The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Pages: 416

Publisher: Hodderscape 

Released: 25th of October 2023 

You cannot create good without also creating evil.

Zilan dreams of becoming a royal alchemist, of providing for her family by making alchemical gold and gems for the wealthy to eat in order to stay young forever. But for now, she's trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, practicing an illegal form of alchemy to keep food on the table - resurrecting the dead, for a price.

When Zilan finally has the chance to complete her imperial exams, she ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country in tasks she'll be lucky to survive, let alone pass. On top of that, her reputation for raising the dead has followed her, and the Crown Prince himself seeks out her help, suspecting a coming assassination attempt.

The more Zilan succeeds in her alchemy, the more she gets caught in the dangerous political games of the royal family. There are monsters lurking within the palace walls, and it's only a matter of time before they - and secrets of Zilan's past - catch up with her.

A dark YA fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China, where alchemy has led to income inequality as the rich eat gold to achieve eternal youth, and a poor biracial girl with the ability to raise the dead gets caught up in the dangerous political games of the royal family.

What I Have to Say 

This was so good. I couldn't guess how it would end at all. I'm so excited for the next book because I want to see what happened next so bad. 

The alchemy was interesting. It took the concept of transmuting objects such a metals or gemstones and took it onto a whole different level. I was fascinated to see everything that Zilan did with it. I want to see more of this world and more ways of using the different materials for different purposes. 

I loved the characters so much. Zilan was such a strong character and Yufei was one of my favourites. The Prince was maybe a little dull, but the other characters more than made up for it. 

4 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Hodderscape for providing me with this gifted copy for review.