Alchemised
4.7 | 23,966 ratings
Price: 27.75
Last update: 02-02-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- CheylaBlew me awayI loved this book. Having read Manacled, I was familiar with the story structure this book would follow. At first I wondered if this would just be Manacled mad-libbed into a different book, but it isn’t. The author did a great job of creating an entirely different world with a different magic system. There were several new plot twists I didn’t anticipate. I had goosebumps for the last half of part two, and cried the entirety of part three. Part one had great sensory details that anchored you in the disgusting horror of the new world under the necromancers, and I was hooked early on. It covered several themes related to discrimination, loneliness, sacrifice, and love. I was blown away by them emotional intelligence and depth the author wrote with. Nothing was self-serving or gratuitous. The most horrific scenes are brief and written tastefully. Now, for my critique. The world-building in part one was a bit too expositiony for my tastes. Adding a couple more sensory details during the exposition to keep the reader in Helena’s POV would’ve made part one easier to read. Also, some of the story beats could’ve been made more impactful if the author had Helena respond to the plot points actively instead of passively. During part one, I felt like I was in a pity party for a character I didn’t know or care about as we watched the world happen around her. This changed, however, as soon as I hit part two. I was immediately able to connect with Helena on a human-level, and the book started to sing. I think part one should have undergone one more revision for this book to be perfect. That being said, books are written by people, and they are a form of art, and aren’t meant to be “perfect.” Some of the quarrels I had with this book, others might not care about at all. Some might even make the argument that it was the best way to write this book. This is just my opinion. I recommend Alchemised to everyone who is interested in it. My honest rating is 4.5/5⭐️
- Shivaani MahabirA most awaited controversial dark fantasy novel that does not wholly disappointThere is so much to say about this book. I’m not sure how to structure this review but I’ll give it my best try. When I read Manacled, it was obviously based on an existing world and we knew the major characters’ backstories. The villain was already explained and was terrifying. Entering that book was like returning home for an adult version of the stories that made you excited as a child. It was heart wrenching and so dark - the love story was painful at times and the most striking part was the sacrifices that the main characters made to get their happy ending. For Alchemised, we now are taxed with entering a universe that requires new world building, new rules, shadows of old characters we may or may not know intimately and this both works for and against the novel itself. On one hand, the only way that the High Reeve could really instill fear and a sense of true enemies to lovers, would be if we knew more about his life. The novel is written in such a way that we jump into his introduction and don’t quite know enough to hate him. The story can trick you into being doubtful about his motives, much earlier than anything in Manacled did, since we don’t fear him or truly appreciate what a 16 year old ripping someone’s heart out would do to his reputation, in a world where there is no before - there is only the reality of war and death that we become so familiar with, that it blurs the impact of Ferron’s ruthlessness and cruelty. With Manacled, we knew the happy times and the pre war era so well. We could appreciate how dark and worn down the characters became much better, in my opinion. The reason I belabor this point, is to say that without the shadowing of Manacled, I don’t know that we would become so invested in this couple and their happy ending, which is the entire point of their famous enemies to lovers fan fiction movement. Taking that away for a moment, the pacing and intricacy of the plot and the sheer intelligence of the main female lead, were all mind blowing, as in Manacled. This book makes me saddened since the author possesses so much creativity and injected so much complexity into this plot, however she will surely never be able to stand distinct from the original universe since it began as fan fiction on the laurels of someone else. How I wish she could have changed more about the premise - school, academic rivalry - it could all have been better distanced to give her more credit. Her intricate plot design would have withstood distancing from the key areas of ‘plagiarism’ so I wished the author would have changed more. The debate is rife with readers about the use of another person’s intellectual property to make one’s own art- I’ll say that this author could have done more to exempt herself from this sticky situation. If you don’t get into the ethics of it, then this book comes down to writing style, pacing, plot, character and world building - all of which are never perfect in any one novel, but altogether come close to being done quite well in this novel. I’m hopeful we can get a follow up story with the second generation, however, I’m afraid of how dark it would need to be to be consistent. Tired of bad things happening to these beloved characters. Now I’ve rambled enough and hopefully made a few points in there. I highly recommend reading Manacled first and then coming back to this in a few months since the comparison is worth the time. Thanks for reading!
- Menard FamilyWhat a ride...I haven't read the fanfic this was adapted from and maybe that helped to make this a 5-star read for me. I will also say I'm not a huge fan of dark fantasy. I like it but I would say I lean more toward bubblegum romance. That being said... This book was worth every single one of the 1020 pages. I couldn't put it down. There were not enough hours in the day. I want Helena to work her magic on my brain so I can go back and reread this book again for the first time.
I'm not into spoilers so you won't find any... What I will say is this book could have easily been written in a way that made more sense timeline-wise. But the way SenLinYu chose to break it up was masterful. It delivers the best emotional impact and keeps you wanting to turn the page. I was crying but laughing and swooning even while my heart was breaking. It was tearing me apart in the best ways.
The magic system can get a bit wordy and confusing but give it a moment to breathe and it flows with the story really well. It picks up easier in part 2 and starts to really show more than tell.
Obviously I highly recommend! Pick it up... maybe some tissues too...