For me Brigid Kemmerer is the perfect YA writer. Her books make you feel like you've just stepped into a fairy tail.
I loved this sequel to Forging Silver into Stars. And I was so happy to be back in this world again!
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Thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for a review copy of this novel. Every time I read a Brigid Kemmerer novel I am struck by the rich characters she creates, the command she has for writing tense and absorbing plotting and great dialogue whether she is writing contemporary or fantasy fiction. This novel is a worthy addition to her library of wonderful novels that linger in the mind. Part of the Forging Silver into Stars series that continues the world in which the Curse Breaker series inhabited, the novel once again features the narratives of Jax, Tycho and Callyn. All around them lurks danger from court intrigue, Scravers or the angry Truthbringers who disapprove of magic in Syl Shallow. Jax has a new life at the forge at Prince Rhen’s court in Emberfall, Tycho is the King’s courier, facing great danger as he tries to navigate the worlds of both Emberfall and Syl Shallow and the growing magic inside of him while he wrestles with his feelings for Jax and his anger at King Grey. And Callyn attempts to make a place for herself and her sister in King and Queen’s household looking after their daughter and deal with her feelings of betrayal against the noboleman Alek, who once again indicates he wants to rekindle things between them. The three are forced to face these struggles alone while Scraver attacks in both kingdoms increase and Tycho’s bond with one particular Scraver hangs over him and the unrest against King Grey in Syl Shallow grows to dangerous levels.

Brigid Kemmerer’s deft writing and plotting shines strongly in this novel in what is a middle book in a series, an accomplishment that many aren’t able to achieve. Once the scenes are set, the characters firmly in place the novel takes off at an absorbing pace and the characters captivate as always. She handles each relationship well—Tycho’s complex relationship with Grey, his developing feelings for Jax, while Jax’s growing friendships and his struggle with establishing his own understanding of what he means to Tycho are realistic and poignant as is his dynamic with Prince Rhen. Callyn’s growing connection to the Queen and Callyn’s relationship with her sister are subtly drawn too. All of these elements combine along with a good solid plot and pacey writing are Kemmerer hallmarks and make for a really good novel.

“Carving Shadows into Gold” is the second book in the “Forging Silver into stars” series. As this is a spinoff series, I recommend reading the “Cursebreakers” trilogy before.

This book has the same POVs as the previous one (Tycho, Jax and Callyn). The start is slow and follows the relationship between Tycho and Jax, after they get to Emberfall. Unfortunately, they do not get to spend much time together.
On the other side, Callyn’s time at the royal court is full of complications and she doesn’t know who she can trust. She needs to hide her magic and does her best to help the queen. Her relationship with Alek is complicated and I still do not know if I like him or not.

You can expect magic, a lot of action and dangerous situations, politics but also emotional moments and a lot of character development.
We get more information about the scravers and what they are planning. This is the book that prepares the way to the inevitable war. The wait until the next one will be hard.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for an advanced copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

'Carving Shadows Into Gold' is the latest novel in Kemmerer's 'Cursebreaker' series - although technically part of a second trilogy, it follows on from the events of the 'Cursebreaker' trio and features the same characters albeit in secondary roles, with different viewpoint characters. Set in a fantasy world, the kingdoms of Emberfall and Syhl Shallow have been united by the marriage of the king of the former and queen of the latter, but 'happily ever after' is much more complicated than fairy tales might have you believe. The story is told from the perspectives of Tycho, a courier to the king; Callyn, nursemaid to the young princess; and Jax, a blacksmith and Tycho's romantic interest. The three are mainly on separate trajectories, although the story does hang together well despite that, as the action passes between the two countries.

Kemmerer is a reliably good writer and always creates characters you can care about and stories that are engrossing and exciting. She never fails to get a few tears from me during her novels. It's technically a young adult book, but I have enjoyed all of the series so far despite being far from young. After all, a lot of characters in adult fantasies are youthful, and the responsibilities and challenges of the characters in this series give them a gravity beyond their years. I'd say it can be enjoyed by a range of ages.

It's true I've never 'bonded' with Jax, Callyn and Tycho in the same way I did with the original pair of couples from the first three books. But at least we still get to follow their stories and all four make at least brief appearances - although Harper's is very brief, which is a shame. She has always seemed to be a bit unfairly served in the later books of the series, having been at the very centre of the first. However there are a number of strong supporting characters that I felt a bond with, particularly the soldiers Malin and Sephran, and Nakiis the scraver. I did struggle to remember all the details of what happened in the previous book, and a bit more of a reminder would have been helpful - particularly around the cause of the rift between the king and Tycho. But on the whole it didn't affect my enjoyment.

I'd recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure stories or 'romantasy'. Kemmerer has done a good job of keeping the momentum up with new storylines and characters, creating new facets of her world and new dangers to negotiate. I'm already looking forwards to the next one.

This was fun and fast paced, the new characters introduced were really interesting additions to the story and the characters from the first book were well developed and have interesting individual story lines happening, which has me very excited for the next book.

Brigid Kemmerer can do no wrong in my eyes. It's been so long since the first book in this spin off trilogy, I was worried we'd never see this! This is a brilliant addition to the series. Tensions are high and Tycho, Jax and Callyn are all adjusting to their new roles after the battle of Briarlock. Scravers are attacking and the truthbringers are rallying against King Grey.
This book is fast paced and exciting. The new characters of Callyn and Jax are wonderful additions and I just adore Tycho. I was hoping we'd get Alek's POV after the last epilogue but, nope.
A seriously wonderful book, filled with politics, love and dangerous magic. There's wonderful disability rep in the book. A must for anyone who loves YA fantasy!
Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing an arc in return for an honest review.