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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
EDIT: THE MC IS PANSEXUAL EVERYONE. IT WAS CONFIRMED BY THE AUTHOR.
I LOVED IT SO MUCH. This is one of my favourite reads of the year!
can I just say that this series is so underrated??? The author published the entire trilogy in a YEAR and she deserves a lot more recognition for that!!! I can't believe she created this clever and unique world in such a short period of time. UGH, HER MIND!
Also, it has dragons, alchemy, LOTS of action, HATE TO LOVE (my fav) and the MC is pansexual (!!!) SO WHY ISN'T EVERBODY HYPING IT UP?????
The Alchemists of Loom is a steampunk novel about Arianna who is a criminal called The White Wraith and she's most known for dealing with valuable dragon organs because she hates dragons with a PASSION. Like full on I-will-kill-you-on-sight hate. (spoiler alert: guess who ends up going on a long ass journey with a dragon?? there's lots of tension and "i'm gonna kill you" threats but y'all know how these hate-to-love stories end right??)
Anywho, she meets Cvareh the dragon and he offers her a boon that she can't refuse. They are joined by Arianna's pupil Florence and the trio go on a long and adventurous journey to the Alchemist’s Guild.
by the way, the dragons in this book are not actual creatures like the ones you see in Game of Thrones, but they have a human form and lots of different magical powers/abilites in their organs (which is why they're often traded) which makes them a dragon!
Arianna is pansexual (it's never explicitly mentioned but the author confirmed it!) and SUPER BADASS. The book starts off with Arianna on a mission to break into a building, but she gets caught and CHASED and it's so intense. Ari is like a mastermind so she calculates her escape down to a T and it's so FASCINATING.
The story is told from multiple POVs which used to be something I didn't enjoy, but now I love it! We see the story from Ari, Cvareh and Florence's perspectives and I loved getting an insight into each of their minds because they're so different from each other!
Also, Florence is such a smol bean and so naive and ADORABLE. Ari hates dragons but she had to bring Cvareh to her house (where she lives with Florence), and Ari kept telling her that "dragons can't be trusted! be careful!we I hate dragons remember?!" Ari leaves the room and literally the minute she's gone and Florence and Cvareh are left alone, Flor is like "Hey wassup, want a cookie??" while munching on her own biscuit DJFKDJGH RELATABLE.
The book doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger but it definitely leaves you wanting more and it made me want to read on IMMEDIATELY. I will definitely be reading more from Elise Kova because her writing is amazing and she creates such realistic worlds and likeable characters and I’m just in awe! Kudos to her!
Full review is now up on my blog: https://toomuchofabooknerd.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/review-alchemists-of-loom-elise-kova/ :)
I LOVED IT SO MUCH. This is one of my favourite reads of the year!
can I just say that this series is so underrated??? The author published the entire trilogy in a YEAR and she deserves a lot more recognition for that!!! I can't believe she created this clever and unique world in such a short period of time. UGH, HER MIND!
Also, it has dragons, alchemy, LOTS of action, HATE TO LOVE (my fav) and the MC is pansexual (!!!) SO WHY ISN'T EVERBODY HYPING IT UP?????
The Alchemists of Loom is a steampunk novel about Arianna who is a criminal called The White Wraith and she's most known for dealing with valuable dragon organs because she hates dragons with a PASSION. Like full on I-will-kill-you-on-sight hate. (spoiler alert: guess who ends up going on a long ass journey with a dragon?? there's lots of tension and "i'm gonna kill you" threats but y'all know how these hate-to-love stories end right??)
Anywho, she meets Cvareh the dragon and he offers her a boon that she can't refuse. They are joined by Arianna's pupil Florence and the trio go on a long and adventurous journey to the Alchemist’s Guild.
by the way, the dragons in this book are not actual creatures like the ones you see in Game of Thrones, but they have a human form and lots of different magical powers/abilites in their organs (which is why they're often traded) which makes them a dragon!
Arianna is pansexual (it's never explicitly mentioned but the author confirmed it!) and SUPER BADASS. The book starts off with Arianna on a mission to break into a building, but she gets caught and CHASED and it's so intense. Ari is like a mastermind so she calculates her escape down to a T and it's so FASCINATING.
The story is told from multiple POVs which used to be something I didn't enjoy, but now I love it! We see the story from Ari, Cvareh and Florence's perspectives and I loved getting an insight into each of their minds because they're so different from each other!
Also, Florence is such a smol bean and so naive and ADORABLE. Ari hates dragons but she had to bring Cvareh to her house (where she lives with Florence), and Ari kept telling her that "dragons can't be trusted! be careful!
The book doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger but it definitely leaves you wanting more and it made me want to read on IMMEDIATELY. I will definitely be reading more from Elise Kova because her writing is amazing and she creates such realistic worlds and likeable characters and I’m just in awe! Kudos to her!
Full review is now up on my blog: https://toomuchofabooknerd.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/review-alchemists-of-loom-elise-kova/ :)
adventurous
I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
Elise Kova has proved herself as a fantasy author who know how to make her readers love and cry over her characters. Her debut series "Air Awakens" could only be comapred to the Throne of Glass books at least for me.
The Alchemists of Loom is her new series which takes place in a world where the Dragons rule and everyone live in faction which work in order to produce everything the Dragons need. Ari lives as a thief but her encounter with Cvareh will make her change her life and embark in an adventure through all of Loom.
Told through four POVs, this book has Japanese elements as also pretty awesome steampunk details which make the world-building even more fascinating! Arin, Cvareh and Florence are amazing characters with flaws and wonderful dialogue and through their eyes we get a glimpse of how their world was and how it became after the Dragons conquered Loom.
There is also a hint of romance which is delivered masterfully, though I hope it'll be more developed in the sequel. If you like steampunk and fantasy then you really don't want to miss this book!
Elise Kova has proved herself as a fantasy author who know how to make her readers love and cry over her characters. Her debut series "Air Awakens" could only be comapred to the Throne of Glass books at least for me.
The Alchemists of Loom is her new series which takes place in a world where the Dragons rule and everyone live in faction which work in order to produce everything the Dragons need. Ari lives as a thief but her encounter with Cvareh will make her change her life and embark in an adventure through all of Loom.
Told through four POVs, this book has Japanese elements as also pretty awesome steampunk details which make the world-building even more fascinating! Arin, Cvareh and Florence are amazing characters with flaws and wonderful dialogue and through their eyes we get a glimpse of how their world was and how it became after the Dragons conquered Loom.
There is also a hint of romance which is delivered masterfully, though I hope it'll be more developed in the sequel. If you like steampunk and fantasy then you really don't want to miss this book!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
This was a pretty great start to a series! I'm a fan of this world that Kova created and greatly welcome the new book later on. Arianna and Cvareh have such great dialogue and chemistry together! I also love the writing style of this, it reminds me of A Song of Ice and Fire in that each chapter is from a different characters perspective. It's a good technique and helps avoid confusion. Check it out!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I loved the narrators of the book. The only thing that was weird was the last two chapters are swapped. Definitely will be continuing with this series.
I don't if I'll finish this, for right now DNF
The world was interesting Steampunk feel.
spoiler
dragon king's guard:
she killed her own sister for failing when the damn king cut off her hand, wtf, and ate her heart. Blech..
The world was interesting Steampunk feel.
spoiler
dragon king's guard:
she killed her own sister for failing when the damn king cut off her hand, wtf, and ate her heart. Blech..
"Ari scowled at the rainbow trail glittering through the pale morning clouds.
Bloody Dragon Rider."
Oh. My. God. My heart is in my throat.
Nyan Dragon!
This book is going to be insane!
***
A while later....
"Golden blood glistened on his face from where he had feasted on the heart of his fallen foe."
***
At around 60%....
I do not hate Arianna, but I don't love her at this point.
I do not like Cvareh though. He is an idiot. Who the hell puts their pride before the lives of the people who are helping them? And before their goals? And their own lives? What?
And I hate hate hate Florence. She seems weak and whiny and the dynamics between her and Arianna do NOT make sense. At first I thought: "Ooooh! They're lovers! I can get down with that!", since, you know, they slept in the same bed and Florence got to walk in and see Arianna as she bathed and admire her body at the same time... But, it turns out they're not??... I don't get it. I know that the author wanted to portray a certain closeness between those two, but it just doesn't work. Nope. Nuh-huh.
Leona's got her own sick and twisted thing going on and I always love that in a villain, though I'm still not sure about her... Guess, I'll have to read and see.
Anyways, the world is awesome, but the characters.... just no.
Bloody Dragon Rider."
Oh. My. God. My heart is in my throat.
Nyan Dragon!
This book is going to be insane!
***
A while later....
"Golden blood glistened on his face from where he had feasted on the heart of his fallen foe."
***
At around 60%....
I do not hate Arianna, but I don't love her at this point.
I do not like Cvareh though. He is an idiot. Who the hell puts their pride before the lives of the people who are helping them? And before their goals? And their own lives? What?
And I hate hate hate Florence. She seems weak and whiny and the dynamics between her and Arianna do NOT make sense. At first I thought: "Ooooh! They're lovers! I can get down with that!", since, you know, they slept in the same bed and Florence got to walk in and see Arianna as she bathed and admire her body at the same time... But, it turns out they're not??... I don't get it. I know that the author wanted to portray a certain closeness between those two, but it just doesn't work. Nope. Nuh-huh.
Leona's got her own sick and twisted thing going on and I always love that in a villain, though I'm still not sure about her... Guess, I'll have to read and see.
Anyways, the world is awesome, but the characters.... just no.