I really wanted to love this one as it sounded really unique and different but it was just too slow paced for me.

Although I did appreciate a lot of aspects of the story, the story was far too slow-paced for my liking. The stakes weren't high enough for me to make up for the slow pace. I appreciate the historical aspects of the story and the aristocracy, but I wish there had been more on alchemy and less on relationships. I didn't think it was a terrible book, I thought the author wrote eloquently, it just wasn't the right fit for me as a reader.

This was so good. Thank you so much. I loved how strong the women in this story are. It felt like this could have happened in the shadow of Night story.

First of all, this cover is beautiful. Secondly this story was a fresh take on an old tale - the philosophers stone and alchemy. I did enjoy the story, but at times it was slow. There were a few triggers (self harm) so be aware of that. The story and historical stage was lovely. A great new standalone in this field of young adult historical fantasy.

Sadly this one was a hit or miss for me. I liked parts of the story but others just didn't work. The drama that was in this one totally didn't work at all for me. I felt like this one was missing something to make it stand on its own. Its just too close to other titles that did it better.

This novel started out interesting, but it was slow in the end. I did find Thea to be a strong and likable heroine. However, I did not really like the ending. It kind of ruined the whole novel for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

This book was really hard for me to get into at the beginning which I think led to me not being truly interested overall.

I did not finish - I have tried reading this book on multiple occasions and just could not get into it.

Thea Hope is the daughter of an alchemist and an aspiring and talented alchemist in her own right. When her mother goes mad in pursuit of creating the Philosopher's Stone, Thea decides that she will finish what her mother started. But as she begins to feel the effects of madness herself, Thea must decide whether to complete the stone or risk death for those she loves.

There was a lot I liked about this book. I know basically nothing about alchemy so I found this plot to be very exciting and different. Thea herself is also very likable, so I was rooting for her the whole time. Many supporting characters were quite interesting and fun as well. I do think having Dominic basically disappear for the second half of the book is tragic though.

I found myself slightly confused at the ending, parts felt wrapped up and others didn't. I almost expected this to be a series, but I don't think it is. Oh well, bummer for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for the eARC in exchange for my review. So sorry it took a year for me to read it.

I really wanted to love this book and elements of it REALLY caught me, but there was just something...off throughout the whole book that prevented me from going all the way into being able to really enjoy the book.
It's not a bad book, not at all, I just...I couldn't find my rhythm with it, and it felt offkey somehow.

This one was weird. I wanted to read it after seeing this gorgeous cover and captivating synopsis, but I couldn't get completely into it. Even after 60%+ in, I didn't know what to think of it. It has a too slow pacing for my liking, and I kept wanting more, and telling me it would be happen soon.... and it didn't. Sure, the ending was great, but it's the rest of the book that left me feeling meh. I like my magic active, not when it happens at the end of the book.

Many thanks to Wednesday Books for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Thoughts: What Initially drew me in was the cover and the mention of the philosopher Stone. Although, I’m not a huge fan of Historical fiction I Decided to request this one after seeing so many good reviews on it. I love Alchemy thought that this book would make for a fun read. I did want the story to be a little longer because this is a standalone and more information and answers would of been great. Also, I don’t think I read a YA book in a while that had no love relationships involve and I liked that because its good to see a woman be her own person. The character development of Thea was clearly seen and I like how her character was described and acted. If you love Historical Fiction or anything with alchemy then I definitely recommend this book for you it makes for a great Halloween read

i felt kinda meh about it, but that could just have been my reading slump.

Im thinking that cus I really liked the plot and characters but could not relate for some reasdon

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe is a young adult historical fantasy standalone novel. The story in this one takes place in the 18th century, 1792 starting in Normandy, France then onto London with the characters dealing in alchemy.

Seventeen year old Thea Hope wants to become a legendary alchemist and has been studying alchemy under the instruction of her own mother. The ladies have been working on creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone and Thea knows that they are getting close. However, Thea’s mother proceeds with the experiments without her and is cast into a world of madness.

Thea is then sent to London to live with her father, a father who she has never known and who does not know her. Thea’s father is a professor at Oxford and Thea soon learns that there are alchemists there that will do anything to get their hands on her mother’s notes and the stone but Thea quickly learns that the stone is under a curse and is the cause of her mother’s insanity.

When I first saw A Golden Fury I debated back and forth on whether I wanted to pick it up or not with my pickiness when it comes to fantasy reads. More often than not I find things that keep me from enjoying the books, mostly with slow pacing, not enough action or reminding me of other books. This time however I actually found myself enjoying this one with it’s mix of all involved, being historical and taking on alchemy and tossing in some romance to the mix as well. I liked the protagonist in this one and was engaged with the action so I’m coming to the conclusion I’m more a standalone fantasy reader than series it seems.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I received an eARC of A Golden Fury through NetGalley probably 12 months ago now & never got around to reading it! My review is finally here though & while I enjoyed majority of the aspects of this story there was a couple things that I didn’t love. So, let’s jump in!

The plot was enjoyable for the most part. At times it did feel a little choppy but overall it was a fun, fast paced & interesting plot that kept me interested throughout the story.

The biggest downfall of the book was the main character. She didn’t feel like she developed much throughout the book & was overall pretty passive. I know this book was set in a time where women tended to default to males for decisions & such more so that now. However, I just wanted a little bit more of a badass independent female main character especially considering Thea’s accomplishments in this book!

I did enjoy majority of the other characters though. To some degree some of them were more fleshed out than Thea even. There were some that developed well throughout the story & I enjoyed seeing that progress.

The writing was probably my favourite part. Even though I didn’t love the MC & the plot was sometimes a little confusing I flew through this. I was engaged in the story the whole time. I also really enjoyed the world that the author created. Philosophers Stone stories can sometimes be repetitive but I didn’t find that with this one. The rules & magic system behind the philosophers stone that the author brought into the story was really fascinating.

Overall I enjoyed A Golden Fury but I think it could have been a bit better with some character development of our main character. This is the authors debut so hopefully she will improve from here! I’m interested to give her next novel, Bright Ruined Things a go when it releases in October this year. Hopefully it will bring together the aspects that I loved & what I think needs a little improvement! Fingers crossed.

I couldn’t wait to read this book. I had seen tons of buzz on social and the description was exciting. I most liked the idea of a woman finding a way for herself in what was at the time a “man’s world.” Young alchemist Thea has worked alongside her mother, learning the craft of alchemy from the time she was young. What Thea thought was a close bond between them is shattered when her mother destroys the magical Philosopher’s Stone they had worked to create. Thea must flee France for her safety and meets her father for the first time. Trust must be built and is not easily forged between the two. A romantic relationship with a longtime love is also not what it seems and Thea must learn to guard her life and her life’s work as danger comes at her from many sides.
A richly told story with a feminist perspective.

Thank you for an early copy for an honest review. I loved that it had a historical setting. I loved the family and friendships in this book. It felt a bit rushed in some places, but overall I enjoyed this read. Our character Thea was smart and strong in my opinion.

Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.

While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.

But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.

YA fantasy at its best. In this golden age of YA fantasy these books can be a dime a dozen so an author often times needs to hit it out of the park to be remembered and draw back its reader. A Golden fury did that. While I feel it started out slower it kept drawing me back as I yearned for more.