A Golden Fury tells the story of Thea, a young woman raised by her alchemist mother, as she is tries to save those she loves by creating the legendary Philosophers Stone.

I was totally blown away by the book. Thea is a fantastic character, fiercely protective and striving for independence. I loved her strength in the face of friends and family who didn't deserve her, and felt she really learned and grew from her experiences.

The plot itself is part historical fiction, part fantasy. The writing is beautiful, with each setting feeling real. I thought the pacing was just right, and I was gripped by the excitement of the story to the point where I couldn't put the book down!

A really phenomenal book. I felt it was in a similar vein to Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper and Veronica Rossi's Rebel Spy - a clever, engaging, dramatic adventure that I would recommend wholeheartedly.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

LOVE.

LOVELOVELOVE.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

LOVE AT LAST FLIP OF THE PAGE.

LOVE AT BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END.

JUST LOVE.

With each majestic flip of the page, I was transfixed, and completely drawn into the world and the lives of the characters.

Love at first glance aside, (I mean, just look at that oh so enchantingly beautiful cover!) I just knew that after reading the synopsis for this book, that I was going to adore this story; Just knew that it was going to be my perfectly made cup of tea, my flawlessly concocted elixir.

I finished this book in less than a day, as I just couldn’t pull myself away from the story (and it was also just the distraction I needed from the ugly events of the world still currently raging around me. Thank you so much for that Samantha Cohoe, I will be forever grateful to you) and I completely fell in love with both the story and the characters.

There are so many things to love and savor about this book, and first and foremost (for me anyway) the fact that its a fantasy/historical fiction that centers around alchemy! Heck yes! The blend of mystical, scientific elements of the alchemy storyline were so cool to read about, and made it that much more fascinating. It also made both the plot and storyline that much more mysterious, ominous, and even eerie at times because of the dark elements to it.

The alchemists in this book all have a common goal, despite how they differ going about attaining it: creating the Philosopher’s Stone. Of course creating it is no easy task, as creating it can cause you to become possessed and go mad, which is where the eerie, sinister parts of the story come in. Watching the characters’ descend into madness over the Philospher’s Stone is certainly a study in both greed and just how far people will go in order to obtain what they want no matter how high the price.

The main character of the story is a young girl named Thea, who is an alchemist, and a very good one at that. Her mother is a famous alchemist of sorts, and they both live in France, during the tultumous time of the French Revolution. One terrible night, her mother descends into complete madness, and that is when Thea realizes just how very high the cost is of completing the creation of the Philospher’s Stone. Due to her mother’s madness and the raging revolution, Thea is sent to England for her own protection, to stay with her father, also an alchemist, who she has never met. Once there, she is sent down on a dangerous path of treachery, madness, and other dangers as she tries to save the lives of her beloved, her mother, friend, and herself, all the while trying to finally complete the task of making the Philosopher’s Stone.

The setting of this book also very much helped to set the mood, as the characters journeyed through an ever bleak, ominous London city scape. I could picture myself right along side them, running through alley ways with an overcast sky overhead, carriages rolling past in the distance, the sound of horses hooves clomping past.

So so good!

And Thea!

Love love loved her!

She was such an amazing character! I loved her strong spirit, and unbending will, and her willingness to do whatever it took to help to protect and save those she loved. I just found her to be such a badass! Despite all of the obstacles she was facing throughout her journey, she remained strong, and I admired her so much and was rooting for her on each and every page. Definitely one of my favorite heroines of 2020!

Do yourself a favor and definitely preorder a copy of this book! I could go on and on talking about how much I loved it, and I still wouldn’t be doing it justice. There’s magic, an engrossing plot that will keep you turning the pages in anticipation, and a main character that you will admire and root for! Plus, have you seen the cover? That alone is reason enough to preorder it! But seriously, buy this book!

I really enjoyed this novel and found myself unable to stop thinking about what might happen next when life beckoned me to put the book down.

A Golden Fury didn't resemble anything I had ever read before... That is until I read a review relating it to LOTR and the obsession of the ring. Regardless, that's the only moment.

I would completely recommend this debut novel by Samantha Cohoe to any of my friends. Five stars from me!

There's a lot to like with Cohoe's <i>A Golden Fury</i>: the plot is well-paced and the stakes are certainly high (and believably so) for the characters. I also appreciated the unique idea of a female alchemist. The events of the book zip right along; with each chapter, I couldn't believe that next big thing Thea was facing WASN'T the climax. I was definitely invested in the story throughout. In addition, The Philosophers Stone and the descent into madness felt like natural, believable stakes for the characters and situation they were in. I was 100% onboard with Cohoe's authorly logic there.

The so-so: Thea herself is a middle of the road, okay character for me. She was believable, more or less. She was flawed, but smart and interesting, coming off pretty human, especially for a YA fantasy protagonist, so nicely done there, Cohoe. I *was* frustrated by some of her decision making that came off very juvenile, but I'm not sure if that's just the benefit/curse of being an adult reading a YA book or if some of her decisions, especially toward the latter half of the novel, really are that silly. I am okay with characters making poor choices, especially when it makes sense for the character, but I get frustrated when an otherwise logical, smart character makes crappy decisions for the sake of ~*the plot*~, which some of her choices seemed to do.

The bad: Thea's mother, the...er, romance?, and the historical setting itself. Thea's mother is the least believable character in the book. She's so "evil" its comical. She is a caricature of a person to set up Thea's trauma; her scenes were nearly unreadable for me because I was rolling my eyes. The romance (if I should call it that?) between Will and Thea was always cringe-worthy to me, and the last half to third of the book is just...not well done. And it felt like Cohoe was setting Valentin up to be a secondary love interest, but then it...went...nowhere. I guess either I wanted more romance or much less, not the weird middle ground that we actually got. And lastly, the historical setting/world itself felt more incidental than important. I never FELT like I was in the 18th century, just an Earth-adjacent fantasy world. There wasn't any one thing that made it unbelievable, just nothing that ever made it feel real, either. And to that end, alchemy and the Stone didn't make sense to me: there was no explanation for how they fit into the logic of the world. Worldbuilding is crucial for me to be invested in a historical fiction novel, and thanks to the the lack of that, I never could tell if I was supposed to believe this *was* a historical fiction novel, a magical realism novel, or a straight fantasy novel. To me, this is an issue, especially since the novel SEEMS to claim that magic used to be real and the events of the book are what cause its absence in our modern world.

So, all in all, a debut novel that I overall enjoyed. 3.5 / 5 stars for me. I'll be looking forward to the next book that Cohoe writes to see how her skills grow, though I don't know that this one is going on my shelf, personally.


I received my ebook copy of <i>A Golden Fury</i> from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

A Golden Fury is a strong debut novel filled with the wonders and horrors of alchemy. Thea is strongly written character that strives to make a name for herself as an alchemist but quickly learns that creating The Philosopher’s Stone comes with a heavy price. Overall a very strong debut I look forward to the author’s next book Bright Ruined Things.

I found this story to be very enjoyable, especially for fans of Deborah Harkness's "All Souls" series. I think Thea's development of self-reliance and journey into the world of relationships was a good story. Since she had been only exposed to her mother's patrons growing up and her one friend, to watch her learn the true meaning of friendship and love made you relive your own first steps into the world.

This is Thea’s story of her journey towards alchemy’s ultimate goal, the Philosopher’s Stone. Along the way she deals with breaking away from toxic people in her life and finding her own independence. Her voice is the strongest throughout the novel with some of the side characters feeling somewhat one dimensional and predictable. She has a strong feminist background instilled into her which she uses throughout the book to reassure her confidence in herself and her choices. The book is well paced and keeps you interested in what’s going to happen next throughout Thea’s journey. The juxtaposition of France and London helps to reiterate Thea branching out on her own to find answers for herself. The change of settings throughout the book keeps things interesting and allows readers to see different sides of Thea as she’s challenged by various situations. Thea is faced with several difficult decisions along that way that left me as the reader torn as to what the right answer was. In the end, it’s down the Thea alone to decide and the outcome is shocking, frustrating, and a little painful.
Overall, A Golden Fury was an interesting and high paced read that felt unique from other books I’ve read in its genre. I highly recommend this book to fans of YA urban fantasy, especially if you’re interested in alchemy, moral conflicts, or historical settings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NG and the author for this e-arc in exchange for a review.

This read was interesting. The plot kept me going and the characters were very likable. I’m still processing the ending. Imo the book took a strange turn and I’m not sure how to put it into words. For now my rating is at a 3. The story was there but it didn’t come full circle for me.

Thea is a feisty 17 year old who has been raised by her cold alchemist mother for years. Now she’s the only hope for her mother who’s gripped by a madness after nearly completing the philosopher’s stone. She travels to England and her estranged father. But the madness creeps in closer and closer.

“The Golden Fury” is a book about loyalty and trust and power. Thea is driven to help, but there’s a darkness that stalks her as the works to complete the stone. She also has so few people to trust as everyone’s motivation for helping her becomes suspect as the stone is close to completion.

I enjoyed the story and wanted to discover how things would turn out for Thea and her new friend Dominic. The pull of power and darkness was narrated very well. I like the ever-changing circle of trust around Thea and how that alters her perspective. No one is who they seem.

The only thing I didn’t get was the title. I think “The Alchemist’s Curse” would have suited the story much better and conveyed the plot better. While this wasn’t quite what I expected, it was a hard to put down story and an intriguing study in the various ways power can manipulate a person’s soul.

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day!

In this historical fantasy we meet Thea, an alchemist’s daughter and a protégé alchemist herself, a very talented one at that. She’s growing tired of the way her mother treats her and dreams of a life together with a boy called Will that used to work for her mother. At the same time, Thea and her mother is so close to reaching the ultimate goal, the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. It’s a piece what can cure all illnesses, make anything into gold and it’s incredibly powerful. Thea’s mother wants to create to make a name for herself in a world where women are more or less owned by their husbands. So when Thea’s mother excludes Thea from the final steps of the creation, Thea’s furious and can’t believe her mother used her to get the stone but won’t share the credit for making it.

Thea’s mother grows increasingly hostile and when she decides Thea will be leaving the country with a man she doesn’t even know, Thea can’t keep her mouth shut and the fight that follows changes everything. Thea’s mother becomes mad and tries to kill her when Thea discovers that her mother has in fact succeeded in creating the stone. Forced to flee France for London, Thea ends up with the father that doesn’t know she exists. Here, she’s determined to create the stone for herself so she can use it’s powers to heal her mother’s madness. She can only hope that the warnings of a curse that afflicts those who try is just the ramblings of her mother.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book really took me by surprise. I had a hard time getting into it, and was prepared to give up more than once in the beginning. I struggled with the initial four or five chapters, then something happened and the story really took off. I was hooked. I wanted to know more about what happened and get to know Thea. And I’m glad I followed through because this was a great book.

Thea is a wonderful character, a girl I could sympathize with, someone I wanted to be friends with. She was written very well and it was easy to root for her. She might be a bit naïve at times, but someone it just made her endearing. Overall, I think the author did a great job developing all of the characters in this book, that said, those first few chapters was confusing when it came to characters. I couldn’t really wrap my head around who was who and what they were doing there. By chapter 5, I kind of got it and also, that’s when Thea left her home and met new people anyways.

I can say though that the twists weren’t really twists and I could see the where the story was heading long before it was revealed, and that did take away som of the tension and excitement of reading. Also the book felt a bit safe. What I mean by that is even though there were dangerous situations in the book and our main character found herself in extremely dangerous situations it never really felt as severe as if probably should have. I never feared for Thea or her life because there was something serene about the way it was written, a little poetic perhaps, I’m not sure. But it wasn’t dangerous, it was safe at all times even through torture and death and hell. The book is written in first person, so perhaps it’s just Thea’s personality that does it, if she’s not afraid, what should the reader be. But there are times where she’s too serene for the situation.

The plot flowed nicely even if I at times found that perhaps there was a little too much “nonsense” weaved in that made it unnecessarily slow and tempted me to skim through parts of it, but overall it was really good and I think the author managed to keep the tension and suspense and add new layers to the story as it went on and when it all was slowly unraveled by the end I felt satisfied. I mean, there’s always things to point out and things that could’ve been better, but there’s no such thing as perfect and this is simply a really good book, and a debut at that. So, I’m going to give this five stars because it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

If you like fantasy, don’t miss this one.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books & Netgalley for the chance to read A GOLDEN FURY by Samantha Cohoe!

I was so excited about this premise. Alchemy and political intrigue, romance and deception-- and a heroine at the center, navigating first love and her mother's legacy, while trying to make a name for herself on her quest for the Philosopher's stone.

I loved the scientific details and historical research. I didn't love the characters, which is what it takes for me to invest in a story. Thea, I naturally felt attached to, but most of the secondary characters, in particular, were flat and felt motivated only for plot mechanics, which took away from my reading experience. I did, however, think the writer handled metaphysical and alchemical descriptions with great skill-- I was very intrigued both in terms of my interest and imagination.

In short-- great idea, and I learned a lot! But wish I felt more for the characters and the story.

The premise sounded interesting, but it didn't meet its potential. It fell short in a number of ways, from the world building to the characters. Development in both areas was lacking. Nothing really pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. Some character traits and actions were downright annoying and made the characters a bit unrealistic, at times. Too many problems overall to recommend this one.

Thea Hope wants to be an alchemist of her own instead of living in her cruel mother's shadow. They are close to creating the Philosopher's Stone, but Thea's mother locks her out of the lab while she slowly goes mad thanks to the stone. Her madness leads to the stone's destruction and Thea sets out to make the stone herself to cure her mother, but with the revolution in France heating up she must go to England to stay with a father who doesn't know she exists. Everyone wants Thea's knowledge of the stone, and some refuse to believe in the curse of madness. A curse that soon puts Thea's own sanity at risk.

The alchemy elements were fun. The idea of the stone causing madness made for high stakes and tension. The pacing was also snappy, which kept the story from dragging, but sometimes it felt a little too fast. Thea felt too different during the second half of the book, like she took a step back in character development, especially when it came to her love interest Will. We also get told about the French Revolution but the story didn't feel grounded in that time period enough, making the world feel more like an afterthought. The alchemy elements made me wish I liked this story and characters more since it had a lot of promise and the alchemy was the highlight of the story for me, but the characters just weren't working for me. This did leave me hungry for more alchemy books.

My thanks to the publisher for gifting me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I love a good Alchemist book pair with a strong female protagonist searching for the Philosophers Stone makes for a great recipe. The first half of this book is strong and then it begins an unfortunate slow decline. I’m not sure how I would improve this tale but if I were to change one thing it would be to get rid of Will’s character. He is superfluous and doesn’t anchor the story except to help drag it out. It’s a good young adult read but beyond that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first love is historical fiction so when magic/fantasy collide with it I am happy! This story of a young Thea opens up with her leaving her crazy wizardly mom behind in revolutionary France so she can find her father in England. Thea has learned a lot at her mother's skirts as an apprentice of alchemy and when she reaches her father in England that skill is all she has to her name.

That's entire purpose for living is to be loved by William Percy but more importantly to achieve the ultimate success in creating the magical Philosopher's Stone. Fame, health and fortune beckon as Thea pursues this potion but it has to be under the careful watch of captors of her beloved Will.

While there are a few threads of converging storylines with each of the characters the author does not digress far from focusing on the Golden Fury of what is the Philosopher's Stone. The plot is fairly straightforward and could be a double edged sword as it teeters towards lacking in depth but yet again it sticks to the point of the storyline. A Golden Fury is an intriguing debut novel with a spunky heroine in Thea who makes it easy to be invested in her quest, so much so that if there is a sequel I'm on board!
http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2020/09/a-golden-fury-by-samantha-cohoe.html will not post until Sept 7 2020

I haven't read anything like this book. I don't see a lot of books about alchemy, and a plot involving female alchemists? Looks like this is my first. I loved the writing and the side characters, Dominic especially. I found Valentin intriguing as well and would love to have seen more interactions between him and Thea. I found the beginning of this to be quite slow but it picked up easily. The events that happened in the middle surprised me, I wasn't expecting the plot to transpire the way it did. Except what happened with Will, it was not a shock and the plot involving him and Thea became kind of repetitive. The family dynamics here were also interesting, I wanted to see more of Thea's relationship with her mother and estranged father. As for the main character, Thea, herself, I thought she was naive but her struggles? they felt very real. Overall, I thought this was a good book and definitely not a bore!

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3/3.5 stars.

The idea of a female alchemist chasing the Philosophers Stone and proving herself amongst her peers with a pinch of magical surrealism, really called to me. Sadly I felt that there was something missing.

Thea began as a very intriguing, intelligent, bold character and I'm not sure what happened but halfway in, she dwindled, and became very one note.

The depth of her co characters became far more intriguing than her own. Valentin bringing a good amount of mystery, depth and intrigue which made interactions more bearable between characters.

I still really enjoyed the premise behind it, and I think there were some really good moments and dynamics between characters. I could relate to the relationship Thea had with her Mother and I think that aspect/motivation is what held my interest most. I was just missing a feeling of satisfaction overall by the end.

*DNF @ 65%*
This had a great idea of the Philosopher's Stone being cursed when an alchemist makes it and how the protagonist tries to figure out after her mother goes mad from making it. While I love the idea of this historical fantasy, I have read much better like "The Gilded Wolves", "Enchantee" and "The Lady Rogue" that actually immerse you into the time period from the world building, culture, clothing but this book doesn't do that. The world is very bland and not well pictured and honestly this was more moving than expected. Plus the main character is pretty one dimensional with being too angry, critical and making sure things go her way. I did read the last couple chapters to see how it ended but it wasn't great. This book has a stunning cover but it's ultimately a disappointment...

First, I want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of A Golden Fury in exchange for an honest review. This book had been on my TBR and I was so excited to be accepted for an ARC.

With that, I just finished the book and I absolutely LOVED it. It was everything I was hoping for: an exciting adventure, a strong (and more importantly, likeable) heroine, and enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. The concept of a female alchemist and the Philosopher's Stone all agains the backdrop of the eve of the French Revolution? SIGN ME UP. The writing was easy to read and well done and I really enjoyed the scenes Cahoe painted with her descriptions. The author wrote the narrative in such a way that I was riding along with Thea as her relationship with various characters developed in different ways.

This was an awesome read and I can’t wait to add this book to my shelves!