Reviews with content warning for Classism - Infinity Alchemist

The world building is great, kind of a divergent-meets-harry potter kind of vibe, lots of frank discussions about systemic classism with regards to both jobs/living situations as well as education which is a main theme, all of the main characters are lgbt+, the poly discussions felt pretty realistic. Ending seemed rushed somehow? Unclear if there will be a sequel.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Fantastic queer cast of main characters: one is transmasc, one is genderfluid, one is pansexual(?). This is a world where those identities are not an issue. The use of alchemy (magic) is 'othered'. The magic was cool in concept and explored a bit more at the beginning when Ramsy was teaching Ash, but then once we got into the action there wasn't a lot of descriptive magic. I felt a lot of the action parts were barely described and were instead glossed over. Was a bit confused what time period this is set and it's not super clear based on context clues. The dialogue reads more YA, but some of the content was definitely more New Adult. There was a lot of potential here, but it ended up being very character focused and the plot was a bit slow moving. I got rather bored by about 50%. The character dynamic between the main 3 were well done especially regarding their poly relationship. I don't know if this is going to be a series or not because it felt semi-conclusive. All the action really happens in the last 10-15% and that felt a bit rushed with how slow the rest of the book moved.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for an advanced copy.

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lprongs's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Thank you to the publisher and Libro.fm for physical and audio ARCs!

This is my first Callender book, but I'm a big fantasy fan. It ended up being pretty strong, but there were a few awkward moments - the beginning felt particularly tropey and immature, and the magic system had some repetitive explanations, but it came into itself as a story by the end. The ending did feel a bit... convenient. There were a lot of deus ex machina moments around the climax, but it was still enjoyable.

The audio production felt clunky, and I'm not sure if that'll change before release (probably not since it releases this week). I could tell pretty easily when different recording sessions were spliced together, often just a single line sounding out of place. And sometimes the tone register felt a bit off. Also not super sure about the main villains having accents when no one else does? Especially the one who has what I think is an Irish accent when this is basically set in Britain. But that's probably not Callender's choice.

It has amazing rep. A good poly enemies to lovers triangle (although it takes them AGES to think of a poly solution), a genderfluid person who literally switches sex basically everytime you see them, a transmasc MC, and everyone (even the villains) are cool with pronouns! It is spicier than expected, but still appropriately YA - just kissing and teasing and fade-to-blacks. Nothing explicit to put this ace reader off. I will say that the spice felt a bit older than the rest of the book, but maybe that's just because I'm ace. The MC sure does fall in love easily though - I definitely rolled my eyes when he immediately felt attraction for the second person for the second time in like two weeks.

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seekittyread's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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andromedaexists's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

★★★★★

TW: ABUSE (FAMILIAL, ON PAGE), DEATH (MURDER), GUILT, GRIEF, MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS (FADE TO BLACK), VIOLENCE

I always feel like I don't know where to start with these. 9 times outta 10 I'm writing reviews right off the end of the book and this one... I have tears in my eyes. This is a 6 star book for me. Firmly. My heart hurts

I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review. Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for the ARC.

Infinity Alchemist releases in just a few weeks on Feb. 6th I believe, and I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Once again calling back to any book that makes me physically feel something get an automatic five star, but this book did more than that. This book wrapped my heart in tendrils of alchemical magic and refuses to let go.

Let's start with the characters: Ash, Ramsay, Callum, and Marlowe. Ash is our POV character and in a trans POC man. He is an asshole who has a rough life, growing up in the slums with a mother who passed away not too long ago. He wants to prove himself worthy of his absent father, and will stop at nothing to do so.

Ramsay is a prodigy, the genderfluid child of known and executed terrorists hell-bent on atoning for their sins. She uses he/she pronouns, though leans more towards she/her throughout the book. She is also such an uptight prick... until she's not. I genuinely love how prickly and rude she is and how much that shows to me as an autistic mask. I just love her so much.

Callum is a black man and the youngest son of the Kendrick house, more or less the police state in book. He is kind and caring despite the heavy hand of his father and all he wants to do is heal. He wants to heal and help others, like the good man he is.

These three, oh these three. They hold my heart.

Marlowe is my obligatory redhead (listen I have to point them out when they are given to me!). She is an orphan of House Lune and becomes so integral to the story in ways I never thought possible.

Without given away too many spoilers, I want to tell yous: there is so much diversity in this cast. So much! It's beautiful!! And, AND, we get not one, but two (2) separate Rivals-to-Lovers ARCs that don't end in a love triangle, but a polycule! We also get best friends to lovers to bitter exes to lovers once again!!

As far as the worldbuilding goes, I have to say that Kacen is a master at weaving these mystical and fantastical realms together in a way that not only make sense, but feel real. I felt like I was in the higher realms with the characters, like I knew exactly what each house was and why they were there.

I have aphantasia, which means that I cannot imagine what anything ever looks like. And yet, the beautiful world descriptions put me there. They called back to things that I do know and do have experience with and built off of it. I very genuinely could see myself in the world, and that is saying a lot.

I don't think I can talk too much more about this book without bringing myself to tears again, so let's pivot to some of my favorite quotes to make y'all understand the gravity of this book:

The world became a white blur. The snow turned red. It fell to the ground, drops spreading like blots of ink. The blood dripped from Amelia's cheeks. Her smile faded as the screams began.
That's what privileged assholes like you always say.
[redacted] paused, but only for a moment. He opened the [redacted]. There was an explosion of light.
It was too late. [redacted] was already there.
It wasn't death he'd feared, he realized, but the change—the transformation that forced him to release.
This light held the vibration of energy that the physical body would translate as love.
They all created the same infinite light. They were eternal.
It was an interesting place to be caught, stuck between grief and gladness that they were gone.

Okay, I think that's all I can put without spoilers.

One thing I forgot to mention: this book is genuinely funny. Maybe it's because of the autistic mask I mentioned earlier, but the interactions between Ramsay and Ash at any given point past like 20% of the book are genuinely funny. I love Ramsay's sense of humor.

Anyways, that's all for this book! I am going to curl up in a ball and cry while I purchase a physical copy to annotate and put on my recommendations shelf. This is a story that I will be thinking about years down the line, I just know it. Ash is a part of my soul now, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

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caseythereader's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Thanks to Pride Book Tours for the free copy of this book.

- The world Kacen Callender has built in INFINITY ALCHEMIST is one of the best YA fantasy settings I’ve seen in a long time. It’s complex without being overly complicated, and explores hard topics alongside some really cool visuals.
- This book gets deep into classism, racism and power the way the best fantasy books can: it’s parallel to our world, but not didactic.
- I love how deeply queerness is woven into this book. The main characters are a trans boy and a person who shifts gender and pronouns at will, and it’s done in a way that I can’t imagine the book featuring any other characters. Plus - and I won’t give total spoilers here, but - fans of the love story in IRON WIDOW will also want to check out INFINITY ALCHEMIST.

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bookishmillennial's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

All I knew when I requested this arc (thank you Tor Teen and Netgalley!) was that it was a fantasy and likely teen/young adult, but I did not know that it'd become such a fun romantasy to begin the year! AHHHH!

This is mostly a character-driven novel about Ash, Ramsay, and Callum, while setting up some conflicts for the next book or two. First, we are shown Ash's deepening connection with Ramsay, a skilled alchemy apprentice who finds out that Ash is practicing magic without a license, but offers to help teach Ash if he helps Ramsay find the Book of Source. Ramsay is a gender fluid character (uses she/her and he/him pronouns), and this is tied to the worldbuilding that Kacen built in too, which I found really neat!

Ash is a young trans man (though he does refer to Callum as "the other boy" multiple times, but in my head, they are young/new adults!), and I appreciated the discussions between Ash and others during the intimate encounters about not touching his chest. Ash navigates discomfort and body dysmorphia but is surrounded by partners who deeply care about him and constantly check in with him for consent. The scene where Callum helps Ash with his binder was so very swoon-worthy! The second part of this novel is Ash's introduction to and developing romance with Callum, which is confusing for both of them because Callum is Ramsay's ex from two years ago, and Callum can feel energy/read minds, so it is pretty much my worst nightmare. Meeting my new lover's ex, being attracted to them, AND they know it?! I would simply pass away.

Anyway, the final installment of the novel is with the three of them reunited, and I found it to be the fastest-paced, yet it remained quite tender, cautious and curious between the three. Since we are only given the limited third-person POV of Ash, we don't quite know everything Ramsay and Callum are feeling. We primarily read about Ash's jealousy, care, fear, uncertainty, and compassion. However, Ash drives all of the characters to name their feelings and ask for dialogues about the conflicting emotions they're sifting through. I appreciated the vulnerability and honesty that all three characters display in their exploration of polyamory.

Beyond the romance, each of the characters are working through their own past traumas, including romantic heartbreak, familial obligation and expectations, classism/elitism, and more. I thought these topics were introduced with great care, and of course you don't enjoy seeing characters struggle with these things. However, I really think that's the beauty and magic of books - no matter what world you're in, these topics will come up, and fiction finds a way for us to bring it out of the ether and intentionally ruminate on it, self-reflect, or be in dialogue with others. To me, it's never "just a book" and this is just another beautiful example of that.

Thank you Kacen for a lovely start to a new series!

cw: death, classism, violence, murder, cursing, grief, animal death, bullying, toxic family dynamics/child abuse/emotional abuse

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Only an elite few are permitted to study alchemy–and Ash Woods is not one of them. Denied entry into the Lancaster College of Alchemic Science, the only alchemy practice he gets is in secret, in the afterhours of his job as a groundskeeper. At least, until he’s discovered by Ramsay Thorne.

When Ramasy discovers Ash practicing alchemy, Ash is sure he’s in trouble. Instead, Ramsay asks for Ash’s help in finding the Book of Source. Ash agrees, but as they start on their quest, there’s danger lurking around every corner. Soon, Ash finds himself against powerful alchemists–including his father. In order to win, Ash and Ramsay might have to find an unlikely ally in a person from Ramsay’s past.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for an advanced copy of Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender to review! This is Callender’s first foray into the YA fantasy world, and I’d say it’s a huge success. Honestly, I think Kacen Callender can do no wrong, no matter what genre they write in.

To start: this book has a wide variety of queer identities, and they’re just accepted at face value. Ramsay changes pronouns quite frequently throughout the book, and none of the characters blink an eye. Ash himself is a trans man, and while it’s clear he’s struggled with that before, by the time we meet him, he is fully transitioned. It is nice we’re getting trans-led stories that aren’t just about finding identity.

The magic system in this was also fascinating. It’s sort of energy based, with the ability to go onto different reality planes. There are parallels that can be drawn between their world and ours, especially in the decision of who gets to practice the power and who doesn’t. Of course it’s people with money and status who fit a certain “norm.” It works well as a commentary on our own society.

There’s also a polyamorous relationship by the end of the book, which doesn’t happen a lot in YA. At the moment, it also seems like a standalone fantasy, another rarity! YA fantasy just seems allergic to writing standalone books at the moment.

All in all, if you’re looking for an intricate fantasy featuring a magic school with some fantastic characters, definitely pick this one up when it comes out in February!

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