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ariel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death
nalame's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I loved the first half of the book, but it took me longer to enjoy the second half of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent
ceredonia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Very good start to a great story. FMA vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Animal death and Cursing
maddiegrace2002's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
sundayfever's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was wild and the ending was a batshit gory blood bath. I appreciated how chaotic it was and how it isn't your typical fantasy story about magic and resurrection. I loved the mixed race representation. The "lessons learned" here are very different than your typical story. The plot twists felt so unbelievable and hard to follow though. Read like gory indulgent violent fantasy, which I guess isn't my thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Self harm, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
emilysreadingbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Zilan is an orphan living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in the southern region of China in an alternate history where Chinese alchemists were successful in finding an elixir of immortality.
Only the rich have access, and while they don’t age, they can die through other means.
Zilan is an alchemist, and she and her cousins, Wenshu and Yufei, perform illegal life alchemy that brings the recently deceased back to life to earn the money they need for their family to survive.
Their dream is to move to the capital, Chang’an, for Zilan to become a royal alchemist, and her cousins to become civil servants; but to become a royal alchemist, Zilan has to pass the entrance exams, and the odds seemed stacked against her.
Can she pass, when it seems like almost everyone is against her? And is being a royal alchemist really everything she thought it would be?
This book was amazing! The plot is creative, and the twists are so well done. I was hooked from the first chapter, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Physical abuse and Pandemic/Epidemic
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Also on Snow White Hates Apples.
A captivating and vivid reimagining of Chinese history during which the only (regarded as) legitimate female Emperor Wu Zetian ruled, The Scarlet Alchemist is a new addition to a growing and much-loved subgenre that needs to be read.
Here, we have Zilan, half-Chinese and half-wailao who’s without a mother and father, but much loved by her aunt, uncle and two cousins — so much so that they’re practically immediate family. Together, they run a mingqi business, which despite death being a daily occurrence, isn’t doing well. The poor are too poor to buy mingqi for their deceased loved ones while the rich are too scared of death to die so they resort to eating life gold which gives them longevity.
Nevertheless, an extended life doesn’t mean that one can’t die so what do the rich do when one of their own dies? When they’re desperate enough to pay any price to bring back the deceased? Why, they go to a backwater village, walk through the part of the neighbourhood even the villagers themselves turn their noses up at, and find Zilan who has that exact ability they’re looking for.
It’s breaking all sorts of laws — in fact, anything related to the necromantic/blood alchemy Zilan does defies the balance and can have severe consequences or less-than-ideal results, But, for Zilan, it’s a means of survival for her family because the gold the rich pays to stay alive can bring rice to their table, can improve the health of her ailing aunt and uncle, can allow Zilan and her cousins to travel to the capital for the imperial exams that can better their lives should they pass both the exams and the political games that are undoubtedly there.
So, Zilan’s willingness to go against everything for her and her loved ones’ sake? That’s admirable. I really like how she braves her fears and how she takes on the challenges that come her way with cleverness and viciousness. Zilan may come off as rude or selfish to some, but I think it makes her complex and more relatable.
Other than that, I like that Prince Li Hong is a more lighthearted character in contrast to Zilan. He isn’t as strong, as smart or as brave, but he’s sweet, loves his ducks dearly and provides the story with seamlessly integrated touches of humour. Though, I must admit the romance between him and Zilan felt unbalanced. It’s clear that Li Hong likes Zilan more than she likes him, so this makes all the romantic parts feel out of the blue. Still, I think that this simply means more opportunity for Zilan’s feelings to develop and strengthen in the next book.
(Also, idk about you but that moment when Zilan had to choose between the two in her life? Amazing. 10/10 the perfect choice. I bawled at that scene.)
Anyway, if a BAMF female lead who can resurrect people and a gentle male lead who loves his pet ducks caught up in the typical political games of the upper class isn’t enough of a win for you, consider the following plusses: undead made of gems, stunning twists and turns, and fast-paced action. (Yes, you need to read The Scarlet Alchemist ASAP!)
A captivating and vivid reimagining of Chinese history during which the only (regarded as) legitimate female Emperor Wu Zetian ruled, The Scarlet Alchemist is a new addition to a growing and much-loved subgenre that needs to be read.
Here, we have Zilan, half-Chinese and half-wailao who’s without a mother and father, but much loved by her aunt, uncle and two cousins — so much so that they’re practically immediate family. Together, they run a mingqi business, which despite death being a daily occurrence, isn’t doing well. The poor are too poor to buy mingqi for their deceased loved ones while the rich are too scared of death to die so they resort to eating life gold which gives them longevity.
Nevertheless, an extended life doesn’t mean that one can’t die so what do the rich do when one of their own dies? When they’re desperate enough to pay any price to bring back the deceased? Why, they go to a backwater village, walk through the part of the neighbourhood even the villagers themselves turn their noses up at, and find Zilan who has that exact ability they’re looking for.
It’s breaking all sorts of laws — in fact, anything related to the necromantic/blood alchemy Zilan does defies the balance and can have severe consequences or less-than-ideal results, But, for Zilan, it’s a means of survival for her family because the gold the rich pays to stay alive can bring rice to their table, can improve the health of her ailing aunt and uncle, can allow Zilan and her cousins to travel to the capital for the imperial exams that can better their lives should they pass both the exams and the political games that are undoubtedly there.
So, Zilan’s willingness to go against everything for her and her loved ones’ sake? That’s admirable. I really like how she braves her fears and how she takes on the challenges that come her way with cleverness and viciousness. Zilan may come off as rude or selfish to some, but I think it makes her complex and more relatable.
Other than that, I like that Prince Li Hong is a more lighthearted character in contrast to Zilan. He isn’t as strong, as smart or as brave, but he’s sweet, loves his ducks dearly and provides the story with seamlessly integrated touches of humour. Though, I must admit the romance between him and Zilan felt unbalanced. It’s clear that Li Hong likes Zilan more than she likes him, so this makes all the romantic parts feel out of the blue. Still, I think that this simply means more opportunity for Zilan’s feelings to develop and strengthen in the next book.
(Also, idk about you but that moment when Zilan had to choose between the two in her life? Amazing. 10/10 the perfect choice. I bawled at that scene.)
Anyway, if a BAMF female lead who can resurrect people and a gentle male lead who loves his pet ducks caught up in the typical political games of the upper class isn’t enough of a win for you, consider the following plusses: undead made of gems, stunning twists and turns, and fast-paced action. (Yes, you need to read The Scarlet Alchemist ASAP!)
Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker is available at all good bookstores.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Gore
Minor: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, and Classism
car3b3ar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Inspired by ancient China, this book re-imagines what might have happened if Chinese alchemists had figured out the secret to immortality. It's definitely a twisty fantasy, and Zilan, our protagonist isn't necessarily the most likable main character, but she is fierce and defiant and knows what she wants. Baker incorporates a lot of plot twists in relation to her character, and I enjoyed that overall, it kept me constantly guessing as to what was going to happen next.
Of course, the ending is left a bit open, leaving room for a second book. I believe it's going to be a duology, but I've been wrong in that aspect before. However, the events in this book are pretty much wrapped up for the most part, just leaving some loose ends that will likely be addressed in the second book.
The way Baker used ancient Chinese alchemy as her inspiration and ran with it made the magic system feel unique. I was invested and intrigued for this entire book, and I'm excited to pick up the second book when it eventually comes out!
Of course, the ending is left a bit open, leaving room for a second book. I believe it's going to be a duology, but I've been wrong in that aspect before. However, the events in this book are pretty much wrapped up for the most part, just leaving some loose ends that will likely be addressed in the second book.
The way Baker used ancient Chinese alchemy as her inspiration and ran with it made the magic system feel unique. I was invested and intrigued for this entire book, and I'm excited to pick up the second book when it eventually comes out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Vomit, and Kidnapping
boomwormbrittany's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
The Scarlet Alchemist follows Zilan who dreams of being an alchemist for the royal family. But when she receives the opportunity to become an alchemist, she realizes that the royal court might be more sinister than she realizes.
I really loved this book! I thought it would be right up my alley considering the content and I love historical books. I found this to be a really interesting story that was told so well. My jaw was on the floor at the end of this book because I couldn't believe what was happening. That ending made me so excited for the next book.
Kylie Lee Baker's writing is exquisite. The way the world was built and the story was done was perfect. I absolutely loved reading her prose and seeing how she told this story. It was so clear that she knew her characters and really took the time to get to know and tell their stories. I thought that this was such an interesting story and the fantasy twist in it was so well done.
I really loved Zilan and the Crown Prince so much. They were such interesting characters to follow and the Crown Prince was so sweet. Zilan had to fight her whole life and seeing her start to open up to him was so satisfying.
I am so excited for the next book to come out next year because I need to know what's going to happen. I absolutely enjoyed this. If you find the premise interesting, it's definitely worth a read.
I really loved this book! I thought it would be right up my alley considering the content and I love historical books. I found this to be a really interesting story that was told so well. My jaw was on the floor at the end of this book because I couldn't believe what was happening. That ending made me so excited for the next book.
Kylie Lee Baker's writing is exquisite. The way the world was built and the story was done was perfect. I absolutely loved reading her prose and seeing how she told this story. It was so clear that she knew her characters and really took the time to get to know and tell their stories. I thought that this was such an interesting story and the fantasy twist in it was so well done.
I really loved Zilan and the Crown Prince so much. They were such interesting characters to follow and the Crown Prince was so sweet. Zilan had to fight her whole life and seeing her start to open up to him was so satisfying.
I am so excited for the next book to come out next year because I need to know what's going to happen. I absolutely enjoyed this. If you find the premise interesting, it's definitely worth a read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder