I loved this book & am shocked that this is the author's debut novel. I can tell you that I have added Samantha Cohoe to my radar for sure.

Thea Hope is a strong willed budding alchemist (but is she really budding because she's awesome).

She has created what no one else has created and the Stone wants her for it. Follow this journey through England during a time that women weren't encouraged to use their brilliant minds. Thea is such a likable character!

This book is well written and kept me turning page after page after brilliant page.

This was pretty good. I would give it a 3.5 if I could.

Alchemy in general is an intriguing concept, and Thea was a dynamic, complex character. The motivations of her own ambition and her conflicting desires to both eclipse her mother and earn her mother's love were interesting.

I didn't LOVE any of the characters, really, but there's a lot to like.

There was a love plot, kind of, but most of the time Thea is seeing everyone around her as either friends or enemies, and she ends up still single at the end. I can easily imagine how it might have been done terribly, especially with everything hinging on Will's betrayal, so I'm grateful for how matter-of-fact and lowkey everything was handled. Dominic really got the short end of the stick, being trapped in madness for such a long time and also used as a diversion at the risk of his life.

The Philosopher's Stone as some sentient, malevolent being from another plane of existence was interesting. Also I was a big fan of Thea's dynamic with her father, who initially gave in to his greed but turned out to be a nice and sincere person who I liked a lot. It was great that even after his change of heart he still took a background role, supporting her.

I really enjoyed this book! The story sucked me right in and the beautiful writing serves the narrative seamlessly. The fact that Thea's character is motivated by her own desire for achievement and acknowledgment in her work as well as by complex personal relationships really sets her apart as a heroine in this genre. I also love that those relationships include a difficult and demanding mother, an ambiguous and potentially disastrous love interest, AND a platonic friendship with a boy. Issues like sexism and classism come up organically in the context of the story and are handled with thoughtful reflection, and there's an interesting twist on the chosen one trope. Highly recommend!

Stunning, magical book, kept me hooked from start to finish and I couldn't put it down even to go to sleep. Reminds me of Naomi Novik and Libba Bray! Only downside is the many wrong italian words throughout the book, some are used exclusively in modern dialects, it could be fixed so easily and I hope it will be since the publication date is still far away.

Thea is the daughter of a world famous alchemist who develops mental health issues while trying to create the infamous Philosopher's Stone, a substance believed to bestow long-life to its creator but that is cursed to drive the unworthy insane. For centuries, no one has been able to create it successfully but Thea is up for the challenge. In order to help restore her mother's sanity, Thea endeavors to create the Philosophers Stone herself, with the assistance of a few other alchemists.

I had a difficult time getting fully engaged with this particular book. Thea was just not a very like able character. She seemed very two dimensional and rather emotionless towards most of the other characters. Thea is very young and determined, but I found myself shaking my head at the way she interacted with others. The ending of the story left things rather unresolved. The pace of the book was good and the overall writing I liked, Just didn't care for the storyline as much as I was hoping but O would definitely try reading another book by the same author.

Thanks NetGalley and the St. Martin's Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for this honest review. This is a decent book, written in an engaging manner. The pacing is good, and the book is easy to follow. I like a book like "A Golden Fury" that has short chapters, which makes it easier to pick it up and read at any time.

I didn't realize it was a "Young Adult" book until after I requested and read the ARC. (I do like a good YA book, and don't treat an YA book any differently than I would an adult book.)

Had I known it in advance, it would've made me more patient with Thea, the main character of the book. After the first quarter of the book, I was getting annoyed by her behavior, which seemed at times irrational and inexplicable. Of course, Thea is a young adult herself, so her behavior maybe more relatable to the younger audiences.

I'm honestly trying to figure out how I feel about this book. On one hand, it was a solidly written book. It wasn't a bad read at all, but it wasn't great either. On the other hand, the characters felt very devoid of any personality. Granted, the book is written in the POV of Thea, who is rather an unemotional person, but at the same time... there was something just lacking.

Thea is an alchemist who has figured out how to make the legendary Philosopher's Stone. Which is great except for the part where to make the stone, you need to lose your mind. She's also (rather stupidly) in love with a man named Will. When she is sent from her home by her crazy (no, literally, crazy) mother, she eventually ends up back with Will. Hijinks ensue.

I think one of my problems with this book is that the characters never learn from their mistakes. Thea keeps making the same decisions and the same mistakes over and over again. She claims (and is shown to be) reasonably intelligent, so the fact that she keeps doing this is beyond frustrating. You would think she would learn from her mistakes, but she never actually does.

The characters themselves are very flat. I'm not sure if this was Cohoe's intention because of the narration POV, but regardless, it was hard to care about any of them.

My other issue with the book is that there is a lack of resolution. The book simply ends. There are dozens of loose ends left, and this seems to be a standalone book. As a reader, I felt rather let down. Thea ends up going on this whole journey and, in the end, she doesn't get a satisfying conclusion. I'm not sure if Cohoe was trying to leave it a little open in hopes of getting the go-ahead to write a sequel or a companion novel, or if she was hoping that the abrupt openness of the ending was supposed to be symbolic of something. Regardless of intentions, for me, it didn't work.

I couldn't finish. I just didn't connect with the characters at all. I'm a historian, so I'm probably more critical of historical fiction than many, but the female characters acted like modern women thrown into the 18th century, and I couldn't get past that. I teach history of science as one of my courses and was excited to read something dealing with alchemy, but this.... just felt contrived.

I do think Cohoe's a good writer - the prose is polished and the narrative seemed to move along at a fast pace. The plot just wasn't for me.

I had the opportunity to read Samantha Cohoe's <i>A Golden Fury</i> prior to its publication. Although I thank the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book, the review is completely my own.

I wasn't completely sure what I was going to get with <i>A Golden Fury</i>. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of a period-piece fantasy book (more of an urban fantasy guy). However, I really liked this book. The characters were well developed and interesting. I also appreciated that everyone in the book is flawed on some level, which makes the characters have more depth.

The story itself centers on a young alchemist named Thea and her quest (along with everyone else's) to create the mythical philosopher's stone. There's just one catch. Everyone who tries to create the stone goes mad in the process. Ultimately, this is a book about love, betrayal, and learning the truth about yourself and others.

As for the writing, it's pretty straightforward and uncomplicated. As such, I think its targeted YA audience will have no problems reading and understanding the book itself. Personally, I read the book over a couple of evenings, so it's a pretty fast read. I definitely think this book is going to do well when it's released to the general public.

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I was reading the book from beginning to end, I could not help but think Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark but in the job of an alchemist instead of an architect. The relationship Thea had with her mom and Thea's passion and desire to become one of the best but when she and her mom come close to their travels to retrieve the stone, her mom gives into the madness and destroys the stone. For safety, Thea is sent to Oxford to live with her father except there is one problem; he does not even know she exists. Now with other alchemists in search for the stone and Thea warning them about the curse, they completely ignore Thea and are now in deep in the madness. Thea now becomes the alchemist most wanted and having her knowledge stolen from her she has no choice but to recreate the stone or the people she loves are set to die. I could not put this book down and every chapter was a surprise. I thought it would be on the predictable side following the storyline of Raiders of the Lost Ark but this was far from it. My eyes were glued to the pages from beginning to end.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This book was well paved and held my attention the whole time! I liked the character dynamic as well as how relatable the characters were as a reader. I thought it was a nice rendition of the Philosopher's Stone!

Samantha Cohoe's debut is a historical fantasy about the search for the elusive Philosopher's Stone. It showcases strong characters set in a vibrant world. Thea and her mother nearly have the Stone and its riches in their grasp when Thea's mother destroys their work in a fit of insanity. Thea learns that this is the curse of the Stone - madness to anyone attempting to create it. Now it's up to Thea to stop others before they too suffer the curse.

I deeply enjoyed this dark and sometimes gruesome story. Thea is an amazing heroine. The writing is crisp and lyrical. I loved all of the detailed and nuanced characters. It's not a topic or a time period I've spent a lot of time in but that made it especially fresh and engaging.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the E-arc copy of A Golden Fury. It is a wonderful debut novel from what I hope to see is an author with great writing detail.
#AGoldenFury
#NetGalley

The concept of the philosopher’s stone has been a part of several famous stories, and I liked the overall plot structure very much. I loved how alchemy sucked these characters in and never let go. I never felt invested or connected to the characters, however. The pacing is nice and it is easy to follow, but it’s not a stand-out for me.

A Golden Fury has a fantastic concept and absolutely delivers with a vibrant cast and equally vibrant prose. There is so much to love in Thea and her interactions with the people and world around her and I enjoyed each moment of following her journey.

I loved this. I’m a big fan of alchemy in historical fantasy and this was perfect. The writing was lyrical and lovely, the pace was fast and thrilling and the characters were engaging. This had a strong historical setting and plenty of gore as a murder mystery unravels in the midst of the fantasy. An excellent book.