Light Wielder came out last week, and it’s the second book in Rachel Schneider’s Fire and Metal series, the sequel to Metal Slinger, aka the book that took BookTok by storm last year.
I was a bit late to the party, so every single “omg the twist at the end” reveal made me enjoy it less, and I found the plot a bit generic too. Still, I was looking forward to Light Wielder on release day, because Rachel Schneider does the rug pull in her plots really well.
Light Wielder was underwhelming. I was expecting an enemies to lovers, angsty novel, but to me it felt like all the parts I wanted to read happened between book 1 and book 2, and this book was the resolution. Still, I enjoyed it.
My rec: if you loved Metal Slinger and you HAVE to know what happens, you’ll probably like this. If you only liked it, you can probably get around to this when you have some time and you’re curious.
This post contains spoilers.
Light Wielder
Description
It’s been four years since Jovie betrayed Acker, fracturing their relationship. Her decision to take King Edmond’s magic, sparing his life at Acker’s request, has sparked a brutal war. The Kenta and Strou forces ally against the Roison and Alaha, with Maile perched dangerously on the edge of their battles.
Jovie is determined to keep the innocent Maile people from a conflict she helped start―even if it means suppressing the Matching Bond and sacrificing any hope of repairing her relationship with Acker. Yet, visions of him continue to haunt her dreams.
Acker is resigned to aid in his father’s war while in an arranged marriage with a wife who detests him. Though still pained by Jovie’s deception, he can’t stop his thoughts from turning to her. And Acker has found a way to slip into Jovie’s dreams despite her attempts to stifle the Matching Bond. There he watches her, torn between his loyalties and desire.
When he discovers the chilling reason behind the return of his father’s magic, as well as Edmond’s dangerous new alliance, Acker must finally decide which war he wants to fight: the one for his king or the one for his heart.
Tropes
- Magic
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fated Mates
- Shapeshifters
- Lost Princess
Review
Did you read Light Wielder?
Did you read Light Wielder?
Overall Impressions 😊
My feedback on Light Wielder is mixed. I was engaged majority of the time and wanted to see it through. But this wasn’t the book that was hinted at at the end of the first book.
I know there’s probably some opinions out there that this was slow, but the first book was pretty slow too. They were in a boat most of the book, so it’s not like bottle episodes are uncommon for this duology. I wonder if the perception of the book being action packed comes from that last 50 pages, which, to be fair, Light Wielder has. The twist at the end is so shocking that I wonder if there’s an end-of-fantasy-book-frenzy bias.
I felt like the opportunity to write a true enemies to lovers was right there, and it was squandered. The character motivations and progression didn’t seem to add up for me. I always say it should’ve been a duology, but this is the first instance where we could’ve used a second book for the four years between the two books.
That said, there was plenty of fan service, with the yearning and fun dynamics between the characters, so I had a decent time. I was subconsciously bored but also eating up all the yearning, which must be what people feel when they watch action flicks. I had a good time when I didn’t take this too seriously, because once I realized the concept of the book wasn’t what I thought it would be, my investment in it changed.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
You might be here trying to figure out whether you should read Light Wielder. The answer is, it depends. I rushed into this because I had everyone around me saying “Metal Slinger’s ending was the biggest twist ever,” and it took away from my experience. But Light Wielder is kind of just alright?
So if you were enamored by Metal Slinger, the bones are still there and you’ll have a good time. If you weren’t, you can probably wait for it to show up in your library instead of buying it. It’s on Kindle Unlimited too.
It has a pretty dense world, so if you like complex dynamics between kingdoms it’s probably a good pick, just with less worldbuilding than you might want. There was a lot of fan service gratification in this book too, so Direbound and Silver Elite readers will probably enjoy it. It’s got a good amount of yearning and a very strong FMC, so it could also be a fit if you like a rule-them-all FMC like in Kingdom of the Wicked.
Characters 👥
Jovie and Acker, the leads of this book, are fine on their own, but I just don’t care about either of them.
For Jovie, I wish we could’ve seen her transformation into this battle-hardened leader over the past couple of years. Instead, despite what she did at the end of the first book, she completely backtracked everything in this book. It makes no sense. Her motivations are inexplicable. One of the major missed plot beats is her powers. She’s a light wielder, but she has no mastery of it because she’s been wearing mangi stones for four years. All of a sudden she’s got complete control over her skills? We missed a major training arc and buildup for the last 50 pages of the book.
Acker had all the makings of a wronged MMC who could’ve executed on enemies to lovers. Instead he’s a doormat. Despite being so angry with Jovie, the second they’re in the same room again the two of them are back to insta lust from a distance. While I appreciated his willingness to put Jovie first, it felt like we missed some significant character development of him coming to terms with the fact that he could live with her betrayal because of love.
Now the two of them together. Let’s start with the good: their yearning is peak. It makes this book very entertaining at times, especially with the way their friends constantly chime into their situationship-esque mating bond. But this was yearning with insta lust instead of yearning with excruciating pining, which I much prefer. Still, their dynamic was super enjoyable, even though it felt cheap and there was a much better option right there. See my action flick comment.
A few more: what was going on with Kai? What was the point of Beau going to Maile? Evelyn is the strongest queen in the realm but her personality is reduced to baking? The cast was too wide with Drake, Fredrich, and Zion. Where was Hallis all book, and why was Fredrich in every scene? It felt like I skipped a book the entire time.
Messer is perfect. I have a soft spot for the golden retriever sidekick who’s the comedic relief, so no notes. Besides, it really feels like we’re getting his and Aurora’s duology next, which I will read.
Plot 🗺️
The plot is very flat. I’ve said it a few times, but skipping those four years is a huge blunder. I always say series should be duologies, but between One Dark Window and now this one, fantasy romance truly needs trilogy length for the world to cook.
I cannot believe we missed all of it: them agonizing over one another, how Jovie came to power, what happened between Kai and Jovie, what happened between Messer and Aurora, what’s going on in Alaha. All of it glossed over for an entire book, just for them to negotiate one alliance then go to the final fight.
Acker and Jovie’s story is rushed. Yes, the yearning is great and makes for flick-like reading, but there’s so much wasted opportunity.
It feels like nothing happens for the first 80% of the book, then all of a sudden Wren comes into the picture, Jovie does her thing, and even the epilogue is glossed over. We either get exposition for closure, like Beau and Hallis’s ending, or no closure at all. Then there are the cheap plot devices, like Jovie and the butterflies.
Did I mention the prophecy also made no sense?
My Favorite Quote📣
“Oath or no oath, and no matter what has already happened or what has yet to happen, nothing will ever negate the fundamental truth that you are, and have always been, mine.”
Rachel Schneider, Light Wielder
Synopsis
What did you think of Light Wielder?
What did you think of Light Wielder?
Heads up: this is a full spoiler summary, ending and all. If you haven’t finished Light Wielder yet, turn back now.
Prologue
Light Wielder opens with a prologue two years into the war. Jovie is writing a letter to Acker. She wants to call a truce. She tells him she never wanted any of this, that she doesn’t know how it got this bad, and that if he could just see his father’s tyranny for what it is. She never sends it. She has too much pride.
Acker is Still Angry at Jovie
4 years after the events of Light Wielder Acker is tired and worn down. He’s survived more than one poisoning, and the war has hardened him. He married Irina, the princess of Strou, and he’s been fighting Roison ever since. Kenta is allied with Tyreek, Zion’s father, and they’re barely holding Roison back. Now Acker is weighing an attack on Maile’s northern shores.
He goes to see his blacksmith friend Wells. Olivia, Wells’s pregnant wife has been sent to the northern shores for safety, and Acker can tell Wells is upset with him. Wells doesn’t hide it. He tells Acker that Olivia knows Jovie offered peace, that the war has gutted the kingdom, and that Edmond plans to put a suppressing collar around Wells’s own son’s neck one day. Acker should have taken the peace. On top of that, Edmond has ordered Wells to forge five hundred heartstone weapons, the kind that leave black marks on the people they cut. Acker leaves guilty.
Jovie on the Front Lines
Jovie is fighting in the front lines. She’s just fought a battle against Strou’s warriors and watched her own soldiers die before carrying them back. She lives on the battlefield now. Back in her room, she cleans herself up and refuses to take off her mangi stones, because the second she does, she’ll see Acker, and she can’t.
She tells herself that if Acker really loved her, he never would not have married Irina. Messer turns up in his bird form, guilty that he hasn’t been at her side while she fights all day. Jovie waves it off. His real work is being her messenger, flying between her, Alaha and their kingdom’s forces. She starts a letter to her mother. Every time she sleeps she sees Acker in her dreams, she misses him, and she still loves him.
Across the sea, Acker gives the order to attack Maile’s northern shores. He tells himself Jovie only moved against his father not even because she believes in it but because of Kai, and somewhere far off, Jovie tells herself she never should have done it. Wells doesn’t let him off the hook. When Acker asked Jovie to spare his father, she chose war instead. If that isn’t love, Wells doesn’t know what is.
Acker’s Sleepless Nights and the Cave Ambush
That night Acker goes to bed early and is forced to take Irina with him. She begs him to end the marriage and let her leave the castle. They’ve been at each other for years, and she’s never been the same since he rejected her for Jovie. Once Irina is asleep, Acker goes to the room Jovie used to use, breathes in her old robe, and falls asleep there. He’s been swallowing crushed mangi stones for years to build a resistance, which means he can still reach Jovie while she sleeps. He finds her at her billet. He’s still aching for her, and for a second he thinks about killing them both. The blood oath from the last book won’t let him hurt her, so he pulls back into himself. He wakes to Hallis, who tells him Roison has hit Tyreek’s territory and taken Zion. Hallis is sent to get him back.
Jovie, meanwhile, decides to ambush the Strou caves. She goes in with Fredrich, her bodyguard, whose gift is shielding. Inside, they find hundreds of soldiers waiting, and the only way out is through. The only way through is for her to take off her mangi stones.
She does, and Acker finds her instantly. He helps her fight for a moment, and Jovie clears the whole cave with Fredrich while her soldiers move in. When she gets back to her house, Acker comes again. She thinks she’s dreaming until he fights off a real assassin sent for her. They fall asleep tangled together, Jovie believing the whole time that she’s dreaming. After that, she agrees to go home and see her mother.
Edmond’s New Ally
Edmond summons Acker. Kenta has a new ally. Wren, the captain of Alaha, walks in.
It turns out Wren and Edmond have been working together all along. The plan is to keep up the appearance of their respective alliances and turn on everyone the moment it suits them. Acker decides his father has nothing redeemable left in him.
Later, in Acker’s room, Edmond shows up to show off. He has the gift of fire and kinesis. He’s found a way to siphon magic. That’s the real price of the Wren alliance. The Alaha lost their magic after generations stuck out at sea, and Edmond has promised to give it back. Acker plays it off like none of it touches him, then goes to see Greta, whose gift lets her see what’s coming. Greta looks ahead and tells him the people will die and the King of Kenta will win.
Jovie Goes Home to Maile
Jovie and Fredrich head back to Maile, where her mother Evelyn is thrilled to have her home. Jovie starts taking a sleeping tea to get through the night, still with no idea that Acker can pass through her mangi stones.
The next day she goes out to a tavern with Beau, Messer, Drake, and Fredrich, and Sam, the general, drops in later. Messer keeps saying that she needs to hook up with someone and move on, pointing at Drake and Fredrich, who both clearly have a thing for her. Jovie shuts it down, and both men are mortified. On the way out, Fredrich tells her he’d happily be with her, but he won’t touch a woman who has a matching bond. Messer says she has to accept that Kai might turn on them, and that she doesn’t have to wait on her match to move on.
Then her door knocks. It’s Drake, who says Messer sent him to service her. Jovie throws him out.
Acker Sails to Maile
The next day Acker is back with Wells, and he makes his decision. He isn’t going north. He’s getting on a boat and sailing to Maile to ask Jovie’s kingdom for an alliance, and to see her. Olivia and Jovie have been friendly for a while, and Jovie’s been trying to get her and Wells asylum in Maile, but they never wanted to leave Acker.
So they set off. They also bring Irina with them because she’s an illusionist.
They reach Maile and get ambushed on the shore the moment they land. Jovie shows up with Drake, Fredrich, and a crowd of soldiers, and she and Acker see each other for the first time in years. Neither of them handles it well. Jovie is especially furious because once, when the mangi stones slipped, she saw Acker with Irina on their wedding night, while she hasn’t been with anyone since Acker. From Acker’s side, we already know he hasn’t either.
Jovie had been quietly hoping Acker would finally see his father for what he is and come for her. Instead he came with Irina, and that infuriates her. When he says he’s there for an alliance, she tells him she can’t help. When he says he’s come to speak with the Queen, Jovie tells him she is the Queen. Her mother handed her the throne about a year ago, and Acker had no idea. Acker asks for Beau but Jovie tells him Beau wasn’t sure if he would’ve wanted to see her.
Jovie walks off without another word. She’ll restock his ship and send him and Irina back the next day.
The next day Beau goes to see Acker, and the two of them have it out. Beau tells him she’s wanted their father gone for a long time, and that it was Jovie’s arrival that gave her an opening. Edmond had been feeding Acker lies for years. Jovie wanted him to take the throne much sooner but Beau stopped her. Acker never knew any of it. As they talk, he realizes Beau is doing well in Maile. She teaches now, she’s with the kids, doing the best she can.
That night, back in the castle, Jovie sends for Drake. After watching Acker walk around her kingdom with Irina, she just wants to move on. But it’s Fredrich who shows up, not Drake. He tells her he couldn’t send a man to his death, meaning he knows what Acker would do if she took another man to bed.
By now Jovie knows Acker has been slipping through the mangi stones into her dreams. She doesn’t care. She just wants some release before she sleeps, and she’s tired of hurting. She’s with Fredrich when Acker breaks through mid hook up. He’s devastated. Acker tells him that if this is payback for Irina, then so be it, and both Acker and Fredrich are hooking up with Jovie. Afterward Acker tells her that was her one concession. She is not to be with another man again.
Acker’s Mom
The next morning Jovie reaches for Acker through the bond. He says he’s supposed to leave within the hour, but she wants him to see something for himself. She brings him to a cottage where Grenadine, her upstairs neighbor from Alaha, now lives. Grenadine is actually Cadence, Acker’s mother.
Edmond used a slatstone to drain her magic so badly that she never fully healed. Greta was the one who smuggled her out of the castle so she’d survive, because by then Edmond is addicted to power. Acker is there in his bond form, visible only to Jovie, but his mother knows her son the second she feels him. Grenadine reveals that to save Acker’s life, Jovie made a deal with Roison, knowing Acker is there.
Acker Kidnaps Jovie
That night Jovie is out on her balcony when Acker comes to her through the bond and tells her he missed her scent. Then Fredrich appears, looking apologetic. He tells Jovie she’s the best leader he’s ever served, and then he kidnaps her.
We cut to Acker on a boat, and Wells joins him. Wells offers to kill his father for him so he doesn’t have to. Acker agrees. Irina is on the boat too. Then Acker reveals the rest. Fredrich is one of his men. He planted him in Maile to watch over Jovie, and he had her taken because he can’t stand being away from her. He says he always would have come for her.
When he sees Fredrich, he punches him in the face. Fredrich takes the free hit and tells Acker he could have done far worse with Jovie and didn’t. Acker says he could’ve done nothing.
Irina and Wells both judge him hard for it. Acker shackles Jovie and puts her in a cabin, and she fights the restraints, clearly in pain. Acker can’t even look at her, so Fredrich is the one who takes care of her the whole way. They reach Kenta, find an abandoned town, and march her in. Fredrich ties her in a room, and eventually she works free and goes after Acker while he sleeps. Acker begs her to end his misery one way or the other, by being with him or by finally killing him.
The next morning Wells, Irina, Jovie, Fredrich, and Acker sit down to plan. Acker reveals he knows Wells isn’t Wells at all. It’s Messer. The real Wells stayed home with pregnant Olivia, and Messer took his place. Messer can shapeshift into humans now. Their plan is to overthrow all of the kings of their world with Jovie already having claimed a crown.
They’re going after Edmond, Irina’s parents in Strou, and Roison. Then Jovie has a choice. She can send Messer to Kai, to get him to move against Wren, or to her mother, to keep Evelyn from launching an army. She sends him to Kai. Acker hates it, since Kai has spent years sending men to kill him. She sends birds to her mother too, and they let the rest of the birds loose in the abandoned town to create conflict between Wren and Edmond.
Jovie’s Real Father and Acker’s Offer
Jovie reveals her father is Osiris, brother to Chryse, the current king of Roison. When Osiris feared for her safety, he kidnapped Jovie and took her to Alaha. Evelyn killed him. To the public, a man named Leo is Jovie’s father.
With the plan set, Jovie and Acker are alone, and he starts trying to flirt his way back in. He practically confesses his undying love for her. He points out the blood oath is still holding, and the oath is tied to truth, which only holds as long as he loves her. Jovie has been wondering about that for a long time.
He tells her he wants the throne of Kenta with her at his side, and that Jovie is already Queen of Maile. Chryse would never do business with Evelyn after she killed his brother, but he’d deal with Jovie, who had nothing to do with the assassination.
They hook up but Acker tries to pressure her into admitting she still loves him. Jovie accuses him of torturing her. Acker says he only wants the woman he should have chosen all along. She punches him in the face, then walks away, telling him she’s sorry, that she might have done things differently, but what’s done is done. Acker tells her that despite what has happened between them and what’s to come, he has no intention of letting her go.
The Deal With Kai
Messer comes back and delivers Kai’s conditions. Acker does not take the throne. Jovie’s been giving Acker the silent treatment since their fight at the house, but when they reach the southern cottage they’re supposed to meet Kai and Aurora, she catches sight of the sea and runs right in. She missed it badly after all her years with the Alaha.
Days pass. Acker watches her swim, then practice her gift, then run sword drills. They barely speak. Finally he corners her on the stairs and asks what she’ll do when Kai tells him to give up Kenta. Jovie says he doesn’t understand. He tells her to explain it, and they end up half-arguing, half-squabbling on the steps. Then Jovie tells it plainly. She’s always chosen him. She knew she’d fall for him the second she saw him back in Alaha. They start hooking up again, and Messer walks in on them.
Later they go back to their room and finally get back together.
By now Irina and Jovie have started to become friends. Acker confesses that he loves her without end, and Jovie looks like she feels the same. He decides that even if she betrays him again, he’ll just die a fool, and he’s made his peace with that.
Acker and Jovie nearly have sex but then Kai arrives with Aurora. Kai demands that Acker step down from Kenta’s throne despite Jovie’s offer of Roison. Kai doesn’t budge, and Aurora is furious with Kai.
In the meeting, Messer, Fredrich, Kai, Acker, and Jovie sit down. Jovie asks what Kai wants and offers him Roison. Kai says he wants Roison and Kenta both. No one can talk him out of it, and the meeting falls apart.
Afterward, Acker tells Jovie he’ll give up the throne. He’s already sent Messer to agree to Kai’s conditions. Kenta was never his priority. Jovie was, and she always had been. The two of them finally sleep together, and the next morning they leave for Maile.
Sneaking Back Into Kenta
They don’t get far. Kenta soldiers control the approach to Maile, so Acker has to turn around and take Jovie back to the castle instead. Irina uses her illusionist gift to disguise herself as Beau.
What they find inside is worse than expected. Edmond has killed his entire council, and he’s draining heir after heir for their powers. Chryse, the king of Roison, is there, and so is Wren. The whole alliance is set to turn on Maile.
When Acker presents Jovie as his match and his pet, Edmond allows it. He has her collared, certain that Acker controls her now and that she’ll betray her own kingdom in time.
At a council meeting, Edmond drains Vad, the man who gave away Acker’s battalion years ago. Before he goes, Vad reveals he knew Irina was disguised as Beau. Acker silently lets him know his plan is to kill every man doing this to people. Vad dies.
Edmond offers Vad’s drained power to Acker, and Acker drinks it. The next morning, the second he’s out of the room, he throws up. Whether he’s now an Oracle, which was Vad’s gift, isn’t clear yet.
Over the next few days he doesn’t want to talk to Jovie about any of it. Eventually he tells her about the Oracle powers, but not about what they actually do, because the whole thing is uncomfortable for both of them. Jovie doesn’t ask whether he can hear her thoughts.
Edmond brings all the alliances together for a dinner in the castle. Acker wants Jovie to go meet Maile’s invading armies at the west wall of the city so he can handle his part alone, and Jovie talks him into keeping Fredrich with him. Jovie leaves to meet her armies.
Light Wielder Ending Explained
Messer and Jovie are crossing town when Wren cuts them off. He tells them Kai has double-crossed them, and he uses the power of influence to put Jovie to sleep. Messer takes a heartstone arrow out of the sky. Jovie doesn’t know if he lives, only that he can’t heal with no one to pull the arrow out.
Inside the castle, Acker is at the dinner, and Edmond’s servant Stassia despises the king as much as Acker does. The two of them put together a plan against Edmond. They release the castle’s prisoners. Wren turns up and reveals he despises Edmond’s magic-siphoning crimes and would never align himself with someone that corrupt. He says Edmond framed him as the one gathering power, when it was Edmond all along.
In the chaos, Wren gets into it with Chryse and Edmond. Fredrich uses the distraction to get behind Edmond, stab him in the back, decapitate him. Edmond dies.
Acker moves to kill Wren next, but Wren brings in Jovie, still asleep from his influence, and runs away while Acker is distracted. Acker reaches into her consciousness through the bond and wakes her. Once she’s up, they fight their way to the armies, where Evelyn is relieved to see Jovie and furious to see Acker.
The war begins once more. Trolls are in Kenta. Acker ends up battling two of them and nearly dies. Kai turns up, distracts his own father, who’s controlling the trolls, and kills Wren. Acker survives. Then the army runs its secret plan. On a chant they all take cover, golden butterflies pour into the sky, and Jovie throws her light off of them, multiplying it until it burns every enemy into the ground. Kai survives. Acker and Jovie say they love each other, and the battle ends.
With the war won, Jovie and Acker are together. They’re heading back to Maile, where Acker will serve under her, and Kenta is left to Beau. The Alaha end up spread across Kenta and the other nations, with Kai and Aurora staying on in Kenta as their council representatives. Before they go, Acker asks Jovie to marry him, and she says yes.
Then comes the last big piece of her history. The man the public always called Leo, the one everyone believed was Jovie’s father, is actually General Sam. He took the name Sam after Osiris died because he didn’t want to explain where his sudden powers came from. Edmond had transferred Osiris’s power to him, and that was the price of Evelyn sparing Edmond’s life.
Epilogue and Setting up the Stage For Next Duology
The epilogue is from Messer’s POV. A young kid found him after the arrow and nursed him back to health. When Messer hears the Queen is leaving, he knows he has to go with her, wing still aching. But still he flies after the carriage and crashes straight into it. He shifts back to human inside Jovie and Acker’s carriage and shows them he’s alive. They reunite, and with Messer back, the ending lands happy.
He then remembers what happened after he was shot with the arrow. After the heartstone arrow hit him, Kai and Aurora found him, and Aurora pulled the arrow from his wing. Then Kai ordered her to leave him to die. Messer knows Aurora would never do that, which means Kai has her, and he’s using his power of influence on her. That’s the setup for the next duology.
Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is Light Wielder – Fire and Metal Book 2: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Whether you want to get to the heat or want closed-door modifications here’s the list of spicy chapters below.
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 42
Grab your copy of Light Wielder and see how Jovie and Acker’s war actually ends. 🦋🗡️
What did you think of the Light Wielder? Were you as underwhelmed as we are or did we miss something. Tell us in the comments!
If you want to keep up with what we’re reading next, did you know we’re on Instagram? If Instagram is not your thing, sign up for the newsletter and we’ll come to you.
Leave a Comment