Reviews

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

pjvana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

amandasbrews's review against another edition

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5.0

KYLIE LEE BAKER HAS KILLED ME AGAIN I NEED TO GATHER MY THOUGHTS AND COME BACK TO THIS IT WAS SO GOOD

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Pre-read: Kylie's first book was the first fantasy book I ever read with openly mixed Asian characters and her books mean so much to me. I just got a copy of this and I'm SO excited!!! More books by Kylie Lee Baker PLEASE

Merged review:

KYLIE LEE BAKER HAS KILLED ME AGAIN I NEED TO GATHER MY THOUGHTS AND COME BACK TO THIS IT WAS SO GOOD

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Pre-read: Kylie's first book was the first fantasy book I ever read with openly mixed Asian characters and her books mean so much to me. I just got a copy of this and I'm SO excited!!! More books by Kylie Lee Baker PLEASE

lomoreads42's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75

loyaltea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jnwhit94's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

falseamazon's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

fairuzzz's review against another edition

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4.0

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker is a compelling read with a richly imagined world and a strong heroine at its core.

thebooktaurus's review against another edition

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4.0

4.25/5

mitsumishimas's review against another edition

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4.0

gagged me wtf

justtalkingtomyshelf's review against another edition

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5.0

The Scarlet Alchemist is a historical fantasy set in an alternate version of China during the Tang Dynasty. I really enjoyed the story and found myself increasingly drawn into it as it progressed and I tried to guess what was coming next.

Zilan has always dreamed of becoming a royal alchemist, but she encounters hurdle after hurdle as she takes the entrance exams and works her way closer to the royal court.

I love that this book didn’t have a typical magic system! Instead, stones are used to perform alchemical magic and each stone’s properties allow it to achieve various results. I thought Kylie did an excellent job explaining how all of this worked!

I loooove court politics in fantasy novels and this book delivered. Zilan finds herself pretending to be the prince’s paramour in the midst of a plot to kill any potential heirs to the throne.

I received a finished copy through the BookishFirst raffle and all thoughts are my own.