WHY DID I SLEEP ON THIS BOOK?!
I've loved Kylie Lee Baker's other books and should've jumped on this because of course it would be good but you know what, I wasn't prepared. The world-building, the characters, the dark moments, the alchemy, and the pacing are all executed perfectly. Baker has a knack for putting you in to her stories and I felt like I was right there alongside these characters. If you've been looking for historical fantasy, look no further, this is the one for you.

4.25 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC of The Scarlet Alchemist.
I really enjoyed reading this book.

I loved this immersive fantasy based on an alternate version of the Tang Dynasty in China. The world building was so intricate and intriguing. It was kind of a slow build kind of book, but the second half was full of twists and action. I can’t wait for the sequel!

( Apologies for the delayed review, I tried to review it months ago but I guess it never went through!)

I read this super fast and really liked the story. I'm not sure about the ending but it's obviously going to have a sequel so looking forward to seeing how this is pulled back. The romance wasn't for me. Again it'll be interesting how this is continued. It felt a bit "insta-love" and not so convincing.

"I read a book recently and the author has a great talent for writing in a way that immerses the reader in the story. The characters and the plot are so well-developed that I felt like I was going on an adventure with them. I also appreciated how the author didn't hold back in telling the story. It felt like they put everything they had into developing the characters, plot, and world-building, which left me feeling highly satisfied.

The story was set in an alternate view of the Tang dynasty and revolved around the drama surrounding the royal family. The element of blood/death alchemy created a high-stakes atmosphere that worked perfectly with the tone of the story. It was a great read for the autumn season. The characters were also wonderfully flawed and relatable.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this book and am eagerly looking forward to the continuation of the series!"lso wonderfully flawed and relatable.

I received a free copy from Netgalley all opinions are my own

The cover is just so damn gorgeous!
I also love asian books. So it was a given that I would want to read this book, eventhough I didn't actually read the plot synopsis lol.

This book is seriously so good. I was pulled in from the start.

I didn't care to much about the characters and the romance was meh, but the plot was honestly good enough for me to not care!
I didn't really fully understand how the rich can eat gold and pearls. I didn't really understand the alchemy aspect either but it was still pretty cool.

I really liked this book, I also really liked the audio narrator.
And I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel!

A great new fantasy read with interesting magic, suspense, and adventure. The Scarlet Alchemist is set in a richly detailed world with a strong contrast between the country and city. It has great leading characters that are intriguing and have you easily wanting to follow along with their journey and know more about their past. There are themes of family bonds, identity, personal growth, resurrection, and so much more. It had me captivated and turning the pages fast to see what would happen next. I really enjoyed The Scarlet Alchemist and would recommend it!

This book was AMAZING. I was blown away by how great this was. Also, THE DUCK!? Obsessed. I love the speed of this plot, and how it all felt so seamless. I need the sequel! So glad to have the Netgalley to read early

The Scarlet Alchemist is a unique tale, with an engaging magic system and distinct characters. If you love your fantasy reads with historical inspiration and royal intrigue.

Oh , this book was a wild ride. The scarlet alchemist crafts a story set in an alternate Tang dynasty, where our female main character Zilan travels to the country’s capital to be a royal alchemist but soon she becomes entangled in dark royal secrets and politics, making her realize that being a royal alchemist isn't as she had initially imagined.

I loved the vivid and immersive writing. The necromancy and alchemy parts are well explained. It’s dark and quite bloody I would say. ( bodies are chopped oop -)

It’s hilarious , the characters are funny and perfectly fleshed out to be relatable. There’s romance but I’d say it’s a subplot as it doesn’t overshadow the plot. There’s a strong theme of family in these books and it’s nice to watch Zilan waddle through her feelings of being adopted and what it means in that timeline.

This book surprised me in so many ways and just when I thought the ending was going to be a basic predictable ending , the author drops a lovely twist that leaves you desperately wanting for the next book.

P.S. From the start of the book, I noticed similarities between our trio (Zilan and her siblings) and the trio Venka, Rin, and Kitay from "The Poppy War." Later, I read the author's note and discovered that she drew inspiration from "The Poppy War," which I found cute.

First book from Kylie Lee Baker and won’t be my last. Fantastic writing that was so vivid that I felt I was part of this story. The plot was so well done and this book had me hooked from start to finish. Things aren’t easy for Zilan as she tries to become a royal alchemist and I think the way this story was told was just so good and full of amazing descriptions.

I was very excited to receive an e-arc of this book! I kept seeing such great reviews about it which really made me want to read it, despite it being slightly outside of my normal style of books.

I really enjoyed the writing style within this book and being able to step into another culture I knew almost nothing about and being able to fully enjoy the experience and contexts presented within the book. The story was well paced and fluid, east to understand and enjoy, but fully compelling at the same time.

One of the main lures of this story for me was the magic surrounding alchemy, I have read books with this being part of the magic system and really enjoyed them, but this was a fresh take that really drove the story forward.

Overall, I loved the action and drama within this story, the characters were complex and interesting in their own ways, and the darker elements of the story really added a depth that I loved!

Living in an impoverished Chinese village, Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, gaining wealth, respect and her family’s approval. While preparing for the examinations, she earns her living by practising the forbidden form of alchemy- resurrections. Her fame spreads wide as the unlikely customer approaches her- the Crown Prince who fears assassinations...

Scarlet Alchemist quickly became one of my favourite reads. The author created a detailed world based on a historical period but altered by alchemical inventions. We explore a divided society where the rich eat gold to prolong their lives while the poorest starve. Zilan is fiercely determined to advance on the social ladder and improve life for herself and her family despite being halted on every step by prejudiced officials. This book contains many secrets, intrigues and fascinating descriptions of the alchemical processes. The storyline is captivating, and I could not stop reading. Also, the two main characters are incredible! Zilan is resourceful and transgresses many boundaries to achieve her goals, while the Crown Prince is a slightly spoiled but immensely kind boy. I loved seeing their worlds and personalities collide.

Once again, the ending of the first book in a new series left me desperate for book two.

I really enjoyed The Keeper of Night and when I heard that The Scarlet Alchemist would be partly inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist I became even more excited for it.

The Keeper of Night was fantastic in how dark and gripping the story was, and The Scarlet Alchemist had a similarly dark element to it throughout (kind of to be expected when the MC is a specialist in resurrections).

The main character, Zilan, is hoping to help make things better for her family by becoming a Royal Alchemist, though she knows her job would be focused around making life gold then to help the rich live longer. Her family, in contrast, currently resides in the South and they’re quite poor, which is only exacerbated by life gold diminishing the importance of businesses that deal with death, like theirs does.

If you enjoy stories rich in world-building then you’re definitely in for a treat, because the story is filled with background on the political landscape, whilst we also learn a lot about the main character and those closest to her, so fans of character development will also love this!

The story itself is pretty fast-paced and involves high stakes throughout (with many life or death situations) but things just become clearer and more comprehensive the further you read on.

Zilan herself is formidable, she’s always willing to go above and beyond for those closest to her and I couldn’t help rooting for her. But the Crown Prince, Li Hong, quickly became one of my favourites due to how much of a cinnamon roll he is.

Zilan’s cousins, Yufei and Wenshu, play important secondary roles throughout a lot of the story as well and they are similarly endearing characters. They refer to Zilan as a sibling and Yufei is cheeky and straightforward, whilst Wenshu protects both of them.

There were many twists thrown in throughout the story and there’s even more depth to it than I’ve been able to mention, but overall I just can’t wait for next instalment!

(And, I would love a Durian 🦆)

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Every time I think I've grown out of YA Fantasy, an absolute gem like this will come along and make me fall back in love with the genre.

The Scarlet Alchemist is set in an alternate version of the Chinese Tang dynasty, in which the empress Wu Zetian found the alchemical elixir to eternal life. As such, she employs Royal Alchemists who make the life gold that enables her to reign for a as long as a century at the beginning of the story. Our MC, Zilan, is an orphan living with her cousins and aunt and uncle in the south of China. To provide for their family, her and her cousins want to go to the capital to earn money for their sick parents. While her cousins strive to be bureaucrats, Zilan wants to pursue the coveted position of Royal Alchemist. So far, her family was only able to make ends meet by Zilan's illegal practice of death magic. When Zilan takes her royal exams, she soon learns the cards are stacked against her and she will have to fight tooth and nail to fulfill her dream.

In the acknowledgements, the author mentioned she was inspired by R. F. Kuang's The Poppy War and she really succeeded in making me feel similarly as to when I read Kuang's work. With a completely unique world and strong characters, I was glued to the pages from the very beginning.

The Scarlet Alchemist was plotted so well, I couldn't put the book down. The story moved quite fast and hit you with plot-twist after plot-twist, none of which I saw coming. Overall, I found the historical and magical aspects to be well-balanced and the author built a completely believable and thrilling new world.

Considering the themes, it shows that the book was originally intended to be Adult fantasy and I would only recommend it to Upper YA readers. As such, The Scarlet Alchemist didn't gloss over the 'uglier' elements of the Tang Dynasty like racism, lack of upward mobility, extreme poverty and classism. Baker incorporated these themes into the story smoothly by making Zilan a merchant's daughter, which was a class that was highly looked down upon in the Tang dynasty. Reading The Scarlet Alchemist gave me a fascination for the Tang dynasty and I'm excited to do some research of my own on the time period.

The heart of the book was its characters and I loved all of them. No really, ALL of them. Each and every character had satisfying character growth throughout the story.

For one, we had a morally-grey MC that was a shrewd merchant's daughter and wouldn't let anyone walk over her. Zilan starts out the story not caring for others except for her family and being quite ruthless. Truly, some of her scenes had me GASPING, she was iconic. In the lineage of morally grey female fantasy characters, Zilan can hold her own with the likes of Fang Runin from The Poppy War and, ironically, the portrayal of Wu Zetian from Iron Widow.

The sibling and family bonds in this were so touching and I loved the connection between Zilan and her cousins, Yufei and Wenshu. Family relationships aside, there was also a really sweet romance between Zilan and the Imperial prince. While the prince was quite oblivious, he was kind and honestly a little awkward which made his and Zilan's scenes very funny. From possibly evil ducklings to pretending to be a concubine, their romance gave the book some much needed levity and a break from the heavier themes.

Then, there was the story's antagonist, Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female Empress. Baker succeeded in portraying a female villain that was always one step ahead of everyone and genuinely seemd unbeatable. Honestly, she gave me Azula vibes if Azula had become Fire Lord. While the portrayal did fall into the historical image of Wu Zetian as scheming, child-murdering and duplicitous, I did enjoy reading about her as a villain. With that being said, all the historical sources we have about her today are likely defamation by men who didn't like to see a woman in power, which the author does acknowledge.

The writing style was great, each sentence flowed really well and created some powerful images. I genuinely can't think of a single negative thing to say about the book. My next step is to get Kylie Lee Barker's entire backlist because I will now read anything this woman writes. Easy 5/5 stars.

My first time reading a book by this author but I loved every moment. A brilliant book with everything you could want woven in.

The Scarlet Alchemist is an amazing read, and I loved every second of it!
Kylie Lee Baker weaved this tale so beautifully that I didn't want it to end and I definitely can't wait for the sequel which I hope isn't too far away.
I really felt for Zilan throughout this book, her striving to reach her dream of becoming a Royal Alchemist so that she can help financially provide for her aunt and uncle who essentially raised her, I didn't see a couple of the twists coming and I love when a book surprises me.
Oh and DUCKS! The Prince and his ducks. At one particular point I was crying with laughter with a particular awkward outburst from him that I just was not ready for.
The ending, I was not ready for that ending but it has set up book 2 perfectly. If you've not read The Scarlet Alchemist yet then you need to!

KLB is becoming one of my go-to authors for all things historical asian fantasy.

she has a real talent for highly immersive and vivid writing, letting the reader feel like they are on an adventure with the MCs. i also appreciate how her storytelling never holds back. i finished this feeling like KLB put in everything she had into the characters, plot, and world-building, which left me highly satisfied.

i really enjoyed the alternate view of the tang dynasty and all the drama surrounding the royal family. the blood/death alchemy creates a high stakes element that works well with the tone and atmosphere of the story (the perfect autumnal read). and the characters are also wonderfully flawed and relatable.

overall, i had a lot of fun with this and am very much looking forward to the continuation of the series!

There was so much about this book that I loved, but I really wasn't keen on the ending and it pulled my rating down from 4 stars. I found Zilan an engaging MC and was intrigued by the magic system