I was so looking forward to this one - a female alchemist? Sign me up. But there was something that stopped me from continuing on my read. It's so disappointing and I don't think it's the author's fault - I just couldn't get into it!

Unfortunately, I really struggled getting into this story, and never really bonded with the characters so ended up DNF'ing at around 20%

A free eARC was provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for a review. I did enjoy this and went on to purchase my own ebook or A Golden Fury. My apologies for a very long wait.

I don't really know how the title connects to the story, unless it refers to the Philosopher's Stone presence/influence on alchemists or it's making involving mustard yellow smoke and madness (which a Fury in Roman and Greek myth may bring about in their vengeance against a murderer)...

Theosebeia Hope is her mother Marguerite Hope's shadow, a famous alchemist she's taught her daughter everything she knows as she's gone from rich patron to rich patron, leaving many sponsors and lovers behind, including There's father - who doesn't know she exists, Professor Edward Vellacott of Oxford.

Yet she must turn to him when her mother goes mad in the making of the Philosopher's Stone. With her she has notes for the making of White Elixir and how to finish the Stone, a hope for the cure for the madness of her mother.

Yet Thea has been disappointed before and Professor Vellacott doesn't take to his new role as a father figure with any promise, his assistant Dominic is more helpful to Thea offering her a room and friendship. When Vallacott doesn't listen and ignores Thea's warning signs of madness in his alchemist partner Bentivoglio it's a fatal mistake and makes Dominic a murder.

Thea must flee to her mother's once apprentice who claims to love her. Will, a man who's fallen into a hell of his own making and who will drag Thea and Dominic into even more danger than the madness that awaits in making the Philosopher's Stone.

In the end I do hope there's a follow up story some day with Rahel and Valentin’s meeting Thea again, or Dominic!

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe is a young adult historical fantasy. I was initially drawn in by the stunning cover art. References to alchemy in the synopsis also intrigued me. This was a solid option in the genre. Ultimately, I did not find it to stand out too much for me. Still, with some unique ideas and beautifully writing, I would definitely recommend this to fantasy fans.

Thea Hope aspires to become an alchemist and is studying under her mother. Together they've been working on creating the Philosopher's Stone when Thea's mother when her mother has a mental breakdown. Thea is sent to live with her father, a professor at Oxford, where Thea learns just how much her mother's notes on their work are worth.

I liked the combination of historical fiction and magical realism in this book. A Golden Fury was much more character driven than plot driven, which often works for me, but unfortunately this one missed the mark. The characters weren't very likeable, which I think made the lack of plot harder to look past.

A great reading experience.....yes, experience. The story revolves around a young woman alchemist adept and her work in the laboratory, first her mother's, then the lab in a London university. Set in the 1790's, the historical facts are close. Samantha Cohoe had to take a few liberties to keep the story moving forward. When our young chemist moves from France to London, her experiences will cause her to doubt her skills and question her mother's achievements. But she will work through these challenges to find her place in history.

I could not get into this book unfortunately. DNF at 27%. It definitely had elements that could work for some, but the writing style did not work for me.

At the time I requested this book it sounded interesting, but I no longer find it as intriguing as I once did. I won't be able to fully review this one. Thank you for the early access though!

Thea Hope is the daughter of an alchemist and an aspiring and talented alchemist in her own right. When her mother goes mad in pursuit of creating the Philosopher's Stone, Thea decides that she will finish what her mother started. But as she begins to feel the effects of madness herself, Thea must decide whether to complete the stone or risk death for those she loves.

There was a lot I liked about this book. I know basically nothing about alchemy so I found this plot to be very exciting and different. Thea herself is also very likable, so I was rooting for her the whole time. Many supporting characters were quite interesting and fun as well. I do think having Dominic basically disappear for the second half of the book is tragic though.

I found myself slightly confused at the ending, parts felt wrapped up and others didn't. I almost expected this to be a series, but I don't think it is. Oh well, bummer for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for the eARC in exchange for my review. So sorry it took a year for me to read it.

A Golden Fury is inventive and bring a unique story to life. Thea is head strong and wants nothing more than to follow in her mother's footsteps, but the more she digs into her notes on alchemy the more she learns that the tone should not be created by anyone lest the wish to be driven insane. Can she protect the magic to create the stone from those who wish to use it for bad or will she be pushed to destroy herself to save all she loves? Compelling writing. Love it!

I didn't think there was anything wrong with this book, per se, but it wasn't for me. I did not enjoy it for no other reason than personal preference, and I was unable to get fully invested in the story.

I did like the alternate history setting, the alchemy, and the little bits of politics interwoven in the background. I also liked how there was not the development of a romance in the traditional sense (Thea had a romantic interest who was just manipulating her and then she left him) because it was refreshing.

I wish we had seen more of Thea's relationship with her mother, the consequences of several things that happened and were just abandoned without wrapup once they had served plot purpose, and Dominic. The plot felt a bit repetitious at times - Thea made the Stone over and over, she fought madness over and over, she had the same internal conflict about Will over and over, and I felt like there was very little progression between them. I also did not feel like Thea grew very much as a character.

I’m so glad I finally read this book! As soon as a read the word ‘alchemy’ in the synopsis, I immediately wanted to read it. If you are also a fan of stories about alchemy then I think you’ll enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the historical setting of this book, and the fact that we followed a young girl in alchemy. Alchemy is predominately a male dominated field, so it was cool that two of the most powerful alchemists were both women. This book was also very adventures and took us to so many places. We got to travel to France, Oxford, and London. The descriptions of the places, specifically Oxford, took me right back to when I was there.

I like how this story centered around there being a curse in making the philosopher’s stone. It was interesting to see how the curse affected different people and how the power would go to their heads. Initially there were so many characters introduced it was hard to keep everything straight. When I started the story I was worried I wouldn’t be able to follow along because it felt like we just jumped right into the middle of a scene. I caught up pretty quickly though, and after that initial hesitation, I really enjoyed the writing and the story.

It wasn't my favorite, I found it hard to connect to the characters and the pacing was really off. I did think the story was super unique and Thea was a different type of character.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. It didn't seem fair for me to review a book that I didn't finish.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Did not influence my review.

I liked A Golden Fury. I thought it was an entertaining read and I enjoyed the historically aspect as well as the time period setting. I struggled with pacing yet I did enjoy the female protagonist and the alchemical components of the story.

Quite an interesting and fascinating debut novel! The cover and the description attracted me at first and I had high expectations. The first half was pretty good, but it falls flat in the latter part. I loved the characters, the description and the plot but wasn't too keen on the romance. That really lessened my enthusiasm for this one as romance is quite important for me in my books(even if it's not the main focus). So, I wasn't really too fond of the love interest and I think it could have been done better!

This was a did not finish due to not expecting the content. It was not a book I was able to get into after all.

This book was “just ok”. I didn’t feel connected to the story or the characters. I think the cover art is absolutely stunning and that’s what originally drew me to the book. I would recommend it because I enjoyed the general story!

I kept picking this book up and putting it back down. It's not that it wasn't a good premise - it was! I love the idea that was behind the book. I loved all the details that were included. However, for some reason, this just wasn't the book for me. Something didn't gel and just wasn't a book for me. I highly recommend it for anybody who loves twisty plots!

A GOLDEN FURY transports the reader to eighteenth-century Europe where magic is entwined with danger. From beginning to end, this book was superb.