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A review by novelty_reads
The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED this book!
Literally from the first page I was hooked with the story, characters and historical and fantastical world building. From the first few pages I immediately knew The Scarlet Alchemist could become a new favourite book of mine.
The Scarlet Alchemist follows Zilan, a girl who dreams of becoming a royal alchemist. Joining her cousins on their quest to become royal scholars, Zilan finds herself among the royal court uncovering political plots and schemes. When the Prince appears, knowing of Zilan's ability to resurrect the dead, she discovers things are not as they seem.
I absolutely loved the world-building in this book. Zilan's home town? The royal palace? I could imagine every place and I felt transported into the story. I loved seeing the home life and relations between Zilan and her cousins and their secret resurrection business. The resurrections brought another element to the book including a rock based alchemy system that I really enjoyed reading about.
The characters made this book. Wenshu and Yufei's banter with Zilan made me laugh out loud. Each character has their distinct personality and there was never a dull moment with them. Two other characters I loved was the Prince and the duck, Durian. The entire scene at the pond with the ducks made me cackle out loud.
The only criticism I have is with the side characters, the alchemists. They clearly were a big part of Zilan's life and yet we never learned more about them than their titles (the moon alchemist being an exception here). The ending would've hit harder if we got to know the alchemists a little better.
Speaking of endings though, this book was plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. My mouth hung open wide at some points with the thought: "That did not just happen??" at the forefront. I cannot wait for book two, I desperately need to talk over this ending with someone!
ACTUAL RATING: 4.8 STARS
I LOVED this book!
Literally from the first page I was hooked with the story, characters and historical and fantastical world building. From the first few pages I immediately knew The Scarlet Alchemist could become a new favourite book of mine.
The Scarlet Alchemist follows Zilan, a girl who dreams of becoming a royal alchemist. Joining her cousins on their quest to become royal scholars, Zilan finds herself among the royal court uncovering political plots and schemes. When the Prince appears, knowing of Zilan's ability to resurrect the dead, she discovers things are not as they seem.
I absolutely loved the world-building in this book. Zilan's home town? The royal palace? I could imagine every place and I felt transported into the story. I loved seeing the home life and relations between Zilan and her cousins and their secret resurrection business. The resurrections brought another element to the book including a rock based alchemy system that I really enjoyed reading about.
The characters made this book. Wenshu and Yufei's banter with Zilan made me laugh out loud. Each character has their distinct personality and there was never a dull moment with them. Two other characters I loved was the Prince and the duck, Durian. The entire scene at the pond with the ducks made me cackle out loud.
The only criticism I have is with the side characters, the alchemists. They clearly were a big part of Zilan's life and yet we never learned more about them than their titles (the moon alchemist being an exception here). The ending would've hit harder if we got to know the alchemists a little better.
Speaking of endings though, this book was plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. My mouth hung open wide at some points with the thought: "That did not just happen??" at the forefront. I cannot wait for book two, I desperately need to talk over this ending with someone!
ACTUAL RATING: 4.8 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Child death, Body horror, and Blood