Welcome Back, Booklovers! There's do many exciting Black fantasies releasing this year. That Self-Same Metal reeled me in with the prospect up fighting against a far uprising. I received an arc from Abrams in exchange for an honest review.
Set in historical London this book follows Joan who is an orisha blessed young woman with the ability to bend metal to her will. She along with her brother work for the King's Men acting company. Joan is noticing more and more of the Fae's presence lately and after her Baba Ben is hauled off to jail she finds herself in the midst of a battle for control between the fae and the humans.
This was an interesting spin of the the dynamic of the humans and fae in a Midsummer's Night Dream. Characters from the play(which exists in this world) even make an appearance although their real life counterparts are much different. Theater kids will enjoy the nods to varying plays as well as critiques of Shakespeare's writing. As someone familiar with Midsummer but having not read it in a long time I know some things went over my head.
At times it does feel more modern than historical fiction for me. I wish there was more language used from that time to set the mood. It was easier for me to imagine this as a world inspired by England during that time rather than England.
While there was one twist I'm still unsure of my feelings about, I liked the unique world building and engaging fight scenes. The ending left me ready for book 2.
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