alchemy – takes two to book review

Alexis holds Red City above a stone walkway and a tree

Babel meets Jade City ⁣

⁣Alexis: I got an ARC of Red City from my fave indie bookstore at the beach, and it didn’t disappoint! ⁣

⁣The story takes place in an alternate Los Angeles called Red City, and the city is the perfect gritty backdrop. The magic system of alchemy was interesting and well thought out, and even though the first half of the story was slow paced, it really allowed you time to learn alchemy and learn the stakes of the story in time with both of the main characters.

The beginning of the book follows Sam and Ari, two separate alchemy students, during their school years. It definitely has dark academia vibes and some parallels to Babel by R.F. Kuang. The second half of the book is much more Jade City, with dueling alchemy groups that are essentially mobs and some political intrigue.

Lu discusses this a little in the back of the book, but Red City dives into the grittiness of immigrant families and was inspired by her own family’s immigrant story. This is really where I felt the heart of the story was; her exploration of the hardships of the immigrant family was devastating—and in different ways when it comes to Sam and Ari.

⁣This is a darker story (and Lu’s adult debut!) and deals with a lot of dark themes—including grooming, drug use, murder, violence and more. And the tagline of “power always has a price” certainly rings true throughout the story. This was so close to being a five-star read for me, but there were some plot points at the end that didn’t quite work for me.

⁣VERDICT: /5 ⁣

⁣Is Red City on your tbr? Special thanks to Tor Publishing Group for the copy in exchange for a review!

A Kindle with the cover of A Far Wilder Magic is being held in front of a Christmas present and Christmas tree.

Alexis:

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books for my e-ARC of A Far Wilder Magic!

The story follows two characters: Margaret and Weston. Margaret lives in a small town, where an event called the Halfmoon Hunt is happening soon. The hunt is for the hala, a magical fox. And while Margaret owns a hound named Trouble, she needs an alchemist in order to enter the hunt.

Weston, or Wes, is desperate for an apprenticeship as an alchemist. He travels to Margaret’s town in order to appease Margaret’s mother, a famed alchemist, to become her apprentice. But Margaret’s mother isn’t there, and Wes finds himself joining the hunt with Margaret.

There were so many elements of this book that I loved. Saft’s writing is atmospheric and lovely, with a dash of creepy when describing the woods and the hala’s dark presence.

The story has dual POVs, which I always love, and it’s character-driven. What I really appreciated about this book is that both Wes and Margaret are flawed characters. They feel very real, and their motivations feel very real, because of this. Wes is boisterous and utterly charming, but he’s also a swaggering womanizer. Margaret, on the other hand, is strong and stubborn, but she’s a recluse due to her absent parents, and is unwilling to let anyone in.

Their personalities are foils of each other—grumpy and sunshine—and I found that it worked well alongside their shared feeling of being outsiders. Both of them struggle against discrimination and ostracization.

I thought the slow-burn romance was well done. However, I will say I went into this expecting it to be YA, and while it definitely feels like YA, there are a couple of scenes, while not spicy, that do veer more towards NA. It’s just something to keep in mind when going into this or recommending it to teens.

My only critique is that the worldbuilding very closely mirrors our world in the 1920s. The city is a thinly veiled New York. The religions are almost carbon copies of Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. I almost wanted this to be a true historical fantasy set in the 1920s, or the worldbuilding to stray a little farther from the real world. That being said, I think Saft handled the main theme of xenophobia/antsemtisim well.

I really enjoyed this one, and if you like flawed and dynamic characters, character-driven stories, romantic fantasies, and atmospheric reads, then I think you’ll enjoy it!

Pub day: March 8, 2022

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

TW: Antisemitism, animal injury and death, gore, parental neglect, panic attacks, nationalism and xenophobia

Tag: alchemy

Review: Red City by Marie Lu

Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft