An action-packed and super queer romantasy in a world of ancient magic, hostile factions, and danger. I loved the characters at the heart of this book and the romantic aspects. The queerness feels authentic and compelling. As for the fantasy parts, it felt somehow both difficult to follow and predictable. I was fully into it by the big action scene at the end, but I was surprised by how things were wrapped up in the final chapter, leaving readers with much less of a cliffhanger than I expected. I'm not sure where this series is headed in the next book, but I'm intrigued!

Rating: 3.5/5

I enjoyed this book, but it felt a little underdeveloped for my personal tastes. I think this book will work best for anyone new to fantasy or someone wanting to see diverse characters in a fantasy setting.

Quality-wise, the book had a bad case of showing, not telling. The writing style in general took a bit for me to adjust to, as the sentences were very punchy and to the point, without much room for detail and prose. The world-building also read on the weaker side, with vague notions of political structure and alchemy levels. However, I may have only seen it this way as I tend to prefer adult fantasy and I do believe this is an appropriate amount of world-building for a YA novel.

The magic system had some good and bad to it. I think generally the idea of being able to conjure whatever you can think of with very few clearly set limitations is too broad and creates a lot of plot holes and plot convenience in the story. It’s not often explained why or how the main character can do something, he simply does it without explanation, which felt too oversimplified to me. However, I did enjoy the concept of the tiers of magic, especially the base tier of magic being simply existing and breathing- I thought that detail was very cute and sweet!

Similar to my previous point, I don’t believe this novel does anything exceptional with the medium of fantasy. By that, I mean it doesn’t push the boundaries of the genre and there is no mind-bending magic system or intricate plot. However, where I believe it does shine is introducing a cast of wonderfully diverse characters into a fantasy setting. With this, I was impressed with how the author handled Ramsay's pronouns. Having a genderfluid character that frequently switches pronouns could be very confusing in the wrong hands, but I thought it was very clearly shown what they were presenting as at a given time.

While usually being my least favorite thing in fantasy novels, the romance in this novel ended up being my favorite thing about it! I thought it was such a fun, inclusive, and refreshing way to approach a love triangle, especially when they're so overused in YA. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters' dynamic together and loved them as a throuple. I think the only downfall was because of the plot and the way the love interests were introduced separately, neither of them felt like they got the time to fully develop.

Overall, I believe this book is perfectly written for YA audiences, and while the fantasy elements may not be the strongest, the representation makes up for it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGallery for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with this book so much. I had such high hopes for it. It was queer. It was magical. It used "alchemy." But ultimately it just didn't live up to its potential.

I loved that our MC, Ash, was a trans boy and that he was in a polyamorous relationship with Ramsey who is gender fluid, and Callum, who is pansexual (?). I love that the character's identities and sexualities are not the main focus of the story and are not questioned by society or other characters. This book should be queer joy yet I felt like the romance struggled with the plot. Both were vying for attention and neither seemed to be winning. I could see that potential in each, but when put together they didn't make a complete story. The romance felt so clunky and too insta-love for me. It felt much more like physical attraction to each other rather than emotional attraction. Which is not bad, but felt weird when all three characters are saying 'I love you' to each other within a two week span of knowing each other. I didn't really find any of the main three truly likable enough to care enough about them and their relationship.
My other big complaint was the magic system. This was not Alchemy in the traditional sense. I think I could have managed to enjoy it if not for the explanation of how the magic works. It's said that the three key elements for 'alchemy' are imagination, belief, and power. There's not much more explanation than that. It feels like a copout for creating a complex magic system. I had no idea how the characters were using their powers other than imagining the thing happening. There's a whole tier system too, but I don't understand how it works with the elements of "imagination" and "belief."

I think this book could have been incredible. I didn't DNF it because I kept hoping it would turn around. I don't know if I would continue reading the rest of this series but I hope the author continues to write and work on their magical worlds.

Ash Woods has waited all his life to be an alchemist, but when he's rejected by the prestigious Lancaster Mage's College, he's forced to practice alchemy in secret.

INFINITY ALCHEMIST by Kacen Callender gives us Ash's story that at points will have you on the edge of your seat!

It's dangerous business, because alchemy is illegal in New Anglia, but to Ash it's worth the risk. He accepts the job as assistant groundskeeper at Lancaster, and perfects his craft in the shadows, eavesdropping on classes and practicing in secret. That is, until he's caught by Ramsay. Ramsay is the heir to the once-great Thorne family, fallen from grace when his parents committed the mass-murder of hundreds of people in pursuit of the famed Book of Source, which grants its reader unlimited and extraordinary power. Rather than turning Ash into the Reds, Ramsay offers him an alternative: he can help Ramsay find the Book of Source to clear his family's name and Ramsay will teach him alchemy in secret.

The problem is, there are some pretty powerful players who also want the Book of Source, and for far more nefarious reasons.

This was a stunning fantasy debut. The world building was heavy but also easy to follow along with, and you're totally immersed in the spirit of New Anglia and the fear and mistrust of alchemists. There are so many parallels to real life that, especially in the connection between House Loon and religious zealots that we've all likely encountered in our world. There's a lot of angst, and a lot of frustrating teenagers, but I think that all readers should keep in mind that these are teenagers. They're impulsive and frustrating and will absolutely drive you insane because they are actual children in a pretty freaking scary situation. They all have some pretty fickle feelings, especially in terms of relationships, but to me, that made it all the more realistic. I was all over the place as a teenager, so it tracks that teenaged characters would be, too! I also always love how, in all of the Kacen Callender books I've read so far, the villains are awful, but they're NEVER going to intentionally mis-gender someone, or be homophobic. They'll kill you, happily, but they're not going to stoop that low, which is such a lovely world that I wish would bleed over into our world. Respecting who someone is, even if they're your enemy, is just so, so, soooo inspiring to read. That's to say nothing of the diverse cast of LGBTQIA+, polyamorous, and people of color representation, which we know to expect and fall in love with in any book Kacen writes!

Kacen does a fantastic job of pace on this book--so much so that while listening to the audiobook, I couldn't have told you how long had passed, I was so invested in what was going to happen next that the book kind of flew by, even as it took me a few days because, ya know, life. I could've used some of Ash and Co's alchemic skills to take care of all of those, am I right?

Trust and believe, INFINITY ALCHEMIST will work its magic on you.

NOTE: I read an advanced copy of this book via audiobook, and any misspellings are unintentional. I did not, at the time of writing this review, have a text to reference. In addition, Ramsay Thorne is gender-fluid, and his pronouns change throughout the book. The pronouns in my review shift to fit my memory of Ramsay during the scenes I'm referencing. When asked which pronoun to use, Ramsay said something along the lines of, "however you last saw me." My changing of Ramsay's pronouns in this review is my attempt to respect those wishes and use the pronouns that were used in the scene as they happened.

Regrettably, my engagement with this book proved to be incomplete, as I found myself lacking interest in the unfolding narrative, ultimately leading to my decision not to finish the book. The storyline failed to capture my attention, and as a result, I opted to discontinue my reading journey. Consequently, I do not intend to recommend this particular book. While literary preferences can vary widely among readers, my own lack of interest in the narrative prevented me from fully engaging with the content and deriving satisfaction from the reading experience.

Rating
3.5/5

I loved the idea for this book. I loved the idea of the characters and the storyline, but the book itself fell short. I felt like a lot of this book wasn’t fully fleshed out. I don’t feel like I knew the characters well, and I wish there was more time spent getting to know them. I also didn’t feel the chemistry between characters, the relationships felt rushed. I wish this book had spent more time slowing everything down. Spent more time describing the characters, learning about them, seeing them interact with each other. Even if that had meant putting the plot of this novel into two books, I feel like it could have helped. If this book had just gotten a couple more drafts to develop the characters and their relationships more than I feel like this could truly be a spectacular story.

That being said I did really enjoy the ideas behind this story and I’m interested to see the future books that this author writes.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy of this book for me in exchange for an honest review.

Very sad I didn’t love this book as much as I thought I would. The world building and prose was beautiful! But the execution of things left much to be desired. The pacing was also a killer for me and had me struggling to get through this book. It at times felt very disjointed and would take me right out of the book.
I did absolutely love the relationship and representation in this book as well as the world Kacen created. When these things were shining through I was really enjoying it!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Infinity Alchemist is an interesting queer YA fantasy book with trans characters and polyamory, and while it leans towards the younger side of YA it’s still an interesting, unique read worth checking out.
 
The world & magic:
One of my favorite parts of this story with the world – it’s magic system is complex and everyone has access to Source (their magic system) but only certain people are allowed to use it. (I would be in trouble in this world bc if I could wield magic I definitely wouldn’t follow the rules LOL). The magic system is so cool and complex – I only wish there was more explanation or even a guide to the Houses or tiers in the book – that would have made it easier to follow.
 
Sexuality and Relationships:
This world is also highly Queer-normative which I appreciated a lot. There’s plenty of elitism and classism but gender, sexuality, and relationships are widely accepted and normalized within this society.  There is a trans MMC,  a gender fluid MC who literally switched between their presenting gender and a pan MMC - all of this is no big deal and I loved it. it makes sense tho that this book would have a love triangle seeing as how the literally symbol of the book was a triangle LOLLL and to be clear, in a love triangle I am almost always a fan of the first relationship but in this case I’m team throuple LOL. 



The characters:
These characters were all late teens/early 20's  but they felt much younger because they all, Ash especially, whined at every turn about their lot in life and continued to make the absolute dumbest decisions possible. Ash, Ramsey and Callum were all really interesting and dynamic characters but when they got together they seemed incapable of remembering they had a job to do lol. I really loved that they were all queer in different ways tho and that we got POVs from Ash and Ramsey which gave a unique voice to each of them and their differing struggles within the story. 


The Pacing:
The pacing felt ……. strange. The story was slow going in the beginning which was fine seeing as how we are learning about the world, the magic and the characters…..then suddenly a lot would happen then it would slow down again. I was getting anxiety during slow times waiting for some major drop. I wish the faster pieces had gotten stretched over more pages to give more detail and tension.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing me with a digital ARC of Infinity Alchemist in exchange for an honest review!
For whatever reason, when I requested this I was under the assumption it was an adult fantasy. But it is very much a YA. I have loved Callender’s contemporary work with Felix Ever After being one of my all time favorite books. But I really struggled to get into this one. The story felt like it started in the wrong place, and I wasn’t given enough cohesive detail with the worldbuilding to ever feel like I had a grasp on the world. This made it really hard to connect with the characters. I didn’t particularly care for Ash. He felt like a character we’ve seen before and unfortunately we spend the majority of our time with him. I found Ramsay to be more interesting and would have preferred to spend more time with her.
The writing style was very much telling which also made it hard to feel immersed in the book. All the cool details we did get were told and not experienced, which led to pages of info dumps and some times info that contradicted itself. There were a lot of interesting things about the world with the alchemy and the positive portrayal of queerness, but it just wasn’t presented in an interesting way.
I might go back to this one when I’m in a different mood, but as of now I have no desire to keep reading. DNF’d at 15%.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars--

I was excited to finally read some of Callender's YA after having read their adult fantasy duology. And despite the fact that Infinity Alchemist reads quite young (think edging into middle grade), I wasn't disappointed. Ash is a young, orphaned trans teen who yearns to study alchemy (i.e. magic), but was denied entrance to the elite college for alchemy, and therefore, his only legal path to receiving a license to practice alchemy. And incidentally, also his chance of meeting the wealthy alchemist father who took advantage of his deceased mother and abandoned them both. Instead, hoping to be close to the world of his dreams, he takes a job as a groundskeeper at the college, where he also practices alchemy in secret. When Ash is caught practicing alchemy by Ramsay Thorne, an outcast graduate assistant, he agrees to help him find a possibly mythical book that grants unthinkable power to the alchemist who reads it. Along the way, Ash falls for her (Thorne switches genders approx. once a day, keep up!). And also for her ex-boyfriend, Callum.

Yes, you heard that right. Infinity Alchemist is really truly a romantasy. A sweet, dramatic, teen, queer, polyamorous throuple romantasy. Which, I think, explains why it's hard to place this book on the age spectrum. It's probably hard to sell poly relationship representation to the YA and middle grade sets. But the writing and characters feel young. Not in a bad way. This is just certainly about a bunch of teens with chips on their shoulders, trying to prove something to themselves and the world, while also having BIG FEELINGS and BIG HORMONES. And grappling with moral complexities for the first time. And I enjoyed every minute of it. It's fast-paced, fun, and thought-provoking to young and old alike.

I loved the ~gender magic~ whereby anyone can use low-level alchemy to simply non-verbally broadcast their current gender to those they interact with. I loved the normalization of queer poly love. I loved the chosen family that three characters who shared traumatic childhoods got to create. I appreciated the tough questions about power, hierarchies, and whether the ends justify the means. I also appreciated--with a heavier heart--the treatment of hard subject matter, including grooming and abuse.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

*gifted ARC* I loved this!!!! These characters are so real and loveable. They’re layered and messy and interesting and I love them so much. The queer, trans, and poly rep in this made my heart feel warm and fuzzy. & I love seeing BIPOC main characters kick ass. The magic system was the teeniest bit vague for me, I don’t like not really knowing how things work. But I totally understand why it is this way, and I think as long as you’re okay with not knowing all of the specifics you won’t be bothered by it. I do think that at times it was really focused on the relationships and I wish there were more fast paced plot points, but I loved the relationships so much that I ate this book up anyway. The open communication these characters have with themselves and each other was so awesome to see. Yes, there were secrets and arguments, but they didn’t rely on miscommunication and I really loved that. I had so much fun with this & 1000% recommend it!

The book had a captivating world and mesmerizing magic. The author has crafted a dystopian society where power and control rule everything.

Now, let's address the elephant in the room - the slow start, this story gradually builds up its momentum, but it does take awhile so keep that in mind. The descriptions of both the characters and the world around them come to life. Sure, the plot may not be groundbreaking for those of us who mainly read fantasy, but this book compensates with its exceptional character development, diverse cast, and heartwarming relationships.

Definitely worth the read and I'm interested in what comes next.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Kacen Callendar has their young adult fantasy debut with Infinity Alchemist. Readers follow Ash as he navigates a world where unlicensed alchemy, the only kind available to him, is illegal. As Ash stumbles into an opportunity to be formally taught alchemy, he also begins to see the webs of secrets and corruption on which his society is built. It doesn't take long for Ash to realize that these secrets could easily cost the lives of Ash, his friends, and whole cities worth of people.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I wanted to DNF around 35%, but powered through. Things did get better, but overall I found this reading experience to be a bit cluttered.

First, I recognize I am not the target age demographic for this book. But also, I'm not sure if that would make much difference given the issues I had. I found the pacing to be incredibly uneven. The start was slow and full of dense info-dumping, then falling into an action-filled zealous middle space, and a tidy little wrap up within the last 30ish pages. There was certainly room left for a sequel, but the combined effect of this pacing was unsatisfying. Ash was a frustrating, hot-headed character, but he is young and stupid, as so many are at his age. Ramsay was equally this sort of character, to me, which compounded the issue. Conceptually, the book should have been amazing, but the execution seemed to fall a bit short for me.

What I liked was the representation of queerness. Ash is transmasc and Ramsay is gender fluid, often shifting gender identity day by day. Both characters were handled with the appropriate respect both by the author and, for the most part, by other characters as well. I also liked the introduction of potential for a polyamorous triad with Callum and the way the three characters were open to each other.

I do hope this book finds its audience, but I think that readers who frequent the fantasy genre may share my frustrations. I look forward to exploring Callendar's backlist as I have heard wonderful things about their other works.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. I poured through this in three days. Good worldbuilding and characters. Interesting thruple. I would definitely recommend.

DNF @ 53%. I really thought I would love this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I was intrigued at first because of the interesting world-building, the magic system that reminded me a bit of the Force from Star Wars, and the really diverse queer rep. Unfortunately, the characters felt really flat to me, despite having interesting backstories and being thrown into compelling circumstances. The romance was a bit too insta, and I didn't think the characters had very good chemistry. I also just found the story really boring and reading it began to feel like a chore. Rather than end up in a slump, I decided to stop reading and move on to something else.

This is a new YA fantasy from Kacen Calendar that is set in a world where all people have magic but only a few select people have powerful magic. We follow Ash who gets a job as a groundskeeper assistant at a university and practices alchemy in secret but he gets himself mixed up in something dangerous when it stumbles upon something in a professors office. It’s dark, there’s forbidden magic, and there’s some dystopian elements mixed in as well but I found it hard to connect with the characters themselves.

There was a lot to love about The Infinity Alchemist. This story has some of the best representation of LGBTQIA+ characters of color in a fantasy novel that I have read, and I also just read Faebound, which has some solid representation. We have a trans MMC, a genderfluid MC, and what seems to be a pan MMC. From what I have been reading from other ARC readers, the genderfluidity of Ramsay is very well-portrayed with pronouns shifting oftentimes from chapter to chapter. The world appears to be queernormative, but there were not any background characters that I can remember also being queer. The romance side of this story sometimes feels more developed than the fantasy side of the story, even including a polyamorous relationship - not a love triangle.

Though the magic system feels more nebulous at times (ala Lord of the Rings with Gandalf doing whatever needs to be done), I still very much enjoyed this. Since this is a YA novel, I did not come in expecting adult-level explanations of the magic. What we get is enough to understand how rare or hard it is to be able to do certain actions - which leads to some incredulity over Ash’s abilities as he is not even trained as an alchemist, yet is extremely powerful “naturally.” This is my biggest hangup on the story, but I also see Ash as the “chosen one” trope in a way - with no prophecy. In this sense, it makes sense for Ash to have this power and be able to do what needs to be done.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this story and if you’re looking for a YA Fantasy story that has queer BIPOC representation, check out The Infinity Alchemist.

The only other book I've read by Kacen Callender is Felix Ever After, so of course this was very different! But, different in a good way! Callender was able to expertly build a magic world and weave an interesting story with in depth characters at the same time. And I of course enjoyed the LGBT+ rep. I would definitely recommend this book!

"'Yes,' Ash said. 'The wealthy and powerful are willing to step on the backs of others to get where they are.'"

Infinity Alchemist is a YA fantasy about a world where magic is controlled by the elite and one boy has the desire to change that.
While there were a few scenes that intrigued me, I think the biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing. Some parts seemed to drag on forever, whereas the final climax lasted about thirty seconds. Overall, it felt like the novel was more character-driven than plot-driven. Most of the scenes developed character rather than plot, which personally isn't my favorite thing.
Unfortunately, the characters also fell a bit flat for me. I'm going to be honest when I say I accidentally skimmed through some of the dialogue (because I wanted more plot scenes), and so even though the book felt character-driven, I didn't connect to any of the characters. The cast is very diverse and queer, which is a bonus, but I just couldn't relate much to them.
While Infinity Alchemist wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I can see it being very enjoyable for other people. If you're looking for a character-driven story with a queer cast and plenty of magic, this book is for you.
2.5/5

In the land of New Anglia, the divide between those with power and influence and those without is sharp and deep. And even though eighteen-year-old Ash has skills in alchemy, his background makes it impossible to legally practice and improve his abilities. So, instead of becoming a student at Lancaster College, Ash gets a job as a groundskeeper, scrounging what information he can as he cares for the sprawling grounds. But when the infamous Ramsay Thorne discovers the immensity of Ash’s alchemical prowess, the two form a tenuous agreement to secretly work together to find the fabled Book of Source. They are not the only people in search of the Book, however, and as the stakes are raised, they must learn how much they need to trust each other in order to survive.

This gripping young adult fantasy features a broad assortment of diverse characters. Told from multiple points of view, the narrative includes several characters of color, coupled with a variety of gender identities and romantic persuasions, as well. These inclusions enrich the storytelling, especially as they add greater complexity to the relationships and interactions taking place throughout the novel. As readers get to know the characters, empathy grows for them and their unique and complicated situations within the starkly divided world in which they reside.

As a fantasy story, this novel spends a good amount of time on the world-building component, immersing readers in an unfamiliar society that nonetheless shares multiple similarities with reality. A map and other pre-matter help provide reference points for readers, and the narrative itself draws readers in through well-crafted language and an excellent delivery overall. It is refreshing to observe characters who see the faults in their world amass the bravery required to disrupt those flaws, and readers will be cheering for each character’s success throughout the novel. The book is best suited to mature young adult and older readers due to the use of occasional strong language and intense subject matter. Filled with heart, conviction, and riveting storytelling, this young adult fantasy adventure is not to be missed.