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A review by helensbookshelf
The Final Formula by Becca Andre
3.0
I've no idea where I got this from. I found it on my kindle while looking for something to read next while on holiday, apparently, I have had it since 2015 but I have no recollection of it at all!
Anyway, I choose it because it looked like it had been on there the longest and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It's not amazing and has a few issues but I read it in half a day, really enjoyed it and went straight on to buy the next one.
As an urban fantasy, it's got everything it needs, a smart mouth protagonist who messes up more than she succeeds, interesting potential love interests and lots of action to keep it all moving along.
I liked Addie, the Master Alchemist that lost her memory when the Alchemia exploded. She got me on side straight away and she's just far enough from perfect to not be annoying.
Rowan, the Fire Element who Addie initially thinks might have caused the explosion but ends up teaming up with is arrogant with a kind enough edge to make him likeable.
Their interactions spark off the page and were my favourite thing about the book. I always like the romance side and I would have liked a bit more of them together because I found that the story-line itself was over-complicated and there was always just a bit too much going on.
There was too much world-building and not enough at the same time because although a lot of the book was Addie explaining things I still didn't get a very clear mental picture of what her world looks like. This is a typical first book problem though, especially when there are complex magic rules that need to be understood by the reader.
I very much enjoyed reading it though, I was addicted straight away and I hope that the next books in the series live up to the initial promise.
Anyway, I choose it because it looked like it had been on there the longest and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It's not amazing and has a few issues but I read it in half a day, really enjoyed it and went straight on to buy the next one.
As an urban fantasy, it's got everything it needs, a smart mouth protagonist who messes up more than she succeeds, interesting potential love interests and lots of action to keep it all moving along.
I liked Addie, the Master Alchemist that lost her memory when the Alchemia exploded. She got me on side straight away and she's just far enough from perfect to not be annoying.
Rowan, the Fire Element who Addie initially thinks might have caused the explosion but ends up teaming up with is arrogant with a kind enough edge to make him likeable.
Their interactions spark off the page and were my favourite thing about the book. I always like the romance side and I would have liked a bit more of them together because I found that the story-line itself was over-complicated and there was always just a bit too much going on.
There was too much world-building and not enough at the same time because although a lot of the book was Addie explaining things I still didn't get a very clear mental picture of what her world looks like. This is a typical first book problem though, especially when there are complex magic rules that need to be understood by the reader.
I very much enjoyed reading it though, I was addicted straight away and I hope that the next books in the series live up to the initial promise.