Reviews with content warning for Blood - Infinity Alchemist

➽ I loved Felix Ever After, but Kacen Callender's Fantasy debut didn't work for me at all. I'm still disappointed as Infinity Alchemist was on my anticipated releases list because it sounded so good. The story follows Ash, who wants to study Alchemy but is barred by the rigid rules of society that dictate who can practice magic. He's teaching himself, but it's considered a crime, so he can't let anyone find out. When a young, talented Alchemist called Ramsay offers to teach him in exchange for supporting his research, Ash seizes his chance to study Alchemy properly. I loved the idea of his book, as there are great discussions about elitism in academia and how people without privilege are barred from studying Alchemy. Ash is working as a groundskeeper at the college, so he confronts the privilege of the real Alchemy students while having to practice the craft in secret.

➽ My biggest issue was that I couldn't stand the characters. I feel like this story was more character-driven so this didn't bode well for me. I loved how the author wrote unlikable characters in Felix Ever After, so I was surprised that it didn't work out for me here. I felt sympathy for Ash and agreed with him calling out the privilege and elitism in academia. However, I struggled with Ash's blatant lack of self-preservation as he'd snark at people more powerful all the time, even though he'd get into serious trouble. After a while, it felt like he just judged everyone he came across that he saw as privileged in any way without taking into account their personal history. It was offputting seeing him being so judgemental, as it took away from the valid points he was making. The ending attempted to show that Ash had grown and realized his behavior, but it felt so unearned as he didn't put any effort into growing as a person.

➽ While I liked Callum, I didn't connect with Ramsay. Callum at least felt developed with his own issues. He wants to do the right thing but is held back by his toxic family which he feels compelled to obey. Ramsay used to be his friend before he broke things off. I wanted to like Ramsay as he's a genderfluid character (switching between she/her and he/him pronouns) with a tragic past, but he was such a snob in the beginning. She literally kept hounding Ash for being too late (because he was doing his job that he couldn't just push off!!) for their meetings and kept dismissing his struggles. In the end, I didn't feel like I got a grasp of who Ramsay really is.

➽ Due to my issues with the characters, I didn't connect with the romance. Ash and Ramsay start off antagonizing each other, but then Boom it's Insta Love! I don't think their dynamic was well-developed. It just suddenly shifted to romantic tension without the characters making any effort to understand each other and their different situations. By the halfway point of the book, Ash was in love and I had no idea why. Ash and Callum's dynamic almost felt more interesting as it was more organic. I wanted to like the romance more, especially as it turns into a poly relationship and that's important to explore in YA. Unfortunately, I didn't really care about the romantic drama between the characters.

➽ In general, the plot was weak and the worldbuilding was underdeveloped. I found the different levels of Alchemy interesting, but I don't think they were properly explained. There are various houses that you can pledge yourself to, but I had a hard time keeping them apart. Instead of showing, there was so much telling about the world and the characters. I wasn't invested in the story, so the plot felt slow and boring to me. It was supposed to be this epic hunt for the Book of Source, but despite the action scenes, the story didn't feel focused. The ending was rushed in comparison to the buildup and almost felt too easy.

Content Warnings

bibliosaurier's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.75

it needed that extra spark to be a five star read, and admittedly the pacing and plot weren't flawless but it made me feel all the feelings and i fell in love with the characters (especially callum) so here we are

+ two trans characters and a polycule?? i need more of that in my fantasy books

i also agree with a lot of people i've seen saying this is more NA than YA (it's still apprioriate for YA readers, but i also think it could have been even better if it wasn't)

Content Warnings

vagaybond's review

Go to review page

adventurous

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

4.25

Content Warnings

seekittyread's review

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

andromedaexists's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

quiteawful's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.25

This was a fun, somewhat horny, delightful page turner of a young adult fantasy novel! It is a fairly classic turn of events for a fantasy book; I think the characters are the best part of the book.

Each of the main characters was really fun to get to know with Ash, and the magic system was fun. Flawed Queer characters in books like this are so important; I really wish I’d been able to read this as a teenager.

Content Warnings

More...