This is one that I was so so excited for! The historical fantasy aspect was great, there was definitely a lot of atmosphere in this. But....the writing. It didn't feel like it had much depth? It read kind of young, which is fine, but wasn't what I was looking for. The characters too, didn't feel all that real. It was ok, but not a favorite.

This was a lovely book.

I dont mean that to sound light, but it was very basic. It was lovely in that way. I think it would be great for lower YA readers as an introduction to the YA fantasy genre, but to someone who has been reading YA for a few years this may feel repetitive.

That aside, I think it will appeal to anyone who admires steampunk and steampunk adjacent storylines, it just has that vibe. It's also contains strong themes of girl power and navigating your own strength.

Its a fine addition to any fan of historical feeling fantasy.

Oh, whoops, I read this back in December and never reviewed it here. Sorry! I was waiting to see if our teen librarian would be ordering it (orders cut down due to Interesting Times) Um, let's see, I do remember enjoying it. Thank you very much for the ARC, and apologies again!

This was not at all what I was expecting!

A Golden Fury is a thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of magical realism in a historical setting. We follow Theosebeia, a brave young alchemist who gets tangled in a huge mess regarding her mother who goes mad, her father who doesn't know she exists, her lover and the Philosopher's Stone.
The conflict was fascinating and brilliantly resolved, I must say I was very worried the ending would be unsatisfactory, but it was truly perfect.
The only criticism that I have is that the pacing could have been faster, it took me a while to get into the story and there were some more hiccups along the way where I just felt like nothing was happening.

I recommend this to everybody who likes new twists on old tropes and a historical setting!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely love learning about alchemy and this book was stuffed full of alchemical details and musings and so, it was right up my alley. The historical setting was well done, as far as I can tell, and the main character was compelling. Unfortunately, something kept this one from becoming a new favorite but if you are looking for a tale of alchemy with a ton of twists, I definitely recommend this one!

Trigger Warnings,
Self harm
A potential rape scene
Mental illness/madness

To me this was a good read. Really loved the fantasy elements. The background or history that was present I enjoyed it. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the pacing. It was to slow for my liking.

Samantha Cohoe's A Golden Fury is a wonderfully written piece of literature. The prose is engaging, a majority of the characters are developed enough to make the reader feel compelled to find out what happens to them, the fantastical/supernatural elements are done in a way that pulls the reader in and keeps them guessing as to what is really happening. The pace of the story arc is well thought out and unlike many stories that try to do the same, doesn't lag just for the sake of words.

Overall, this is a very quick read with a compelling plot, protagonist, and multiple antagonists that make this a wonderful book.

I hate I somehow let this review slip past me and did not post it sooner.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the eARC of this work.

This one was just alright for me. I didn't feel super excited and felt it was more of a chore to read then actually push through.

I loved this intriguing story of Thea who is a super determined, strong and likeable MC! I especially loved the dark academia vibes of the novel and the history elements (I secretly want to live in the 18th century).
I was filled with excitement throughout the whole novel and rooting for Thea to not only save the day, but to discover what her mother has left behind and with this finding her true purpose!

When I read the synopsis and it mentioned the philosopher's stone I thought the book would be wizardly and magical, after reading books like Harry Potter. I was delighted to see it was different, scientific and scholarly. Also I loved that the protagonist was a young lady doing something that was highly unusual for women in her day.

I just reviewed A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe. #NetGalley

This read was a bit slow for me. I am usually all into alchemy but it wasn't do it for me in this book. I'm not sure what else it needed. Maybe more romance? I think that may have helped me getting into it more. The last 10-15% were really great, just wish it occurred earlier on in the book.

Ohhhh I really liked this book! My only knowledge of the philosophers stone has been because of Harry Potter, so it was exciting to see it through a new light. I loved that mash up of science and magic within the book and also everyone facing their morals when it came to their intentions with the stone. I felt like the character development was strong and we actually got to see people grow throughout the book. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books in the future!

A Golden Fury is a story about Thea, whose brilliant alchemist mother came close to making the Philosopher's Stone before madness took her. Thea, now sent to live with the father she never knew may be the only one who can make it now but it would come at the cost of her own sanity.
Reading books like this just tells me that I apparently don't like stories where people are miserable nearly the whole time. It's like if the whole story feels like the main character is on the struggle bus without a pause I'm just not gonna have a good time. Now, that doesn't mean it's a bad story! It really doesn't! it was well written and interesting and had great characters but as a deeply empathetic person, this is just one of those books that just feels Very Stressful to read.
However, chances are you aren't as feely as I am and you will quite like this, so let's do a little check, Do you like stories witch smart, interesting ladies? Do you like historical settings? Do you find alchemy really cool? Do you like having more than one love interest to choose from? Do you enjoy reading complicated family dynamics? If you answered yes to at least two of these, you probably will quite enjoy this interesting and original book, it just wasn't for me.

A Golden Fury is a unique story with an enchanting historical setting and well-developed characters. It’s a solid debut from a new and promising author, and I look forward to Samatha Cohoe’s next novel.

Magic, alchemy, and the philosopher's stone Oh my. This book has a magic triple combo that will make lovers of Harry Potter wonder what happened. It may seem odd to compare a book to Harry Potter but it has some similarities (philosopher's stone). While I usually like to take my time reading books I found myself wanting to finish this book as soon as possible only to know what happened. Looking forward to more books from this author.

This book was fairly enjoyable as I love the tropes of Alchemy and the philosophers stone anyway.

However there was something lacking in the character development for me, the romance with Thea and Dominic didn't do it for me and it felt very melodramatic and blind devotion-esque.

I didn’t hesitate when I was asked to take part of A Golden Fury blog tour. As soon as I read the plot, I knew I’d like it. And indeed, I really enjoyed my reading as I’m giving 4/5 stars to it.
I received the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review. Thank you again to Wednesday Books for the trust.

As I said, when I first read the plot, I really was intriguing by this book. I’m not usually fond of alchemy’s storylines but here, knowing it is based in the eighteenth-century France/England, I jumped on it. I love when authors take us back in the past and make us dream with wonderful backgrounds. Fun fact: before reading A Golden Fury, I watched Enola Holmes on Netflix and it really helped me seeing all the costumes and settings.

Samantha Cohoe did a great job here with her debut novel. When science meets magic, with a little touch of love and danger, it gave an amazing adventure through the French and English roads. I find her writing style really easy and it wasn’t hard to get though the story. The scenes were well written and gave us all the details we needed to. I love Thea, our protagonist, and her strong nature. She was really intelligent, brave, stubborn and naive. As all the other characters, she only inspired for one thing: the Philosopher’s Stone. Yet they didn’t have the same purpose for it. And it was what brought some dark to the story. The strong and undying desire for a dangerous thing. I must say so: I adored Dominic and Valentin!

I only regret one thing: the romance. Well or so-close-romance, should I say. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. But you guys should know I’m not a romance fan so that’s why. Anyway, it was really a great book. I had such a lovely time with Thea and her adventures!
Thank you for reading (and sorry for my mistakes ?)

3.5 Stars

I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed A Golden Fury, but the whole time I was reading about Thea and the Philosopher’s Stone, it felt like there was something missing. While the characters were quite fleshed out and round, I felt that the plot was much too linear—the opportunities to flesh out the most important character in the book were completely missed.

Most disappointingly, the ending is abrupt, leaving the reader depressed with the explanation of why things that used to be magical in the world and made it partly full of wonder now aren’t.

I would certainly have enjoyed the story more with a bit more world building; the pace felt too fast for me and the story superficial, though it was not a bad experience.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

Any book on alchemy is a win for me, I absolutely adore the subject and am very invested in it, dark magic and issues of patriarchal society.
However, I'd really appreciate a deeper dive into the alchemical aspect of the story, a bit more on symbology and more on the darker side and less on personal development, but I have to remember this work is a work of fiction and needs to be a development as well.
I really appreciate the dive into France's history and overall patriarchal society and expectations and behavior expected from a young woman.
Overall a very nice read, solid 3.5 stars for me, language is rich, missing a bit of alchemical language and French references for me.
Thanks to the author for a very nice time.

This was an interesting read but a bit slow paced for me, I just kept wanting more, more romance, more alchemy, more action. I found the ending to be good, but the pacing of the rest of the book just seemed to be off. I appreciated the dynamic between the heroine & her mother and how the abusive elements were handled. I think the story just needed to be a bit more fleshed out.