Nina and Patrick first meet at the age of 12, whisked away to Belavere City to undergo a traditional rite of passage. Here, children discover their calling: the alchemical magic of the Artisans or the essential yet undervalued work of the Craftsmen. But, as they wait to find their fate, Nina and Patrick uncover a devastating secret, one that threatens not just their own future, but the very fabric of the society in which they live.
Nina chooses silence, and is rewarded with the Artisan role she has longed for. Patrick, meanwhile, returns home to his Craftsmen family and the mines they can never seem to escape. But the seed of rebellion has been planted, and when they finally reunite as adults, war feels inevitable. And Nina still isn’t sure which side she’s on.
Stacey McEwan‘s A Forbidden Alchemy is a Peaky Blinders-esque romantasy, blending an alchemical magic system with class warfare and slow burn romance. It’s a true page-turner, with some interesting world-building and a solid collection of characters – be prepared for Patrick’s brother Donny to steal your heart!
The novel presents us with a dual POV, splitting duties between Patrick and Nina, though Nina does the bulk of the heavy lifting until we reach Patrick’s hometown of Kenton Hill. It’s a good choice, with Patrick remaining a mystery to us as Nina navigates the shining world of Belavere City, designed to make her compliant but never quite succeeding in crushing her Scurry upbringing.
It sounds defiant, to describe in that way, but the reality for Nina is much more tragic; it’s a crisis of identity, the tale of person with a foot in each world, but never fitting in in either, all of a sudden being forced to choose a side. A Forbidden Alchemy may play her indecisiveness up a tad, and it can get a little frustrating just begging her to say something – ANYTHING – but it’s compelling nonetheless, and a much more interesting foil to Patrick than having a character who is Artisan through and through in the role.
Patrick, too, is well developed, with McEwan eschewing the easy brooding rebel leader archetype to comment on the idea of choosing loyalty over morality, and of how upbringing can inform a person’s politics. Kenton Hill is, for all its heart and innovation, is an echo chamber, with just about everyone deferring to Patrick and his family. The us or them mindset guides Patrick and his closest team, and Nina, with her blended upbringing, throws a metaphorical spanner in the works – not least because the simmering attraction between them is so undeniable.
The pacing niggles a little, and I did end up preferring Patrick’s narrative over Nina’s, but these are really quite minor gripes. Overall, A Forbidden Alchemy is an inventive and engaging entry into the romantasy genre, with a finale that sets us up perfectly for the next in the series.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Stacey McEwan’s A Forbidden Alchemy is out now through Atria Australia/Simon & Schuster. Grab yourself a copy from your local bookstore HERE
