A review by clairereviews
The Secret Fire by C.J. Daugherty

5.0

Review: The Secret Fire (The Alchemist Chronicles #1) by C.J. Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld Publisher: Bookouture (September 3rd, 2015)
 
ISBN: 978-0349002194
 
Source: Netgalley
 
Rating: 5*
 
Synopsis:
Taylor Montclair is a regular girl from the quiet backwater of Woodbury, England.
Sacha Winters is a darkly mysterious boy from the City of Lights - Paris, France.
While Taylor's focussed on her dream of attending Oxford University, school couldn't be further from Sacha's mind . . .
 
Sacha knows exactly when he's going to die. Because he's done it before.
On the appointed day, Sacha's time will run out. And his death will fulfil an ancient destiny that could unleash chaos and catastrophe.
Taylor is the only person who can save him.
Neither of them knows that yet.
Because they haven't even met.
 
Hundreds of miles and a body of water separate them.
Deadly forces will stop at nothing to keep them apart.
They have eight weeks to find each other and unravel an ancient web of mystery and danger.
The clock starts NOW.
 
Review:
I was drawn in from the very first page and kept on reading until the very end. The Secret Fire is an utterly compelling read - I just couldn't put it down.
 
I found Taylor and Sacha to be likeable and believable and the fantasy/alchemy elements are well written. I've read books before in which the characters have magical powers or similar and some can feel a little silly and predictable, but not so with Taylor's or Sacha's.
 
Their struggles to discover the secrets of their destinies, how they are tied up within history, and their need to meet each other makes fascinating reading. The authors clearly have great talent for storytelling and being able to weave a spell around the reader - I was helpless to resist.
 
Although The Secret Fire is aimed at the Young Adult market, adult readers will enjoy it too as it has maturity that I did not expect from this type of novel. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next book in The Alchemist Chronicles series.
 
I'm really glad I decided to read it, and I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for sending me an advanced reader's copy for review.