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balina_elah's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Dysphoria
torismazarine's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sammymilfort's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
2.0
“But maybe that’s where freedom lies—not knowing what will happen. Just following happiness.”
➽ 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.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse and Transphobia
bibliosaurier's review against another edition
4.75
+ 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)
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
vagaybond's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
seekittyread's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
andromedaexists's review
- 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
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.
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.
- 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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
ABUSE (FAMILIAL, ON PAGE), DEATH (MURDER), GUILT, GRIEF, MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS (FADE TO BLACK), VIOLENCEcaseythereader's review
- 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
- 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.
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use and Sexual assault
quiteawful's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, and Blood