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A review by worldsunlikeourown
A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe
4.0
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing this eARC as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.
Thea Hope has worked at the side of her famous alchemist mother all her life and longs to build a name for herself. Their goal, like all alchemists, is to create the ultimate prize, the Philosopher’s stone which can turn any metal to gold and cure all illnesses, and they are closer than ever before, when her mother suddenly goes mad and tries to kill her. Looking through her notes, Thea finds out that there is a curse on the Stone which causes any alchemist not deemed worthy to go insane during the process. France is not safe for her anymore, not with the threat of Revolution, so she makes her way to Oxford to find her father, whom she has never met. But even in England, danger still looms, as alchemists will stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone.
Alchemy is such a fascinating backdrop for a story, and this story provides a unique spin on the Philosopher’s Stone. This version of the infamous quest was so unique, and I really liked the concept of the Stone having a mind of its own, in a way deciding which alchemist would be allowed to create it at all. When I have previously seen alchemy mentioned in books, it has always been as something in the background, and the minutiae are mostly left to the imagination. Though it is all fictional, this book delves much deeper into the process and I found it to be very intriguing. The setting was quite interesting, but did not play a big part in the story. I felt that the real historical events taking place in the background were merely what set Thea’s path in motion, taking her from France to England in search of safety and a way to restore her mother’s sanity.
This was a relatively short book, so personally, I didn’t have time to get a grasp on any of the characters apart from Thea. I honestly thought Dominic would play a more central role than he did, as he seemed like the only truly good, unselfish character in the entire book. Will on the other hand, felt untrustworthy from the beginning, and I found it odd that Thea never thought to question a single thing about his story until much, much later. The stakes were kept very high throughout the story, and that final twist was something I definitely did not see coming.
Thea is a great character, intelligent and determined, but her naivety was so frustrating at times. It’s quite obvious that she knows how important the knowledge she possesses is, yet the first thing she does in Oxford is give away some of that critical information – to virtual strangers, no less – and even after being betrayed once, repeats the same mistakes. But then again, if she’d been as cautious as she ought to have, I guess there wouldn’t be a story at all.
The ending did leave things a little up in the air, particularly regarding Will’s fate and Dominic’s future, but I find it nice to have a few things to wonder about once I finish reading a book. Overall, this was an excellent read and a very well written one, especially considering that this is the author’s debut novel. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more books by Samantha Cohoe in the future. Engaging and perfectly paced, this is one you will not want to put down. Highly recommended!
Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing this eARC as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.
Thea Hope has worked at the side of her famous alchemist mother all her life and longs to build a name for herself. Their goal, like all alchemists, is to create the ultimate prize, the Philosopher’s stone which can turn any metal to gold and cure all illnesses, and they are closer than ever before, when her mother suddenly goes mad and tries to kill her. Looking through her notes, Thea finds out that there is a curse on the Stone which causes any alchemist not deemed worthy to go insane during the process. France is not safe for her anymore, not with the threat of Revolution, so she makes her way to Oxford to find her father, whom she has never met. But even in England, danger still looms, as alchemists will stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone.
Alchemy is such a fascinating backdrop for a story, and this story provides a unique spin on the Philosopher’s Stone. This version of the infamous quest was so unique, and I really liked the concept of the Stone having a mind of its own, in a way deciding which alchemist would be allowed to create it at all. When I have previously seen alchemy mentioned in books, it has always been as something in the background, and the minutiae are mostly left to the imagination. Though it is all fictional, this book delves much deeper into the process and I found it to be very intriguing. The setting was quite interesting, but did not play a big part in the story. I felt that the real historical events taking place in the background were merely what set Thea’s path in motion, taking her from France to England in search of safety and a way to restore her mother’s sanity.
This was a relatively short book, so personally, I didn’t have time to get a grasp on any of the characters apart from Thea. I honestly thought Dominic would play a more central role than he did, as he seemed like the only truly good, unselfish character in the entire book. Will on the other hand, felt untrustworthy from the beginning, and I found it odd that Thea never thought to question a single thing about his story until much, much later. The stakes were kept very high throughout the story, and that final twist was something I definitely did not see coming.
Thea is a great character, intelligent and determined, but her naivety was so frustrating at times. It’s quite obvious that she knows how important the knowledge she possesses is, yet the first thing she does in Oxford is give away some of that critical information – to virtual strangers, no less – and even after being betrayed once, repeats the same mistakes. But then again, if she’d been as cautious as she ought to have, I guess there wouldn’t be a story at all.
The ending did leave things a little up in the air, particularly regarding Will’s fate and Dominic’s future, but I find it nice to have a few things to wonder about once I finish reading a book. Overall, this was an excellent read and a very well written one, especially considering that this is the author’s debut novel. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more books by Samantha Cohoe in the future. Engaging and perfectly paced, this is one you will not want to put down. Highly recommended!