Bit of a strange story. I liked the suspense and the pace of the story, and the ending was both chilling and satisfying. The setting is unique, given the time period and the occupation of the characters as alchemists. However, I just did not like the heroine. I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters. If you're a fan of prickly narrators and hard-shelled main characters, you'll love it. Thea has been raised by an independent mother to be hard-shelled, of a singular mind, and despite some glimmers of hope for her, her limited world experience seems to confirm her mother's teachings more than overcoming them. This leaves Thea mostly pessimistic and brooding. The story is told singularly from the point of view of Thea. I think other characters in the story had more redeeming qualities, the reader just doesn't get much of a glimpse into them. Just what Thea sees.
That being said, I did enjoy the read. It kept me turning pages, and intrigued with the story. I would check out other books from this author.

In this book, we follow Thea Hope, the daughter of an alchemist who is an alchemist in training. During the process of her mother making The philosophers stone, a stone which can turn metal into gold and bring a person on the edge of death back to health, her mother goes insane which causes Thea to have to move to Oxford to live with her father who has no idea she exists. And so much more happens that I don’t want to say because of spoilers.

So this book was just ok, I loved Thea as a main character and I loved the way the insanity is portrayed but the plot was just ok. Alchemy is something that I know absolutely nothing about yet I understand what was going on mostly. The side characters were really good but this just wasn’t the book for me I guess. It was a fun read that I enjoyed but I have a feeling that slow,y over time I will forget what happened.

If you are thinking of reading this book I would say read it, it’s in no way a bad read at all. I just personally don’t think I’m the right person to judge it.

This title was vaguely familiar, and I was excited to read it, but forget where I first learned about it? Still, a fun read!

3.5 / 5 stars.

A Golden Fury introduces us to Thea Hope, the daughter of a famous alchemist and an alchemist in her own right. She wants to move out from her mother's shadow and establish herself on her own. Just as they are about to create the Philosopher's Stone, Thea's mother goes crazy and destroys the stone. As Thea reads her mother's notes, she learns of a curse that's placed on anyone attempting to create the stone, and with her mother's instability and the French Revolution gearing up, she leaves France to return to England for her own safety. Everything is complicated as those in power are less content to heed the warnings about the curse. They want the stone for their own gain, and they'll stop at nothing to get it.

I had a complicated back-and-forth relationship with this book. Some parts of it were amazing, some parts felt like the pacing was off and the characters weren't as strong as they had been at the beginning. The concept of the book drew me in from the start, and I loved the take on alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone. Thea's a strong female character, with ideas of her own and a stubbornness that I appreciated. I loved learning about her life and her work, especially as she travels to England and is forced to face the father that she's never met.

Unfortunately, during the later part of the book, I thought she was driven by a romance that didn't come across strongly to me as a reader. I still was rooting for her and wanted her to succeed, but I didn't feel as strongly as I had earlier in the book. The pacing in the second half was much less consistent, and it was easier for me to put down for a break from reading in the later parts of the book. That being said, even with the pacing issues, I think this was a good debut novel from the author, and I thought her writing style was easy to read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was honestly drawn to this book when I first saw it because I as in the mood for some alchemy. To be honest, I didn't connect to this book as much as I expected to, but I still wasn't disappointed that I picked this book up. I know others will still like it, and I hope they give this book a chance. Also if you root for female leads, this book is for you

Rating: 3.5

A Golden Fury is a daring novel filled with alchemy, impossible decisions, and uncertainty waiting around every corner.

I'm a big fan of anything alchemy-related, so I won't about that being what initially drew me to this story. However, I was pleased to discover that alchemy was only one part of this dark story about ambition and bravery in the face of uncertainty. A Golden Fury begins with Thea Hope and her famous alchemist mother (and one of the only female philosopher's at that) as they inch closer to developing legendary Philosopher's Stone--that is, until her mother descends into a violent madness that destroys the stone and drives Thea away.

A Golden Fury is a slower-paced story that focuses quite heavily on character development and relationships between characters. There is a minor bit of romance, but it is not heavy nor the sole focus of this story and I was pleasantly surprised by how Cohoe worked it into the narrative. Although there are high stakes at play--namely, the creation of the Philosopher's stone and it's ramifications, as well as the madness that seems to occur when making it--the story itself didn't feel as though there were too many outside forces putting pressure on the situation. The main external conflict that affect Thea's circumstances are due to the fact that this story is set around the eve of the French Revolution, which allowed for some great historical backdrop and a way to bring in the politics of the period that affected all of our characters in various ways. I really appreciated how well Cohoe worked all of this together, including all of the wonderful historical details she weaves throughout.

The character development was well done for most of the characters, and I particularly liked that Thea was never really what I would consider a consistently "good" character. Her ambition to create the Philosopher's Stone and to be a great female alchemist really overtook her actions at times, and I appreciated that she wasn't perfect in her decisions and how she let things affect her. And then there is Will, a character that I still can't quite decide what to think about. I liked how Cohoe introduced his character, as well as how his development played out (though I can't say much about it!). Watching his relationship evolve with Thea was extremely interesting to watch. I found a few of the characters we meet later into the story a bit more perplexing in their roles, which I also felt in regards to a few of the plot points, and I wasn't quite as enamored with them as I was with others.

Overall, I found A Golden Fury to be a compelling story of passion and determination and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, stories with alchemy, or simply a fairly dark and atmospheric story that will easily draw you in. I've given it four stars and I look forward to seeing what's next from Cohoe!

A Golden Fury is a slow burn, but is replete with the gorgeous painting of history, swirling magic and political intrigue to create a beautiful piece of art. What really made this story stand out from all of the other magical adventures out there, was that it added the element of cost. What does it cost to be great? This book is full of madness, the darkness in the political machinations for power, and loyalty. Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe was a great read!

This was a book I didn’t originally have any plans to read because the description didn’t grab me, thankfully though after giving it a try, I really enjoyed this story. It was unique, well crafted and with a strong and intelligent female lead who didn’t need a man to save her. After finishing this book, I immediately bought a copy from my local Indie and I look forward to more from the author.

So many amazing fantasy books being published! A Golden Fury was amazing. Loved the plot, the characters and the setting. This cover is also top notch!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The world of young adult literature demands the clever, the gritty, the tried-and-true yearning for relationship and romance. The subgenre of historical fiction, and in this case historical fantasy, breaks a welcome mold. It is not another popular medieval story or petty young adult retelling of alas, one more fairy tale like that of A Curse So Dark and Lovely. Instead, the novel surprised me, not with its themes, but with its undercurrents.

Life and death are not the only stakes. Within this historically inspired fantasy, the woe and warning of a curse become instructive to the extreme of damnation or salvation.

A Golden Fury follows an ambitious heroine raised by her famous and overbearing mother to pursue alchemy’s ultimate dream—the Philosopher’s Stone. Seventeen-year-old Theosebeia Hope serves as her mother's understudy. Together, the two have obsessively pursued their studies and learned many languages to scour the works of alchemist scholars in Europe and Arabia. Thea reveals that “If we could turn pewter and lead into silver, then we didn’t simply have to take the world as it was given to us. We could change it. Lead into silver was only the beginning. Next was silver into gold. Sickness into health. Death into life.” It is an irresistible ideal.

Early in the novel while still in Normandy, Thea's mother, Marguerite, presses herself to work through the night, smelting the white elixir, the final ingredient needed to make the Stone. Yes, she finds success, but not without a price. It is written—

Cave Maledictionem Alchemistae, Beware the alchemist’s curse...
The Stone chooses the last alchemist, but woe to whom it does not accept.

In this twist of fantasy, Marguerite is found unworthy by an alchemical god and driven to madness and violence. She does not die, but in the midst of the French Revolution, her daughter Thea must leave France to find help, to find her father in England, a man who doesn't know she exists. Soon after she arrives, Thea learns her father is a professor of chemistry at Oxford. Conveniently, he too is an alchemist with hopes of creating the first department of alchemy in England. With her knowledge and instinct, Thea is quickly swept up in his scramble to create the Philosopher's Stone along with the help of his apprentice Dominic and a peer from Italy. Danger abounds as they are quickly entangled with the henchmen of Burggraf Ludwig in London, and the taste of the unexplainable, the mystery of magic imbues the otherworldly quest to come.

But not without Faustian caution. In our interview, Cohoe readily clarifies that altogether alchemy is a unique field in that its fingers move among philosophy, theology, science, and magic. Power over nature, in fact, is seen as a way to define magic. She says we find echoes of alchemy today in transhumanism and in the universal secular urge to grasp immortal life. The desire to surpass the corporeal is not unique.

In the novel, Cohoe implies that alchemy’s ideals are more than magic because she sprinkles hints of the spiritual world throughout her chapters. More than one scene asks us to consider the price we would pay for knowledge of this level. We learn that some adepts, for instance, are intuitive alchemists willing to sell their souls to demons for the secret knowledge to make the Stone.

Like the character of Faith in Francis Hardinge’s The Lie Tree, Thea craves a secret, almost forbidden, knowledge. Knowledge becomes a metaphysical experience because she is certain it is a gateway to more than the mind. In The Lie Tree, Faith reads her father’s words about the rare mendacity tree: “I have lived long enough to see the death of wonders. Like many others, I have dedicated my life to investigating the marvels and mysteries of Creation, the better to understand the designs of our Maker. Instead, our discoveries have brought us doubt and darkness.” Among the numerous parallels between the two young adult books, this is the most striking similarity. Man’s search for the Holy Grail is a desperate endeavor. The consequences are not glossed over, and the spiritual world is a clear presence.

Can a Holy Grail like alchemy be a savior? Is it possible?

Thea does have faith. She does believe in the ideal of alchemy—no illness, no want, no death. It could bring her mother and Dominic back from madness. Yet this faith in alchemy also appears as rebellion. Thea tells Dominic that a country priest once “found out about my mother’s work and came around to condemn her for it in shrill preacher’s tones.” It might have turned Thea and her mother from the Catholic faith, but later after Dominic accidentally kills a man, he seeks confession with a priest. Thea waits nearby and confesses her own truth. She acknowledges that Dominic is the fortunate one. He could unburden himself, “make things right with his own God.” Not so for Thea. She tells us, “if alchemy was our religion, then we were its priests.” Her religion is tied to worth. The work of her hands, it is what she did for the god of alchemy that gave her purpose and worth. And who knew if this fickle god would find her worthy? How far will Thea go? Will alchemy demand her life? This is the blind faith that Cohoe explores.

*a longer review will be published at The University Bookman in December 2020.

I think I put so high expectation for this book, I rarely read YA Fantasy books these days but all the hype and glowing reviews really made me think maybe this one will ignite my interest and love to YA Fantasy story… and I must said I feel a bit disappointed, this is not a bad book but more like a mediocre story for me

As a character driven reader I want to feel engage with the characters, I want to root for them. I want to cry and cheer for their success and devastating moments.. and I feel NOTHING for any of the characters in this book… they are pretty bland in my opinion. Nothing interesting/exciting happen for 60% of the book.. I grew bored unfortunately. . It's like the friend you hang out with from time to time. You enjoy their company. It is nice catching up. Yet, if you're being honest, you do not miss them in their absence.

That is this book to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thea is the daughter of the most famous female alchemist in the world, and her mother has trained her to be just as good. When they are on the verge of creating the Philosopher’s Stone, her mother goes mad and she is sent to the father she has never met. She has many trials and tribulations while trying to recreate her mother’s work without succumbing to madness herself. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about Thea initially but ended up appreciating her independence and intelligence. She and the other characters are three dimensional, with both good and bad traits. There is plenty of action and a good resolution.

I love the characters and the historical feel of this book! The magic and adventure make it a worthwhile read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Loved the plot a very fast paced book which I think everyone will appreicate. It is one of those books that makes you think - what would you do? What will you give up for power?

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful cover?! I am beyond amazed at the details woven into the cover photo.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read for me! I am a sucker for historical fiction and as a chemist by trade, this book just spoke to me! Based in historical Europe and focused on a 17 year old alchemist, this story gripped me from the very first words. The intrigue of the stone and the rumored powers it possesses kept me latched to the characters as the story progressed. The stone and its powers, in this novel, are a different take than the normal eternal life, which was a nice surprise. Thea and her strained relationship with her mother, and how that affects Thea mentally, were eye-opening. The whole cast of characters was great entertainment from how they each interacted with one another but they all had the same goal in mind. How each person thought and worked in order to achieve greatness, showed a depth of character relations and attitudes. The character development for a few of the characters was really planned out and the others just didn't go far. They stayed stagnated and did not change throughout the events in the book. I do have to say, the first half of the book was way more action packed and entertaining than the second half of the book. The second half had a weird mystery element that insinuated rape/abuse, plus a lot of self-inflicted harm via the process of making the stone. It just did not jive well with the first half. It seemed to be a whole other book. I think this would have done better if the first half was given more length and time, The author could have even had two separate books out of this! However, no matter how much I did not enjoy the second half, the action and plot was still there for me. Overall, this book gets 4/5 stars!

I went into A Golden Fury not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised in every way. Samantha Cohoe’s debut begins in France and takes you to England, in a thrilling tale set in the backdrop of the French revolution. Thea and her mother, the latter a celebrated alchemist, are so close to creating the Philosopher’s Stone, except her mother goes mad and destroys the stone and attempts to kill Thea. Thea is whisked away to England, but her misfortunes don’t end there, as she struggles to keep the secrets of the stone away from opportunistic and greedy hands, while attempting to save herself from the Alchemist’s Curse that has wiped away her mother’s sanity.

A Golden Fury has strong ties to its historical background, with the French revolution affecting and shaping every one of Thea’s actions and her fate. It’s a very realistic portrayal of how a war or revolution intersects with everyday life, even if you are not thrust into the very middle of it. The book also questions and examines a lot of wrongs of the society at that time – the way Thea’s mother had to harden and become so ruthless in order to be successful as a woman alchemist, how European alchemists hesitate to learn non European languages or refer to Asian/Islamic texts because they consider it beneath them, and the prejudice against religion and class within the learned society in Europe. I like how the book did not shy away from these aspects and was very conscious of Thea’s privilege even when it seemed like the whole world is against her sometimes.

Speaking of, poor Thea goes through a LOT in this book. She is constantly attacked for her views, betrayed, overlooked, but she remains so resilient and strong. I also loved how ambitious she was, and while there was a thread of ruthless ambition and determination in her, she was also extremely kind and humane. Unfortunately, not a lot of secondary characters made me feel the same, except Dominic, who was a sweetheart and deserved all the good things.

The book is fast paced, very much plot driven and a surprisingly quick read. It’s also one of those rare stand alone historical fantasy books, and I would recommend it to fans of historical fantasy YA books – especially of the likes of All That Glitters by Gita Trelease, Susan Dennard’s Something Strange and Deadly trilogy, and the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. I would give trigger warnings for attempted murder/physical attacks, and implications of torture.

I loved how this book combines alchemy and history. I've never read anything similiar. It was inovative, amazing and whimsical. And dark at the same time. I loved how the characters were portrated and I loved how unique and distinctive voice they had. I would recommend this book to anyone who would love a little bit of magic in their life right now.

This was a gripping story set in historical Europe, following a mother daughter duo who are alchemists. The touches of fantasy, with the legend of the Philosopher’s Stone makes this a tale like no other told! It’s like stepping back in time, but in an alternate reality. The characters are well written and the plot line moves along quickly. The reader becomes lost in the writing, escaping reality and following the storyline of Thea as she learns to navigate life towing a fine line between good and evil, and doing her best to save everyone from the curse her mother tried so hard to prevent coming to fruition. Set during the French Revolution, this book is great for anyone who loves historical fiction and fantasy as it combines the best of both worlds!

I received an e-arc of this book from Wednesday Books, Samantha Cohoe, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was full of twist and turns that kept me wanting to read more. Cohoe did an excellent job of writing Thea's story. The world building in this book was amazing and there are events in the book that you don't expect to happen. When alchemy is involved, you know something terribly wrong will happen. I was sad when the book ended, but I can't wait to read what Cohoe comes out with next. If you are a fan of YA historical fiction and alchemy, then this is the book for you.

Are you interested in alchemy? I love books that touch on alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone. I find them absolutely fascinating and A Golden Fury did not disappoint.

Set in late 18th century France on the the eve of revolution, Thea and her mother are alchemists living with their nobleman patron. But when Thea's mother grows close to making the stone, she becomes mad and almost kills her daughter. Thea is then sent to her father in England, who is unaware of her existence. While in Oxford, Thea's alchemist father uses her knowledge for his own gain and she flees to her former lover Will in London. But Will is already in trouble, he owes a German nobleman a stone and Thea must successfully produce it or Will's life is forfeit.

The intrigue, secrets, and protection of knowledge throughout this story captured my attention as did the scientific and scholarly studies associated with the craft of alchemy. The romance between Thea and Will felt a little too dramatic near the end of the book but there is a brilliant plot twist that you will never see coming that makes up for it. I have never encountered a story with this particular take on alchemy, it's unique.