Book Review: Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | It’s Okay. Still Recommend.

Read Metal Slinger if you like sea-faring fantasy, forced proximity, and books that will absolutely betray you by the end.

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📖 What’s Inside:

💕Childhood friends to lovers
Single POV
Kingdom politics 👑
Sea-faring adventure
On-page intimacy 🔴
🛶 Only one boat/horse/and bed!
Explicit language
Surprising plot twists 🤯

Book Boyfriend Meter: 🧡

Would consider. Would absolutely regret something.

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✨ Vibes:

🌊 The Bridge Kingdom — island politics + ocean adventure
🐅 Life of Pi (movie) — fever dream “is this even real?” energy

💭 My Thoughts:

I picked up Metal Slinger for one reason:

The vibes.

And listen—

It delivered.

Right from the start, I got exactly what I wanted:

A treehouse city in the ocean??
Sea-faring adventure??
Island politics??

Say less. I’m in.

Now, I will say…

The opening?

A little disorienting.

I had QUESTIONS.

Who are these people?
What’s the magic system?
Are we… sure this is fantasy??

But once I settled into the story?

Things got…

Weird.

In a good way.

The first half of this book honestly felt like a fever dream.

Like I was constantly asking myself: “Is this actually happening right now??”

And because I’d heard there was a big plot twist coming, I was out here trying to be a detective.

(Important note: I am not a good detective.)

So I was spiraling a little. Overthinking everything. Connecting dots that did not, in fact, connect.

To nobody’s surprise, I still didn’t see that coming.

Now—

Let’s talk about what worked.

Because there’s a lot.

The adventure? So fun.
The journey through enemy territory? Had me locked in.
The smaller twists along the way? Genuinely surprising.

Even when I suspected something, it was never quite right.

The timing? The impact? Always just slightly off enough to keep me hooked.

And the romance?

Honestly really sweet.

This is where the book shines.

You get those soft, intimate moments where you actually feel the characters falling in love.

(Unlike some fantasy romances that skip straight to tension and call it a day.)

The forced proximity?

Elite.

No notes.

Now…

We need to talk about the ending.

Without spoiling—

It didn’t work for me.

At all.

And not in a “I didn’t like the direction” way…

In a “this undermines everything that came before it” kind of way.

The execution?

Wrong.

Like the story suddenly shifted into something that didn’t match what we were given the entire time.

And because this is a single, first person POV with access to the FMC’s inner thoughts—

That shift made things feel… inconsistent.

Which pulled me right out of the story.

And honestly?

It left me frustrated.

Because the journey up to that point?

So good.

But the payoff?

Didn’t land for me.

This is one of those book where the ending has no middle ground. Readers will love it, or they will absolutely hate it. You now know where I stand.

That said, will I read book two?

Yes.

But only for one reason: Acker.

Because now I feel as betrayed as he does.

And I need justice.

Or at the very least—

A really solid redemption arc to fix what just happened.

📚Read Alikes:

If you love sea-faring fantasy + romance + high-stakes journeys, try:

• The Bridge Kingdom — political tension and island intrigue (Read my review)
• Daughter of the Pirate King — ocean adventure and strong FMC
• Fable — survival at sea and emotional storytelling

Should you add Metal Slinger to your TBR?

…This is a complicated answer.

If you want:

✔️ A fun, immersive sea adventure
✔️ Sweet romance + forced proximity
✔️ Twists that keep you guessing

Then yes.

BUT—

If you hate endings that flip everything on its head and risk ruining the experience?

Proceed with caution.

I’m in the minority here, but for me?

That ending broke it.

🛒 Buy Now

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