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A review by whitneymouse
A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe
4.0
**Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the eArc in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my rating**
A Golden Fury follows Theosebeia Hope (Thea for short), an alchemist, as she strives to create the Philosopher's Stone. The stone is the ultimate goal of all alchemists, promising eternal youth, endless riches, and the ability to heal maladies. However, Thea discovers that creating the stone comes with a cost...your sanity. Stuck between the choice of losing her mind or creating the stone to heal those she loves who have attempted it before, Thea goes on a wild journey of self-discovery and magic.
I really liked this. I thought the pacing was just about right. I never got into a part of the book where I felt a lull or like it needed to pick up or slow down. I will say though that if you do not know much about alchemy, it would behoove you to look into it a little bit. For example, early in the book, Thea describes an illustration of a "hermaphrodite" (her wording), which shocked me a bit. While the book is set in 1792 and the term is historically accurate for that time period, I wondered why the author would choose to make the illustration this specific subject since we now use the term "intersex". In doing some research, I found out that this illustration was important to alchemical codes to indicate a fusion of duality or a fusion of opposing qualities after purification. While this isn't require to enjoy the book, it will help the reader to better understand Thea's work process and what some of the references she makes clearer.
Thea as a protagonist was very interesting to read about. She is headstrong and clever but vulnerable in a way that a character with her sheltered upbringing would likely be. I really enjoyed seeing her grow and become more confident of herself and her skill as the book went on. I think she's a character many readers would enjoy.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is simply because it's not a "new favorite" of mine. I would read it again and recommend anyone interested in an alchemy based take on magic systems check it out, but it isn't one of my favorite favorites of all books I read this year. This is partly to do with the romance aspect. I understand why it's there, but I almost wish it hadn't been. I don't know that it was entirely necessary to the plot. I feel there could have been another way to get it's purpose across in the book without introducing Will. He just wasn't my favorite. I adored Dominic, though.
The ending gives a satisfying conclusion for a stand-alone but also leaves the door open for a sequel, I feel. I would very happily read another book about Thea and how her life has changes after the events of this book.
All in all, this was a GREAT debut novel. Cohoe is obviously talented and presented a well-thought out and unique addition to the Fantasy YA genre. I'll be interested to see what she comes up with next.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars
A Golden Fury follows Theosebeia Hope (Thea for short), an alchemist, as she strives to create the Philosopher's Stone. The stone is the ultimate goal of all alchemists, promising eternal youth, endless riches, and the ability to heal maladies. However, Thea discovers that creating the stone comes with a cost...your sanity. Stuck between the choice of losing her mind or creating the stone to heal those she loves who have attempted it before, Thea goes on a wild journey of self-discovery and magic.
I really liked this. I thought the pacing was just about right. I never got into a part of the book where I felt a lull or like it needed to pick up or slow down. I will say though that if you do not know much about alchemy, it would behoove you to look into it a little bit. For example, early in the book, Thea describes an illustration of a "hermaphrodite" (her wording), which shocked me a bit. While the book is set in 1792 and the term is historically accurate for that time period, I wondered why the author would choose to make the illustration this specific subject since we now use the term "intersex". In doing some research, I found out that this illustration was important to alchemical codes to indicate a fusion of duality or a fusion of opposing qualities after purification. While this isn't require to enjoy the book, it will help the reader to better understand Thea's work process and what some of the references she makes clearer.
Thea as a protagonist was very interesting to read about. She is headstrong and clever but vulnerable in a way that a character with her sheltered upbringing would likely be. I really enjoyed seeing her grow and become more confident of herself and her skill as the book went on. I think she's a character many readers would enjoy.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is simply because it's not a "new favorite" of mine. I would read it again and recommend anyone interested in an alchemy based take on magic systems check it out, but it isn't one of my favorite favorites of all books I read this year. This is partly to do with the romance aspect. I understand why it's there, but I almost wish it hadn't been. I don't know that it was entirely necessary to the plot. I feel there could have been another way to get it's purpose across in the book without introducing Will. He just wasn't my favorite. I adored Dominic, though.
The ending gives a satisfying conclusion for a stand-alone but also leaves the door open for a sequel, I feel. I would very happily read another book about Thea and how her life has changes after the events of this book.
All in all, this was a GREAT debut novel. Cohoe is obviously talented and presented a well-thought out and unique addition to the Fantasy YA genre. I'll be interested to see what she comes up with next.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars