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A review by hgranger
A Conspiracy of Alchemists by Liesel Schwarz
1.0
This book is bad. There is no other way of putting it — it promises steampunk and conspiracy, and delivers a confused mix of supernatural creatures who are there just to be there, not to actually move the story in any direction, and painfully awful romance. And if I have to read the words “little one” again in the near future I might scream.
The author has her protagonist, Elle, billed as a suffragette who goes against traditional roles for women, and has some supernatural power to boot. What she actually delivers is a petulant child who once in a while has a glimpse of gumption and the rest of the time demurely defers to Marsh, Patrice, her captors, random people on the street, blah blah. She goes off to save her father and packs a corset. She is busy worrying about her clothes and hair, her reactions to anything that happens are those of a spoiled tween, and her one thought when she is facing a serious threat is “but surely he doesn’t love me.” UGH!!! Also, despite her so-called powers she seems incapable of doing anything in her own when it comes to self-defense or getting out of trouble. The one time she does (kind of) save the day is because her powers set themselves off, not because of anything she actively does.🤮 She constantly talks about being a strong woman and a suffragette but never does anything to support these statement. I suddenly see Rachel Mariana Morgan in a completely different and positive light. That’s when you know it’s bad.
Marsh, who is supposed to be a 231 year old warlock is incapable of defending himself, let alone anyone else. In fact, the second time he tries fighting, one blow has him dying in the street. It’s truly a miracle that he’s survived this long. 🙄
The romance is sappy, forced, and completely without any chemistry. They’re in love because the author tells us so. The entire book was one long run-on of tell not show, interspersed by inane and pointless conversations that take the story nowhere and go on for pages.
There’s also the random racist statements thrown in for good measure; for example when speaking about the Chinese member of the warlock council who is described as a villain who sells opium to ruin Europe. (Presumably because he’s Chinese? Awful!!)
And just for the record; saying the words “spark reactor” over and over again doesn’t make a steampunk novel. What a disappointment.
The author has her protagonist, Elle, billed as a suffragette who goes against traditional roles for women, and has some supernatural power to boot. What she actually delivers is a petulant child who once in a while has a glimpse of gumption and the rest of the time demurely defers to Marsh, Patrice, her captors, random people on the street, blah blah. She goes off to save her father and packs a corset. She is busy worrying about her clothes and hair, her reactions to anything that happens are those of a spoiled tween, and her one thought when she is facing a serious threat is “but surely he doesn’t love me.” UGH!!! Also, despite her so-called powers she seems incapable of doing anything in her own when it comes to self-defense or getting out of trouble. The one time she does (kind of) save the day is because her powers set themselves off, not because of anything she actively does.🤮 She constantly talks about being a strong woman and a suffragette but never does anything to support these statement. I suddenly see Rachel Mariana Morgan in a completely different and positive light. That’s when you know it’s bad.
Marsh, who is supposed to be a 231 year old warlock is incapable of defending himself, let alone anyone else. In fact, the second time he tries fighting, one blow has him dying in the street. It’s truly a miracle that he’s survived this long. 🙄
The romance is sappy, forced, and completely without any chemistry. They’re in love because the author tells us so. The entire book was one long run-on of tell not show, interspersed by inane and pointless conversations that take the story nowhere and go on for pages.
There’s also the random racist statements thrown in for good measure; for example when speaking about the Chinese member of the warlock council who is described as a villain who sells opium to ruin Europe. (Presumably because he’s Chinese? Awful!!)
And just for the record; saying the words “spark reactor” over and over again doesn’t make a steampunk novel. What a disappointment.