Review: Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer

I loved Brigid Kemmerer's earlier series, The Cursebreakers, which was about an American teenager (Harper) finding her way into an alternative world called Emberfall, where she meets Prince Rhen and his bodyguard Grey, and where magic is real and deadly. (There are three books in that series: A Curse So Dark and Lonely #1, A Heart So Fierce and Broken #2, and A Vow so Bold and Deadly #3.)

This story, Forging Silver into Stars, takes place four years after that series and follows one of the supporting characters, Tycho, along with two new characters, Jax and Callyn, who live in an almost forgotten village on the border between Emberfell and Syhl Shallow. There are new heroes and villains, along with several old friends. You don't need to have read the earlier series first, but you would get more from the story if you do.

Jax is the main protagonist; a young blacksmith who has coped well with losing his foot in an accident. He works hard to keep his father's forge open, despite his father's regular trips to the local pub. Likewise, Callyn is running her family's bakery and looking after her younger sister. Both have reasons to distrust magic, which was outlawed in their country until very recently, and both are struggling financially. They don't care about politics, just keeping food on their tables and paying their taxes. When a strange woman arrives at the forge, asking for Jax's absent father to keep a message for her, Jax volunteers to keep it safe. He'll earn valuable silver and, after all, what harm can passing on a message do?

Forging Silver into Stars is a thrilling adventure story featuring first love, friendships, and shifting allegiances. Brigid Kemmerer is brilliant at world building and I was soon sucked into the rising tensions between Emberfall and Syhl Shallow. There's lots of grey area between the good guys and the bad! There are wrong choices made for right reasons, and soon Jax and Callyn's life-long friendship is severely put to the test!

Forging Silver into Stars doesn't end on a cliff hanger but there are several threads that can be explored further, hopefully with lots more books! (I suspect the next one might feature Alek!) I would also love to find out more about Nakiis and the Scravers. Forging Silver into Stars was one of my favourite reads this year. Would suit fans of Naomi Novik (Uprooted) and Katharine Arden (Winternight trilogy).

Thank you to Brigid Kemmerer and Bloomsbury for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.