftermath of the day’s events. The future is uncertain as the threat of hunger looms over the people. With rumors of a growing rebellion, Brynn and her closest friends promise to stick together.

When an unexpected visitor arrives, Brynn’s loyalty will be tested as she learns of a world of magic and treachery. Once her enemy, always her enemy, right? But the dark, knowing eyes of a stranger make her question everything…

…including her heart.

Content Warning: violence

I’ve been seeing this book on booktok but saw it Kindle Unlimited before – I heard that a traditional publisher was picking this book up so I downloaded to see what the hype was about.

+ The beginning was good and I was definitely hooked. I was intrigued by these group of people who have been exiled from land. In Alaha, their home is an island without land. So I thought that was really interesting! Brynn is training to be a guard and is almost finished. To top it off, her best friend, Kai, who is also the son of the leader of their people, wants to marry her. All should be good until something happens that puts their people in danger of starvation.

+ The magic system is interesting. People have elemental magic. But you need land to activate and use magic.

+ Brynn seems like a strong and beautiful female. She’s good with a sword and as the story moves on we find out things about her past like she has magic and that her family is still alive. Without spoiling the story because there is a plot twist that changes what I think about Brynn/Jovi, let’s just say she is unexpected.

+ Brynn has crushed on Kai since they were young so that’s a friends to lovers match there. But then she meets Acker. He is the typical dark haired, hot, mysterious, guy who embodies danger and all that (he’s good at killing)…and he has metal magic. He also fills the gaps of her missing memories about her childhood because he knew her as Jovi. They get to know one another and there is desire between them. I thought they fell too fast for one another but I blamed it on the bond they have. There are some spicy scenes between them.

~ There is a lull in the middle of this book. For awhile, Brynn/Jovi and Acker is floating in the middle of the ocean trying to find land. They get to know each other but not much is happening. Even when they get to land, I don’t feel like the world-building was strong. There are kingdoms with a fragile peace treaty and Acker and Jovi being on these lands trying to get to Kenta (Acker’s kingdom), threatens the peace. But I wanted to know more about these kingdoms.

~ I liked Acker and Jovi’s growing relationship but I did feel something was missing because it was moving so fast. Did she really just dismiss her feelings for Kai so suddenly? Acker fell fast and hard for her too. I wanted build-up, but because they are Matched and have a bond, so it’s undeniable? I wanted more of an emotional connection but I wasn’t feeling it.

~ The plot twist. This is what all the hype is about with this book…so let’s talk about it. It comes with a sudden flashback at the end of the book during a build to a climactic moment but though I felt stunned, it felt kinda off, and I was confused. The way it’s executed means a lot of things happens off page, and we, the reader don’t get that information. It also paints Jovi in a very different light than how I saw her throughout the book – which is the goal, I guess? But it leaves me with SO many questions that won’t be answered until the next book or not? We shall see, maybe now I don’t trust the author since she didn’t trust me?😅 Throughout this whole book there is no show of motivation for her to do what she did at the end – it’s a whole secret until then, she’s lying the whole time. And fine, I don’t mind being lied to for shock value, but make it make sense. I like a good unreliable narrator but Brynn/Jovi is not that, doesn’t even give us a hint that she’s unreliable. The were just a few indications that did give me pause in the book and maybe foreshadowed this was going to happen – I questioned how fast she fell for Acker but chalked it up to insta-love and also, wondered why with her at the border of her kingdom, she wouldn’t go right away and see the mom she hasn’t seen in forever.

Final Thoughts:

If you are a high-fantasy reader, go into this one with low expectations. If you love romantasy and all the usual tropes, you will enjoy this one. You kind of have to go with the flow with this one and not think too hard on connecting dots. I was half and half on this one. I knew it was a romantasy with a lot of hype – so I wanted to see what the hype and plot twist was about. The plot twist had potential but I did not like how it was executed. I did like the beginning when the story is set with the characters, and the world of Alaha, but then there is a lull in the middle as our main characters are floating on the sea trying to find land. Pacing wise, this felt choppy. I had to re-read some parts a few times in the book because I felt like I missed something.

Will I read book two? Yes, I think I will read it because I want to see what happens to Brynn/Jovi and Acker after that wild ending. There is a snippet at the end of the ebook for book two, and it looks like it takes place after a few years have passed, so I think that’s interesting. But when I read book two I will go in with trust issues. 😅

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