Metal Slinger (Fire & Metal)

This book completely blew me away. I loved every single character—not just the FMC and MMC, but the side characters too, which is rare. In a first book, side characters can feel flat while the focus is on world-building, but that definitely wasn’t the case here. The romantic tension between the FMC and MMC was so good—seriously addictive. The plot itself felt pretty straightforward at first, and the world-building was easy to follow. It even gave me Heartless Hunter / Wolf King vibes… until the last 20 pages. And wow—those final pages. I usually spot plot twists coming, and I thought this one was going to be predictable, but I was completely wrong. That ending genuinely shocked me—I haven’t had that reaction to a book in a long time. I’m already counting down to book two (and that teaser chapter? Absolutely brutal). Just read it. You won’t regret it.

I DEVOURED this book. I was in a huge slump after reading a horrible series right before this but after 3 pages of this book, I was hooked. I read the whole book in 2 days. I think the author did an amazing job at writing an engaging story with an amazing twist at the end. I know many readers feel betrayed by the twist and find the narrator to be unreliable but I feel that the twist was done in a great unsuspecting way. Though I do feel betrayed, I think there is so much room for redemption in the second book! The author also did an amazing job at world/character building. She was able to do so without interrupting the story which is one of my huge pet peeves. A lot of authors build by taking breaks in the plot or dialogue which I find choppy and disengaging but this author was able to build in an engaging way. There was some lack of world/character building but I think that was due to keeping reader in the dark. The world, politics, and characters were all very easy to understand. I found the romance a little lackluster and a bit off-kilter. Some of it was really pushy and rushed which left a bad taste in my mouth. I do hope the author delves deeper into the romance in coming books. The FMC was a breath of fresh air. She was not whiny or stuck-up like most books. She was never afraid to accept help from others but she was still able to shine with her intelligence. Not once did I think she made a poor decision just for the sake of a plot point. She was really easy to like. The MMC could use some work but I think that will happen more in coming books. This is a MUST read, my only advice would be to wait until it is a finished series!

From the very first chapter, Metal Slinger hooked me and refused to let go. Set in a brutal, metal-bound world where power is carved from steel and survival depends on strength, strategy, and sheer will, this story follows a young woman forced into a dangerous system where control over metal isn’t just magic — it’s dominance, protection, and rebellion. When she’s pulled into escalating conflict and shifting alliances, she quickly learns that power always comes with a cost. The magic system is sharp and immersive without being overwhelming. The way metal manipulation is woven into combat and politics makes every confrontation feel cinematic and high-stakes. It’s gritty, tense, and beautifully layered. The Brynn, our FMC absolutely shines. She’s fierce but not untouchable, resilient without feeling unrealistic. Watching her navigate betrayal, survival, and the slow awakening of her own strength felt earned every step of the way. There’s grit in her fight scenes and vulnerability in her quieter moments that make her deeply human. And the tension? Immaculate. The chemistry simmers under the surface before sparking into something electric. Every reluctant alliance, every charged interaction, every moment of “are they about to destroy each other or kiss?” had me flying through pages. The pacing is relentless — no filler, no wasted scenes. Twists land hard. Stakes keep climbing. And that ending? Absolutely feral. The kind that leaves you staring at the wall for a minute before immediately checking when book two releases. ✨ Gritty metal-based magic ⚔️ High-stakes survival 🔥 Slow-burn tension 🖤 Fierce, layered heroine 💥 A finale that HITS (but cliffhanger!) This is one of those fantasies that reminds you why you fell in love with the genre in the first place. If this is just Book One, I am more than ready to be emotionally wrecked again in the sequel.

While I’ve read some amazing books this year, it’s been awhile since I have completely devoured a book in less than 24 hours. This book was one I truly could not put down. I couldn’t fall asleep because I didn’t want to stop reading what happened next. The way this book starts is one of my absolute favorite ways to fall into a story - with no preamble and immediate conspiring amongst characters. Brynn has quickly become one of my new favorite FMCs. She is just so REAL. No whining or blaming her situation on everyone and everything else. She accepts her role in the world, but also holds a fierce determination to know the truth of that world. She is brave, yet terrified. Strong, yet self-conscious. She is cunning and intelligent and she doesn’t shy away from what is hard or allow emotion to overcome logic. I feel like she’s such a relatable character in everything that happens to her. Then we have Kai…our commander and son of the leader. He’s got secrets. Big ones. And the amount of times my feelings for him flipped in this book is insane. I’m still honestly reeling… Acker, my man…he’s mysterious, yet he doesn’t pull his punches. He’s loyal to a fault. He feels things deeply and he is fervent in his beliefs and desires. I adore him and yet want to shake him for the way he goes about making decisions and only sharing half truths. And right now my heart is aching for him and also terrified of him. When I say I need book 2 like I need water, that’s an understatement. I don’t have space to discuss every side character, but just know that I love them deeply and they each have big personalities of their own. The miscommunication honestly feels more like a necessity and less of a trope. The MCs don’t truly know one another, so of course there’s hesitancy to share everything with a stranger who has been somewhat forced upon you due to the situation you’ve both found yourself in. But it also is refreshing to watch them both learn to trust and communicate more and more as they go. The world building was exciting and unique - unlike anything I’ve read before. The kingdoms and their systems and the unique magics all create this setting that is utterly perfect. I never felt confused, but could easily envision everything as it was explained in detail. The slow burn and spice was paced so perfectly and realistically that it never felt weird or forced or annoying. It unfolds the way most normal relationships would (minus the magic and fantasy aspects). I truly cheered for our MCs and loved the way they finally came together. This story takes all the tropes we know and love and twists them into something unique and entirely different than all the other stories we’ve grown used to. And when I tell you that you will NEVER see the plot twists coming, HOLY SMOKES BATMAN! And the last 2 chapters took me ALL THE WAY OUT. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be okay after that. I almost want to go back to chapter 55 and pretend the rest didn’t happen…but of course I can’t do that and now I’ll just be dying a little inside every day until I get my hands on book two! If you enjoy fantasy or romantasy, this has to be your next read. All the rest can wait. Grab your copy YESTERDAY.

This is fantasy romance at its finest, and I couldn’t put it down from the moment I started. Packed with classic romantasy tropes that are done so well, especially my favorite: fated mates! The world-building is both easy to digest and detailed enough to feel immersive. It strikes the perfect balance—not too vague but never overwhelming. The world is divided between several groups of people, and the story revolves around the Alaha, who live on the water, and the Kenta, who reside on land. For centuries, these two factions have maintained a fragile peace, but things take a sharp turn when our FMC, Brynn, threatens that peace right at the beginning of the book. What follows is a thrilling dive into a world of magic, rebellion, and secrets. I will say no more, because you should go into this book relatively blind to get the full experience. Brynn, our FMC, is everything you could want in a lead. She’s smart, confident, and refuses to bow to threats. Then there’s the MMC, Acker. Scrumptious doesn’t even begin to cover it. The chemistry between him and Brynn is electric, and their dynamic had me grinning (and swooning) throughout. This book has all the best romantasy tropes: forced proximity, slowest of slow burns, elemental magic, fated mates (done right), political intrigue, and plot twists you will not see coming! Each trope is executed masterfully, blending seamlessly into the story without feeling overdone. If these are your jam, you’ll absolutely love this book. Even if they are not usually your cup of tea, this book may change your mind. While the pacing is fast and gripping overall, it does have a bit of a lull in the middle. That said, the ending more than made up for it—it left me gasping and desperate for the next book. I think I said aloud, “What the hell just happened?” when I finished the last page. This book grabbed me by the neck and didn’t let go. It’s full of banter, twisty turns, and a delicious tension. Probably one of my favorite fantasy reads this year. I am going to be thinking about this book non-stop until book 2 is released!

I adored the side characters and found them a lot more compelling than Jovie and Acker, if I’m being honest. I really wanted to like her but I found myself getting frustrated by her lack of, I don’t know, real rage for any of the crap people pull on her. Like ok I get this is romantasy but I have a hard time really believing you’re actually as upset at this guy as you claim to be when two minutes later you’re letting this dude shove his tongue down your throat. Additionally, an early running theme is that Jovie is frustrated that there are a bunch of people deciding things for her but the existence of the whole “matched/bond” thing makes much of her autonomy a moot point. Like at one point I think Acker even points out that them getting into bed together is a “foregone conclusion” and someone else mentions that the other matched pairs that don’t end up together ended up literally destroying each other. No pressure. I was a lot more interested in the characterization of Messer, Beau, and Hallis. I knew I was going to be exasperated consistently by this girl when she let Mr. Murder Hottie treat Messer like a war criminal after he almost got himself spatchcocked for them by a mighty-morphing radical with an attitude problem. If my homie went through the battle blender like that for me after I found out he had been secretly protecting me and keeping me company for weeks/months, I would be doing A LOT MORE than standing around trying to figure out if I actually thought he was my friend while Captain Boy Toy did some light torture on him. Also Acker, my dude, if you can still find it in your heart and your loins to get riled up while your sister is having a breakdown in the room over…I don’t know, seek help I guess. I liked the juxtaposition of Beau’s bravado and her militaristic delivery of information to her brother showing she can turn on a dime when needed. Adding the mental toll her gift takes on her throughout time and how she has self destructive coping mechanisms really gave her some cool depth, and I appreciated the vulnerability it lent her. Hallis was a weird character for me at first but I ended up looking forward to his dialogue a lot. Initially, I didn’t care for the way he seemed to immediately just be a real jerk to Jovie and it didn’t often read as playful to me when I think it sometimes meant to. Regardless, his genuine care for Beau and Acker and how he dropped the act immediately when they really needed him made him pretty endearing and I always appreciate a grump who cares. Honestly everything about this book was an A+ for me aside from the two main characters’ dynamic. When Jovie gets pissed at those bats and obliterates a forest? A+ When she tells Acker that she saw the signs that Messer was getting abused and acknowledged she felt shame and that she couldn’t fault him for being complicit in her mistreatment since she had done the same? A+ When she’s sitting there and coming to terms with the fact that everything she knows has been built on lies as she’s flipping through her sketchbook? A++ The writing and setting is great and the book is good, but someone needs to give Jovie a big stick and tell her it’s okay to be mad and smack people with it even if they’re hot.

Oh my stars!!! 🤯 he falls first and he falls hard, enemies to lovers, fated mates. Every characters are lovable. There's action, magic, one horse 🤭 and a plot twist that keep on twisting. Oh and a bad ass FMC! Loved it!

Ok, I had to process almost a whole 24 hours before I could write this review. And long story short, did I enjoy the book, yes. Does it have a lot of interesting and good parts to it? Also yes. But does it also have some major flaws? Absolutely. Now I'm not gonna break down every single little thing in this book. But here are the basics of what I liked, and what I didn't like. The good? I liked the characters. They intrigued me off the bad. The world building is pretty decent. It's a little confusing in the beginning, but information is slowly doled out, and some questions are answered. I found that there was a lot of little twists and turns that kept the story engaging. The magic system is intriguing. But, there are quite a few things off for me. First off, we have another story that has heavy inspirations from other books. There are a lot of aspects in this story that felt directly pulled from throne of glass. And the big twist at the end? Was almost verbatim the same ending as the book how does it feel. As soon as I read it I was like hold up, I literally just read almost this same thing when I read how does it feel when it released like a year or year and a half ago. Now I know no concepts are really new anymore, and inspiration comes for everywhere. But I feel like most stories it's like, oh this book has these vibes, or if you liked this book you'd like this one that's similar. But this reminds me of powerless in where there are like exact plots and plot points taken from other things. Now is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. I still enjoyed powerless, and I still enjoyed this story. But it does throw me. There are also a few red flags that the MMC Acker gave me that were not the good kind of red flags we love. First, when they are riding thru the city and people throw stuff at the FMC and he does nothing? Red flag. When they meet his dad and they demand she vows not only to the king but to the MMC? Red flag. All the secrets he keeps? Red flag. When he SLAPS HER IN THE END? Red flag. I'm not sure how I really feel about him. In the end. This was still an enjoyable read. I did like it and I am curious about the next book. But I am wary about some of the plot points and the MMC.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.8/5 Spice: 🌶️🌶️ she's gonna build for sure KU: nope but spend the $ I need to preface this by saying I ALWAYS see the plot twist coming, or I google ending because I must know. I had seen that this book was marked to have the plot twists of all plot twists so of course naturally I googled to see what it was. I was then unimpressed by what I'd found thinking that's not that big of a plot twist. That it seemed pretty predictable and I was unsure how so many people were so shocked. So I went on reading completely invested in the story but feeling like I knew what was coming. It turns out what I read was not the true plot twist, there are a few, but the main one I DID not read about and it hit me like a Mack truck. My jaw hit the floor. I HAD NO IDEA. If anyone who's read it saw it coming let me know (spoiler free) am I just naive or was it really that good? I don't even know how to describe this book. Enemies to lovers, pirate ish energy, elemental magic style, political climate, fantasy world, fated bonds, found family, amnesia trope, me wanting to punch main characters in the face for their miscommunication and a smart mouthed deadly MMC with a bookish, orphaned FMC. Count Me In. I've been struggling with fantasy books for a while and it took me a while to get full hooked in but once I was there was no turning back. In my mind it's absolutely worth the hype, the vibes were immaculate and I was happily along for my delulu ride. The cliff hanger destroyed me as expected but what's a good fantasy story without a devastating cliffhanger. Thankfully LJ Andrews prepared me well through the Broken Kingdoms and Ever Seas. Can't wait for the book hangover to hit me tomorrow 💙🫠Please no spoilers people deserve to experience it!! 🫠💙

ow, wow, WOW!!! What a book! I went into this knowing that it had an insane plot twist and even when I was looking for it on every single page I still did not see that one coming!!! This book is nothing but jaw dropping, goose pimpling, page turning fun! I loved every little thing about this book, the magic system, the history, the characters, the fated mates, the banter, the happy and the sad parts!!! Even the spice had meaning! The FMC is badass, and the MMC is everything I want in a fictional man he’s powerful, protective, patient and they honestly just fit so well together! This book and these characters are my new Roman Empire and I’m so so glad I’m late to the party so I don’t have to wait as long for the second book…I mean I need it now, but I’ll settle for reading this one all over again!! 😂😂

That ending, that freaking ending !!!!!!! I haven’t read a book like this never before!!! I need book 2 now!!!!

This was the first book I‘ve read in 2025 and I already know - this will be one of my favorites from this year. It was sooo good! It gripped me from beginning to end (what.an.ending.that.was!! 😱) and delivered with a very unique setting without being overwhelming. The plot was super interesting and always kept me wondering what would happen next. I‘m not going to dive deeper into the plot, because I would strongly advise going into this not knowing too much and just let the journey surprise you. When it comes the the MCs, I really liked them both. The FMC is smart and had some real bad@ss moments 💅🏻 The MMC Acker has a touch her and 💀attitude, is morally grey and has a fricking nose ring 🫠 And if that wasn’t enough, he falls first and is known for being ruthless af 🖤 I was talking to myself while reading the last two chapters 🫣 Like, WHAT.DO.YOU.MEAN??😭😭 Rachel Schneider is a mastermind of twists and revelations and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book.

The way that the ending of this book SHATTERED my heart. The beginning of the book wasn’t absolutely gripping, but it was good enough that I had no issue reading more. I enjoyed the characters and the journey they experienced, though I did find it got a little slow towards 3/4 of the way through the book. AND THEN the last few chapters…good lord. The ending of this book MADE the book. I felt betrayed, broken-hearted, surprised and honestly had no words. I would definitely recommend this book as a book that doesn’t follow the typical, predictable plot of a lot of other popular fantasy books right now, where they have a lovely, happy ending. It was definitely unpredictable, and I will definitely be returning for a sequel!!