Rachel Rener – Booknotes

If Rachel Rener isn’t a metal-head herself, I will delete this post. A common theme in her books is the protagonists love of or interest in metal music. Metallica, Nunslayer, Godsmack – all of these bands get mentions in her books.

“‘…listening to metal music can be relaxing,’ she argued. ‘It’s a controlled outlet for processing intense emotions – anger, for one.'”

This line…*chef’s kiss*. I make the joke all the time that metal is angry music for happy people, and it’s true, at least for me. All you have to do to see my love of metal is to look at any of my other playlist posts or the “On Repeat” playlist in the widget tab – which shows my top songs of the week. The fact that Rener infuses metal into her books made this playlist all the more fun to make.

Naturally, there is some Metallica on there. I would be completely remiss not to include some of Talia’s favorite band. In her honor, Master of Puppets makes an appearance on the list. Included my personal favorite, Nothing Else Matters.

“For the time being, at least, the slightly better of two abysmal choices was to keep her under the watchful eye of the devil she knew.”

As cliche as it may seem, the song Devil You Know by Tim Montana was a must on this list for this line alone. Zayn continued with this thinking throughout the book, viewing himself as the threat Talia knew, even if she didn’t understand, more than anything else. I also think Zayn would appreciate the clean vocals, even if he doesn’t like metal.

The rest of the songs on the list are ones the made me think of Zayn’s mental state. My heart broke as he continued to tear himself down when his heart is beyond good. The way he treats Talia, Breta, Lamswyth, even just random girls in the bar who need a help to get out speaks volumes to the true nature of his character. It’s complete opposite to who what he thinks of himself.

I hope you enjoy the playlist as much as I enjoyed making it!

_{*Note: This review contains spoilers to the Gilded Blood series by Rachel Rener. I highly recommend reading the series in release order, rather than reading the prequel first.}

Early last year, I blazed through the Gilded Blood series by Rachel Rener. I loved it so much, I ended up reading pretty much everything Rener had published at the time as well. When I saw she was releasing a prequel to the Gilded Blood series, I was 100% on board.

Much to my enjoyment, Silver Blood did not disappoint. The book follows Zayn’s viewpoint from the moment Talia walks into his tattoo shop through the first 2 or 3 chapters (in truncated form) of Inked. We get a clear look into the mind of our favorite tortured book boyfriend.

The insights we glean from Zayn’s point of view confirms everything we saw of him in the Gilded Blood series. He loathes the demon inside, and is entirely selfless in his interactions with those he deems innocents. He views himself as a monster to the point of near self-destruction, but he truly is anything but.

I found it interesting Rener had Zayn discover his parentage in Silver Blood. It came as a surprise revelation to readers in the Gilded Blood series, but to know he knew all along paints a different spin on some of his actions and feelings towards how Sol treated Talia throughout Gilded Blood. All of his pain surrounding Sol trying to claim Talia seems amplified knowing he was his father.

As far as prequels go, Silver Blood is near perfect in my opinion. Weaving the back story with the main story was done in such as way as to not feel forced. We see Zayn’s POV on their one-night stand, how he protected Talia for years before letting her in, and his reaction to Roy’s snake tattoo shenanigans. Upon finishing, I wanted to dived right into a re-read of Inked and keep the story going.

TL:DR Details
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓 (Just read the dedication – there are 25.)
Diversity of characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Inclusion of lifestyles: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Quotes:

“You don’t exactly come off as someone with anger issues.”
“Yeah, because I listen to a lot of death metal.”

“Despite everything, she remained the singular bright spot in my bleak existence. I couldn’t openly love her, but I could cherish her. I couldn’t hold her, but I could protect her. And while I would never again be her lover, I would forever be her guardian and steadfast friend – albeit in my own quiet distant way.”

“…it was almost as though destiny had devised a greater plan of its own for me, and I was just along for the ride.”

Talia Wins: Metal Music Rules – My Playlist for Silver Blood

“Silver Blood” – A Prequel Worth the Read