I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and it made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

The setting is wonderful. I liked the characters and it is written so well
However the ending really let the book down.

Intriguing and thoroughly engaging. This was a well written historical fiction tale which kept me hooked throughout.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to it before it was archived but will review in full when I do.

I simply could not get into this book. I had no fun reading this book and the story just kept on dragging.

Life in the late 1800’s was harsh especially in the goldfields. Add to this mix lost love, traitors and misunderstandings and there you have it. Will has fled Scotland for New Zealand and later rescues Rose from a stormy sea. A tantalising cover leads the reader into this adventure. Great descriptions of what life was like back then, doing those things in a new country. But the same sort of characters have turned up - eg a hard “madam” with her eye on the main chance, people you trust but shouldn’t so it’s as if you’ve already read the book before so therefore predictable. Then there are all the coincidences! I liked it but not as much as The House Between Tides.

Possibly the strongest point of Alchemy and Rose is the setting; 19th century New Zealand is so vividly described that I felt like I was there, exploring Maine's world and watching the trials and tribulations of those prospecting during the gold rush. I was interested in the character of Rose, wanting to see her grow, develop, and heal from her past, but I don't feel like I was especially gripped by the plot nor the Will-and-Rose romance.

Always been a fan of historical fiction. Loved reading this book. A true journey into World War II fiction indeed. If you are up for a heartbreak, go for it.

A beautiful read a book that swept me away.Could not put down the characters came alive the writing was exquisite.Will be recommending giving as gift.# netball #hodder stoughten

This was a slow start, for sure. It took me until about 30% in to really be interested in the characters and their journey and even then I never really felt truly invested. This is a mostly character driven story and they fell a little flat for me.

The writing was well done, if a little dry at times.

The ending was really unsatisfying. I felt that the conflict was wrapped up too quickly.

This was such a beautiful, stunning read. It swept so many beautiful sceneries i felt like i was travelling within each page. The story development and the growth of each character was magnificent and equally as powerful.

This book was the perfect mix of character and plot. I absolutley loved both of the main characters, and was rooting for them both all the way through. I love finding historical fiction novels which cover events that I am unfamiliar with, and gold prospecting in New Zealand absolutley ticked that box for me. This story is full of adventure, love, betrayal and friendship, and it was a joy to read from start to finish. I would absolutley recommend this book!

This story hooked me from its first description. I don't often find books based in New Zealand and the characters' circumstances were exciting enough to keep me reading. It's well written with strong characters. Thank you for the ARC!

This is really a very ordinary, even banal, historical adventure tale, set mainly in the New Zealand goldfields of the 1860s, peopled with stereotypical characters – the romantic but headstrong hero, his treacherous friend, the fey photographer, the greedy madam, the rapacious and usually drunk diggers – whose paths cross over the years as Rose, rescued form a shipwreck, and Will, the main protagonist, face love and its consequent trials and tribulations and many misunderstandings while fate seems to toss them hither and thither over the years. Full of twists and turns and an astonishing number of coincidences the book rambles along to its unsatisfactory conclusion, and failed to engage me.

Will and Rose
The story is engaging with lots of coincidences.
Will flees from Scotland and ends up in New Zealand as a gold prospector, he saves a pregnant Rose from a ship wreck, then later saves her from a life of prostitution, they marry and live together in the atrocious conditions of a miners camp. Rose is instructed in photography by Frazer, a man only interested in art. Through various evil deeds perpetrated by Will's partner Robbie, Rose and Will are separated. Can true love find a way to triumph over Robbie's ruthless ambitions for him and Rose..
I liked the travel aspects of this book and the descriptions of New Zealand, Australia and Scotland.

I enjoyed this book but wasn’t as captivated as I expected it to be.

Will Stewart leaves Scotland to go to New Zealand and meets with Robbie who becomes his partner in the gold mines of New Zealand.

Will rescues Rose from a shipwreck and seems to like her. She ends up working in a hotel but to pay her way she may have to do something she doesn’t want to. Will asks her to marry him to save her from this way of work she doesn’t want to do.

Will & Robbie end up joining forces with another lot of gold miners and they work together but Will also starts to build a cabin for him and Rose. Rose starts working with Fraser who is a photographer. Rose moves to the g9ld mine where Will is. Somethings happen and Rose ends up with another man who then go to Melbourne leaving New Zealand and then eventually end up in Scotland.

I found the book good in places but sometimes it was a bit long winded. Thank you for letting me read it.

I was interested in this novel that seemed part historical novel and part psychological mystery. Set in the gold rush of the 1800s, we start in 1866 New Zealand with Will who has started a new life in the last big Gold Rush in that part of the world. Rose is thrown up on the South Island of NZ as her transport ship is wrecked in a storm. Will is her rescuer and they are drawn together by these extraordinary circumstances. However, as Rose recovers their relationship changes to one of choice, We then follow the pair as they are thrown apart by a misunderstanding and Rose is taken by another man. Wills search will take him from NZ to Australia to try and win her back.
I truly enjoyed some aspects of the novel. Seeing what happened to women who followed these men across the world was really interesting. Rose’s character really worked for me and I was very interested in her story, her motivations and I felt she was a fully rounded person.. I also enjoyed the window the writer opened up on 19th Century New Zealand and Australia. I found i wanted them to be together at the end but liked that this wasn’t all neatly sewn up because it was more like life, The book felt well researched and covered a subject I hadn’t read about before. All in all an interesting and enjoyable piece of historical fiction.

ded to know if all comes right in the end.

Will Stewart left his life in Scotland behind to make his fortune in New Zealand, but his life changes forever when he jumps into the harbour to save the life of a young woman he sees struggling from a shipwreck. Rose, once recovered from her spell in the water, discovers that her new life across the water is harsh, bleak and surrounded by men who could, at best, be described as chancers.

Alchemy & Rose is full of art, adventure, trust, suspicion, deception, and is smart enough to appeal to readers of contemporary and historical fiction, but light enough and relaxing too to appeal to people, like most of us, who just want to get away for a while and escape for a bit into a brand new good book - Alchemy & Rose was published this Thursday! This is one for you if you enjoyed The Company Daughters or The Mercies.

I picked this book up as I've read and really enjoyed Sarah Maine before - I read Women of the Dunes last year. I thought that book has a really great blend of mystery, a touch of modern-day romance and historical fiction. This story is completely set in the past, and has a prominent romance premise. I'm not a romance reader at all, but I figured I was in good hands with this author so gave it a try.

This is the story of Rose and Will, who meet when Will jumps into the treacherous water to save her from a shipwreck, off the beach of a New Zealand gold-mining town in the 1800's. Will has come to New Zealand from Scotland, where in desperation he committed a crime to pay his way to join the gold rush. Rose has been sent away by her employers, after a scandal in the household she was a maid to in Australia. Will then saves Rose again, this time from a life of prostitution in the town's hotel, by asking her to marry him. This story follows Will to a newly discovered gold-field, trying to find enough to give him and Rose the life they both dream of. Whilst Will is away, Rose finds work with the local photographer, Fraser, until Will is established enough for her to join him. But a misunderstanding sees Will left for dead after a fight with the photographer, and Rose blackmailed into a life on the run with Will's former gold-mining partner, the rough and dangerous Robbie. We follow Rose as her situation goes from bad to worse, and Will as he chases her from New Zealand, to Australia and back to Scotland - the country he thought he would never be able to return to.

As I had hoped, Sarah Maine didn't let me down in this book. Whilst this does have a romance at its core, this book is not dominated by that one element. It is compulsively readable, full of historic fact from a period of history I knew nothing about, and is really more about the jeopardy that Rose finds herself in. Maine is incredibly good at setting a scene, and each character had a really strong presence. I particularly enjoyed the character of Rose, who we meet when she has been beaten down by life, but who grows in both confidence and courage. This book isn't particularly deep in comparison to my usual choices, but it still covers a lot of themes and is a fun read.

My only quibble was with the ending. Not in how it came about, but how it played out. For me, after the build up, the ending itself felt a bit stunted and not the thrilling climax I was hoping for. I'd have loved to see both that and the aftermath given more page time to really feel like a conclusion.