A review by nikaexlibris
A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan

4.0

Publishing date: 1 July 2025

I think all the nerves I had were spent on this book!

The plot hooked me from the start, and I’m still trying to figure out what it reminds me of other than Peaky Blinders.

I really liked that the story starts when the characters are twelve. I got a little confused with the time jumps, but honestly, I’m glad they were there.

Would this be strangers to friends to lovers? I can’t really call them enemies. They’re enemies by circumstance, not by heart... It’s hard to explain, but I loved that it wasn’t the typical enemies to lovers (though I’ll forever be weak for that trope, haha).

Honestly, I don’t even know how to put my thoughts together after reading it. There’s still a heaviness in my chest, and for some reason, I broke out in a sweat at the end, I was just trying to get through it.

I really enjoyed the character dynamics. Sometimes I wanted to smack them, sometimes I wanted to hug them. Theo is so contradictory that I think I need book two just to make up my mind about him. I adore found family tropes, so watching them all together had me so anxious, I just wanted to keep them safe