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caidyn's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC through Netgalley and a physical ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review!
CW: death, murder, violence, and sexism
Alchemy, a science, or magic, that has captivated humans through the ages. For centuries, people thought it was real. And then they stopped believing in it. In this alternate world, alchemy is real and so is the philosopher's stone. It's just that no one has been able to make it, although people have come close.
This includes Thea's mother, a famous alchemist in France. It's just after the revolution so the world is reordering itself, but her mother is close to a breakthrough on the stone. Yet, not good things happen, meaning that Thea has to go to England to be with her father -- who doesn't even know he has a kid. In England, the adventure and hunt to create the stone starts up again with new allies and enemies.
The book was a quick, dark read. It's got quite a few betrayals to it, as well as period accurate sexism that gets challenged. I thought it was a good book, one that had a lot of interesting action to it and tons of factions. I am surprised that this doesn't have a series and this is a stand-alone. I'm not upset about that since it feels like series get dragged out of books that don't necessarily need one, but I also would have liked to see what the next chapter was. The ending felt like it wrapped up a bit too neatly for me.
All in all, a very impressive debut and I can't wait to see what the author does next!
CW: death, murder, violence, and sexism
Alchemy, a science, or magic, that has captivated humans through the ages. For centuries, people thought it was real. And then they stopped believing in it. In this alternate world, alchemy is real and so is the philosopher's stone. It's just that no one has been able to make it, although people have come close.
This includes Thea's mother, a famous alchemist in France. It's just after the revolution so the world is reordering itself, but her mother is close to a breakthrough on the stone. Yet, not good things happen, meaning that Thea has to go to England to be with her father -- who doesn't even know he has a kid. In England, the adventure and hunt to create the stone starts up again with new allies and enemies.
The book was a quick, dark read. It's got quite a few betrayals to it, as well as period accurate sexism that gets challenged. I thought it was a good book, one that had a lot of interesting action to it and tons of factions. I am surprised that this doesn't have a series and this is a stand-alone. I'm not upset about that since it feels like series get dragged out of books that don't necessarily need one, but I also would have liked to see what the next chapter was. The ending felt like it wrapped up a bit too neatly for me.
All in all, a very impressive debut and I can't wait to see what the author does next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Violence
Moderate: Death
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