Published by Faber & Faber ltd.
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Action, Adventure, Bisexual Characters, Black Characters, Gay Characters, Black Authors, Diverse Representation, Magic Users, Royalty Characters, Fae/Fey, Mythological Creatures, Historical Fantasy, Jacobean History, London, Metal Magic, Various Magic, Shakespeare, Theatre, Yoruba, Performer Characters
Series: Forge & Fracture Saga #1
My Rating:
Published on: 25th April 2023
Pages: 352
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Forbidden Planet / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones
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The Forge & Fracture Saga brings readers the thrilling story of a Black girl (and sword expert) fighting a Fae uprising.
Sixteen-year-old Joan Sands is a gifted craftswoman who creates and upkeeps the stage blades for William Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men. Joan’s skill with her blades comes from a magical ability to control metal—an ability gifted by her Head Orisha, Ogun. Because her whole family is Orisha-blessed, the Sands family have always kept tabs on the Fae presence in London.
Usually that doesn’t involve much except noting the faint glow around a Fae’s body as they try to blend in with London society, but lately, there has been an uptick in brutal Fae attacks. After Joan wounds a powerful Fae and saves the son of a cruel lord, she is drawn into political intrigue in the human and Fae worlds.
Swashbuckling and romantic, this series starter delivers an unforgettable story—and a heroine unlike any other.
This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!
Content Warnings:
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That Self-Same Metal Review
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 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!
About Brittany N. Williams
Brittany N. Williams is an actress, writer, and nerd of many fandoms. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Howard University (HU, You Know) and an MA in Classical Acting from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama (Carrie Fisher’s alma mater for 18 months).
Brittany has performed across three continents—including a year spent as a principal vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland—and her writing has been featured on Black Nerd Problems, Tor.com, in The Indypendent, The Gambit, Fireside Magazine, and in the Star Wars anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Her first novel, That Self-Same Metal , a YA historical fantasy set in William Shakespeare’s London.
Over to you
Thanks for reading my book review for That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams! The second book in the Forge & Fracture Saga, Saint-Seducing Gold, is out later this year, on 23rd April 2024, and is currently available for pre-order.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!
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