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Fire & Metal #2
Light Wielder
War rages, loyalties are tested, and love is more perilous than ever in this thrilling and eagerly awaited sequel to the breakout hit METAL SLINGER.
It’s been four years since Jovie betrayed Acker, fracturing their relationship. Her decision to take King Edmond’s magic, sparing his life at Acker’s request, has sparked a brutal war. The Kenta and Strou forces ally against the Roison and Alaha, with Maile perched dangerously on the edge of their battles.
Jovie is determined to keep the innocent Maile people from a conflict she helped start—even if it means suppressing the Matching Bond and sacrificing any hope of repairing her relationship with Acker. Yet, visions of him continue to haunt her dreams.
Acker is resigned to aid in his father’s war while in an arranged marriage with a wife who detests him. Though still pained by Jovie’s deception, he can’t stop his thoughts from turning to her. And Acker has found a way to slip into Jovie’s dreams despite her attempts to stifle the Matching Bond. There he watches her, torn between his loyalties and desire.
When he discovers the chilling reason behind the return of his father's magic, as well as Edmond’s dangerous new alliance, Acker must finally decide which war he wants to fight: the one for his king or the one for his heart.
It’s been four years since Jovie betrayed Acker, fracturing their relationship. Her decision to take King Edmond’s magic, sparing his life at Acker’s request, has sparked a brutal war. The Kenta and Strou forces ally against the Roison and Alaha, with Maile perched dangerously on the edge of their battles.
Jovie is determined to keep the innocent Maile people from a conflict she helped start—even if it means suppressing the Matching Bond and sacrificing any hope of repairing her relationship with Acker. Yet, visions of him continue to haunt her dreams.
Acker is resigned to aid in his father’s war while in an arranged marriage with a wife who detests him. Though still pained by Jovie’s deception, he can’t stop his thoughts from turning to her. And Acker has found a way to slip into Jovie’s dreams despite her attempts to stifle the Matching Bond. There he watches her, torn between his loyalties and desire.
When he discovers the chilling reason behind the return of his father's magic, as well as Edmond’s dangerous new alliance, Acker must finally decide which war he wants to fight: the one for his king or the one for his heart.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2026
About the author
Rachel Schneider
7 books5,228 followersRachel Schneider lives in South Louisiana with her husband and daughter. She loves curse words, crawfish, and all things romance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,771 reviews
June 12, 2026
The best sequel that’s been released in the last year, I was HOOKED. Every question I had after book 1 was answered and the book was still full of surprises. The ending has me completely GAGGED but I’m afraid I will never get over this magic system and how genius it is. Dual POV in fantasy isn’t my favourite but Acker and his yearning…I’m done for!!!! Had such high expectations and this book completely met every single one of them!!!!!!!!!!! And the ENDING?!!!! Yeah, I’m sat.
June 12, 2026
I don’t care enough to write a review. Mid plus.
But don’t give an ending like book one and skip 4 years and have them not be enemies. Lame.
But don’t give an ending like book one and skip 4 years and have them not be enemies. Lame.
June 15, 2026
Damn, this kind of made me want to drink bleach.
July 4, 2026
I don't even want to write a rant review cause it was THAT horrible. But I will cause finishing the book means I get to be a hater pro max.
1. Let's start with the fact that this book has no substance. Majority of the book reads like a filler. I believe the author tried to go for an angsty route and keep the focus on the relationship here. But unfortunately, the relationship lacked substance and tension too. Why you might ask, let's head to point two for that.
2. The four year time jump after the horrible ending in Metal Slinger. It made no sense. It instantly removed the tension from the romance and characters with a snap. I'm not even kidding, we're given minimal to no explanation for that four year time skip. The lack of confrontation was baffling cause why did Acker and Jo not clash heads. Four year gap would have logically meant that the resentment between the two should have been festering. And yet... The angst was as interesting as watching paint dry.
3. Jo and Acker's personality were non existent. Seriously though, the magic was not being used aptly, the political intrigue was out the door. They were just there circling each other like ants stuck in a loop. And the only bearable characters were Messer and Irina. I felt so bad for the way Irina was being treated and for what?
4. The absence of Kai. This bothered me the most out of all. Kai was absent about 75% in Metal Slinger and about 90% of this book. He's an important character who's clearly have these characters shaken up and the betrayal in book one tied directly to him. And yet he's not there for more then ten pages here? What kind of narrative is this? He's an important part of this plot since it's clearly revolving around his decisions cause Jo and Acker are useless bums. And yet, there's no Kai in it. Wtf kinda story writing is this?
5. The lack of plot and majority of the important decisions/actions being made off page. My brother in Christ, if you're going to do everything off page.. Why write this book? Let me just read your mind because why even put words on paper at this point.
6. Such a boring ending, I couldn't careless. I'm rooting for Kai to unalive all these loser characters. I don't care and I'm not coming back to book three.
~•~•~
I've not heard a single good thing about this book. But I'm curious enough to want to give it a try 🤞
1. Let's start with the fact that this book has no substance. Majority of the book reads like a filler. I believe the author tried to go for an angsty route and keep the focus on the relationship here. But unfortunately, the relationship lacked substance and tension too. Why you might ask, let's head to point two for that.
2. The four year time jump after the horrible ending in Metal Slinger. It made no sense. It instantly removed the tension from the romance and characters with a snap. I'm not even kidding, we're given minimal to no explanation for that four year time skip. The lack of confrontation was baffling cause why did Acker and Jo not clash heads. Four year gap would have logically meant that the resentment between the two should have been festering. And yet... The angst was as interesting as watching paint dry.
3. Jo and Acker's personality were non existent. Seriously though, the magic was not being used aptly, the political intrigue was out the door. They were just there circling each other like ants stuck in a loop. And the only bearable characters were Messer and Irina. I felt so bad for the way Irina was being treated and for what?
4. The absence of Kai. This bothered me the most out of all. Kai was absent about 75% in Metal Slinger and about 90% of this book. He's an important character who's clearly have these characters shaken up and the betrayal in book one tied directly to him. And yet he's not there for more then ten pages here? What kind of narrative is this? He's an important part of this plot since it's clearly revolving around his decisions cause Jo and Acker are useless bums. And yet, there's no Kai in it. Wtf kinda story writing is this?
5. The lack of plot and majority of the important decisions/actions being made off page. My brother in Christ, if you're going to do everything off page.. Why write this book? Let me just read your mind because why even put words on paper at this point.
6. Such a boring ending, I couldn't careless. I'm rooting for Kai to unalive all these loser characters. I don't care and I'm not coming back to book three.
~•~•~
I've not heard a single good thing about this book. But I'm curious enough to want to give it a try 🤞
June 12, 2026
DNF @ 45%
⭐️/5
*taps mic*
Strap yourselves in, because this isn't going to be pretty.
I thought Acker's yearning could save this for me, but unfortunately Light Wielder made me yearn for the urn. ⚱️🪦
I don't even know where to start with this review. It's going to be a long one so I'll just leave some main points here for those who don't have the patience for my ranting:
✧ This was the most anticlimactic sequel to Metal Slinger's ending you could've imagined
✧ There is little change from the first book despite this being set a whole 4 YEARS LATER
✧ Both the fmc and mmc still lack any sort of personality
✧ The world building is lacklustre
✧ There is almost no humour or lightness
✧ Incredibly over descriptive of pointless things that add nothing to the plot
✧ An insane lack of acknowledgment to the ending of book 1 for the first 40%
✧ Also still the most boring and underdeveloped writing style I've ever read
✧ THE ENDING TO METAL SLINGER STILL DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE
Ok, now let's get into it. ☕️
As mentioned above, the first 20% of this was probably the most anticlimactic thing I've ever read. HOW CAN YOU START THE SEQUEL TO METAL SLINGER 4 YEARS LATER???????!!!!!! Maybe, just maybe, if there was a prologue at the beginning that detailed some of what had gone on in the last 4 years or a brief recap of some sort, I wouldn't have found this beginning so diabolical. Alas, we are thrown into this book in the middle of a war where I had no clue what was going on, and there was no mention of how it came to be. Bearing in mind, I literally only read Metal Slinger 2 months ago. I could not for the life of me recall anything about that book aside from the abysmal plot twist at the end, so I was desperate for a crumb of context. Did I get that? Ha. No. It took until around 40% in to get any kind of solid understanding of what truly transpired after Jovie's betrayal. Not only that, but it felt impossible to pick up where we left off because there were no small refreshers on the plot devices or the magic systems. Any potential room for explanation was ignored. I can't imagine how hard it must be to reacquaint yourself with the world and the characters if you read Metal Slinger when it came out years ago, if I struggled this much after only a couple of months. For a fantasy book, usually I would say it should take only a couple of chapters or so to be able to reacquaint yourself.
The plot for the first 45% was boring. There is no way to beat around the bush with this. I started to wish I could travel back in time to 3 year old me and prevent her from learning how to read so I wouldn't be subjected to this in the future.
Like I said with Metal Slinger, there was so much potential. It was wasted as soon as the '4 years later' idea came into play with nothing to show for it. Jovie's betrayal is even more confusing to me after starting this, especially because both her and Acker are still saying how in love they are with each other and the stretch of time is completely ignored as soon as the book starts.
There was a quote from Acker very early on that just bamboozled me.
"And I realize... that even after everything she's done...
I'll never abandon her.
I can't.
I won't."
Like are we ignoring the betrayal or not? Also, it's been 4 years of war against her without seeing or speaking to each other whatsoever, so why is that realisation only just coming now? Literally nothing has changed or happened within the plot when he says this. It's just not thought out well at all.
We also have to get over 1/3 of the way through to have any idea of what our FMC Jovie has been up to in that mystical time jump (surprise, she's queen now! And not only that, but no one knew!! Despite it being a year since she was crowned!!!)
Considering this is a pretty big plot point, it boggles my mind that for the first part of this book all we're doing is being subjected to descriptions of Jovie's washing and sleeping habits. I thought maybe there would be an improvement on the unnecessary descriptions after Metal Slinger, but I was wrong. It is so, so overly descriptive of the most mundane things. It kind of reads like a student trying to boost their essay word count.
This writing style just isn't for me. It's very plain, and lacks any sort of uniqueness that imo fantasy books require to grasp your attention and keep it. There are a LOT of bland, stilted sentences, for example:
'The young boy’s face is familiar. I’ve seen him around camp. Son of a farmer, I believe. He would often turn his gaze away in my presence.'
You cannot tell me this doesn't read like one of those AI generated voice-over story videos you see on Facebook. How are you supposed to immerse yourself in a book this bland? There is no feeling behind any of it. It's robotic, and there is too much telling and not enough showing, especially when it comes to the actions of each character. What I find odd with this writing style is that for a large part of the book, there is little to no dialogue whether it be with other characters or internally. It's incredibly hard to build a connection to the main characters when inner thoughts are this sparse. But sure, tell me for the 700th time that Jovie is covered in mud and blood from head to toe, and how she 'smells like war'.
Now, moving onto the characters...
Jovie, go girl give us nothing!!! 🤪 Could not tell you a single thing about this fmc other than she's traitorous and has as much personality as a plant pot. This character is a walking contradiction. Nothing about her makes sense or aligns in any way.
'I’ve spent years guilt-ridden and ashamed of my decisions, hating myself for breaking his heart, and it’s obvious he is nothing of the sort.'
How can she say this in regard to Acker but for the first half of the book her and Beau have 0 remorse/extreme hostility towards him? And she repeatedly says how she hates him. I literally couldn't care less about her character. How on earth do you immerse yourself in a book where you have no interest in the fmc?
Seriously though, what the fuck happened to Acker's character in this. The author deserves jail time for how they massacred my boy. He could've been in the yearning man hall of fame, but instead his character was turned into a whiny little simp with daddy issues and teenage boy-esque fantasies. He also needs to grow a goddamn spine, because genuinely what happened to this supposedly fearsome warrior we were introduced to in book 1? Am I really supposed to believe that the character we were first introduced to has been in a state of perpetual emotional stasis for 4 years while there is a whole ass war going on and Jovie was swanning about the kingdoms getting shit done? Sorry, did I mention I hated this weird time jump? 🥰
He also appears to have fallen victim to the dual personality disorder Jovie did, and there were far too many conflicting statements from him to count.
When discussing Jovie, there's this quote:
'Seduce her if you have to, is what he’d said. I’m not above it. It’s basically what she did to me, letting me fall more and more in love with her all the while having every intention of stabbing me in the back.'
So one minute you're saying you'd happily die over not being matched to her, and then the next you're fantasising over ways to get your revenge. Make it make sense.
I thought we'd reached a turning point when we were heading towards the reunion between Acker & Jovie. This is what I was holding out for. Surprise, surprise... immediate disappointment. There was such a long build up to this (HALF THE FUCKING BOOK) for it to just be the most boring thing ever. Everyone was just skirting around the matching bond they have, and literally everything could've been resolved if they'd just had a basic conversation.
Whatever measly spark they had previously was clearly unsalvageable at this point, and the chemistry was non-existent. So you can imagine my surprise when after a whole 40% of PG ✨nothingness✨, it turns into some weird spice fest as they reunite with a very descriptive imaginary sex scene that comes out of nowhere. Like you're telling me after everything Acker has said about how he's felt regarding Jovie's betrayal up until this point that the first thought he has when being reunited after 4 years is 'And fuck me if I’m not struggling to stave off an erection.'. Like what in the frat boy?????????????? Get a grip my dude.
I will say, the one redeeming quality in terms of characters is Messer. I liked him in the first book, and he definitely adds so much where the main characters are lacking in this. He actually has personality! Every scene with him felt so much more interesting and bearable. Unfortunately the same can't be said about the other side characters, I literally still can't tell them apart. I just so wish the author had spent more time fleshing out each character's backstories and giving them depth so we were able to develop some sort of connection to them.
Here's some other random quotes that made me laugh:
'She chose war over killing your father because you asked her not to. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.' - urm idk, maybe not betraying your soul mate and having him tied to a chair?
'Eyes closed, one arm folded behind his head, he’s a picture of calm and relaxation as he lies within arm’s reach beside me. Almost as if we were on holiday instead of hiding in enemy territory.' - oooh they have holidays in fantasy realms now? well I guess nothing beats Jet2
'It’s freezing and I will die on this hill. Pun intended.' - get your goddamn TikTok slang out of my goddamn fantasy novels
'My eyes drop to the glass in his hand. It’s never concerned me before, but the thought of the glass I possibly used to pleasure my Match being in his hands has me seeing red.' - forgot how diabolical this was in book 1 so bringing this to your attention again 🤭 also how has it took him 4 years to have this thought?
'Up to this point he’s demonstrated as much personality as a dead fish, but now he’s acting like he’s made of sunshine and happiness. Get the fuck—' - contrary to popular belief, this is not a quote from me
'“Men think they know everything.”' - highlight of the book for me ngl
'After all, she conspired behind my back and chained me to a chair. But as angry as I’ve been with her for her treason, she’s still my little sister.' - this is probably the worst thing I've ever read in a fantasy book, but after all she's still my little sister 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
To conclude, because I fear this review is now as long as the boat scene from Metal Slinger..
If this really is a duo-logy, then fuck me I guess. Ultimately, Metal Slinger as a book failed to tie together, and Light Wielder fails to tie back to the first book to an interesting amount. Y'know when you really believe in the potential of a book that you're genuinely disappointed in how much it fails to deliver? That is this. The world, the magic system, the political aspects all could have been really entertaining and immersive but overall the writing and lack of depth let the whole thing down. Do I think this would've been 100x better if the King was killed at the end of book 1? Absolutely. I could understand that direction so much more. Things would've made sense. But unfortunately, the desperation for shock factor overshadowed the need for a comprehensive plot.
Andddddddddd SCENE
Disclaimer: Usually I wouldn't rate/mark a dnf as read but out of sheer boredom, I ended up skipping ahead to see how it ended etc so I could give it a fair review.
pre-read
update: IT'S HAPPENING 🤪 I gave into the fomo!!! stay so fucking tuned
I saw this was on KU and I'm intrigued after the abysmal ending of Metal Slinger 👀 I absolutely hated the first book and rated it 2 stars 🫢 do I read it??? 👀 will it revive the series for me?? you guys know I have no willpower when it comes to fomo 🫠
⭐️/5
*taps mic*
Strap yourselves in, because this isn't going to be pretty.
I thought Acker's yearning could save this for me, but unfortunately Light Wielder made me yearn for the urn. ⚱️🪦
I don't even know where to start with this review. It's going to be a long one so I'll just leave some main points here for those who don't have the patience for my ranting:
✧ This was the most anticlimactic sequel to Metal Slinger's ending you could've imagined
✧ There is little change from the first book despite this being set a whole 4 YEARS LATER
✧ Both the fmc and mmc still lack any sort of personality
✧ The world building is lacklustre
✧ There is almost no humour or lightness
✧ Incredibly over descriptive of pointless things that add nothing to the plot
✧ An insane lack of acknowledgment to the ending of book 1 for the first 40%
✧ Also still the most boring and underdeveloped writing style I've ever read
✧ THE ENDING TO METAL SLINGER STILL DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE
Ok, now let's get into it. ☕️
As mentioned above, the first 20% of this was probably the most anticlimactic thing I've ever read. HOW CAN YOU START THE SEQUEL TO METAL SLINGER 4 YEARS LATER???????!!!!!! Maybe, just maybe, if there was a prologue at the beginning that detailed some of what had gone on in the last 4 years or a brief recap of some sort, I wouldn't have found this beginning so diabolical. Alas, we are thrown into this book in the middle of a war where I had no clue what was going on, and there was no mention of how it came to be. Bearing in mind, I literally only read Metal Slinger 2 months ago. I could not for the life of me recall anything about that book aside from the abysmal plot twist at the end, so I was desperate for a crumb of context. Did I get that? Ha. No. It took until around 40% in to get any kind of solid understanding of what truly transpired after Jovie's betrayal. Not only that, but it felt impossible to pick up where we left off because there were no small refreshers on the plot devices or the magic systems. Any potential room for explanation was ignored. I can't imagine how hard it must be to reacquaint yourself with the world and the characters if you read Metal Slinger when it came out years ago, if I struggled this much after only a couple of months. For a fantasy book, usually I would say it should take only a couple of chapters or so to be able to reacquaint yourself.
The plot for the first 45% was boring. There is no way to beat around the bush with this. I started to wish I could travel back in time to 3 year old me and prevent her from learning how to read so I wouldn't be subjected to this in the future.
Like I said with Metal Slinger, there was so much potential. It was wasted as soon as the '4 years later' idea came into play with nothing to show for it. Jovie's betrayal is even more confusing to me after starting this, especially because both her and Acker are still saying how in love they are with each other and the stretch of time is completely ignored as soon as the book starts.
There was a quote from Acker very early on that just bamboozled me.
"And I realize... that even after everything she's done...
I'll never abandon her.
I can't.
I won't."
Like are we ignoring the betrayal or not? Also, it's been 4 years of war against her without seeing or speaking to each other whatsoever, so why is that realisation only just coming now? Literally nothing has changed or happened within the plot when he says this. It's just not thought out well at all.
We also have to get over 1/3 of the way through to have any idea of what our FMC Jovie has been up to in that mystical time jump (surprise, she's queen now! And not only that, but no one knew!! Despite it being a year since she was crowned!!!)
Considering this is a pretty big plot point, it boggles my mind that for the first part of this book all we're doing is being subjected to descriptions of Jovie's washing and sleeping habits. I thought maybe there would be an improvement on the unnecessary descriptions after Metal Slinger, but I was wrong. It is so, so overly descriptive of the most mundane things. It kind of reads like a student trying to boost their essay word count.
This writing style just isn't for me. It's very plain, and lacks any sort of uniqueness that imo fantasy books require to grasp your attention and keep it. There are a LOT of bland, stilted sentences, for example:
'The young boy’s face is familiar. I’ve seen him around camp. Son of a farmer, I believe. He would often turn his gaze away in my presence.'
You cannot tell me this doesn't read like one of those AI generated voice-over story videos you see on Facebook. How are you supposed to immerse yourself in a book this bland? There is no feeling behind any of it. It's robotic, and there is too much telling and not enough showing, especially when it comes to the actions of each character. What I find odd with this writing style is that for a large part of the book, there is little to no dialogue whether it be with other characters or internally. It's incredibly hard to build a connection to the main characters when inner thoughts are this sparse. But sure, tell me for the 700th time that Jovie is covered in mud and blood from head to toe, and how she 'smells like war'.
Now, moving onto the characters...
Jovie, go girl give us nothing!!! 🤪 Could not tell you a single thing about this fmc other than she's traitorous and has as much personality as a plant pot. This character is a walking contradiction. Nothing about her makes sense or aligns in any way.
'I’ve spent years guilt-ridden and ashamed of my decisions, hating myself for breaking his heart, and it’s obvious he is nothing of the sort.'
How can she say this in regard to Acker but for the first half of the book her and Beau have 0 remorse/extreme hostility towards him? And she repeatedly says how she hates him. I literally couldn't care less about her character. How on earth do you immerse yourself in a book where you have no interest in the fmc?
Seriously though, what the fuck happened to Acker's character in this. The author deserves jail time for how they massacred my boy. He could've been in the yearning man hall of fame, but instead his character was turned into a whiny little simp with daddy issues and teenage boy-esque fantasies. He also needs to grow a goddamn spine, because genuinely what happened to this supposedly fearsome warrior we were introduced to in book 1? Am I really supposed to believe that the character we were first introduced to has been in a state of perpetual emotional stasis for 4 years while there is a whole ass war going on and Jovie was swanning about the kingdoms getting shit done? Sorry, did I mention I hated this weird time jump? 🥰
He also appears to have fallen victim to the dual personality disorder Jovie did, and there were far too many conflicting statements from him to count.
When discussing Jovie, there's this quote:
'Seduce her if you have to, is what he’d said. I’m not above it. It’s basically what she did to me, letting me fall more and more in love with her all the while having every intention of stabbing me in the back.'
So one minute you're saying you'd happily die over not being matched to her, and then the next you're fantasising over ways to get your revenge. Make it make sense.
I thought we'd reached a turning point when we were heading towards the reunion between Acker & Jovie. This is what I was holding out for. Surprise, surprise... immediate disappointment. There was such a long build up to this (HALF THE FUCKING BOOK) for it to just be the most boring thing ever. Everyone was just skirting around the matching bond they have, and literally everything could've been resolved if they'd just had a basic conversation.
Whatever measly spark they had previously was clearly unsalvageable at this point, and the chemistry was non-existent. So you can imagine my surprise when after a whole 40% of PG ✨nothingness✨, it turns into some weird spice fest as they reunite with a very descriptive imaginary sex scene that comes out of nowhere. Like you're telling me after everything Acker has said about how he's felt regarding Jovie's betrayal up until this point that the first thought he has when being reunited after 4 years is 'And fuck me if I’m not struggling to stave off an erection.'. Like what in the frat boy?????????????? Get a grip my dude.
I will say, the one redeeming quality in terms of characters is Messer. I liked him in the first book, and he definitely adds so much where the main characters are lacking in this. He actually has personality! Every scene with him felt so much more interesting and bearable. Unfortunately the same can't be said about the other side characters, I literally still can't tell them apart. I just so wish the author had spent more time fleshing out each character's backstories and giving them depth so we were able to develop some sort of connection to them.
Here's some other random quotes that made me laugh:
'She chose war over killing your father because you asked her not to. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.' - urm idk, maybe not betraying your soul mate and having him tied to a chair?
'Eyes closed, one arm folded behind his head, he’s a picture of calm and relaxation as he lies within arm’s reach beside me. Almost as if we were on holiday instead of hiding in enemy territory.' - oooh they have holidays in fantasy realms now? well I guess nothing beats Jet2
'It’s freezing and I will die on this hill. Pun intended.' - get your goddamn TikTok slang out of my goddamn fantasy novels
'My eyes drop to the glass in his hand. It’s never concerned me before, but the thought of the glass I possibly used to pleasure my Match being in his hands has me seeing red.' - forgot how diabolical this was in book 1 so bringing this to your attention again 🤭 also how has it took him 4 years to have this thought?
'Up to this point he’s demonstrated as much personality as a dead fish, but now he’s acting like he’s made of sunshine and happiness. Get the fuck—' - contrary to popular belief, this is not a quote from me
'“Men think they know everything.”' - highlight of the book for me ngl
'After all, she conspired behind my back and chained me to a chair. But as angry as I’ve been with her for her treason, she’s still my little sister.' - this is probably the worst thing I've ever read in a fantasy book, but after all she's still my little sister 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
To conclude, because I fear this review is now as long as the boat scene from Metal Slinger..
If this really is a duo-logy, then fuck me I guess. Ultimately, Metal Slinger as a book failed to tie together, and Light Wielder fails to tie back to the first book to an interesting amount. Y'know when you really believe in the potential of a book that you're genuinely disappointed in how much it fails to deliver? That is this. The world, the magic system, the political aspects all could have been really entertaining and immersive but overall the writing and lack of depth let the whole thing down. Do I think this would've been 100x better if the King was killed at the end of book 1? Absolutely. I could understand that direction so much more. Things would've made sense. But unfortunately, the desperation for shock factor overshadowed the need for a comprehensive plot.
Andddddddddd SCENE
Disclaimer: Usually I wouldn't rate/mark a dnf as read but out of sheer boredom, I ended up skipping ahead to see how it ended etc so I could give it a fair review.
pre-read
update: IT'S HAPPENING 🤪 I gave into the fomo!!! stay so fucking tuned
I saw this was on KU and I'm intrigued after the abysmal ending of Metal Slinger 👀 I absolutely hated the first book and rated it 2 stars 🫢 do I read it??? 👀 will it revive the series for me?? you guys know I have no willpower when it comes to fomo 🫠
June 9, 2026
Dang rabbits!
Without spoilers, a lot of things get resolved in Light Wielder, and I was along for the ride and the twists. My personal favourite reveal is possibly the origin of the phrase dang rabbits.
Although poor Irina, for real, that girl deserves peace and rest and happiness. I’m thankful the author didn’t pit a women against each other given the situation, over a dude, because I’m sure we all would've hated that.
Also, if you thought the whisky glass scene was… fascinating, then I can say that there is another… interesting scene or two in Light Wielder.
This is a fairly different vibe and aesthetic to Metal Slinger, a lot more action and war and political manoeuvering and manipulation (I’m calling GRRM would be proud), plus a thread of social commentary.
Pretty sure after reading the epilogue that we can deduce whose story gets told next and ofc I’m here for it.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Happy Light Wielder publish day!
About to find out if Metal Slinger foreshadowed everything and I missed every single clue?
Without spoilers, a lot of things get resolved in Light Wielder, and I was along for the ride and the twists. My personal favourite reveal is possibly the origin of the phrase dang rabbits.
Although poor Irina, for real, that girl deserves peace and rest and happiness. I’m thankful the author didn’t pit a women against each other given the situation, over a dude, because I’m sure we all would've hated that.
Also, if you thought the whisky glass scene was… fascinating, then I can say that there is another… interesting scene or two in Light Wielder.
This is a fairly different vibe and aesthetic to Metal Slinger, a lot more action and war and political manoeuvering and manipulation (I’m calling GRRM would be proud), plus a thread of social commentary.
Pretty sure after reading the epilogue that we can deduce whose story gets told next and ofc I’m here for it.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Happy Light Wielder publish day!
About to find out if Metal Slinger foreshadowed everything and I missed every single clue?
September 6, 2026
Welcome back to Fire & Metal, where four years have passed and everyone has somehow gotten worse. Acker is now a violent, stalking, abusive cuck with too much saliva. Jovie has developed Schrödinger's self-esteem and a chronic blushing problem.
I normally start my reviews with a brief synopsis, which requires knowing the plot of the book I just read. Unfortunately, I have no fucking idea with this one. I felt the same way about Metal Slinger, but at least the ending retroactively explained some of its lacking logic, even if it didn't excuse it. Light Wielder is just a random collection of plot twists and reveals with NO PLOT. How can you have a plot twist without a plot? WHAT ARE YOU TWISTING?
The one thing Rachel Schneider had going for her after Metal Slinger was that the fallout from that ending could be interesting. So imagine my god damn surprise when I discover FOUR YEARS have passed. Four years! I guess it didn't occur to Rachel that after completely murdering any and all character development at the end of Metal Slinger, perhaps we needed to get reacquainted with the characters. We are dropped into the middle of a war with absolutely no idea what the goal is. Who are the characters? What motivates them? What do they want? Why do they want it? Never mind that! We have cheeks to heat and saliva to produce.
Acker is an abuser. At least the book makes that much clear. It is a bold move to make the romantic interest violently abusive toward his wife and then have no one acknowledge that maybe that is a bad thing.
Acker has so much saliva. And he's addicted to sniffing Jovie and sometimes has thoughts of murdering her. It's all so romantic. I love a man who shows up to sniff me while I'm sleeping and gets a hard-on while he drools and fantasizes about ripping my throat out. Seriously, why does this man have so much saliva? Why does his mouth even water when he thinks about stuff like seeing Jovie scared and ripping out her jugular with his teeth? It's concerning enough that those things excite him, but it's also just not how humans react to excitement. "Ooh, I'm so excited to stalk my ex in her sleep, better swallow the excess moisture pooling in my mouth"?????
And yes, he does get cucked in one scene, and that scene somehow gets more confusing as you read more of the book and find out who exactly he was getting cucked by.
Messer is a hoe. All he does is visit brothels and walk around with his dick out. The brothel is so important to him that Jovie can use banning him from it as leverage. No one really cares that he frequents brothels, which contributes to the misogynistic feeling running through parts of this book. Messer is so sexually experienced that he can look at two people and tell if they've had sex. Sherlock Hoelmes.
And then there is Jovie, who spends almost the entire book alternating between two states of mind. When Acker moves on, gets married, or otherwise acts like a man whose heart she shattered four years ago, Jovie is offended. How could he? Did he never love her? What about her? But when Acker shoves his tongue down her throat, makes proclamations of love, stalks her across the psychic plane like a horny sleep-paralysis demon, or otherwise makes it blindingly obvious that he is still obsessed with her, Jovie thinks he hates her. So she spends years believing Acker should still love her after what she did, but the second she gets evidence that he does, suddenly the idea becomes unbelievable.
At least she has had some character development since book 1. In Metal Slinger, every emotion made her chest cave in. In Light Wielder, she blushes. Constantly. The book is 441 pages and I counted at least 30 blushes. That is roughly one blush every 14 pages. One blush per chapter.
She has also become the terrifying, notorious Light Wielder, which is interesting because she spends a good chunk of the book wearing conveniently sexy strings of mangi stones to suppress her magic and the Bond. Jovie, there's people that are dying. There is a war happening. If you are so fearsome that strangers whisper "Light Wielder" like you're an approaching natural disaster, perhaps take off the sexy anti-magic jewelry and wield some light? I understand that removing the stones risks pulling her into Acker's mind, but surely accidental psychic FaceTime with your ex is a tolerable side effect of ENDING THE WAR.
If there's one thing to say about Rachel Schneider, it's that she loves a plot twist but hates creating a plot. For a plot twist to work, the reader needs to know what direction the narrative was going in the first place. We cannot have a drastic change in direction without knowing the original direction. This book DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECTION. It is constantly elbowing you in the ribs, going "hey, hey, did you notice that TWIST?" without first giving you a plot to twist.
I am no prude. I wouldn't say I read books for the spice, but I certainly don't mind it. Light Wielder is sparse in terms of spice, and normally that would either have me feeling neutral (if the story is good) or bored (if the story is boring and the spice is the only interesting part). Here, it feels like a mercy. I actually started developing an aversion to the thought of a simple kiss. The descriptions bring forth images of Lady and the Tramp if they were slurping garden slugs.
NO THANK YOU. Noooo thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Why is this giving me the ick so bad? Am I a prude after all??
This review seriously only covers like 3% of the issues I had with this book. I could go on forever, but I'm stopping here for the sake of my sanity 😌 I have to recover in case my curiosity gets the better of me again when the third book comes out.
Four years passed. Then 441 pages passed. Jovie found her circulation, Acker found his salivary glands, Messer qualified for a loyalty card at penis healer, and no one ever found the plot.
Maybe the real plot was the saliva we made along the way.
I normally start my reviews with a brief synopsis, which requires knowing the plot of the book I just read. Unfortunately, I have no fucking idea with this one. I felt the same way about Metal Slinger, but at least the ending retroactively explained some of its lacking logic, even if it didn't excuse it. Light Wielder is just a random collection of plot twists and reveals with NO PLOT. How can you have a plot twist without a plot? WHAT ARE YOU TWISTING?
The one thing Rachel Schneider had going for her after Metal Slinger was that the fallout from that ending could be interesting. So imagine my god damn surprise when I discover FOUR YEARS have passed. Four years! I guess it didn't occur to Rachel that after completely murdering any and all character development at the end of Metal Slinger, perhaps we needed to get reacquainted with the characters. We are dropped into the middle of a war with absolutely no idea what the goal is. Who are the characters? What motivates them? What do they want? Why do they want it? Never mind that! We have cheeks to heat and saliva to produce.
Acker is an abuser. At least the book makes that much clear. It is a bold move to make the romantic interest violently abusive toward his wife and then have no one acknowledge that maybe that is a bad thing.
I have my hand around her throat, back pinned to the wall before she can blink. Pupils dilated, nails uselessly scraping at my wrist, her haughty bravado evaporates. The real Irina is frightened. And desperate, I realize, as she fights tears.
Acker has so much saliva. And he's addicted to sniffing Jovie and sometimes has thoughts of murdering her. It's all so romantic. I love a man who shows up to sniff me while I'm sleeping and gets a hard-on while he drools and fantasizes about ripping my throat out. Seriously, why does this man have so much saliva? Why does his mouth even water when he thinks about stuff like seeing Jovie scared and ripping out her jugular with his teeth? It's concerning enough that those things excite him, but it's also just not how humans react to excitement. "Ooh, I'm so excited to stalk my ex in her sleep, better swallow the excess moisture pooling in my mouth"?????
And yes, he does get cucked in one scene, and that scene somehow gets more confusing as you read more of the book and find out who exactly he was getting cucked by.
Messer is a hoe. All he does is visit brothels and walk around with his dick out. The brothel is so important to him that Jovie can use banning him from it as leverage. No one really cares that he frequents brothels, which contributes to the misogynistic feeling running through parts of this book. Messer is so sexually experienced that he can look at two people and tell if they've had sex. Sherlock Hoelmes.
And then there is Jovie, who spends almost the entire book alternating between two states of mind. When Acker moves on, gets married, or otherwise acts like a man whose heart she shattered four years ago, Jovie is offended. How could he? Did he never love her? What about her? But when Acker shoves his tongue down her throat, makes proclamations of love, stalks her across the psychic plane like a horny sleep-paralysis demon, or otherwise makes it blindingly obvious that he is still obsessed with her, Jovie thinks he hates her. So she spends years believing Acker should still love her after what she did, but the second she gets evidence that he does, suddenly the idea becomes unbelievable.
At least she has had some character development since book 1. In Metal Slinger, every emotion made her chest cave in. In Light Wielder, she blushes. Constantly. The book is 441 pages and I counted at least 30 blushes. That is roughly one blush every 14 pages. One blush per chapter.
She has also become the terrifying, notorious Light Wielder, which is interesting because she spends a good chunk of the book wearing conveniently sexy strings of mangi stones to suppress her magic and the Bond. Jovie, there's people that are dying. There is a war happening. If you are so fearsome that strangers whisper "Light Wielder" like you're an approaching natural disaster, perhaps take off the sexy anti-magic jewelry and wield some light? I understand that removing the stones risks pulling her into Acker's mind, but surely accidental psychic FaceTime with your ex is a tolerable side effect of ENDING THE WAR.
If there's one thing to say about Rachel Schneider, it's that she loves a plot twist but hates creating a plot. For a plot twist to work, the reader needs to know what direction the narrative was going in the first place. We cannot have a drastic change in direction without knowing the original direction. This book DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECTION. It is constantly elbowing you in the ribs, going "hey, hey, did you notice that TWIST?" without first giving you a plot to twist.
I am no prude. I wouldn't say I read books for the spice, but I certainly don't mind it. Light Wielder is sparse in terms of spice, and normally that would either have me feeling neutral (if the story is good) or bored (if the story is boring and the spice is the only interesting part). Here, it feels like a mercy. I actually started developing an aversion to the thought of a simple kiss. The descriptions bring forth images of Lady and the Tramp if they were slurping garden slugs.
When she sucks my tongue into her mouth, it’s nearly my undoing.
“Like all those times you sucked my tongue into your mouth,” he purrs.
NO THANK YOU. Noooo thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Why is this giving me the ick so bad? Am I a prude after all??
This review seriously only covers like 3% of the issues I had with this book. I could go on forever, but I'm stopping here for the sake of my sanity 😌 I have to recover in case my curiosity gets the better of me again when the third book comes out.
Four years passed. Then 441 pages passed. Jovie found her circulation, Acker found his salivary glands, Messer qualified for a loyalty card at penis healer, and no one ever found the plot.
Maybe the real plot was the saliva we made along the way.
June 14, 2026
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ✦ . ⁺ . 2.1 - 2.3 ☆ . ⁺ . ✦
ㅤ ㅤ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗
ㅤ Maybe I might sound a bit harsh when rating this, but I very clearly have to rate it lower than the first book, and sadly there isn't much I can do about that. The book was disappointing enough that I'm not even feeling that guilty about it, which is probably saying something.
ㅤ I'm not entirely sure how long this review is going to end up being, but judging by the amount of notes I took while reading, there will probably be quite a few complaints along the way. So buckle up, I guess. The rant train has officially left the station and you are all getting a free ticket for the ride 🥳
ㅤ ㅤ “ . . . . ” - literally had no quote to add here
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ honest thoughts
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ My first issue was the writing errors. I am usually not the type of person to complain about them because, let's be honest, everyone makes mistakes and a typo here and there is hardly the end of the world. But when I keep noticing them over and over again? Yeah, that's when it starts getting on my nerves. And unfortunately, once I start noticing them, I can't stop noticing them.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ I felt like things were actually happening for a while, and then the plot suddenly decided it needed a holiday for about 40% of the book. We got a few revelations that felt more like common sense than actual revelations and a lot of pages where it felt like we were just existing.
ㅤ And then, just when I had fully accepted my fate, the last part of the book showed up, shook me awake, and immediately annoyed me because it was so rushed. We went from absolutely taking our time to SPEEDRUNNING THE PLOT?????
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Now, since we're already on the subject of the plot, shall we discuss some of the creative decisions that were made here?
ㅤ ㅤ 1. The whole plotline with Fredrich was absolutely stupid and completely unnecessary. It served no purpose other than annoying me and creating what I assume the author believed would be a very hot smut scene idea (it was not).
ㅤ Instead, it gave us forced tension, forced drama, forced misunderstandings, and some truly frustrating dialogues. The entire thing felt like it existed solely to manufacture conflict where none was needed. And then, to make it even worse, we later find out that Acker didn't actually do anything that night????? So all that drama and "revenge" for absolutely nothing. It all just made me dislike the FMC even more.
ㅤ ㅤ 2. Don't worry, you don't need to feel too bad for Acker either because what even was that marriage thing????
ㅤ That entire marriage plotline felt like it existed for almost nothing. It was clearly meant to deliver angst, create misery for both characters, and add emotional weight, but it was so poorly developed that it ultimately brought very little to the book. Instead of enhancing the tension, it mostly made me feel bad for the poor girl caught in the middle, and at times it even pushed me toward disliking the main characters and their relationship.
ㅤ ㅤ 3. At one point, I genuinely felt like the book was trying to convince me there were conflicts between the two main characters, because I couldn’t even figure out what they were actually supposed to be upset about anymore.
ㅤ Maybe it’s on me, maybe I missed something, or maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace, but everything felt unnecessarily complicated for no reason. So many of these “issues” could have been solved in half a page of actual, genuine dialogue.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ On this note, I really hated the FMC. It was like watching a little girl trying to play the part of an empowering woman.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Don't worry; I also don't like the MMC. It was like he lost all the personality he had in the first book, decided to become....something...and then proceeded to annoy me.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ The romance? No. Hell no. I’m not even going to fully unpack it because of how unnatural, forced, and frustrating it was. The author had some genuinely interesting premises and characters with potential and then decided to actively sabotage both of them through the romance plotline.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ All that build-up just for the conflict to be resolved with what can only be described as a *check notes* magic light trick. Are you kidding me? The battle basically started, blinked once, and then immediately ended. Everything in that ending felt like it was sprinting toward the finish line with no intention of explaining itself properly.
ㅤ And honestly, if you ever feel useless, just remember the villains in this book. Instant perspective shift.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ characters
ㅤ ⊹ Jovie — I hope she gives up her title....there is no way in hell this woman is competent enough to lead a kingdom. That's all I want to say.
ㅤ ⊹ Acker — I will mourn the potential of him as a character daily. Sadly, I will also have to forget about 70% of his chapters in this book to still be able to respect him.
ㅤ ⊹ Messer — MY FREAKING GOAT. ISTG THIS MAN JUST CANNOT DISAPPOINT, Loved him in the first book and adored him in the second one. The best and only consistent thing to come out of this series.
ㅤ ⊹ Fredrich — No.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ should you read this?
ㅤ I mean, if you’ve already read the first book and you actually enjoyed it, then sure, go ahead and pick this one up as well. You might end up having a completely different perspective from mine and genuinely enjoy it a lot more.
ㅤ There are interesting ideas and intriguing plot threads here, but for me, they were unfortunately so underdeveloped and strangely woven into the story that I just couldn’t fully enjoy the book.
ㅤ Maybe my expectations were off to begin with and that’s what led to such a big disappointment, but at the end of the day, the book is just not as good as I hoped, and I still stand by that.
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍendㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ㅤ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗
ㅤ Maybe I might sound a bit harsh when rating this, but I very clearly have to rate it lower than the first book, and sadly there isn't much I can do about that. The book was disappointing enough that I'm not even feeling that guilty about it, which is probably saying something.
ㅤ I'm not entirely sure how long this review is going to end up being, but judging by the amount of notes I took while reading, there will probably be quite a few complaints along the way. So buckle up, I guess. The rant train has officially left the station and you are all getting a free ticket for the ride 🥳
ㅤ ㅤ “ . . . . ” - literally had no quote to add here
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ honest thoughts
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ My first issue was the writing errors. I am usually not the type of person to complain about them because, let's be honest, everyone makes mistakes and a typo here and there is hardly the end of the world. But when I keep noticing them over and over again? Yeah, that's when it starts getting on my nerves. And unfortunately, once I start noticing them, I can't stop noticing them.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ I felt like things were actually happening for a while, and then the plot suddenly decided it needed a holiday for about 40% of the book. We got a few revelations that felt more like common sense than actual revelations and a lot of pages where it felt like we were just existing.
ㅤ And then, just when I had fully accepted my fate, the last part of the book showed up, shook me awake, and immediately annoyed me because it was so rushed. We went from absolutely taking our time to SPEEDRUNNING THE PLOT?????
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Now, since we're already on the subject of the plot, shall we discuss some of the creative decisions that were made here?
ㅤ ㅤ 1. The whole plotline with Fredrich was absolutely stupid and completely unnecessary. It served no purpose other than annoying me and creating what I assume the author believed would be a very hot smut scene idea (it was not).
ㅤ Instead, it gave us forced tension, forced drama, forced misunderstandings, and some truly frustrating dialogues. The entire thing felt like it existed solely to manufacture conflict where none was needed. And then, to make it even worse, we later find out that Acker didn't actually do anything that night????? So all that drama and "revenge" for absolutely nothing. It all just made me dislike the FMC even more.
ㅤ ㅤ 2. Don't worry, you don't need to feel too bad for Acker either because what even was that marriage thing????
ㅤ That entire marriage plotline felt like it existed for almost nothing. It was clearly meant to deliver angst, create misery for both characters, and add emotional weight, but it was so poorly developed that it ultimately brought very little to the book. Instead of enhancing the tension, it mostly made me feel bad for the poor girl caught in the middle, and at times it even pushed me toward disliking the main characters and their relationship.
ㅤ ㅤ 3. At one point, I genuinely felt like the book was trying to convince me there were conflicts between the two main characters, because I couldn’t even figure out what they were actually supposed to be upset about anymore.
ㅤ Maybe it’s on me, maybe I missed something, or maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace, but everything felt unnecessarily complicated for no reason. So many of these “issues” could have been solved in half a page of actual, genuine dialogue.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ On this note, I really hated the FMC. It was like watching a little girl trying to play the part of an empowering woman.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Don't worry; I also don't like the MMC. It was like he lost all the personality he had in the first book, decided to become....something...and then proceeded to annoy me.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ The romance? No. Hell no. I’m not even going to fully unpack it because of how unnatural, forced, and frustrating it was. The author had some genuinely interesting premises and characters with potential and then decided to actively sabotage both of them through the romance plotline.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ All that build-up just for the conflict to be resolved with what can only be described as a *check notes* magic light trick. Are you kidding me? The battle basically started, blinked once, and then immediately ended. Everything in that ending felt like it was sprinting toward the finish line with no intention of explaining itself properly.
ㅤ And honestly, if you ever feel useless, just remember the villains in this book. Instant perspective shift.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ characters
ㅤ ⊹ Jovie — I hope she gives up her title....there is no way in hell this woman is competent enough to lead a kingdom. That's all I want to say.
ㅤ ⊹ Acker — I will mourn the potential of him as a character daily. Sadly, I will also have to forget about 70% of his chapters in this book to still be able to respect him.
ㅤ ⊹ Messer — MY FREAKING GOAT. ISTG THIS MAN JUST CANNOT DISAPPOINT, Loved him in the first book and adored him in the second one. The best and only consistent thing to come out of this series.
ㅤ ⊹ Fredrich — No.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ should you read this?
ㅤ I mean, if you’ve already read the first book and you actually enjoyed it, then sure, go ahead and pick this one up as well. You might end up having a completely different perspective from mine and genuinely enjoy it a lot more.
ㅤ There are interesting ideas and intriguing plot threads here, but for me, they were unfortunately so underdeveloped and strangely woven into the story that I just couldn’t fully enjoy the book.
ㅤ Maybe my expectations were off to begin with and that’s what led to such a big disappointment, but at the end of the day, the book is just not as good as I hoped, and I still stand by that.
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍendㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
Want to Read
January 12, 2025Completely sat waiting for book two release dates
I fear I am unwell from book one
I fear I am unwell from book one
June 17, 2026
I should’ve just DNFed this and saved myself from all this nonsense.
I really don’t want to be unfair; the book and the characters had so much potential. It was a good idea in theory, but I wish it had never been written.
As if ending the first book with a completely illogical twist wasn’t bad enough, the second book opens with a four-year time jump. There’s no proper explanation for the ending of book one, no explanation for what happened during those four years, no answers to the questions, no communication between the characters, no confrontation. Characters disappear out of nowhere and then suddenly come back. It’s impossible to tell who’s fighting whom, and it’s impossible to tell who’s friends with whom.
This was genuinely a painful journey. I just want to erase it from my memory.
I really don’t want to be unfair; the book and the characters had so much potential. It was a good idea in theory, but I wish it had never been written.
As if ending the first book with a completely illogical twist wasn’t bad enough, the second book opens with a four-year time jump. There’s no proper explanation for the ending of book one, no explanation for what happened during those four years, no answers to the questions, no communication between the characters, no confrontation. Characters disappear out of nowhere and then suddenly come back. It’s impossible to tell who’s fighting whom, and it’s impossible to tell who’s friends with whom.
This was genuinely a painful journey. I just want to erase it from my memory.
June 11, 2026
1.5 ⭐️
All this book did was piss me the fuck off. When I wasn’t angry, I was insanely bored. Needless to say, I deeply regret ever picking it up.
You know when a book has so much fucking potential, but instead of living up to it, it grabs that potential and chucks it off a fucking cliff? That is this duology.
First of all, get a fucking editor. This book has more typos than I have ever seen in any other, and that includes ARCs.
Second of all, square the fuck up.
The fact that the whole first half of this book was Jovie and Beau treating Acker with so much hostility—as if he’s the guilty party in any way, shape, or form—when they should be groveling and begging for his forgiveness was genuinely insane to me. And Acker needs to grow a goddamn spine, because genuinely what the fuck.
The latter half was much more tolerable and is the reason for the extra half star. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it enjoyable, but at least I wasn’t raging as I read. It wasn’t great by any means—hell, I don’t even know if I would call it good—but one of my biggest problems was how much I just didn’t like Jovie. If she was a better character, I might have had a decent (ish) time.
I don’t even care enough to actually review this shitshow of a book. I don’t want to waste any more time than I already have on it, so this is just going to be a compilation of a bunch of random quotes that I pasted here because they pissed me off.
Note: this is a non-exhaustive list.
Wow, what a good idea four years too late. Dumb bitch.
…
Please stop giving yourself grace.
I truly, honest to God, hate her. And the way she made Acker kneel at her feet when he got to Maile? I almost DNF’ed on the spot.
This is Acker talking to Beau. What a sister, everybody.
Bitch what remorse? Like genuinely what the actual fuck are you talking about?
Anyway, I’ll probably read Messer’s book because I actually don’t hate him, and I’d like to see him get his girl. But thank God I’m done with Jovie’s story dude.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
I’m already annoyed and I haven’t even started yet.
All this book did was piss me the fuck off. When I wasn’t angry, I was insanely bored. Needless to say, I deeply regret ever picking it up.
You know when a book has so much fucking potential, but instead of living up to it, it grabs that potential and chucks it off a fucking cliff? That is this duology.
First of all, get a fucking editor. This book has more typos than I have ever seen in any other, and that includes ARCs.
Second of all, square the fuck up.
The fact that the whole first half of this book was Jovie and Beau treating Acker with so much hostility—as if he’s the guilty party in any way, shape, or form—when they should be groveling and begging for his forgiveness was genuinely insane to me. And Acker needs to grow a goddamn spine, because genuinely what the fuck.
The latter half was much more tolerable and is the reason for the extra half star. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it enjoyable, but at least I wasn’t raging as I read. It wasn’t great by any means—hell, I don’t even know if I would call it good—but one of my biggest problems was how much I just didn’t like Jovie. If she was a better character, I might have had a decent (ish) time.
I don’t even care enough to actually review this shitshow of a book. I don’t want to waste any more time than I already have on it, so this is just going to be a compilation of a bunch of random quotes that I pasted here because they pissed me off.
Note: this is a non-exhaustive list.
After leaving Alaha with Acker, I should have said fuck Kai and the rebellion when we arrived on land. Instead of going to the palace in Kenta, I should have begged Acker to come to Maile with me. Then he could have seen how different things can be without hindering magic underneath his father’s tyrannical rule. Maybe things would be different.
Wow, what a good idea four years too late. Dumb bitch.
I try to give myself grace, remind myself that I was young and naive and distrustful of … nearly everyone, Acker included. And it’s not as if he’s ever come for me, or sent a single message with a bird. I vacillate between being angry at him as much as at myself. If he truly loved me the way I thought he did, then he would have never married Irina.
…
Please stop giving yourself grace.
I need to give Acker the same grace I would ask in return. Not that I have or ever will ask him for forgiveness for my betrayal, but that’s irrelevant.
I truly, honest to God, hate her. And the way she made Acker kneel at her feet when he got to Maile? I almost DNF’ed on the spot.
“And what was I? Collateral damage?”
“Yes.”
This is Acker talking to Beau. What a sister, everybody.
The remorse I’ve been carrying for my actions in Kenta dissolves into nothing, and all it leaves behind is burning resentment.
Bitch what remorse? Like genuinely what the actual fuck are you talking about?
Anyway, I’ll probably read Messer’s book because I actually don’t hate him, and I’d like to see him get his girl. But thank God I’m done with Jovie’s story dude.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
I’m already annoyed and I haven’t even started yet.
June 24, 2026
…that’s it?
June 10, 2026
Enjoyed this follow-up! Probs 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for yours truly. I inhaled it in like a day & just had a solid time.
Also thank you to St. Martins Press & Podium Entertainment for sending me both physical & audio copies!
PLOT
This takes place 4 years after the events of Metal Slinger. A war is under way & our characters have been dealing with the betrayals as well as their lingering feelings.
- lovers to enemies-ish to lovers again (more like really bitter but not over each other)
- politics & war
- shifters, light magic, metal magic
- denied bonds
- lower spice
- duet audiobook
PROS
- I don’t care how mad they were at each other Jovie & Acker’s tension was top notch & THICK.
- There was a particular scene that had me sweatin’. Rachel really said “I can’t do the whiskey glass again but I can do this”.
- Both of our leads were messy in dealing with their feelings/regrets/etc. & it was kind of refreshing.
- I particularly appreciated Acker feeling like a fully established MMC. Sometimes the farther you get into a romantasy series the more the men lose any backbone & seemingly don’t exist as a person anymore. So I actually quite liked that Acker pushed her & challenged her. Even if he was being an ass sometimes I appreciated that he was always his own person. And he was PROPERLY morally gray this book IMO.
- REALLY good audiobook! Great narration.
- Action-packed, no real lulls.
- Solid side characters. Big Messer fan still.
- Genuinely laughed out loud at “you don’t even know how to whistle” — that whole thing added a fun little mess that I actually ate tf up.
- Some fun reveals!
MIDS
- I felt so bad for Irina basically the whole book & I hope she gets her time in the sun in book 3. I’m not sure she will, it was just a bummer & I genuinely just felt bad for her.
CONS
- Something about the expansion of the world in this felt a little harder to follow? I’m not sure if it had just been so long since I read book 1, or because I read it so quickly, but I kept being like “well shit where is this? Who is that?” more than I typically do in a sequel.
- I almost maybe wanted MORE romance from our leads? We dealt with so much re: their dynamic/betrayals/etc. & yes we got our ending but maybe I wanted a lil more?
Book 3 will be fun from you-know-who’s perspective! & yes, this is book 2 in a duet but there will be more in the series to come from another POV.
Also thank you to St. Martins Press & Podium Entertainment for sending me both physical & audio copies!
PLOT
This takes place 4 years after the events of Metal Slinger. A war is under way & our characters have been dealing with the betrayals as well as their lingering feelings.
- lovers to enemies-ish to lovers again (more like really bitter but not over each other)
- politics & war
- shifters, light magic, metal magic
- denied bonds
- lower spice
- duet audiobook
PROS
- I don’t care how mad they were at each other Jovie & Acker’s tension was top notch & THICK.
- There was a particular scene that had me sweatin’. Rachel really said “I can’t do the whiskey glass again but I can do this”.
- Both of our leads were messy in dealing with their feelings/regrets/etc. & it was kind of refreshing.
- I particularly appreciated Acker feeling like a fully established MMC. Sometimes the farther you get into a romantasy series the more the men lose any backbone & seemingly don’t exist as a person anymore. So I actually quite liked that Acker pushed her & challenged her. Even if he was being an ass sometimes I appreciated that he was always his own person. And he was PROPERLY morally gray this book IMO.
- REALLY good audiobook! Great narration.
- Action-packed, no real lulls.
- Solid side characters. Big Messer fan still.
- Genuinely laughed out loud at “you don’t even know how to whistle” — that whole thing added a fun little mess that I actually ate tf up.
- Some fun reveals!
MIDS
- I felt so bad for Irina basically the whole book & I hope she gets her time in the sun in book 3. I’m not sure she will, it was just a bummer & I genuinely just felt bad for her.
CONS
- Something about the expansion of the world in this felt a little harder to follow? I’m not sure if it had just been so long since I read book 1, or because I read it so quickly, but I kept being like “well shit where is this? Who is that?” more than I typically do in a sequel.
- I almost maybe wanted MORE romance from our leads? We dealt with so much re: their dynamic/betrayals/etc. & yes we got our ending but maybe I wanted a lil more?
Book 3 will be fun from you-know-who’s perspective! & yes, this is book 2 in a duet but there will be more in the series to come from another POV.
June 12, 2026
1 🌟 “𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔”
𝟺 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 … 🌀✨
this was one of my most anticipated reads. i’m telling you my cheeks were clenched for weeks just in anticipation and well……. this did not meet my expectations sadly. and yes i will admit they were high but how could they not be after book 1 with that ending??? LIKE.
i’m genuinely so invested in these characters, this plot, and this world and i just felt so mixed throughout the whole book… ughhh and i hate to say it but the romance just fell soo flat for me. WHY ARE WE NOT TRYING TO END EACH OTHER?? where did the tension go?? also there was a lot of build up for things that got resolved just way too quick, or just things don’t get resolved… and yeah it left me feeling meh and bored.
𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝒜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓇 no matter what i love these characters 💘🦋 i just wish this book did them more justice. i NEEDED more. more tension, more yearning, more of them. it just felt too rushed…
one thing i will say is 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙧 my love!!! 😚🫶🏻 i enjoyed every single thing that came flying out of this man’s mouth lmao
overall i was just expecting/wanting so much more and found it very mid compared to book 1. there were some good moments and im definitely going to miss 𝙅𝙤 and 𝘼𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 but this is not my fav. going to act like it doesn’t exist!! 😅
𝟺 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 … 🌀✨
this was one of my most anticipated reads. i’m telling you my cheeks were clenched for weeks just in anticipation and well……. this did not meet my expectations sadly. and yes i will admit they were high but how could they not be after book 1 with that ending??? LIKE.
i’m genuinely so invested in these characters, this plot, and this world and i just felt so mixed throughout the whole book… ughhh and i hate to say it but the romance just fell soo flat for me. WHY ARE WE NOT TRYING TO END EACH OTHER?? where did the tension go?? also there was a lot of build up for things that got resolved just way too quick, or just things don’t get resolved… and yeah it left me feeling meh and bored.
𝘑𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝒜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓇 no matter what i love these characters 💘🦋 i just wish this book did them more justice. i NEEDED more. more tension, more yearning, more of them. it just felt too rushed…
one thing i will say is 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙧 my love!!! 😚🫶🏻 i enjoyed every single thing that came flying out of this man’s mouth lmao
overall i was just expecting/wanting so much more and found it very mid compared to book 1. there were some good moments and im definitely going to miss 𝙅𝙤 and 𝘼𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 but this is not my fav. going to act like it doesn’t exist!! 😅
August 6, 2026
DNF
I quit 😃
It’s not that bad, but I don’t think I can continue reading it, so I decided to DNF 🫂 This just isn’t for me, and honestly, it’s very mid 🫤
Yea, that’s it guys. Love y’all 🫶🩷
——————————————————
ִֶָ ..𓂃 ִֶָ🦋་༘࿐pre-read ִֶָ ..𓂃 ִֶָ🦋་༘࿐
I remember reading the first book a loooong time ago, and I loved it so much 🤭🙂↕️ I was so shocked by that ending 😭 So let’s see what this book has in store for us 👀🩷
I quit 😃
It’s not that bad, but I don’t think I can continue reading it, so I decided to DNF 🫂 This just isn’t for me, and honestly, it’s very mid 🫤
Yea, that’s it guys. Love y’all 🫶🩷
——————————————————
ִֶָ ..𓂃 ִֶָ🦋་༘࿐pre-read ִֶָ ..𓂃 ִֶָ🦋་༘࿐
I remember reading the first book a loooong time ago, and I loved it so much 🤭🙂↕️ I was so shocked by that ending 😭 So let’s see what this book has in store for us 👀🩷
June 9, 2026
“Choosing sides is the same as choosing conflict”
This is one of those series that absolutely sucked me in first with the hype, and then with the ending to the first book. One of those “excuse me?” moments. Admittedly it wasn’t my favorite romantasy I read last year, but I think extreme popularity can make any book feel slightly underwhelming. No fault to the story itself. And obviously I came back for the second so the hype did its job.
Now the reviews for this sequel seem to be quite polarizing, many skewing toward negative from what I’ve seen. And honestly? I’m a bit ambivalent. I wasn't even sure I was going to read this until I saw Anthony Palmini listed as a narrator, so I went in without any specific expectations.
At the beginning of Light Wielder I really did have that initial rush, that feeling that the story was going to take some interesting turns. I thought the writing was a bit more polished, and I enjoyed the addition of not only Acker’s POV, but getting some insight to the twist at the end of Metal Slinger that didn’t seem to have any foreshadowing. But said twist also made me cautious of trusting anyone’s POV, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that.
Then the middle got bogged down by some toxic relationship shenanigans and revenge tactics that felt stale after going around and around in circles. I can certainly be petty enough to enjoy some playful vengeance, but this went a smidge too far to be so easily forgiven. Although if we’re going for “an eye for an eye,” then by all means, I suppose this served the purpose.
I also have some mixed thoughts on the plot and politics. I think the author was trying to avoid labeling a particular side as either good or evil, and point out that any person or group that gets too obsessed with power is likely to use oppression and violence to achieve their goals. And I absolutely applaud that observation. However, the shifting loyalties between kingdoms became so convoluted that I felt like the message got muddled in the chaos. And as a true high fantasy lover, the ending felt just a little too easy. I would have loved a little bit more commentary on the true cost of such an extensive war.
Overall, this was still a fairly fun read. Maybe because my expectations weren’t too high. Maybe because I will listen to just about anything Palmini narrates.
3⭐️’s kindle, 3.5⭐️’s for the audiobook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pre: The addition of Anthony Palmini to the audiobook may have influenced my decision to pick this up. And I also want answers after the ending from the first book.
This is one of those series that absolutely sucked me in first with the hype, and then with the ending to the first book. One of those “excuse me?” moments. Admittedly it wasn’t my favorite romantasy I read last year, but I think extreme popularity can make any book feel slightly underwhelming. No fault to the story itself. And obviously I came back for the second so the hype did its job.
Now the reviews for this sequel seem to be quite polarizing, many skewing toward negative from what I’ve seen. And honestly? I’m a bit ambivalent. I wasn't even sure I was going to read this until I saw Anthony Palmini listed as a narrator, so I went in without any specific expectations.
At the beginning of Light Wielder I really did have that initial rush, that feeling that the story was going to take some interesting turns. I thought the writing was a bit more polished, and I enjoyed the addition of not only Acker’s POV, but getting some insight to the twist at the end of Metal Slinger that didn’t seem to have any foreshadowing. But said twist also made me cautious of trusting anyone’s POV, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that.
Then the middle got bogged down by some toxic relationship shenanigans and revenge tactics that felt stale after going around and around in circles. I can certainly be petty enough to enjoy some playful vengeance, but this went a smidge too far to be so easily forgiven. Although if we’re going for “an eye for an eye,” then by all means, I suppose this served the purpose.
I also have some mixed thoughts on the plot and politics. I think the author was trying to avoid labeling a particular side as either good or evil, and point out that any person or group that gets too obsessed with power is likely to use oppression and violence to achieve their goals. And I absolutely applaud that observation. However, the shifting loyalties between kingdoms became so convoluted that I felt like the message got muddled in the chaos. And as a true high fantasy lover, the ending felt just a little too easy. I would have loved a little bit more commentary on the true cost of such an extensive war.
Overall, this was still a fairly fun read. Maybe because my expectations weren’t too high. Maybe because I will listen to just about anything Palmini narrates.
3⭐️’s kindle, 3.5⭐️’s for the audiobook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pre: The addition of Anthony Palmini to the audiobook may have influenced my decision to pick this up. And I also want answers after the ending from the first book.
June 18, 2026
I really tried to give this a chance , but in the nicest way possible wtf was this?!! 🤨
This has got to be one of the biggest let downs of the year because book one was actually enjoyable with a good plot twist , but alas here we are with this mess. here go my thoughts….
1. Why did this book make me fall asleep so fast every time I picked it up 🥱 I swear I haven’t gone to bed this early in months so at least I got something good out of this.
2. The 4 year time jump… yeah no. This was so unnecessary. Like we never got any details of all that happened within that time??
3. chapter 23/24 so unnecessary as well. Like it was just so randomly thrown in there for what??
4. Acker, *major siiiiiighhhhh* he had so much potential after book one!! I loved him there !! Actual jail time to the author because I thought this man would save the book with his yearning, but we all we got was a nagging man with major daddy issues who was beginning the entire time. It was not it unfortunately.
5. Jovie… so insufferable. Her chapters made me want to bleach my eyes out. She literally gave us nothing the entire time. Such a dull fmc!!
6. The chemistry was non existent!! Like I have more chemistry with my mail man and I hardly see him!! You can’t convince me these two actually likes each other!! I feel like both Acker and Jovie “hated” each other one second and then were lusting after one another ?! Like where was the major yearning on both sides since they haven’t seen each other in 4 years besides the bond?!! Again another reason why this time jump was just plain dumb.
7. All the added characters along with the plot were just so confusing?? Even after googling who was who I was lost and just uninterested. For the life of me I can’t tell you who was fighting who in the end 🥱 The only character I enjoyed reading about was Messer!!
8. The writing on this one… yikes. I fear it just wasn’t for me.
These is one of those cases where the book is so bad , but you’ve made it so far you might as well skim to see how it ends and yeah it wasn’t worth it. If you loved this I love that for you, but I wish I had amnesia so I could forget I ever read this.
This has got to be one of the biggest let downs of the year because book one was actually enjoyable with a good plot twist , but alas here we are with this mess. here go my thoughts….
1. Why did this book make me fall asleep so fast every time I picked it up 🥱 I swear I haven’t gone to bed this early in months so at least I got something good out of this.
2. The 4 year time jump… yeah no. This was so unnecessary. Like we never got any details of all that happened within that time??
3. chapter 23/24 so unnecessary as well. Like it was just so randomly thrown in there for what??
4. Acker, *major siiiiiighhhhh* he had so much potential after book one!! I loved him there !! Actual jail time to the author because I thought this man would save the book with his yearning, but we all we got was a nagging man with major daddy issues who was beginning the entire time. It was not it unfortunately.
5. Jovie… so insufferable. Her chapters made me want to bleach my eyes out. She literally gave us nothing the entire time. Such a dull fmc!!
6. The chemistry was non existent!! Like I have more chemistry with my mail man and I hardly see him!! You can’t convince me these two actually likes each other!! I feel like both Acker and Jovie “hated” each other one second and then were lusting after one another ?! Like where was the major yearning on both sides since they haven’t seen each other in 4 years besides the bond?!! Again another reason why this time jump was just plain dumb.
7. All the added characters along with the plot were just so confusing?? Even after googling who was who I was lost and just uninterested. For the life of me I can’t tell you who was fighting who in the end 🥱 The only character I enjoyed reading about was Messer!!
8. The writing on this one… yikes. I fear it just wasn’t for me.
These is one of those cases where the book is so bad , but you’ve made it so far you might as well skim to see how it ends and yeah it wasn’t worth it. If you loved this I love that for you, but I wish I had amnesia so I could forget I ever read this.
June 9, 2026
That kind of disappointment almost feels like betrayal when you've spent months waiting for a sequel.
And yes, there's a particular kind of frustration when characters you loved suddenly start making decisions that seem cruel and sensless. Instead of feeling flawed and human, they come across as irrational, and you're left thinking, "There is no way the person from Book 1 would do this."
The worst part is that Book 1 remains brilliant, so you keep reading hoping the magic will return—only to become more disappointed with every chapter.
And yes, there's a particular kind of frustration when characters you loved suddenly start making decisions that seem cruel and sensless. Instead of feeling flawed and human, they come across as irrational, and you're left thinking, "There is no way the person from Book 1 would do this."
The worst part is that Book 1 remains brilliant, so you keep reading hoping the magic will return—only to become more disappointed with every chapter.
Want to Read
January 5, 2025i need this book neowww
or i might combust
edit: all i can think about is that viral audio of a woman saying "Show it to me please Rachel please send it to me 🥹" and it fits so perfectly with most of booktok right now in relation to this sequel hhahagha
or i might combust
edit: all i can think about is that viral audio of a woman saying "Show it to me please Rachel please send it to me 🥹" and it fits so perfectly with most of booktok right now in relation to this sequel hhahagha
Did Not Finish
June 17, 2026This can't be the same author who wrote Metal Slinger, I refuse to believe it.
I've been forcing myself to read it for 6 days, and I'm calling it quits after 231 pages
I've been forcing myself to read it for 6 days, and I'm calling it quits after 231 pages
July 13, 2026
First of all, I need to ask Ms Rachel Schneider a very serious question: IS THIS ACTUALLY THE SAME AUTHOR WHO WROTE THE ABSOLUTE CINEMA THAT WAS METAL SLINGER?! Because Light Wielder honestly felt like it was ghostwritten by a completely different person, and I am so incredibly disappointed! Where was the momentum? The pacing was an absolute slog, and I found myself dragging my soul through every single chapter, rolling my eyes at literally every corner of this book.
I am generously giving this a 3-star rating, and let’s be real, the book had to fight for its life to even get that. The first star is entirely for Messer, the absolute loyal companion and my literal husband—I am begging on my hands and knees for him to get his own spin-off, but please, Ms Schneider, pull your big-girl pants together and write us a book worthy of him next time!
The second star is exclusively dedicated to the absolute chokehold Acker’s nose ring had on me, because visualizing that was the only thing making me drool.
The third and final star is for the barely-there, patched-together maze of a fantasy plot, alongside the practically non-existent spice that felt like it was just thrown in at the last minute to appease us smut readers. It was giving lackluster, it was giving dry, and I am just so sad.
This high-fantasy sequel had so much potential with its forced proximity and betrayal tropes, but the execution completely missed the mark for me. The explosive world-building from book one totally fizzled out into endless filler, and the romantic tension between the leads felt like a total downgrade compared to the feral chemistry we deserved.
Instead of a gripping, high-stakes magical ride, we got a chaotic maze of a storyline that barely held itself together, making the character development feel completely stagnant. If you are reading this for the plot twists or the high-heat fantasy romance, please lower your expectations immediately because the pacing will test your absolute sanity. I still have love for this universe, but Light Wielder was a massive slump-inducer that left me feeling completely ghosted by an author I usually auto-buy.
I am generously giving this a 3-star rating, and let’s be real, the book had to fight for its life to even get that. The first star is entirely for Messer, the absolute loyal companion and my literal husband—I am begging on my hands and knees for him to get his own spin-off, but please, Ms Schneider, pull your big-girl pants together and write us a book worthy of him next time!
The second star is exclusively dedicated to the absolute chokehold Acker’s nose ring had on me, because visualizing that was the only thing making me drool.
The third and final star is for the barely-there, patched-together maze of a fantasy plot, alongside the practically non-existent spice that felt like it was just thrown in at the last minute to appease us smut readers. It was giving lackluster, it was giving dry, and I am just so sad.
This high-fantasy sequel had so much potential with its forced proximity and betrayal tropes, but the execution completely missed the mark for me. The explosive world-building from book one totally fizzled out into endless filler, and the romantic tension between the leads felt like a total downgrade compared to the feral chemistry we deserved.
Instead of a gripping, high-stakes magical ride, we got a chaotic maze of a storyline that barely held itself together, making the character development feel completely stagnant. If you are reading this for the plot twists or the high-heat fantasy romance, please lower your expectations immediately because the pacing will test your absolute sanity. I still have love for this universe, but Light Wielder was a massive slump-inducer that left me feeling completely ghosted by an author I usually auto-buy.
January 6, 2026
⥼~-✰-~⥽ ☽ ˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊☾ ⥼~-✰-~⥽
“Ill never abandon her….
I can’t.
I won’t”
I knew from the start I wasn’t going to enjoy this book yes okay I had doubts when reading the reviews of this book that it didn’t sound at all fun I did have my expectations low on this one and I was right…
What was this? Where was the spark like metal slinger was? How did it go from 5 stars for the first now this one being pure boring to 2 star… explain that?! 😭😭
I tried to love it like I did with the first book but there was just nothing there no grip holding it was just dread after chapter
There was just no back bone whatsoever the chemistry of Jo and acker POVs literally nothing there like metal slinger was it just seemed they lost there spark the writer just made it a whole aff mess
I know I usually do each character pov in my reviews but this was just non existent to do that there was no personality to each character yes there was tension but it was dread… for each of them it was rather disappointing
The romance:
Okay… the romance was up there especially when it came to the smutt scenario but does it have to be like
Ughhh… or like it felt forced of those two to have sex? Like the spark of them both was just not there when they got down to buisness… I did feel like there communication was a little off aswell especially when it came to the hard battles they always get in each others way or one of them getting hurt or kidnapped which was really frustrating…
The absence of Kai was lacking so bad didn’t see him at all during the book but towards the end …. Like bruh he’s my fav character showed him nothing where’s his logic? I wanted to pop him up more in this one but that was truly disappointing itself felt like the author gave him no shit for this one he could’ve made the book what it was I would’ve given this a higher rating for that if we had more of Kai 🙄🙄
The ending :
This has got to be the most frustrating book I have read for the summer like bruh where did the spark of the writing go? It had no flaw… no excitement… nothing just pure utter crappness I am proud of myself pushing through to finish god forsaken book but what the fuck was that ending though after all that drama that’s what we get?
I swear if the third book ever gets released it better be better than this one ever was like fuck me I don’t usually like to swear in my reviews as of minors on this app but this fucked me off…
Kai better bring his a game in the next book other wise that would be another low rating for the third book this was truly disappointing in a lot of ways….
🏖⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒
﹏﹒✦﹒✶﹏﹒✦﹒﹏✦﹒
𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋🍉⋮ ⌗ pre read ⋆˙⟡
⤷ ゛ ˎˊ˗ Started 21st August 2026
So desptite the negative reviews on this giving this one a go as i didd enjoyy the first one so hopefully might suurprise me !! also this choosing my next kindle read !!! lets goo!
﹏﹒✦﹒✶﹏﹒✦﹒﹏✦﹒
Pre release : 😈💜☔️🦄🪻💛🌻🦋
So your telling me it’s not till June? I’m hopefully in Thailand still to get to read it then for the vibes ! 🤭 can’t wait for this release!! 💜💜
I can’t.
I won’t”
I knew from the start I wasn’t going to enjoy this book yes okay I had doubts when reading the reviews of this book that it didn’t sound at all fun I did have my expectations low on this one and I was right…
What was this? Where was the spark like metal slinger was? How did it go from 5 stars for the first now this one being pure boring to 2 star… explain that?! 😭😭
I tried to love it like I did with the first book but there was just nothing there no grip holding it was just dread after chapter
There was just no back bone whatsoever the chemistry of Jo and acker POVs literally nothing there like metal slinger was it just seemed they lost there spark the writer just made it a whole aff mess
I know I usually do each character pov in my reviews but this was just non existent to do that there was no personality to each character yes there was tension but it was dread… for each of them it was rather disappointing
The romance:
Okay… the romance was up there especially when it came to the smutt scenario but does it have to be like
Ughhh… or like it felt forced of those two to have sex? Like the spark of them both was just not there when they got down to buisness… I did feel like there communication was a little off aswell especially when it came to the hard battles they always get in each others way or one of them getting hurt or kidnapped which was really frustrating…
The absence of Kai was lacking so bad didn’t see him at all during the book but towards the end …. Like bruh he’s my fav character showed him nothing where’s his logic? I wanted to pop him up more in this one but that was truly disappointing itself felt like the author gave him no shit for this one he could’ve made the book what it was I would’ve given this a higher rating for that if we had more of Kai 🙄🙄
The ending :
This has got to be the most frustrating book I have read for the summer like bruh where did the spark of the writing go? It had no flaw… no excitement… nothing just pure utter crappness I am proud of myself pushing through to finish god forsaken book but what the fuck was that ending though after all that drama that’s what we get?
I swear if the third book ever gets released it better be better than this one ever was like fuck me I don’t usually like to swear in my reviews as of minors on this app but this fucked me off…
Kai better bring his a game in the next book other wise that would be another low rating for the third book this was truly disappointing in a lot of ways….
🏖⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆⭒˚.🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒˚.⋆ 🏖 ⋆⭒
﹏﹒✦﹒✶﹏﹒✦﹒﹏✦﹒
𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋🍉⋮ ⌗ pre read ⋆˙⟡
⤷ ゛ ˎˊ˗ Started 21st August 2026
So desptite the negative reviews on this giving this one a go as i didd enjoyy the first one so hopefully might suurprise me !! also this choosing my next kindle read !!! lets goo!
﹏﹒✦﹒✶﹏﹒✦﹒﹏✦﹒
Pre release : 😈💜☔️🦄🪻💛🌻🦋
So your telling me it’s not till June? I’m hopefully in Thailand still to get to read it then for the vibes ! 🤭 can’t wait for this release!! 💜💜
September 17, 2026
It’s very unusual for me to rate something 1 star, and EXTREMELY unusual for me to add a book to my “Hated Would Throw Into The Ocean” shelf, but when I’m literally doing this to my ereader in my bed, it’s pretty dire.
I like to start a lot of my reviews with quotes. I have several. Here are all my favorite typos, grammatical errors, or jumbled up nonsense sentences that somehow made it into this published book:
“asks in responds to my unvoiced words.”
“She nods. "My mother said it's from before she met my father, likely before Edmond held the thrown, even."”
“He returns his gaze to Messer, then myself, before he says, "I want to cut off the head off the snake."”
“His eyes laze one glances at me, noticing I'm awake.”
I think we should check on Rachel Schneider, she may have had a stroke during that last one.
Honestly just what I quoted above would be enough for me to hate this book. But it was somehow even worse than that. I read Metal Slinger SIX MONTHS AGO and still when I started this book I had no idea what the fuck was going on. And then when I finished this book, I still had no idea what the fuck was going on. The book starts with this huge war that seems centered on Acker’s people being forced to wear something called mangi stones by the tyrannical king. I could swear I NEVER read this in the first book, to the point that my lovely savior, Gabbie, confirmed this by doing a search for the term “mangi” in the previous book and checked all the instances it was mentioned. Indeed, it was pulled from thin air. The plot seemed to be following some internal logic belonging only to Rachel Schneider that, unfortunately for her (or us? idfk), the rest of us don’t share. Characters seem to be wherever it’s convenient for the plot, even though the plot isn’t particularly following any sort of continuity at any given moment. Plans the characters made just sent my head spinning because I had no idea what they were even trying to accomplish.
We also need to talk about the gross sex. The sex? It was gross. First off, in Metal Slinger there is a glass, like a whiskey tumbler type, used for some sexual escapades. Literally one of the weirdest sex scenes I have ever read, iykyk. The infamous glass was deliberately pointed out by Acker as STILL BEING IN ROTATION of the glasses they offer dignitaries! I’m sorry, WHAT. You are rich! Why was this not thrown out!? My GOD. 🤮
Aside from that disgusting nonsense, the rest of the sex in general just gave me the ick. There’s a finger bang session in an aviary type building, and I think the author forgot or was unaware that those areas smell HEAVILY like bird shit, and it is AWFUL. There’s a weird, uncomfortable not totally consensual 3-way, there’s a sexual encounter in the middle of a staircase, as if this wouldn’t be the most awkward, uncomfortable place to do that EVER. Honestly I could go on and on, like please just SPARE US RACHEL SCHNEIDER.
I hate writing long reviews, so as much as I despised this book I will rein it in. Special thank you to Gabbie for practically daring me to read this garbage after I said I never, ever would. Some of it did at least make me laugh.
I like to start a lot of my reviews with quotes. I have several. Here are all my favorite typos, grammatical errors, or jumbled up nonsense sentences that somehow made it into this published book:
“asks in responds to my unvoiced words.”
“She nods. "My mother said it's from before she met my father, likely before Edmond held the thrown, even."”
“He returns his gaze to Messer, then myself, before he says, "I want to cut off the head off the snake."”
“His eyes laze one glances at me, noticing I'm awake.”
I think we should check on Rachel Schneider, she may have had a stroke during that last one.
Honestly just what I quoted above would be enough for me to hate this book. But it was somehow even worse than that. I read Metal Slinger SIX MONTHS AGO and still when I started this book I had no idea what the fuck was going on. And then when I finished this book, I still had no idea what the fuck was going on. The book starts with this huge war that seems centered on Acker’s people being forced to wear something called mangi stones by the tyrannical king. I could swear I NEVER read this in the first book, to the point that my lovely savior, Gabbie, confirmed this by doing a search for the term “mangi” in the previous book and checked all the instances it was mentioned. Indeed, it was pulled from thin air. The plot seemed to be following some internal logic belonging only to Rachel Schneider that, unfortunately for her (or us? idfk), the rest of us don’t share. Characters seem to be wherever it’s convenient for the plot, even though the plot isn’t particularly following any sort of continuity at any given moment. Plans the characters made just sent my head spinning because I had no idea what they were even trying to accomplish.
We also need to talk about the gross sex. The sex? It was gross. First off, in Metal Slinger there is a glass, like a whiskey tumbler type, used for some sexual escapades. Literally one of the weirdest sex scenes I have ever read, iykyk. The infamous glass was deliberately pointed out by Acker as STILL BEING IN ROTATION of the glasses they offer dignitaries! I’m sorry, WHAT. You are rich! Why was this not thrown out!? My GOD. 🤮
Aside from that disgusting nonsense, the rest of the sex in general just gave me the ick. There’s a finger bang session in an aviary type building, and I think the author forgot or was unaware that those areas smell HEAVILY like bird shit, and it is AWFUL. There’s a weird, uncomfortable not totally consensual 3-way, there’s a sexual encounter in the middle of a staircase, as if this wouldn’t be the most awkward, uncomfortable place to do that EVER. Honestly I could go on and on, like please just SPARE US RACHEL SCHNEIDER.
I hate writing long reviews, so as much as I despised this book I will rein it in. Special thank you to Gabbie for practically daring me to read this garbage after I said I never, ever would. Some of it did at least make me laugh.
July 12, 2026
2.5⭐️
"I can’t help but think to myself in this moment that light burns brightest after the dark."
That was disappointing. This book just showed me again how much I despise time jumps. And it wasn’t even a small one. It was FOUR YEARS. What?! After the ending of Metal Slinger, I was soo excited to get some explanations and see the aftermath of the twist, but that didn’t happen at all.🙃
I hated that Acker got married. I mean, it made sense, but I still absolutely hated it. And I don’t care that he didn’t love Irina or sleep with her since the wedding night. The whole situation honestly just annoyed me. I also felt so sorry for Irina.
Sadly, I was also so indifferent towards Jovie and Acker in this book, and the story didn’t keep me hooked. I enjoyed the ending, though. The last 20% were the only time I actually wanted to know what was going to happen.
The only character I was really interested in throughout the book was Messer. He was my favorite. I want more of him in the future. Maybe his own book? The ending did hint that there might be more between him and Aurora?🤞🏻
tropes:
~ fated mates
~ enemies to lovers
~ war and magic
~ second chance romance
quotes:
"Oath or no oath, and no matter what has already happened or what has yet to happen, nothing will ever negate the fundamental truth that you are, and have always been, mine."
"You’re still so beautiful when you lie."
"I can’t help but think to myself in this moment that light burns brightest after the dark."
That was disappointing. This book just showed me again how much I despise time jumps. And it wasn’t even a small one. It was FOUR YEARS. What?! After the ending of Metal Slinger, I was soo excited to get some explanations and see the aftermath of the twist, but that didn’t happen at all.🙃
I hated that Acker got married. I mean, it made sense, but I still absolutely hated it. And I don’t care that he didn’t love Irina or sleep with her since the wedding night. The whole situation honestly just annoyed me. I also felt so sorry for Irina.
Sadly, I was also so indifferent towards Jovie and Acker in this book, and the story didn’t keep me hooked. I enjoyed the ending, though. The last 20% were the only time I actually wanted to know what was going to happen.
The only character I was really interested in throughout the book was Messer. He was my favorite. I want more of him in the future. Maybe his own book? The ending did hint that there might be more between him and Aurora?🤞🏻
tropes:
~ fated mates
~ enemies to lovers
~ war and magic
~ second chance romance
quotes:
"Oath or no oath, and no matter what has already happened or what has yet to happen, nothing will ever negate the fundamental truth that you are, and have always been, mine."
"You’re still so beautiful when you lie."
June 15, 2026
1.5☆ give me ten…
OMFG. What a disappointment this book was.
I am genuinely in disbelief. I had the BEST time reading Metal Slinger, and that cliffhanger alone made it a five-star read for me. So after waiting a year and a half for this sequel to finally release, this is what we get? Absolutely not. At this point, let me rewrite it myself.
Honestly, I don't even know where to start. But I also don't want to waste too much energy writing a well thought out review because it felt like the energy to write this book wasn't there so why should I put more effort here? Effort goes both ways. I finished whatever the fuck this second book was supposed to be, so consider this less of a review and more of a rant.
First of all: a FOUR-YEAR TIME JUMP? FOR WHAT? WHAT WAS THE REASON? We spent an entire book building up to that ending, and instead of picking up where things left off, we're suddenly four years later? This book felt like one giant filler episode. Nothing happened. I was bored for most of it. I did not wait a year and a half to read chapter after chapter of political meetings and endless conversations that went nowhere. Where was the momentum? Where was the payoff?
And why did the magic system somehow become more confusing? By book two, I should have a solid grasp on how things work, not be sitting there wondering if I missed several hundred pages of explanation.
Then there's Jovie, who somehow continued making the most frustrating decisions possible. Every time I thought we were making progress, she'd do something that made me want to jump in the book and slap her. Acker deserves so much better than whatever was happening here.
Anyway, my thumbs are starting to hurt from typing this, and I need to lower my heart rate because thinking about this book has made me angry all over again. I said give me ten… maybe give me another ten.
Two stars for Acker and Messer.
OMFG. What a disappointment this book was.
I am genuinely in disbelief. I had the BEST time reading Metal Slinger, and that cliffhanger alone made it a five-star read for me. So after waiting a year and a half for this sequel to finally release, this is what we get? Absolutely not. At this point, let me rewrite it myself.
Honestly, I don't even know where to start. But I also don't want to waste too much energy writing a well thought out review because it felt like the energy to write this book wasn't there so why should I put more effort here? Effort goes both ways. I finished whatever the fuck this second book was supposed to be, so consider this less of a review and more of a rant.
First of all: a FOUR-YEAR TIME JUMP? FOR WHAT? WHAT WAS THE REASON? We spent an entire book building up to that ending, and instead of picking up where things left off, we're suddenly four years later? This book felt like one giant filler episode. Nothing happened. I was bored for most of it. I did not wait a year and a half to read chapter after chapter of political meetings and endless conversations that went nowhere. Where was the momentum? Where was the payoff?
And why did the magic system somehow become more confusing? By book two, I should have a solid grasp on how things work, not be sitting there wondering if I missed several hundred pages of explanation.
Then there's Jovie, who somehow continued making the most frustrating decisions possible. Every time I thought we were making progress, she'd do something that made me want to jump in the book and slap her. Acker deserves so much better than whatever was happening here.
Anyway, my thumbs are starting to hurt from typing this, and I need to lower my heart rate because thinking about this book has made me angry all over again. I said give me ten… maybe give me another ten.
Two stars for Acker and Messer.
January 9, 2025
The book description 😭 4 year time jump! Acker is married 😭😵💫😭 I’m going to throw up
June 11, 2026
This book was so frustrating.
It started off great. There was a lot of tension, and I was enjoying seeing the difference between the two charatcers and where they ended up 4 years after the first book.
But the rest of the book was a hot mess. Acker is just waste of a good MMC. He was solid in the first book, not the best not the worst, and he was absolutely assassinated in this book. He refused to listen to any reason, he had no idea what respect means when it comes to the apparent love of his life, and he is incapable of communication.
The romance here, if that's what we're calling it, was a huge miss. I liked Jo's side of it for a lot of the book and it seemed like she was gonna make him work for it, but all of that flies out the window due to lust and then we just move on like Acker didn't completely disregard, disrespect, and emotionally torture her for most of the book.
Not to mention all the shit that happened in the book out of nowhere and for seemingly no reason. Plot holes everywhere, and shit happening that seemed to be there just to provide shock value or tension and then the story moves on and never mentions it again.
If you were shaky on the first book, I would not recommend reading this one 💔
It started off great. There was a lot of tension, and I was enjoying seeing the difference between the two charatcers and where they ended up 4 years after the first book.
But the rest of the book was a hot mess. Acker is just waste of a good MMC. He was solid in the first book, not the best not the worst, and he was absolutely assassinated in this book. He refused to listen to any reason, he had no idea what respect means when it comes to the apparent love of his life, and he is incapable of communication.
The romance here, if that's what we're calling it, was a huge miss. I liked Jo's side of it for a lot of the book and it seemed like she was gonna make him work for it, but all of that flies out the window due to lust and then we just move on like Acker didn't completely disregard, disrespect, and emotionally torture her for most of the book.
Not to mention all the shit that happened in the book out of nowhere and for seemingly no reason. Plot holes everywhere, and shit happening that seemed to be there just to provide shock value or tension and then the story moves on and never mentions it again.
If you were shaky on the first book, I would not recommend reading this one 💔
February 5, 2025
staring into the corner of my room because my brain is literally broken after book 1, and somehow I have to get up for work tomorrow with no possibility of book 2 nearby
September 21, 2026
What a disappointment. I remember finishing Metal Slinger and thinking, wow. This could potentially be one of the most delicious lovers to enemies and then back to lovers stories if done right. The setup had so much potential: the tension, the mistrust, the betrayal, the groveling… I was ready to eat it all up. And then we got a 4 year time jump. Suddenly, they weren’t even enemies. And I couldn’t understand what they were even supposed to be upset about with each other after the betrayal. All that delicious potential for tension and emotional fallout, felt like it had happened off-page. Never have I lost interest so rapidly.
I really disliked the FMC. She’s indecisive, painfully oblivious, and has she always been this whiny?! Pushing Acker away while simultaneously being needy for him. Girl, pick a struggle. And the audacity to demand things from him after breaking his heart?? I genuinely don’t see the appeal of following her as a queen, especially that final battle where she rallied her forces. It felt more cringe than inspiring. And where was all the light wielding when it was emphasized how extraordinary and feared light wielders are? And that “war scene”? Underwhelming is an understatement. If you could even call that a battle?! The MMC had so much potential as well, but he eventually became… meh. Messer honestly made this book bearable.
And one final rant: the number of times I had to read the word “intoxicating” in this book nearly made me gag.
It took me almost two months to finish this because I kept fighting for my life trying to pick it back up. But I finished it. I’M FREE.
I really disliked the FMC. She’s indecisive, painfully oblivious, and has she always been this whiny?! Pushing Acker away while simultaneously being needy for him. Girl, pick a struggle. And the audacity to demand things from him after breaking his heart?? I genuinely don’t see the appeal of following her as a queen, especially that final battle where she rallied her forces. It felt more cringe than inspiring. And where was all the light wielding when it was emphasized how extraordinary and feared light wielders are? And that “war scene”? Underwhelming is an understatement. If you could even call that a battle?! The MMC had so much potential as well, but he eventually became… meh. Messer honestly made this book bearable.
And one final rant: the number of times I had to read the word “intoxicating” in this book nearly made me gag.
It took me almost two months to finish this because I kept fighting for my life trying to pick it back up. But I finished it. I’M FREE.
June 10, 2026
"There's no other place I'd rather be. In Maile, with you, serving as your right hand."
"And if I refuse?"
"If you deny me, the only mercy you could offer would be death."
2.5 ⭐
I don't know who lobotomized Acker, but can we get the version of him from Metal Slinger back? This book did not have the Acker that I read about. He was such a yearner in book one and this time around he and Jovie were missing both chemistry and tension. It was such a letdown after how much I loved Metal Slinger, but Light Wielder really fell flat for me.
The beginning was too slow for me to get hooked on. It was filled with logistics about the brewing war, with little action or romance. Then what romance we did get was Jovie and Acker with other people while skirting around their Match Bond. I knew that Acker was going to be with Irina, but I didn't like how long that dragged on. A simple conversation with Jovie could've salvaged some of the slow pacing. And then the whole thing with Frederich was insanity. While I did come to like his character, that scene was not fun to read. Even the really long buildup for Acker and Jovie's reunion failed to capture my interest.
When it came to the actual war, it was all boring. Now my lack of investment in that plot could be due to the fact I didn't reread Metal Slinger before Light Wielder (highly recommend doing so). If you were really into the politics and world-building of the first book, maybe you'll enjoy it much more than I did, but I was struggling to get through it, especially the first half. Then when the action and fighting finally arrived, it was over swiftly and in such a neat fashion. I believe it started and ended within one or two chapters. All that buildup for nothing.
Despite all these flaws, there were some redeeming qualities to Light Wielder. The biggest one was Messer. There were many moments when I was laughing at his interjections, and I adored his friendship with Jovie. I also did find the inner machinations of the Match Bond intriguing. And I do think that when the whole slatstone business is fleshed out, it could be very interesting. Like book one, there were many twists and turns, though to a lesser degree. But while Jovie and Acker's story is technically complete, it unfortunately did not meet my expectations.
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