There's a lot to like with Cohoe's <i>A Golden Fury</i>: the plot is well-paced and the stakes are certainly high (and believably so) for the characters. I also appreciated the unique idea of a female alchemist. The events of the book zip right along; with each chapter, I couldn't believe that next big thing Thea was facing WASN'T the climax. I was definitely invested in the story throughout. In addition, The Philosophers Stone and the descent into madness felt like natural, believable stakes for the characters and situation they were in. I was 100% onboard with Cohoe's authorly logic there.

The so-so: Thea herself is a middle of the road, okay character for me. She was believable, more or less. She was flawed, but smart and interesting, coming off pretty human, especially for a YA fantasy protagonist, so nicely done there, Cohoe. I *was* frustrated by some of her decision making that came off very juvenile, but I'm not sure if that's just the benefit/curse of being an adult reading a YA book or if some of her decisions, especially toward the latter half of the novel, really are that silly. I am okay with characters making poor choices, especially when it makes sense for the character, but I get frustrated when an otherwise logical, smart character makes crappy decisions for the sake of ~*the plot*~, which some of her choices seemed to do.

The bad: Thea's mother, the...er, romance?, and the historical setting itself. Thea's mother is the least believable character in the book. She's so "evil" its comical. She is a caricature of a person to set up Thea's trauma; her scenes were nearly unreadable for me because I was rolling my eyes. The romance (if I should call it that?) between Will and Thea was always cringe-worthy to me, and the last half to third of the book is just...not well done. And it felt like Cohoe was setting Valentin up to be a secondary love interest, but then it...went...nowhere. I guess either I wanted more romance or much less, not the weird middle ground that we actually got. And lastly, the historical setting/world itself felt more incidental than important. I never FELT like I was in the 18th century, just an Earth-adjacent fantasy world. There wasn't any one thing that made it unbelievable, just nothing that ever made it feel real, either. And to that end, alchemy and the Stone didn't make sense to me: there was no explanation for how they fit into the logic of the world. Worldbuilding is crucial for me to be invested in a historical fiction novel, and thanks to the the lack of that, I never could tell if I was supposed to believe this *was* a historical fiction novel, a magical realism novel, or a straight fantasy novel. To me, this is an issue, especially since the novel SEEMS to claim that magic used to be real and the events of the book are what cause its absence in our modern world.

So, all in all, a debut novel that I overall enjoyed. 3.5 / 5 stars for me. I'll be looking forward to the next book that Cohoe writes to see how her skills grow, though I don't know that this one is going on my shelf, personally.


I received my ebook copy of <i>A Golden Fury</i> from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine alone.

A Golden Fury is a strong debut novel filled with the wonders and horrors of alchemy. Thea is strongly written character that strives to make a name for herself as an alchemist but quickly learns that creating The Philosopher’s Stone comes with a heavy price. Overall a very strong debut I look forward to the author’s next book Bright Ruined Things.

I found this story to be very enjoyable, especially for fans of Deborah Harkness's "All Souls" series. I think Thea's development of self-reliance and journey into the world of relationships was a good story. Since she had been only exposed to her mother's patrons growing up and her one friend, to watch her learn the true meaning of friendship and love made you relive your own first steps into the world.

Thea is a feisty 17 year old who has been raised by her cold alchemist mother for years. Now she’s the only hope for her mother who’s gripped by a madness after nearly completing the philosopher’s stone. She travels to England and her estranged father. But the madness creeps in closer and closer.

“The Golden Fury” is a book about loyalty and trust and power. Thea is driven to help, but there’s a darkness that stalks her as the works to complete the stone. She also has so few people to trust as everyone’s motivation for helping her becomes suspect as the stone is close to completion.

I enjoyed the story and wanted to discover how things would turn out for Thea and her new friend Dominic. The pull of power and darkness was narrated very well. I like the ever-changing circle of trust around Thea and how that alters her perspective. No one is who they seem.

The only thing I didn’t get was the title. I think “The Alchemist’s Curse” would have suited the story much better and conveyed the plot better. While this wasn’t quite what I expected, it was a hard to put down story and an intriguing study in the various ways power can manipulate a person’s soul.

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day!

In this historical fantasy we meet Thea, an alchemist’s daughter and a protégé alchemist herself, a very talented one at that. She’s growing tired of the way her mother treats her and dreams of a life together with a boy called Will that used to work for her mother. At the same time, Thea and her mother is so close to reaching the ultimate goal, the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone. It’s a piece what can cure all illnesses, make anything into gold and it’s incredibly powerful. Thea’s mother wants to create to make a name for herself in a world where women are more or less owned by their husbands. So when Thea’s mother excludes Thea from the final steps of the creation, Thea’s furious and can’t believe her mother used her to get the stone but won’t share the credit for making it.

Thea’s mother grows increasingly hostile and when she decides Thea will be leaving the country with a man she doesn’t even know, Thea can’t keep her mouth shut and the fight that follows changes everything. Thea’s mother becomes mad and tries to kill her when Thea discovers that her mother has in fact succeeded in creating the stone. Forced to flee France for London, Thea ends up with the father that doesn’t know she exists. Here, she’s determined to create the stone for herself so she can use it’s powers to heal her mother’s madness. She can only hope that the warnings of a curse that afflicts those who try is just the ramblings of her mother.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book really took me by surprise. I had a hard time getting into it, and was prepared to give up more than once in the beginning. I struggled with the initial four or five chapters, then something happened and the story really took off. I was hooked. I wanted to know more about what happened and get to know Thea. And I’m glad I followed through because this was a great book.

Thea is a wonderful character, a girl I could sympathize with, someone I wanted to be friends with. She was written very well and it was easy to root for her. She might be a bit naïve at times, but someone it just made her endearing. Overall, I think the author did a great job developing all of the characters in this book, that said, those first few chapters was confusing when it came to characters. I couldn’t really wrap my head around who was who and what they were doing there. By chapter 5, I kind of got it and also, that’s when Thea left her home and met new people anyways.

I can say though that the twists weren’t really twists and I could see the where the story was heading long before it was revealed, and that did take away som of the tension and excitement of reading. Also the book felt a bit safe. What I mean by that is even though there were dangerous situations in the book and our main character found herself in extremely dangerous situations it never really felt as severe as if probably should have. I never feared for Thea or her life because there was something serene about the way it was written, a little poetic perhaps, I’m not sure. But it wasn’t dangerous, it was safe at all times even through torture and death and hell. The book is written in first person, so perhaps it’s just Thea’s personality that does it, if she’s not afraid, what should the reader be. But there are times where she’s too serene for the situation.

The plot flowed nicely even if I at times found that perhaps there was a little too much “nonsense” weaved in that made it unnecessarily slow and tempted me to skim through parts of it, but overall it was really good and I think the author managed to keep the tension and suspense and add new layers to the story as it went on and when it all was slowly unraveled by the end I felt satisfied. I mean, there’s always things to point out and things that could’ve been better, but there’s no such thing as perfect and this is simply a really good book, and a debut at that. So, I’m going to give this five stars because it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

If you like fantasy, don’t miss this one.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books & Netgalley for the chance to read A GOLDEN FURY by Samantha Cohoe!

I was so excited about this premise. Alchemy and political intrigue, romance and deception-- and a heroine at the center, navigating first love and her mother's legacy, while trying to make a name for herself on her quest for the Philosopher's stone.

I loved the scientific details and historical research. I didn't love the characters, which is what it takes for me to invest in a story. Thea, I naturally felt attached to, but most of the secondary characters, in particular, were flat and felt motivated only for plot mechanics, which took away from my reading experience. I did, however, think the writer handled metaphysical and alchemical descriptions with great skill-- I was very intrigued both in terms of my interest and imagination.

In short-- great idea, and I learned a lot! But wish I felt more for the characters and the story.

The premise sounded interesting, but it didn't meet its potential. It fell short in a number of ways, from the world building to the characters. Development in both areas was lacking. Nothing really pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. Some character traits and actions were downright annoying and made the characters a bit unrealistic, at times. Too many problems overall to recommend this one.

Thea Hope wants to be an alchemist of her own instead of living in her cruel mother's shadow. They are close to creating the Philosopher's Stone, but Thea's mother locks her out of the lab while she slowly goes mad thanks to the stone. Her madness leads to the stone's destruction and Thea sets out to make the stone herself to cure her mother, but with the revolution in France heating up she must go to England to stay with a father who doesn't know she exists. Everyone wants Thea's knowledge of the stone, and some refuse to believe in the curse of madness. A curse that soon puts Thea's own sanity at risk.

The alchemy elements were fun. The idea of the stone causing madness made for high stakes and tension. The pacing was also snappy, which kept the story from dragging, but sometimes it felt a little too fast. Thea felt too different during the second half of the book, like she took a step back in character development, especially when it came to her love interest Will. We also get told about the French Revolution but the story didn't feel grounded in that time period enough, making the world feel more like an afterthought. The alchemy elements made me wish I liked this story and characters more since it had a lot of promise and the alchemy was the highlight of the story for me, but the characters just weren't working for me. This did leave me hungry for more alchemy books.

My thanks to the publisher for gifting me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I love a good Alchemist book pair with a strong female protagonist searching for the Philosophers Stone makes for a great recipe. The first half of this book is strong and then it begins an unfortunate slow decline. I’m not sure how I would improve this tale but if I were to change one thing it would be to get rid of Will’s character. He is superfluous and doesn’t anchor the story except to help drag it out. It’s a good young adult read but beyond that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first love is historical fiction so when magic/fantasy collide with it I am happy! This story of a young Thea opens up with her leaving her crazy wizardly mom behind in revolutionary France so she can find her father in England. Thea has learned a lot at her mother's skirts as an apprentice of alchemy and when she reaches her father in England that skill is all she has to her name.

That's entire purpose for living is to be loved by William Percy but more importantly to achieve the ultimate success in creating the magical Philosopher's Stone. Fame, health and fortune beckon as Thea pursues this potion but it has to be under the careful watch of captors of her beloved Will.

While there are a few threads of converging storylines with each of the characters the author does not digress far from focusing on the Golden Fury of what is the Philosopher's Stone. The plot is fairly straightforward and could be a double edged sword as it teeters towards lacking in depth but yet again it sticks to the point of the storyline. A Golden Fury is an intriguing debut novel with a spunky heroine in Thea who makes it easy to be invested in her quest, so much so that if there is a sequel I'm on board!
http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2020/09/a-golden-fury-by-samantha-cohoe.html will not post until Sept 7 2020

I haven't read anything like this book. I don't see a lot of books about alchemy, and a plot involving female alchemists? Looks like this is my first. I loved the writing and the side characters, Dominic especially. I found Valentin intriguing as well and would love to have seen more interactions between him and Thea. I found the beginning of this to be quite slow but it picked up easily. The events that happened in the middle surprised me, I wasn't expecting the plot to transpire the way it did. Except what happened with Will, it was not a shock and the plot involving him and Thea became kind of repetitive. The family dynamics here were also interesting, I wanted to see more of Thea's relationship with her mother and estranged father. As for the main character, Thea, herself, I thought she was naive but her struggles? they felt very real. Overall, I thought this was a good book and definitely not a bore!

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3/3.5 stars.

The idea of a female alchemist chasing the Philosophers Stone and proving herself amongst her peers with a pinch of magical surrealism, really called to me. Sadly I felt that there was something missing.

Thea began as a very intriguing, intelligent, bold character and I'm not sure what happened but halfway in, she dwindled, and became very one note.

The depth of her co characters became far more intriguing than her own. Valentin bringing a good amount of mystery, depth and intrigue which made interactions more bearable between characters.

I still really enjoyed the premise behind it, and I think there were some really good moments and dynamics between characters. I could relate to the relationship Thea had with her Mother and I think that aspect/motivation is what held my interest most. I was just missing a feeling of satisfaction overall by the end.

*DNF @ 65%*
This had a great idea of the Philosopher's Stone being cursed when an alchemist makes it and how the protagonist tries to figure out after her mother goes mad from making it. While I love the idea of this historical fantasy, I have read much better like "The Gilded Wolves", "Enchantee" and "The Lady Rogue" that actually immerse you into the time period from the world building, culture, clothing but this book doesn't do that. The world is very bland and not well pictured and honestly this was more moving than expected. Plus the main character is pretty one dimensional with being too angry, critical and making sure things go her way. I did read the last couple chapters to see how it ended but it wasn't great. This book has a stunning cover but it's ultimately a disappointment...

First, I want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of A Golden Fury in exchange for an honest review. This book had been on my TBR and I was so excited to be accepted for an ARC.

With that, I just finished the book and I absolutely LOVED it. It was everything I was hoping for: an exciting adventure, a strong (and more importantly, likeable) heroine, and enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. The concept of a female alchemist and the Philosopher's Stone all agains the backdrop of the eve of the French Revolution? SIGN ME UP. The writing was easy to read and well done and I really enjoyed the scenes Cahoe painted with her descriptions. The author wrote the narrative in such a way that I was riding along with Thea as her relationship with various characters developed in different ways.

This was an awesome read and I can’t wait to add this book to my shelves!

A Golden Fury was a book that I was very excited about when I first heard about it. A standalone novel about a smart, accomplished girl in a time when girls weren't supposed to be smart, a mystery and a curse, and an adventure all wrapped up into one? Sign me up! And this book did NOT disappoint.

Our main character Thea is feeling a bit lost after her mother pushes her out of their alchemy lab, just as they're getting close to making the Philosopher's Stone. Not only is Thea pushed aside by her mother, but her love interest Will is also sent away by her mother. Suddenly, just as the stone seems to be complete, Thea's mother goes mad and destroys the stone, but still she is not the same. Thea is sent by her mother's patron to find her father, a man she's never met, but Thea is now the only one who knows how to make the Philosopher's Stone and with that knowledge comes many people who wish to use it for themselves.

Things I loved about this book:
- Thea, Thea, Thea!! I loved Thea so much, perhaps because I saw myself in her. She's smart and doesn't try to hide or apologize for that, in fact she often recognizes that she's the smartest one in the room, particularly at alchemy. She's also snarky, always making quips, sometimes at her own expense, which I so identified with. But additionally, Thea is incredibly loyal to her friends and even her mother, who has never been kind to her. Thea has such a big heart and is ready to put everything on the line for those she cares about, even when it goes against the "smart" thing to do. I really loved Thea as a heroine and she's what I wish more main characters would be like, particularly the characteristics of her intelligence and loyalty.

-The plot. I found the plot of this novel to be really compelling. There were some moments where I wondered where we'd go next, but I never had to wonder too long, because a new element would appear to propel the plot along. I thought there was a lot to work with in this plot and the author tied all the pieces together nicely.

-The pacing and length. This book didn't leave many down moments. We were always moving on to the next thing, to the next piece of the plot, and so it was a compelling and fast-moving read. There was not a wasted page, in my opinion, and I can so appreciate when the author keeps us moving like that. But it wasn't overpowering. There was never so much going on that I just wanted a moment to take a deep breath- instead, I felt like we were building and moving at all times. I really commend Samantha Cohoe for that, so many authors get it wrong but for a standalone novel, this was incredibly well-paced.

-This one may be a spoiler so... <spoiler>The lack of a romantic happily ever after. The romance in this story was present but not overdone, and I really appreciate that. I also appreciate how, when Thea was betrayed by Will, she didn't end up with Dominic in the end. I wish more books would be brave enough to do that, as it really added to my enjoyment of the book.</spoiler>

Things I didn't like as much:

-The "villain" character was obvious from the very beginning, to the point that I knew what was going to happen before the plot even really started. I don't know how this would have been done better, especially since Thea's loyalty both helps and hurts her here, so I understand the motivations of making this character the "villain" but... it was still not a surprise and thus made it a bit cliche.

-The relationship between Thea and her father. <spoiler>There was so much back and forth going on there, that I really didn't believe anything about him was genuine, and I didn't think the author did a good job of convincing us that he had changed and that he cared for Thea at the end. I was always waiting for him to betray her and felt that he was just so weak-willed. I couldn't believe Thea forgave him or wanted to stay with him or anything, because of what he did to her at the beginning. This was really poorly handled, in my opinion.</spoiler>

Overall thoughts and feelings:

I recommend this book for those who want a strong heroine who knows who she is, and her worth. This is a great novel for standalone lovers like myself as well, who wants a little bit of fantasy but not to dive into a new world. Overall, highly recommend.

I could not get into this book. At the beginning, I was already having a difficult time following what was going on but it also felt slow at the same time. The blurb and cover reeled me in, but I don't think I will be continuing with this book at this time. I might try again in the future and see if my mind has changed. I appreciate the opportunity, but I will count this as a DNF book for now.

I've been craving a book about alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone, and this delivers. I'm really excited to see what this debut author comes up with next.

*My thanks to the publisher for gifting me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

A Golden Fury is a YA fantasy with historical elements about a young alchemist named Thea Hope who longs for little more than to be judged by her own merits and not just the scrappings of her mother, who is already a world-famous alchemist They've been working furiously to create the Philosopher's Stone, and just on the heels of a great success of Thea's doing, her mother destroys it before it can be finished. Furious and desperate for answers, she finds that her mother's slow-churning madness wasn't just her cruelty taking over, but that the Stone can make those who are attempting to create it insane.

Sent away to her estranged father and now on the run, Thea must keep the knowledge of the Stone from those who would ignore her warnings in an attempt to make it themselves and will soon be cast with a terrible choice.

This may have started a bit slow, but as the ball got rolling I enjoyed the ride. Thea's main focus was not (always, at any rate) the boy she was in love with, but her craft and her work, which was such a nice departure from what we usually see in this sort of story. This story was chock full of fantastic themes; the struggle for power, politics, betrayal, family dynamics, dramatic, fast-paced escapes, and the refusal to let anyone else take your work from you. Thea's struggle was a mirror of many women in the world who are overlooked for their achievements and the way that she absolutely refused to let that happen endeared her to me more than I could possibly explain.

Alchemy is a subject that I haven't touched on much in personal research, but one theme I know of that has kept within that lore is that the rule of alchemy is that equivalent exchange must be made—and it is often in a way that you would never expect. This story held true to that.

The second half of the book started spiraling a bit, if I do say so myself. Something shifted in the characters; their voices fell flat, the pacing suddenly took an odd sketchy turn, and I was not sure about the ending altogether. I think, as in many debuts, this one just didn't quite land where I would have wanted/expected. Still, it was a solid read all the same.

Conclusion: ⭐⭐⭐ Stars

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe is an excellent novel that is part historical fiction, part mystery, part suspense, and part fantasy. This book is labeled under YA, however I do not fall under that category and I enjoyed it immensely.

So much happens in such few pages! I was impressed with the intricacies of the plot, characters, and details and that the author was able to use so much, but yet make it look effortless, interesting, and creative.

I enjoyed the female protagonist, Thea Hope, and I enjoyed seeing her strength and growth throughout her adventures, obstacles, triumphs, and travels. The concepts of alchemy and The Philosopher’s Stone gave the 18th century timeframe a darker, shadowed feel that really added to the story.

I really enjoyed the book and was entertained throughout, so much that I wish there would be a follow up so that I can find out even more (and that most definitely is a compliment to the author).

I recommend at 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC and on return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.