711 reviews for:

A Forbidden Alchemy

Stacey McEwan

4.4 AVERAGE

lukestag's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

catachmi's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

claire_thebookreader's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

the_frantichrist's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

meagansevern's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rheagoveas's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Blood

marishkarishh's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mkadra's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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i love a book that keeps the reader in the dark about some of the things the main character doing/their motives. it kept me on my toes, lots of story building in the beginning, and i really liked the magic system. it wasn’t too complicated, neither were the politics. very peaky blinders-esc with the abbreviated folk english and mines and pubs. the longing/yearning/he-falls-first/tension is insane. talking about how they feel without admitting it to each other. 13 years of thinking about her? swooooooon. the themes of the fmc not wanted to be used as a weapon by either side, and the mmc being the key to the war complimented eachother, and i loved the comparison pf theo and patrick. of a person who knows about your teenage years and can relate, versus a familiar face that knows your roots that can also relate. theo pissed me off in the middle but he redeemed himself at the end. i hope patrick gives nina a VERY hard time about lying to him. she couldve found a way out. he deserves better imo….. he was valid for asking her to sink the tunnel at the very end. can’t wait for book 2 (?) this cured my reading slump.

fave quote: “thank you” “for what?” “for giving me that piece of yourself. i swear to you. i’ll look after it.” i sobbed.
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rab2912's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

consume_r's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Excellent read. All the hallmarks of a romantasy read, without the feeling it’s a copy and paste of every other romantasy. I did feel like the start of the book skipped through moments that could have been expanded on. Believable relationships and plot. The magic system wasn’t convoluted, it had a good foundation within the story. This read felt original and had good plot development and convincing romantic tension without the corniness/cringe.