The book was okay. I wasn’t blown away by it but it wasn’t bad either.
Reading the summary I was looking forward to reading it but I just can’t put my finger on why I didn’t just love it. It really was just an okay book. Nothing that stood out too much. Even the battle at the end didn’t get my blood pumping. It happened & then it was over.

“Oric and the Alchemist’s Key’ by Lesley Wilson is the first in the Oric trilogy. I read these out of order, starting with Book 2, so it was good to go back and find out the backstory on Oric. This book had a lot of action, some humor, and lots of adventure. The chapters were short, so the book moved along quickly. The characters were interesting and I could picture them as I read the book. The plot was well-placed in the historical setting as well. I think this book would be a great read for a young boy, with its adventure and action-packed scenes.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

On Oric’s return to Dunburton Manor, he discovers Alchemist Deveril, his friend and mentor fatally wounded. Before Deveril dies, he gives Oric a key that will unlock wealth but also has a terrible danger. Sadly, he dies before he can tell Oric where the treasure is. With the Dunburton Manor sacked, Oric decides to leave and ends up with Ichtheus, an apothecary who ends up training Oric to become an apothecary. Oric is living with him in Bayersby Manor’s kitchen. Bayersby Manor is the home of Sir Edred and Lady Myferny. He becomes friends with the kitchen maid Dian. Oric with Ichtheus and Dian has many adventures. They discover a moneylender has plans to own Bayersby Manor. Will they be able to thwart the moneylender’s wicked plans? How? If not, what will happen to them?

The author has written comical adventures for Oric and his friends which made me laugh. Some of the adventures end up being life threatening which made me worry for Oric. Does Oric ever discover where the treasure is hidden? What makes it dangerous? I enjoyed the novel and will have to find the next volume to find out more about Oric. It’s an excellent novel!

This book was an interesting mess. Oric is given a special key by his dying alchemist master and as he joins a new household seeks the clues to the lock the key will open and the secrets he hopes to find. Meanwhile the household of his new master finds itself challenged by a villain that wants the key and the masters domain. Some parts of the book seemed a little contrived and others parts leave a sense of two books that don’t always mesh together. Overall, it’ was a fairly enjoyable read.

DNF @ 5% Can not continue with this book. It's not good.... Normally I'd just say I wasn't going to send feedback or hold onto the book for a while and try again, but there's no trying with this.

It starts off mentioning so many people and it's just all over the place. I don't like it, at ALL but I'll just quietly take it off my TBR and move on, rather than rating it online and giving it bad reviews.