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tessa_talbert's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Star
*my thanks to the author for granting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Ales, Agents, and Alchemy is a gritty urban fantasy set in a world where the ambiguous art of alchemy hasn't quite died—but it's still just as lethal.
There are only four of them left: The Warden. The Medium. The Conjurer. The Magician. The last in America to wield the alchemic Craft. But one seeks to rise above the rest and will stop at nothing to do so.
The Magician, Ryne Clayten, knows without a doubt that his sister Hannah was murdered by a renowned maltman known to the public as Lawrence Grant, The Warden. But he can't prove it. At least, not yet. After the failed trial that let Grant walk scott-free, Ryne has perfected an ale of his own; a counter-product to The Warden's dangerously addictive brew that he believes is the key to bringing Hannah's murderer to justice. But The Warden is vicious, influential, always five steps ahead, and he prefers Ryne six feet under. Ryne needs to prove The Warden's guilt but to do that he needs to stay out of jail and somehow not manage to be taken down by his own Alchemy in the process.
Woo-ee. So this was definitely outside my normal wheelhouse, and probably yours as well. I think I can safely say that there aren't many stories like this on the market. The concept is based around Alchemy being channeled through different types of spirits, like bourbon, beer, moonshine, or wine. Each one with a different type of power and created by a specific Alchemist. I enjoyed the fact that the magic had a consequence — if each specific Craft isn't used after 48 hours it will consume its handler. And there are a lot of near-misses here with that little time frame, that's for sure.
One thing I couldn't shake was the feeling that the story should have been a second book, or that we were missing a whole adventure in the beginning. We are plopped into the world after Ryne, our main character discovers his sister was murdered by The Warden, he has already learned alchemy, the initial trial had failed to put Grant behind bars — and we open with Ryne antagonizing The Warden in his own bar. (not that I find Ryne being an antagonizing little shit an issue. In fact, it's one of the things I like most about him) But because of this, it almost felt like I needed to roll back a hundred pages to catch what I'd missed.
We catch up pretty quickly, and the holes start to fill in as we see the conspiracy unfold from Ryne and Grant's eyes and once the ball starts rolling, it goes hard. Which, I always appreciate a good showdown in Act III. I almost wish there were more interactions with The Medium and The Conjurer respectively (as those are probably my favorite power-types. also catch me bugging the author for the history on the other Alchemists because now I need to KNOW) and seeing how each of them fell in with The Warden's schemes was very interesting, especially after hearing how long their associations ran.
Ryne is devil-may-care and sensitive all in one, caring deeply for his family and very little for himself in the grand scheme of things. He grew on me. It seems that's his thing.
The finale for this was absolutely BONKERS and we got to the end way too fast (but hey, that's what sequels are for, amirite?) I'm not sure if it was me reading too fast or the action speeding by but it was certainly one hell of a wrap-up.
I have to say, this one surprised me. As I said, it's not normally my thing, but there was a lot of snark and heart in this one and a creativity that you can't ignore. If you need something outside-of-the-box to sink your teeth into, check out Ales, Agents, and Alchemy cuz this little gem will be out 22 October 2020.
*my thanks to the author for granting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Ales, Agents, and Alchemy is a gritty urban fantasy set in a world where the ambiguous art of alchemy hasn't quite died—but it's still just as lethal.
There are only four of them left: The Warden. The Medium. The Conjurer. The Magician. The last in America to wield the alchemic Craft. But one seeks to rise above the rest and will stop at nothing to do so.
The Magician, Ryne Clayten, knows without a doubt that his sister Hannah was murdered by a renowned maltman known to the public as Lawrence Grant, The Warden. But he can't prove it. At least, not yet. After the failed trial that let Grant walk scott-free, Ryne has perfected an ale of his own; a counter-product to The Warden's dangerously addictive brew that he believes is the key to bringing Hannah's murderer to justice. But The Warden is vicious, influential, always five steps ahead, and he prefers Ryne six feet under. Ryne needs to prove The Warden's guilt but to do that he needs to stay out of jail and somehow not manage to be taken down by his own Alchemy in the process.
Woo-ee. So this was definitely outside my normal wheelhouse, and probably yours as well. I think I can safely say that there aren't many stories like this on the market. The concept is based around Alchemy being channeled through different types of spirits, like bourbon, beer, moonshine, or wine. Each one with a different type of power and created by a specific Alchemist. I enjoyed the fact that the magic had a consequence — if each specific Craft isn't used after 48 hours it will consume its handler. And there are a lot of near-misses here with that little time frame, that's for sure.
One thing I couldn't shake was the feeling that the story should have been a second book, or that we were missing a whole adventure in the beginning. We are plopped into the world after Ryne, our main character discovers his sister was murdered by The Warden, he has already learned alchemy, the initial trial had failed to put Grant behind bars — and we open with Ryne antagonizing The Warden in his own bar. (not that I find Ryne being an antagonizing little shit an issue. In fact, it's one of the things I like most about him) But because of this, it almost felt like I needed to roll back a hundred pages to catch what I'd missed.
We catch up pretty quickly, and the holes start to fill in as we see the conspiracy unfold from Ryne and Grant's eyes and once the ball starts rolling, it goes hard. Which, I always appreciate a good showdown in Act III. I almost wish there were more interactions with The Medium and The Conjurer respectively (as those are probably my favorite power-types. also catch me bugging the author for the history on the other Alchemists because now I need to KNOW) and seeing how each of them fell in with The Warden's schemes was very interesting, especially after hearing how long their associations ran.
Ryne is devil-may-care and sensitive all in one, caring deeply for his family and very little for himself in the grand scheme of things. He grew on me. It seems that's his thing.
The finale for this was absolutely BONKERS and we got to the end way too fast (but hey, that's what sequels are for, amirite?) I'm not sure if it was me reading too fast or the action speeding by but it was certainly one hell of a wrap-up.
I have to say, this one surprised me. As I said, it's not normally my thing, but there was a lot of snark and heart in this one and a creativity that you can't ignore. If you need something outside-of-the-box to sink your teeth into, check out Ales, Agents, and Alchemy cuz this little gem will be out 22 October 2020.
tessa_talbert's review
3.0
3.5 Star
*my thanks to the author for granting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Ales, Agents, and Alchemy is a gritty urban fantasy set in a world where the ambiguous art of alchemy hasn't quite died—but it's still just as lethal.
There are only four of them left: The Warden. The Medium. The Conjurer. The Magician. The last in America to wield the alchemic Craft. But one seeks to rise above the rest and will stop at nothing to do so.
The Magician, Ryne Clayten, knows without a doubt that his sister Hannah was murdered by a renowned maltman known to the public as Lawrence Grant, The Warden. But he can't prove it. At least, not yet. After the failed trial that let Grant walk scott-free, Ryne has perfected an ale of his own; a counter-product to The Warden's dangerously addictive brew that he believes is the key to bringing Hannah's murderer to justice. But The Warden is vicious, influential, always five steps ahead, and he prefers Ryne six feet under. Ryne needs to prove The Warden's guilt but to do that he needs to stay out of jail and somehow not manage to be taken down by his own Alchemy in the process.
Woo-ee. So this was definitely outside my normal wheelhouse, and probably yours as well. I think I can safely say that there aren't many stories like this on the market. The concept is based around Alchemy being channeled through different types of spirits, like bourbon, beer, moonshine, or wine. Each one with a different type of power and created by a specific Alchemist. I enjoyed the fact that the magic had a consequence — if each specific Craft isn't used after 48 hours it will consume its handler. And there are a lot of near-misses here with that little time frame, that's for sure.
One thing I couldn't shake was the feeling that the story should have been a second book, or that we were missing a whole adventure in the beginning. We are plopped into the world after Ryne, our main character discovers his sister was murdered by The Warden, he has already learned alchemy, the initial trial had failed to put Grant behind bars — and we open with Ryne antagonizing The Warden in his own bar. (not that I find Ryne being an antagonizing little shit an issue. In fact, it's one of the things I like most about him) But because of this, it almost felt like I needed to roll back a hundred pages to catch what I'd missed.
We catch up pretty quickly, and the holes start to fill in as we see the conspiracy unfold from Ryne and Grant's eyes and once the ball starts rolling, it goes hard. Which, I always appreciate a good showdown in Act III. I almost wish there were more interactions with The Medium and The Conjurer respectively (as those are probably my favorite power-types. also catch me bugging the author for the history on the other Alchemists because now I need to KNOW) and seeing how each of them fell in with The Warden's schemes was very interesting, especially after hearing how long their associations ran.
Ryne is devil-may-care and sensitive all in one, caring deeply for his family and very little for himself in the grand scheme of things. He grew on me. It seems that's his thing.
The finale for this was absolutely BONKERS and we got to the end way too fast (but hey, that's what sequels are for, amirite?) I'm not sure if it was me reading too fast or the action speeding by but it was certainly one hell of a wrap-up.
I have to say, this one surprised me. As I said, it's not normally my thing, but there was a lot of snark and heart in this one and a creativity that you can't ignore. If you need something outside-of-the-box to sink your teeth into, check out Ales, Agents, and Alchemy cuz this little gem will be out 22 October 2020.
*my thanks to the author for granting me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Ales, Agents, and Alchemy is a gritty urban fantasy set in a world where the ambiguous art of alchemy hasn't quite died—but it's still just as lethal.
There are only four of them left: The Warden. The Medium. The Conjurer. The Magician. The last in America to wield the alchemic Craft. But one seeks to rise above the rest and will stop at nothing to do so.
The Magician, Ryne Clayten, knows without a doubt that his sister Hannah was murdered by a renowned maltman known to the public as Lawrence Grant, The Warden. But he can't prove it. At least, not yet. After the failed trial that let Grant walk scott-free, Ryne has perfected an ale of his own; a counter-product to The Warden's dangerously addictive brew that he believes is the key to bringing Hannah's murderer to justice. But The Warden is vicious, influential, always five steps ahead, and he prefers Ryne six feet under. Ryne needs to prove The Warden's guilt but to do that he needs to stay out of jail and somehow not manage to be taken down by his own Alchemy in the process.
Woo-ee. So this was definitely outside my normal wheelhouse, and probably yours as well. I think I can safely say that there aren't many stories like this on the market. The concept is based around Alchemy being channeled through different types of spirits, like bourbon, beer, moonshine, or wine. Each one with a different type of power and created by a specific Alchemist. I enjoyed the fact that the magic had a consequence — if each specific Craft isn't used after 48 hours it will consume its handler. And there are a lot of near-misses here with that little time frame, that's for sure.
One thing I couldn't shake was the feeling that the story should have been a second book, or that we were missing a whole adventure in the beginning. We are plopped into the world after Ryne, our main character discovers his sister was murdered by The Warden, he has already learned alchemy, the initial trial had failed to put Grant behind bars — and we open with Ryne antagonizing The Warden in his own bar. (not that I find Ryne being an antagonizing little shit an issue. In fact, it's one of the things I like most about him) But because of this, it almost felt like I needed to roll back a hundred pages to catch what I'd missed.
We catch up pretty quickly, and the holes start to fill in as we see the conspiracy unfold from Ryne and Grant's eyes and once the ball starts rolling, it goes hard. Which, I always appreciate a good showdown in Act III. I almost wish there were more interactions with The Medium and The Conjurer respectively (as those are probably my favorite power-types. also catch me bugging the author for the history on the other Alchemists because now I need to KNOW) and seeing how each of them fell in with The Warden's schemes was very interesting, especially after hearing how long their associations ran.
Ryne is devil-may-care and sensitive all in one, caring deeply for his family and very little for himself in the grand scheme of things. He grew on me. It seems that's his thing.
The finale for this was absolutely BONKERS and we got to the end way too fast (but hey, that's what sequels are for, amirite?) I'm not sure if it was me reading too fast or the action speeding by but it was certainly one hell of a wrap-up.
I have to say, this one surprised me. As I said, it's not normally my thing, but there was a lot of snark and heart in this one and a creativity that you can't ignore. If you need something outside-of-the-box to sink your teeth into, check out Ales, Agents, and Alchemy cuz this little gem will be out 22 October 2020.
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