Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Scarlet Alchemist' by Kylie Lee Baker.

'The Scarlet Alchemist' by Kylie Lee Baker was interesting to read and I did enjoy the writing style so I would be interested in reading Lee Baker's other series. However I just didn't find myself loving the story line a lot hence the 3 stars. Did it have huge potential? of course. But it wasn't 100% for me.

Hodder has once again delivered an exceptional title that surpasses all expectations. The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker is an absolute triumph!

Baker's writing style is elegant and evocative, seamlessly blending action, suspense, and heartfelt moments. The pacing is superb, with each chapter leaving you yearning for more. Further, she skillfully explores themes of power, privilege, and identity, weaving them into the fabric of the story without overshadowing the thrilling plot. The setting is incredibly immersive and captivating, flawlessly blending historical elements with fantastical elements of alchemy. The world comes to life through Baker's masterful descriptions, allowing readers to envision the opulent palaces, bustling streets, and the stark contrast between the haves and the have-nots. It's a world that feels both familiar and yet utterly unique.

Zilan, the protagonist, is a remarkable character whose determination and resilience make her instantly relatable. As she navigates the treacherous path of the imperial exams, competing against formidable alchemists while battling her own reputation, we can't help but root for her. The stakes are high, especially when the Crown Prince seeks her assistance in uncovering an assassination plot. The intricate web of political intrigue and the dark secrets lurking within the palace walls add layers of suspense and keep readers on the edge of their seats.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough and eagerly anticipating the next chapter in this dark duology .

Do you love Fullmetal Alchemist as much as I do? Well then this is the book for you!

And no I don't just say that because there is alchemy. To me this book feels draws inspiration directly from FMA and I love it (considering FMA has one of the most well thought out plots ever, I am surprised more aren't inspired). An alchemist who dabbles in forbidden life alchemy, whose mother dies prior to the start, and whose foreigner father ran off but the mother always believed would return? Who is taking a state alchemy exam soon? Who initially learned from her alchemist father's notes? You can see it! And that is just the beginning.

However, don't think this is just a copy, no no. While inspiration is there, this book is its own wild plot that had me multiple times kicking my feet in the air and sending messages of “AHHHH” to my friend. I highly recommend this book.

The thing I LOVE most about this book is that most don’t forget the power difference between the Crown Prince and Zilan. This is frequently missing from many fantasies, particularly romantasy, that everything is hunky dory between someone royal and someone lower class. “He risks nothing and you risk everything” A line to remember and keeps it so real; this is why I like Yufei and Wenshu best. They were us, the readers, in this book bringing Zilan back to earth. They tempered my feelings for Zilan, who I liked a lot at the beginning, but grew more frustrated throughout the book. Hopefully, she does some growing up in the next book and remembers she’s seventeen, not an army general.

Can’t wait for the next one!
Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for the ARC.

The Scarlet Alchemist is a gripping tale about a girl trying her best to climb the ranks of alchemists while retaining her true self. I’ve requested to read this because I was super interested in the book from the author’s TikTok, and I wasn’t let down AT ALL. This book met all of my expectations and more - if you’re also like me, looking at the author’s videos, they’re not spoilery at all.

I loved the tone of this novel. The action starts immediately without it being stifling. The pace at which things are revealed is even and doesn’t feel rushed. This is the first book I read by this author, and I loved her writing style!

We only meet a few characters in-depth, which makes sense for this genre of book, and they all have their own voice, despite their motivations differing. I loved every character presented, even though I would’ve loved to know more about the alchemists we’ve encountered.

The one thing that I would’ve changed was how hard Zilan had it for her all the damn time. Of course, the outcome was rewarding once she’d finally struggled her way out of the problem, but it got a little repetitive to have all her plans failing and then she’d pull through in the last second – I would’ve loved for her to have had an easy win at least once.

I loved her cousin, I loved how she knows them and also doesn’t know them at all and how her opinions and assuredness of how much she knows them are based on her own assumptions. Also, her and the Crown Prince? I love them.

Overall, for me this was an easy, quick read, with beautiful prose and fun, live characters. Shoutout to the villain as well, I wish she’d step on me honestly.

4.5 stars. One word, in one tone: URM??!

It seems like Baker loves to court death as The Scarlet Alchemist is set in a world where supernatural alchemy exists, allowing those that continue to eat gold to stay young and alive indefinitely and where Empress Consort Wu Zetian has been reigning for a century. We tag along with the hungry, ambitious Zilan who desires to lift her family from starvation and poverty as she strives to succeed in the imperial exams to become a royal alchemist. With Crown Prince Li Hong *practically* begging her to help him in suspicion of assassination, alchemist secrets reserved for the elite, royal conspiracies, and forgotten pasts, TSA is a snappy and packed introduction into the TSA duology.

Considering that this new duology is set in the same universe, just a different time period, as The Keeper of the Night makes me tremble because I'm so eager to see some glimpse that would concretely tie this duology to Baker's previous. We do see a subtle (or not so subtle?) tie to TKOTN in regards to worldbuilding of certain, uh, things but I wonder if more connections will appear in the sequel.

I enjoyed all the little nuggets of Zilan's personality being sprinkled throughout the novel and being able to remember her through specific objects (always a treat to learn what can symbolise a character in novels!). Her relationship with Li Hong is quite adorable and I'm rooting for them in the sequel. Lots of things happened in this novel, so I'm worried about whether the second can keep up the zippy energy or fall flat. If Baker's previous duology is any kind of indication, I think things should be alright.

Overall, an enjoyable read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

<i>I received this ARC thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b><i>You cannot create good without also creating evil.</i></b>
None of the books I’ve read recently made me so mad, but this one. But it was also so amazing this is my BOOK OF THE YEAR, as I don’t expect any other one to surpass its awesomeness. Please BE AWARE it’s very, very gruesome book, so if you don’t like bloody stuff like The Poppy War you’d check out some other title.
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<b>"Good” Yufei said. “Now go destroy them.”
“It’s an informational meeting. I’m not destroying–“
<i>”Destroy them,”</i> Yufei said, shaking her head. “No making friends until you pass."</b>
If you’re a regular Cdrama wuxia/xianxia watcher, then this book will make you feel like you’re home. A bit bloody home. Meet Zilan, orphaned alchemist living with her cousins and uncles as Fan Zilan – name reserved for a servant at most. But all makeshift sibling trio dream big of going to capital as royal officials. They’ve centered their whole lives around the exams, as they’re poor, and their only source of income is their ceramic shop and well, necromancy. Zilan always had a talent for bringing fresh corpses back to life, and as their earnings ain’t big enough to feed their family, after shop hours are over they welcome wealthy neighbours with their loved ones corpses. One night Zilan meets handsome stranger, that’s ready to pay her years worth of gold just to bring her to capital with him to have her ready as soon as his presumed inevitable death arrives, but she declines his offer. She said she’ll arrive at the capital on her own terms, as a part of the fresh batch of royal alchemist trials, which she did.
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<b>"Chang’an did not seem like a place where one could live quietly. It was a city with teeth, and it already knew my name."</b>
Whole Fans trio arrive at the capital and continue their officials trials, and you get kind of <i>Spin the dawn</i> rivalry but thousand times more bloody. And who might’ve guessed, the handsome stranger was in fact a Crown Prince of a legendary lady Emperor Wu Zetian, who due to her talented alchemists lives for over hundred years already, and surprisingly has quite a lot funerals of late in her family going on. Due to some twisted events, our Zilan becomes not only the Scarlet Alchemist, but also princes concubine. Which they of course <i>fake</i>. So you get fake dating but set in historical China, could there ever be anything more perfect? Thou there’s still all that blood and murders happening, which our Zilan is desperate to solve.
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<b>"From now on, you’ll be known as the Scarlet Alchemist.”</b>
The Scarlet Alchemist was truly a twisted but amazing ride, full of blood, found family, racism, fake dating, alchemy and once again blood. But I loved it with my whole heart, even thou the ending made me so mad now I want to kindly ask the author to let all of the characters finally have some rest (and make some freaking necromancy shenanigans to HAVE THAT PARTICULAR CINNAMON ROLL BACK IN THE GAME RIGHT NOW, thank you. I’ll painfully wait for the next instalment to arrive, hoping my heart will be mended and all the ducks will be fed. Thank you, solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and book of the year for me.