3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐✨

I really loved the incredible mix of Shakespearen London with Fae and magic.

Joan is an incredible FMC and I really loved her focus and drive.

A fantastic novel for readers of YA that want historical elements woven into a fantasy plot.

*I have misplaced my notes, so this review is not going to be as in depth as I would have liked*

A solid start. Being a Shakespeare girly myself this book was right up my alley.

I loved that it was an urban historical fantasy, and we see the elements of history woven tightly into the story. Very much a la Outlander.

I love seeing a Black FMC in a period piece. BIPOC & Queer rep come through. I did however find the romance pieces to be rather superfluous and could have done without them.

A lot was going on so I feel like there is a lot of room to build into the next book. Definitely going to continue.

I loved the premise of this book and that Williams does not shy away from the likely lived experience of her queer, Black chararacters. I've rated it lower than I expected because I wasn't in love with the writing and parts of the story felt underdeveloped or superficial. That meant that I wandered away from it several times. I also hate a cliffhanger ending! The representation of fae is refreshing and clever and I definitely rooted for the characters. I would certainly listen to an audio version of the next book and will keep and eye on what Williams does next.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 !!!

I adored absolutely everything out this book!!! I was so invested in the characters, and her dynamics and relationship with both her love interests (I’d truly adore for them to become an OT3), the magic system and the world building. It was just absolutely phenomenal!!! I am sitting on the edge of my seat dying for the next book to find out what happens, esp now the Queen is dead and the fae Queen is there in her position !!!

Firstly, Thank you to NetGallery and the author Brittany N. Williams for providing me with the ARC of That Self-Same Metal in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3 stars

That Self-Same Metal delivers on its fantastic premise of a sword-wielding girl battling a fae uprising in Shakespearean London. It seamlessly integrates elements of Shakespeare's works, particularly "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Othello," while exploring themes of racism, sexism, and West African mythology. Despite occasional choppy writing, the action-packed plot and diverse characters make for an engaging read. Overall, it's a promising debut, and I'm eager to see more from this author.

This was SO COOL. I absolutely loved how it felt like a Shakespeare/theatre kid book with magic and fae. It was such a fun, enjoyable book and I adored the main character so much. She's hard-working, sweet, stubborn and fierce, such a wonderful lead. My only minor criticism was how every character blushed or flushed every other sentence, but hey, young love!

Fantasy, Shakespeare, a girl who creates blades, a great world building and a lot of fun.
Read it as it's very entertaining
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Although this started off really strong I found I couldn't connect with the characters as they seemed immature and without much personality.

Why couldn’t this book have been written a decade ago? Teenage me would have adored this mythical adventure in Shakespeare’s London. How That Self-Same Metal isn’t getting all the hype on booksta is beyond me because this YA fantasy has it all. Strong, badass female MC that isn’t overpowered or excessively whiny? Check. Love triangle that isn’t between two boring men who are exactly the same apart from their hair colour? Check. Queer Shakespeare having the time of his life? Check. Characters of colour in Jacobean England? Check. Plus faeries, creatures from folklore wreaking havoc, found families, supportive parents, and a whole lot of quite gory action. This books is the YA fantasy I wish I had been able to read when I was younger.

When you hear a book is going to be inspired by African Mythology but set in Elizabethan London, how can you already not love everything about it? An action packed adventure from start to finish!

As a Shakespeare fan, I am always keen to pick up books that are set in Elizbethan London. This book did not disappoint there at all. The combination of the setting with African mythology was a really interesting twist on your typical historical fantasy.

Definitely glad this is a trilogy as I would like to read more, and I can't wait for the next installment already.

That Self Same Metal us a gem of a book that I really hope gets all the love it deserves.

It entwined African mythology with Shakespeare. Its part fantasy, part historical and I love it. It doesn't gloss over the politics of the time and racism is a theme that runs throughout the book.

I am rather glad this is a trilogy as I feel this was just a teaser and there's so much more! thank you for the ARC

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams is a historical fantasy set in Jacobean London and focuses on the life of Joan Sands, a sixteen-year-old who works with a playing troupe called the King’s Men. While women are prohibited from taking the stage, they can work behind the scenes and Joan’s job is to teach the players how to perform sword fights. It’s not always an easy task, but it is one that brings Joan great joy and lets her use her skill with weapons.

Joan would much rather be working with her father as an apprentice in his workshop, crafting metal with her hands, however, that isn’t considered acceptable work for a woman. It’s even harder for her to watch her father’s untalented apprentice make a hash of things when metal is in her blood, calling to her. Like her entire family, she’s Orisha-blessed, a human who can perform magic due to a blessing by a deity known as an Orisha. Joan has been blessed by the head Orisha, Ogun, the Orisha of Iron and as a result, she can control metal.

She is still learning how to use her powers and is constantly being reminded by her parents and mentor Baba Ben that her spiritual relationship with Ogun needs a lot of work. Joan and her mentor are the only living children of Ogun, so when he goes missing right before the Pact between humans and Fae needs to be renewed by a child of Ogun, Joan’s world is thrown into chaos – especially when neither Joan nor her twin brother James has never even heard of the Pact!

At first, the race is on to find Baba Ben to prevent the Pact from failing, and when that proves to be impossible Joan and James find themselves surrounded by Fae the like they’ve never seen before. While some are obviously foes, others seem to be offering help, but can a Fae ever be trusted?

There were so many parts of the synopsis of That Self-Same Metal that drew me in, as well as the gorgeous cover art that just begged me to learn more about the lead character, and Williams did not disappoint in the slightest. The world-building was very interesting, and it was very clear that Williams had not just done a lot of research, but that she was writing about topics that she was passionate about. I felt that this book was a passion project as much as it was an author bringing their story to life, and that enthusiasm shines through in the characters, especially Joan.

Williams has written a nuanced story that takes into account the prejudices of the time, and she gives voice to Joan’s anguish and fury as she endures racist behaviour in such a powerful way. It was also fantastic to read an openly bisexual character, and I liked the way that Williams chose to write the romance subplot (that’s all I can say without spoiling anything!). Joan is confused about how she feels about Rose and Nick, however, she’s not confused about her sexuality, which is how sexuality is so often written in young adult novels.

In between the chapters, there are small interludes that are mini-tales of what is happening around London as the Fae emerge back into the world, and these were great. Sometimes they connected with the main story, and other times they were just random stories that gave greater context.

It didn’t occur to me until I was reading the acknowledgements that Williams isn’t British. Normally I notice when a non-British author is writing British dialogue, even if there are no issues. It was very much appreciated that Williams took the time to contact a fellow author to ensure that, as she put it, her “Brits were British-ing appropriately”. That the author was Cavan Scott, one of my favourite authors, made that even better.

I enjoyed That Self-Same Metal a lot and if you’re looking for a book that approaches Fae from a new perspective then you will love this one. I can’t wait to follow the adventures of Joan and her companions in the next book!

That Self-Same Metal is a fun, action-packed YA fantasy following Joan, a gifted swordswoman who upkeeps the stage blades for The King's Men. She is gifted in more ways than one, as she is Orisha-blessed with the particular ability of being able to manipulate metal.

Joan is a great protagonist and I liked the teasing, affectionate relationship she had with her twin brother James. I think what fell short for me was that I struggled to connect with any of the many secondary characters, and that included the potential romantic interests. There wasn't much romantic development beyond Joan finding them hot, although I think there's potential for these relationship(s?) to be developed in the sequel.

That Self-Same Metal is an inspiring debut historical novel set in the 17th century just two years after the death of Elizabeth I and in the heart of Shakespearean England. The novel follows the journey of Joan, who works for the King's Men - William Shakespeare's acting company. She possesses the ability to control metal by her Head Orisha, Ogun--a type of fae--and throughout the novel we see her struggle to keep her abilities a secret whilst also living during in a patriarchal, dangerous society that can hold many dangers for young black women such as Joan.

First of all, I love all things to do with Shakespeare so I instantly loved the unique premise of this book as I haven't seen anything like it before. The fascinating combination of the 17th century with fae and a fresh focus on black people during this time period excited me and I will say that I was not disappointed.

Whilst I will say that at certain points the plot was overshadowed by the various themes; sexism, racism and classism just to name a few--this is not something that I feel had a negative impact in the book as I understand that this is the first in a series and sometimes a reader needs a bit more information in order to get a good glimpse at what is to come so for me, this wasn't a major issue.

The level of research and care to appropriately represent not only Shakespeare and what it was like to live in the 17th century but how certain types of interactions would have sounded like and the ability to portray the struggle of black people in this era without it becoming Joan's entire identity has been excellently written. I could not fault any of the historical aspects of the book nor the story as I loved the characters' journeys through the book and I cannot wait to read what happens in the rest of the series.

Note: I was provided with an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Joan is a master metal worker, in a time where women are unable to fully support themselves in a trade, however, she has a plan to work around this. It doesn't hurt that Joan has also been blessed by the Gods and can control metal in a way that no one else can

Joan also works for a Theatre Group, with the one and only Shakespeare with her brother James, who is also blessed by the gods in a different way

As part of the blessing, they can see Fae and when an ancient Pact is broken, Joan and James are drawn into a battle the could not have comprehended, with many of the players being mentioned in Shakespeares plays they are a part of

Joan must use her powers to overcome the Fae, and maybe find her position along the way! Can she do this with the help of her friends and family, and a gift from the Gods doesn't hurt either.....

I understand this is the first of a series, it took a while to get into the swing of the story and world, however, I think picking up the next books would let you dive straight in

Thanks to NetGalley and Faber for the early copy for review, all opinions remain my own.... this will be available for purchase tomorrow (04 Jan)

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for sending an eARC of this title. A more accurate personal rating would be 2.5 ⭐ but I have rounded up to 3.

Right off the bat I want to state that the premise of the story feels innovative and exciting, and I thought I was going to love it. And I really wanted to love it, but there is just too much going on. The book touches on so many important issues and themes - racism, sexism, classism, Shakespearean London and theatre, monarchy, and I could go on. And while those are all incredibly meaningful topics, including them all within a relatively short narrative feels overwhelming and can sometimes detract from their significance.

Another positive of this novel is the varied cast of characters, some of whom (like our protagonist Joan and her twin brother) are well-written and very likeable. However once again there is just too much to keep up with. So many named characters, so many creatures, so much exposition in conversations that the reader doesn't need. The narrative also sometimes even switches perspective, to very minor characters and their experiences with the Fae. I don't wish to spoil anything but some of these perspectives were very jarring and took me out of the story completely as I wondered where on earth this could be going.

I hate to sound overly negative because is there is so much about this book that is good, but I feel that it desperately needed another round of editing and revisions before being released. There are only so many times a character can "clamp their mouth shut" or the plot takes another totally random turn before I need to close the book and step away.

Overall this book has so much promise, but it is let down in its chaotic structure and lack of focus.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me an arc.

The story follows Joan, a young woman who is blessed by the orisha God Ogun and has the ability to manipulate iron — very useful when you're being hunted down by Fae and the King of Fae himself, Auberon.

Did I enjoy this? Sure. Would I read it again? Probably not. I felt neutral all throughout the book. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it, and even when the book picked up with action I still felt the same way as before. It was good, but unfortunately for me it didn't blow me away. I did very much like Rose, though and I enjoyed her part in the story, however small.

* Actual rating is 3.5 stars*

I have some very divided feelings towards this book. To start - I really enjoyed Joan as a character, and her relation with her twin brother was definitely a highlight of the book. Overall the friendships in this book were quite lovely. Also the magical system was also really interesting. Especially how it was connected with the Orisha religion. The setting of Shakespeare’s acting troupe in the early 17th century London

The Faes started out as an interesting aspect and how it could affect the history that we know it. The fact that it also was directly paralleled with the creatures from A Midsummer Night’s Dream was fun. But as the fae aspect got more and more complicated, I just got overwhelmed. The latter part of the book has so much packed into it, and it made things feel rushed at times. Something that made it so that were no space to develop the side characters. Something that made Joans romances feel out of place, and more like lust than love. Because you’re not quite sure what she likes with the people, apart from that she finds them attractive.

If you like historical fantasy and want it to feature fae, a unique magic system, a POC cast and kick-ass heroine, then That Self-Same Metal could be a good read for you.

THAT SELF-SAME METAL is a historical fantasy set in 17th century London, bringing fae, Orisha, and Shakespeare together.

As a Shakespeare lover, this book was a blast. Joan works for the King's Men - Shakespeare's company. This means lots of plays are performed and many references. I loved how the fae of A Midsummer's Night Dream are brought to life, but are far more dangerous than the mischievous characters of the play - and the way that play gets interrupted by them!

The fae certainly cause a lot of trouble, but so do the courtiers. Robert Cecil is here, and uses everyone like tools, expressing it as "gratitude". He is such a slimy, manipulative man abusing his position - a really nice human villain to counterbalance the fae.

I grew up in "historic Southwark" - the part of London that houses the Globe theatre, so I am very familiar with the area the book is set in, and I went to school just north of the river in Westminster. Both school and my own personal interest led to a lot of research into the history of the area. I am therefore often apprehensive going into books set in these parts of London because I know what it should be like - where the streets should be, what buildings are where, etc.

However, THAT SELF-SAME METAL has done well on its research. The setting is very accurate, with lots of nice little details about how plays at the (original) Globe theatre were performed. Plus the book takes advantage of the less than savoury reputation of Southwark at that time (that lasted into the 19th century at least, if not 20th!) for the fae mischief - and why it might have gone unnoticed by members of the court.

The book is also wonderfully diverse, showing what London was like. It also explores the differences in diversity between the different classes, how the nobility regarded people of colour as exotic curios for their entertainment. I liked that this was explored partly through the play Othello and the history of blackface around that play.

This is the start of a trilogy, and the next book promises to be just as full of magic, fae, and plays!