The day Brigid Kemmerer announced that she would write a spin-off series set in the same world as the Cursebreakers Series was officially the best day of that year for me. I have loved that series passionately, and I am happy to say I love this second series just as much as the first!
Attention: I will be reviewing all books of the series in this post (gradually), but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you will not see any spoilers for the rest of the series (unless you want to, of course). As this series is a continuation of the Cursebreakers Series, there will be spoilers for that series visible, however!
Book 1: Forging Silver into Stars
Forging Silver into Stars takes us back to the world of the Cursebreakers Trilogy, four years after the end of the final book. This time, we experience the story through the eyes of two new characters, and one fan-favourite from the original series. Tycho, the former stable hand who was one of the first to swear loyalty to King Grey, is now the Kings Courier. As he travels between the royal court in Syhl Shallow and Ironrose Castle where the Prince-Regent of Emberfall resides, he meets the two other protagonists: Jax, a blacksmith, and Callyn, a baker. But times are hard, and the people of Syhl Shallow are still mistrusting of their new magical king. Fearing for their queen, a revolt against magic is in the making, and Jax, Callyn, and Tycho just might find themselves right in the eye of the storm.
I loved to be back in this world
How I had missed Emberfall. In the last couple of months, I’ve been struggling to read, but I had no issue with this book whatsoever. As of the first chapter, I was once again obsessed with Brigid Kemmerer’s stories. This book reads like a train, the characters are wonderful, and the plot will keep you on the edge of your seat.
While the worldbuilding is great, I’m more of a character-girl myself (as is the author). I loved to meet the older Tycho and I also greatly appreciated Jax. Like with Harper in the original series, Jax’ disability does not define him. Throughout the first book, he learns to see himself as so much more than a blacksmith with only one foot. Furthermore, I loved the interactions between him and Tycho.
And then there’s Prince Rhen, my absolute favourite character. I’m so glad we get to see him more in this book (my reading journal entry might start out with “RHEN RHEN RHEN RHEN”) and the unexpected friendship he forms with one of the other characters left me breathless. It’s exactly what I hoped for and I cannot believe it actually came true! I feel quite proud of myself of having realised they would make a great pair of friends. Rhen just truly deserves it and I love how this turn of events helps him cope with his trauma and visual impairment. I’m so giddy about it. 😀
I’m glad this book was written in much the same style as the original trilogy. While I also liked Defy the Night, I found the writing style a bit too repetitive at times. While I noticed some instances in this book too, repetition was largely kept to a minimum.
Last but not least, the romance in this book is swoon-worthy! I loved the main romance intensely. There’s also an enemies-to-lovers plotline. I’m not sure how I feel about that one yet, that will depend on the way the “enemy” evolves in the next book as I’m still not sure what his deal is.
If you loved the Cursebreakers Trilogy, you will love this new trilogy. Without a doubt: five out of five gemstones:
Recap book 1
In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!
Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)
World: : Emberfall and Syhl Shallow have been united by the marriage between King Grey and Queen Lia Mara. They rule from the castle in Syhl Shallow, while Prince Rhen is regent of Emberfall and resides in Ironrose Castle with Princess Harper. Although the two nations now have peace, people remain mistrusting of Grey’s magic. They believe he has forced their queen into the alliance, which leads to an ever growing rebellion. The Truthbringers are the ringleaders who are planning to kill the King.
Main characters: The story has three main protagonists: Tycho, Jax and Callyn. Tycho is now the King’s Courier and during his travels he falls in love with Jax. Lord Alek, however, manages to sow discord between Tycho and Grey and when the entire court starts to doubt Tycho’s loyalty, Grey seems to have his own doubts as well. While at Emberfall, he befriends Rhen against all odds.
Jax is a blacksmith who has lost his foot when a cart fell on top of him. His father is a drunkard and frequently abuses him verbally and physically. His mother is dead. When Tycho teaches him how to shoot, he finally starts to have more self-confidence.
Callyn is Jax’s best friend since childhood. She has taken over the bakery when her father was killed by the King’s magic during the uprising. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her twelve-year-old sister, Nora. She falls in love with Lord Alek, who is the narrator of the final chapter. He’s one of the Truthbringers who are trying to liberate Syhl Shallow of magic.
Plot: At the beginning of the story, the court discovers a communication system via which coded messages are being passed, which seem to be linked to an upcoming new uprising. Jax and Callyn discover that they are way behind their taxes and are at risk of losing their house and businesses. In order to gain money, Jax agrees to keep closed messages for Lord Alek and a mysterious lady. When his friendship with Tycho grows he starts to doubt about his involvement which could potentially be treason (they do not know the content of the messages they are passing). Unbeknownst to him, Callyn takes over his role.
In the meanwhile, Tycho’s loyalty is being questioned and he finds himself at odds with Grey and Lia Mara. Unexpectedly, he grows closer to Rhen, however, who tries to defend him.
In an attempt to unite the two people, games are organised in Emberfall. While the King is there, he receives word that Lia Mara and their daughter are kidnapped. He immediately leaves, despite Rhen’s protests that they need a plan. Tycho follows him but Grey loses consciousness as he has exhausted his magic in order to speed their travels. Tycho makes a deal with the scaver Nakiis: he’ll save Grey and bring them to their destination and in return, Tycho will fight for him when the time comes. Tycho manages to save Lia Mara and princess Sinna (who are being held hostage in Callyn’s barn) with the help of Callyn. In the meanwhile, Grey and Jax manage to hold their own against the armed rebels. They are seriously outnumbered though and it will take days for Rhen’s army to arrive. They are saved by Nakiis and his army of scravers.
Everyone is re-united, but there’s still a serious risk of rebellion and Tycho is still not trusted by the court. As they saved the royal family, Jax and Callyn are pardoned. Jax and Tycho leave with Rhen to Emberfall, while Callyn and Nora become Sinna’s ladies-in-waiting and leave for the Chrystal Palace in Syhl Shallow. Still at odds with the King, Tycho refuses to tell Grey what he promised Nakiis in return for his life. He does tell Rhen, however.
Plot twist: it turns out that close proximity to a magical artifact for an extended period of time allows magic to seep into your veins. Because of this, Tycho (who wore magical protection rings) and Callyn (who wore a charm to protect her against magic) now suddenly find themselves with magical powers.
Book 2: Carving Shadows into Gold
Summary & Evaluation Attention: Spoilers! (click here)
I loved Carving Shadows into Gold even more than Forging Silver into stars. The tentative but hopeful friendship between Rhen and Tycho warms my heart, as does the careful truce between Rhen and Jax. I am always a fan of novels that address topics like trauma, and the way in which these three characters navigate their traumas in relation to each other is written so beautifully. I’m still not sure what to make of our villain, Alex, though. I love that we get to see all perspectives and I applaud the author for having chosen such a multi-dimensional love interest, but I just don’t think I like the guy. Furthermore, I know Grey was a fan-favourite in the first series, but seriously, what’s with the attitude. I’m glad that towards the end of the book, we get to see another side of him again, but for the main part of the book I totally get why multiple characters want to break his nose.
I cannot wait for the third book! Once again, 5 gemstones out of 5!
Recap book 2
In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!
Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)
World: : Emberfall and Syhl Shallow have been united by the marriage between King Grey and Queen Lia Mara. They rule from the castle in Syhl Shallow, while Prince Rhen is regent of Emberfall and resides in Ironrose Castle with Princess Harper. Although the two nations now have peace, people remain mistrusting of Grey’s magic. They believe he has forced their queen into the alliance, which leads to an ever growing rebellion. The Truthbringers are the ringleaders who are planning to kill the King. At the same time, the scravers (magical flying beings who were once forced out of Syhl Shallow) are joining forces with the Truthbringers, as they want magic to be exclusively theirs again (so that it cannot be used against them anymore).
Main characters: The story has three main protagonists: Tycho, Jax and Callyn. Tycho’s reputation has suffered some blows in book 1, and increasing tension between him and the king causes him to be exiled to Emberfall for the time being. Tycho struggles with how to behave around Jax, as he wants Jax to be recognised as a great blacksmith, rather than just his boyfriend. At the same time, Tycho is forced to come to terms with his trauma related to soldiers, as he has to increasingly spend time among them. He has a tentative new friendship with Rhen, but when Grey tells him Rhen told him about his secret vow to Nakiis, he feels betrayed by him (we do not see him confront Rhen about this in this book). Thanks to prolonged exposure to Grey’s magical rings, Tycho now has magic too.
Jax is a blacksmith who has lost his foot when a cart fell on top of him. His father was a drunkard and frequently abused him verbally and physically, due to which he has quite some trauma related to aggression and alcohol. Tycho has taught him how to shoot a bow in book 1, and now he starts to befriend some soldiers who further teach him shooting skills. Prince Rhen has offered him a life in Emberfall as a blacksmith in the castle, but, initially, it’s quite difficult for Jax to find his place as the soldiers mistrust him and he doesn’t speak the language. Slowly, however, he starts to find friends while Tycho is away. One of his new friends even kisses him at one point, but Jax tells him he’ll remain true to Tycho.
Callyn is Jax’s best friend since childhood. She has taken over the bakery when her father was killed by the King’s magic during the uprising. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her twelve-year-old sister, Nora. She falls in love with Lord Alek, who, at the end of the first book, is revealed to be a member of the Truthbringers. While she doesn’t trust Alek anymore, she cannot help her feelings for him. Callyn has acquired magic, however, due to exposure to her mother’s necklace, a fact which she carefully keeps a secret from everyone (and from Alek in particular).
In this book, Lord Alek continues his support for the Queen (or against the king and his magic), even though he doesn’t trust the Truthbringers fully anymore. After all, their actions at the end of the first book threatened the queen as well, which is directly opposed to his aim.
Plot: At the end of the first book, Tycho and Jax are sent back to Emberfall, together with Prince Rhen and his army. This journey turns out to be quite difficult for them both, as Tycho struggles with his traumas related to soldiers, and the soldiers are suspicious of Jax. The army is unexpectedly attacked by scravers, who seem to be looking for “a magesmith”. Rhen decides to go against Grey’s command that Tycho is to stay at Emberfall, and sends Tycho back to the royal court to inform the king and queen of this new threat. Tycho is accompanied by Malin, an Emberfall soldier eager to prove himself and who soon becomes his friend.
Jax, in the meanwhile, is left behind at Ironrose Castle. Rhen reaches out to him, telling Jax to inform him if he needs anything, but Jax makes it quite clear to the prince that he hates him for what he did to Tycho (in the original trilogy). Nevertheless, Rhen gives him a place in the Shield house and provides him with a language tutor. Slowly but steadily, Jax settles in. He starts horse riding lessons, a soldier creates a foot prothesis for him, and he befriends one of the maids (Molly) and a soldier who’s Malin’s best friend (Sephran). When scravers attack a group of drunk soldiers, Jax manages to warn them and kill a few, which greatly increases the respect the others have for him.
At the end of the first book, Callyn and her younger sister Nora accepted positions at court as the princess’ ladies-in-waiting. While still afraid of the king and his magic, Callyn starts to see him as a kind father as well. She also observes the growing rift between the king and queen, who are increasingly seldom seen together. The queen’s sister, Nolla Verin, offers to train both girls in martial arts, after she witnesses a violent encounter between them and lord Alek (who has been released as there is no evidence whatsoever to link him to the kidnapping of the queen and princess at the end of book 1). While Verin is genuine in her offer to train Nora, she uses the training sessions with Callyn as opportunities to treat her violently. Grey has to heal Callyn after each session, but Callyn does not want to give in and stop the lessons. Lord Alek reaches out to Callyn, and tells her that he suspects that there’s a traitor close to the queen (he implies that it might very well be Nolla Verin). Callyn tells the queen, and Lia Mara tells her to get closer to Alek and tell him his queen needs him as an ally. Callyn and Alek start to visit different noble families who are loyal to the queen, and when their carriage breaks down during one of these visits, Callyn and Alek have sex. Unfortunately, they are then attacked by scravers, and Alek is fatally wounded. Callyn heals him, but this reveals her powers to him, after which he breaks off their connection.
In the meanwhile, Tycho has arrived at court to inform king Grey and queen Lia Mara of the attack that happened during their journey towards Emberfall. They are not well received, however, and they are told to remain out of the public’s eye (although they continue to spar, which leads to Nolla Verin catching Malin’s eye). The king himself has also moved away from the queen and princess in the castle. Tycho had hoped, however, to return quickly to Jax, so the fact that Grey forces him to stay only reinforces the tension between them. Tycho asks Nakiis to send a message to Jax, to tell him that he has been detained.
When Jax receives word from Nakiis, he questions him further about what’s happening. Nakiis tells him that the scravers have joined forces with the Truthbringers, as both aim to have magic removed. Jax decides to set aside his hate for prince Rhen, and goes to the castle to inform him of this evolution. Because of this, Rhen starts to prepare an army in case it would be needed. Rhen invites Jax to play cards with him, and tells him that he’s trying to make an effort because he values his friendship with Tycho so much, even though he is well aware that Jax hates him. Recognizing his loneliness, Jax invites Rhen to practice shooting with him.
At the end of the book, scravers attack the royal court and the nobles demand that the queen would cast out the king, as they are looking for a magesmith. Grey does not want to force Lia Mara to make such a choice, so he decides himself to step outside. A general orders the army to fall back, leaving him unprotected. Nevertheless, he manages to survive, thanks to the aid of Tycho and Malin (and the secret magic of Callyn and Lia Mara). Grey, Tycho and Malin go back to Emberfall. The story ends with Tycho reaching Ironrose and reuniting with Jax, while Grey and Malin are still on the road.
Book 3: Sparking Fire out of Fate
[Expected around January 2026]
Age Category: (older) Young adult, but also suitable for an adult audience
Representation: M/M relationship between main characters, disability, trauma
Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)
Warnings for off page rape (book 1), parental death (book 1), physical and verbal parental abuse (book 1), miscarriage (book 1), severe trauma triggers (book 2).
Do you want to discover more?
If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads at the below online stores:
Amazon.nl: Hardcover Edition
There’s also a great book trailer available on the author’s website:
Special editions
As far as I’m aware, there are currently three special editions available of the first book. One is the Waterstones Exclusive edition, which has sprayed edges. While it’s definitely pretty, I’m sad that it’s a paperback (I dislike reading special edition paperbacks, as it will damage them). The second one is the Barnes & Noble Exclusive edition, which is signed, has a unique cover, and includes bonus letters. If you have to choose, I would definitely go for this one over the Waterstones one. On the second hand market, these seem to be relatively rare, but it’s feasible to find them for about € 35 euro.
I also really love the Fairyloot one though. This edition has a peach hardback that complements the teal tones of the edges and details on the cover beautifully. It also has a reversible dustjacket and custom endpapers, and comes with a bookplate. This edition is more readily available second hand, and can be purchased for about € 35 as well.
Strangely enough, Fairyloot has not yet announced their edition of book 2. I really hope they will, though! I’ve contacted Waterstones and they confirmed that they did not have any plans for a special edition of Carving Shadows into Gold. Luckily, Barnes & Noble did make an exclusive edition: a hardcover with an extra chapter (Tycho and Alek’s first meeting). Bonus content is my favourite customisation, but I do wish this edition would have had a bit more extras. I paid about € 20 for this, and it’s still available online.
Similar to this
While it is not necessary per se to read the Cursebreakers Trilogy before reading Forging Silver into Stars, I would definitely recommend doing so as it would spoil quite a bit of the original storyline. Nevertheless, if you’ve started with Forging Silver into Stars, I’m positive you’ll want to return to Emberfall as soon as possible. A Curse so Dark and Lonely is the book that made me fall in love with Brigid Kemmerer’s style, so you will not be disappointed! You can find my (spoiler-free) series review here. It’s a whole new take on a tale as old as time…
I would also like to recommend her other new series, Defy the Night. This tale is an enemies-to-lovers YA fantasy that is – lightly – inspired by the Robin Hood legends. While I was less convinced by the first book in this series than I was by the Cursebreakers Series, I’m still very much looking forward to reading part two and three. Interested? Check out my review of part one!
I’m also very excited that Brigid Kemmerer has announced her first adult fantasy novel, Warrior Princess Assassin. This book is set to be released in August 2025, and I have it already pre-ordered. The blurb reads:
Fates collide and passions ignite in New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s steamy adult fantasy debut about three characters torn between chasing, betraying, and craving each other: a princess caught between duty and desire, the fearsome warrior king she’s promised to, and the assassin now tasked with hunting them down.
Now, tell me that doesn’t sound amazing! I for one cannot wait!
Last but not least, if you are also a fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings (the Cursebreakers Trilogy starts out as a retelling) and you are looking for some delicious spice, I would recommend you to check out the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen. 5 princes, 1 Beauty, and such a fun story 😉 I’ve just finished the first book, Bonded by Thorns, and I am very eager to start the second book.