Episode Title: Quicksilver — Chapters 1–14

Description: The Roundtable dives headfirst into the desert dust, frostbitten fae courts, molten magic, and very questionable “danger kissing” as we begin Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Amanda enters blind, Rick and Kim enter feral, and by chapter fourteen we have foxes, shadow smoke, blood oaths, and enough teeth-baring to make SJM file a copyright claim.

Highlights include:

• The Willow Tree Incident, Part II:

Amanda retells how her engagement photos turned into an impromptu From Blood and Ash soup-scene confession. The photographer now knows more about vampire sex under trees than she ever asked for.

• The New Hotness Era:

The pod is chasing Brimstone’s release, mimosas are flowing, and the Night & the Moth episode view counts go head-to-head with Enchantra. Democracy wins, but chaos reigns.

• Saris “Book Girly” Fain:

We meet our desert thief heroine, who immediately breaks into a fantasy REI store for a golden gauntlet she absolutely should not steal. She melts metal, scales walls, stabs guardians, and survives being shish-kabobbed by the queen’s hit squad. Elite behavior.

• Queen Madra, Immortal Menace:

She’s beautiful, she’s unhinged, and she casually threatens genocide five minutes into meeting Saris. The vibes are “evil fae dictator meets Renaissance Faire bridezilla.”

• Death Himself Arrives:

A sword is pulled from a floor. A quicksilver pool erupts. A shirtless, furious, metallic shadow creature rises like a romance-novel Dwayne Johnson. The pod unanimously agrees: Death is hot.

• Welcome to Yvelia:

Saris wakes up in a winter wonderland full of beautiful fae, political trauma, an oracle who is definitely faking visions for fun, and a librarian who is essentially Jewish Grandpa Fae.

• Kingfisher, Our Grumpy Shadow Daddy:

He’s 1,733 years old, bitter, blood-stained, and allergic to shirts. He calls Saris a butterfly that dies in one day, which is both rude and scientifically confusing. The name Kingfisher remains universally hated.

• Sexual Tension Level: Hard Cheese:

The infamous “Swallow” moment arrives. Saris nearly dies on cheese because she’s too flustered to function. Everlane barges in demanding to know why the room smells like a brothel. The pod screams.

• The Fox Named Onyx:

He latches onto Saris. Kingfisher threatens to make him a hat. Rick takes offense. Amanda calls him a “hell b****.” Honestly perfect.

• The Kiss That Was Way Too Soon:

Saris straddles Kingfisher in the forge in a moment that is equal parts trauma response, quicksilver magic, and poor judgment. Kim reminds everyone that danger-f***ing is not healthy behavior.

• The Blood Oath Disaster:

Saris tries to flee through the Silver Sea, but Kingfisher catches her, tackles her, and drops the bomb that she stole his fakerelic. He bargains for her cooperation, nearly dies retrieving her “brother,” and shows up with… Kherion Swift, Rick’s problematic fave and smuggler-boy Lando/Han Solo hybrid.

• The Fine Print:

Saris accidentally vows to help Kingfisher “in any way he asks,” which is how she ends up on a horse in the snow with a fox, an unconscious smuggler, and a fae man who thinks threats count as flirting.

Recurring Themes:

• Shadow Daddy Energy Level: Very High
• Teeth-Baring Moments: Too Many
• Trauma Responses Mistaken for Romance: Ongoing
• Kherion Swift Hype: Rick Only
• Pronunciation Guide Rage: Amanda Only
• Snow vs Desert Worldbuilding: Actually Excellent
• American Girl Doll Silver Eye Discourse: Surprisingly Important

Predictions (Amanda-Only Zone):

Saris is definitely an alchemist, maybe part fae, definitely part chaos. Kingfisher is obviously the love interest unless this book tries to do a Tamlin Switcheroo. Kherion will cause trouble. Hayden’s identity is questionable. And something very wrong is going on with those quicksilver pathways.

What Else We’re Reading:

Rick just finished Mistborn (“objectively good, not fun”).

Amanda is emotionally destroyed by Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere.

Kim is finishing Crest City after a Quaker-travel-induced reading drought.

CTA:

Tell us your thoughts on Chapters 1–14. Are you Team Shadow Daddy, Team Smuggler Boy, or Team Fox? Email romantasyroundtablegmail.com, drop a comment on BookTok, or send us your favorite cursed fae nicknames.