Reviews - A Forbidden Alchemy

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671 reviews for:

A Forbidden Alchemy

Stacey McEwan

4.41 AVERAGE

bookishbillijean's review against another edition

3.0

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 3/5 ⭐️

𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓬𝓮 2/5🌶️

A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan is a fantasy romance and the first book in a duology. Nina and Patrick are 12 years old when they go to Belavere City to discover if they have magical potential. When they uncover a devastating truth they part ways heading on different paths but carry this secret.

First things first, I listened to the audio of this. I had a hard time understanding the narrators as their accents were very heavy. It also was confusing. There were time jumps and I could remember if I had heard that it was a time jump or if it just happened.

I also had a really hard time getting into the story. Some parts I was like yes and others I was like eh. Felt very underwhelming. I did not want to keep picking it up really at all.

It has really great potential though and I think the ending makes me kind of want to read the next one. I think if I had read the physical book I might have enjoyed it more. Maybe I will try that in a few months!

lindsayaries's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Yeah this is a 5⭐ read.

Plot-wise it might be one of the best reads of 2025 for me. I loved the setting, the stakes, the pacing. All of it. The magical class war/proletariat uprising setting while not overly unique was done incredibly well. I felt connected to the plot pretty much immediately.

I love how we shift around in time. The author doesn't tell you key details until they become relevant, peeling back the layers of the story piece by piece. Chef kiss.

The magic was, again, not extremely unique, but it was done well and really just a vector for a rebellion.

I loved ALL the characters. I felt their voices were so clear. I had no issue balancing the cast in my head.

There are two things I think set this book so far beyond a lot of fantasy romance.

1) the stakes. I felt like the stakes were SO HIGH. The tension was palpable. When the characters were desperate, I was desperate with them. When the characters were panicked, I was too. I was hanging on every word by the end.

2) the prose. Sometimes when I recommend a book and someone says "oh, it's good?" I wonder what makes a good book. Is it the story, the writing, the characters, the setting, what is it? And it's hard to just blanket statement say "yes" at times because you just don't know how to quantify 'good'. But this book is good. The writing was poetic and heart wrenching at the same time. The voices were crystal clear. I was just lost in this book in a way I haven't been in a while.

The cliff is properly hangered at the end though so reader beware, it's not a complete series yet. I'm DYING to know what happens next.