Book Review: Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider

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After Quicksilver left me with a serious book hangover, I went hunting for the read that would break the slump — and for the first 80% of Metal Slinger, I was positive I’d found it. I was mentally drafting a gushing review. I was ready to hand this series my whole TBR. Then the ending happened.

The setup: Brynn has grown up among the Alaha, a community exiled to life at sea, training as a guard and waiting for her chance to attend the annual market held by the very people who exiled them. The trip goes sideways, a century-old peace starts to crack, and an encounter with an enemy soldier threatens everything Brynn believes about herself. Metal magic, high seas, identity secrets — squarely my genre.

What I Loved About Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider

Most of the book, honestly. The world is fun, the momentum is real, and for three quarters of it Rachel Schneider had me exactly where an author wants a reader: invested, theorizing, ignoring my inbox. This was tracking as a four-star read, possibly five. I want that on the record, because the next section is going to sound harsh.

What I Didn’t Love About Metal Slinger

The ending — and I’m going to explain in craft terms without spoiling a single plot point. First-person POV is a contract: we live inside the narrator’s head, so the story’s emotional truth is only as trustworthy as that inner voice. The final stretch of this book springs a twist that only works if the narrator’s inner monologue has been misleading us all along. For me, that meant the character’s motivation dissolved right at the moment it mattered most, and the emotional honesty of the whole book dissolved with it. It’s a gasp bought on credit, and the reader gets the bill.

Final Thoughts on Metal Slinger

I’m genuinely bummed about this one, because there’s real talent on the page and most of this book earns its momentum. If late twists don’t bother you the way they bother me (occupational hazard — I plot stories for a living and can’t turn it off), you may fare better than I did. It’s on Kindle Unlimited if you want to render your own verdict, and my Quicksilver review explains the slump that started this whole quest.

My final score: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do I recommend this book? 👍 Yes, with a big asterisk — the first 80% is genuinely great, but I walked away from the series at the finale. That’s the most honest data point I’ve got.

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Get the book now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: