I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book before it dropped.

Again, I've been on a CDrama kick and if I see anything that sounds like the dramas I'm watching I dive at it with grabby hands. It's been really fun picturing the characters, costumes and actors in my head while reading this. I had actually read another one of Kylie Lee Baker's books (the first of another duology), but that one felt lacking. This one was dark, magical, and intense.

I can totally see where the FullMetal Alchemist vibes come from. The author totally made it her own! Our main character lost her mother and her father vanished - he did leave behind instructions and alchemist notes about reviving the dead. Taken in by her aunt and uncle, and their two children, she sets up shop selling trinkets for the dead. But on the side, she is known for raising the dead. I'm not talking about just recently passed, I am also talking about those who look like their skin is about to come off dead.

The book has a very tight narrative, and it gives a good detail of the past history of the main character and the parents who she lost. It also gives a good idea / rundown of of the magic works. All magic has a price and hers is very interesting and I am curious to see how it starts to harm her in book two,

The reason I mark it down a star is because I found he love interest / prince to be too whimpish and or not a strong enough fit for her. Based on what happens to him and what happens to the characters at the end of Book 2, it will be interesting to see how things go with him and them.

I usually have two-book series but this one was well written, well paced and kept my interest. I am looking forward to Book 2 when t drops!

READ. THIS. BOOK.

The Scarlett Alchemist is lyrically written, beautifully realized, written with subtle humor and an eye towards real world problems, handled with a light touch.

This book combines a deftly told story with a realistically grounded magical system, well-concealed narrative twists, and a protagonist who is as easy to identify with when she's angry as when she's loving. All around, a marvelous reading experience.

Kylie Lee Baker has produced a wholly original, immersive, tactile world that draws you in and lingers on after you've finished the book. Sincerely one of the best books that I've read in a very long time, and possibly the best YA book that I've ever read. Baker blends robust historical research with wry, often dark, humor and a lot of heart.

Magnificent. A new favorite author, and one I will definitely be following.

**Electronic advanced reader copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker is a YA fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China. Zilan, a biracial girl from an impoverished village dreams of becoming a royal alchemist to provide for her family. However, for now, she practices illegal alchemy of raising the dead for a price. She finally has a chance to complete her imperial exams and ventures to the capital to compete against the best alchemists in the country. Her reputation for raising the dead has followed her to the capital, and the Crown Prince himself seeks her help in suspecting an assassination attempt. As Zilan succeeds in her alchemy, she gets caught in the dangerous political games of the royal family, and secrets of her past catch up with her. There are monsters lurking within the palace walls, and Zilan must face them before it’s too late.

This book was not for me. I was intrigued by the premise but the execution fell through for me. I did not connect with the main character and was put off by some of the content re: violence/language/etc. This is ultimately why I would not recommend this book to others. Full points for the plot twists, however; extremely creepy and unexpected. It had a solid plot and I appreciated the descriptive writing. I do wish it had been more tightly edited; I felt there were some modern phrases and dialogue that felt a bit anachronistic for the historical setting.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ARC through Netgalley.

4.5 stars

Everyone has a handful of authors that are able to drag them out of the deepest pits of a reading slump and Kylie Lee Baker is one of mine. I've been struggling to enjoy novels recently, but I devoured this one in a couple of sittings. I adore Baker's writing - it's atmospheric and descriptive, and highly addictive to read. For me, it really was the perfect book to bring me out of a reading slump.

The Scarlet Alchemist follows Zilan, a poor merchant's daughter who is aiming to become a royal alchemist through the national examinations. This book takes place in an alternative version of Tang dynasty China where alchemists have succeeded in extending the life of humans through alchemical gold, and while the poor are getting poorer by the day (because of inflation), the rich are quite literally eating gold and living on forever. Zilan and her two siblings do whatever they can to make ends meet - studying by day, and raising the dead by night.

In a lot of ways, The Scarlet Alchemist shares a lot of similarities with Baker's debut novel, The Keeper of Night (which I also loved). While the plot and the setting are vastly different, this book also explores similar themes of death, mixed-race identity, and sibling relationships. These are all themes I personally enjoy a lot, and I enjoyed exploring them in The Scarlet Alchemist as well.

Character-wise, I think Zilan also falls into the same category of angry/unhinged female protagonists that Ren from The Keeper of Night did. They're not the same character by any means, but are both the types of characters who will do whatever it takes to get what they want. Zilan is not a perfect character - in fact, I think she's quite unlikeable, but deliberately so. She's young, has a bit of a temper, and constantly makes mistakes that she can't help but try to fix. She's not likeable, but I found myself rooting for her anyway. I also really enjoyed the main love interest and their reluctant allies to lovers relationship, though if I were to nitpick, I'd say that the relationship developed a little too quickly for my liking.

The pacing of the book is very fast-paced, and while it worked for me, I can see it not working for some readers. I enjoyed the political intrigue and court politics a lot, and am excited to see how this continues to develop in the sequel. As I've come to expect from Baker, this book was action-packed, violent, and gory, and I loved every second of it.

Overall, I think that if you've read The Keeper of Night and you enjoyed it, you will also enjoy this one a lot. I think if you hated that book (because I do know it had a very mixed reception), I'm not sure if you'll like this one any more, but I do hope you'll give it a try anyway because it really is just such a fun, violent time. If you enjoy necromancy, historical fantasy, or dark fantasy, and haven't given Kylie Lee Baker a try yet, this is absolutely a must-read in my opinion.

Absolutely loved this book! I'm usually not a big historical fantasy reader, but this one caught my eye and I'm glad I had seen it. I really liked the characters and the plot overall, and I always love it when Chinese words have the proper tones so I can read them correctly in my head. I had actually heard of Empress Wu Zetian in the past and was fascinated to see how her character would be portrayed in the book and was not disappointed. Zilan is a very well-written protagonist as well and I can't wait to see what happens next with her.

Kylie Lee Baker has done it again. Filled with beautiful prose, alchemy, violence and political intrigue, Baker has truly solidified herself as one of the best fantasy writers of our time. I can’t think of anyone else that is constantly pushing the limits of what constitutes as YA and how you don’t have to sacrifice detail to make your audience feel comforted. Rebellion will never be comfortable, and violence will always be necessary: and Fan Zelan is the harbinger of all three. Absolutely cannot wait for the second book in this duology. If The Empress of Time taught me anything, it’s that Baker is just getting started in this world and nothing will slow her down.

If you know me as a reader, you know that I have since distanced myself away from YA fantasy. Not because of a sense of pretentiousness, or that YA novels cannot be as "deep" and "meaningful" as Adult Fantasy. My main gripe with fantasy YA is the redundant plot lines, the ease at which the story progresses, and the overall low stakes despite masquerading as a high stake book. There have been so many novels I have read where things progress cleanly, the protaganosit knows all the answers, gets their partner of choice, and lives happily ever after.

Kylie Lee Baker broke my expectations ONCE AGAIN.

I loved her debut novel, Keeper of the Night, for the same reasons why I love this novel. The story is messy and intertwined, but not in a way that seems chaotic, but instead carefully placed. I could not for the life of you say where the plot was going at any point in the novel, but I LOVED IT. It truly felt like I was being taken on an adventure, where neither life nor death was guaranteed.

The main character, Zilan, is so incredibly talented but she makes so many mistakes. The character feels so realistic BECAUSE they make mistakes, have misaligned motivations, and have emotional outbursts. She has many successes, but at the same time, many failures. It was so refreshing to see the consequences of her actions, and the way she went about dealing with those consequences.

THE FANTASY. I know that this book was partially inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (which happens to be my favorite show EVER), and there were some parts that reminded me of FMAB. However, at no point in the story did I feel that the fantasy was derivative. In fact, Baker took some cool concepts of alchemy from the show and created a new, cooler system that made sense and had actual rules. At no point was I questioning the validity of her fantasy system, which involves gemstones of different properties.

Last but not least, this novel does political conspiracy in a way that has me bowing my head down to the floor. I love a good messy political plot, and again, at no point in the story did I know who was going to win in the end. Baker is so skilled at giving some hope, and then shattering that hope on the next page. By the end, I felt that everything had tied together so well that I was not confused about how the end came to be.

All in all, if you made it to the end of this review, you can probably tell that I gave this book 5/5 stars. I cannot wait for the sequel, and I might even re-read this book. I highly recommend this book if you love a high-grade fantasy novel set in a fictional Tang dynasty, complete with political intrigue, world-class fantasy, and some of the most dubious main characters ever written.

**Electronic advanced reader copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I read Keeper of Night last year, so I knew that this would probably be pretty good. The Scarlet Alchemist was indeed a great YA fantasy that I enjoyed all the way through. It confirms for me that Kylie Lee Baker is an amazing author. The magic in it and the world that was built felt real and also unique. While it is YA and has some tropes like the competition for the imperial exams and the prince in need of help, those tropes do not feel overdone or annoying. I look forward to the sequel to this!

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Rating - 4.75 stars
"The Scarlet Alchemist" is an enthralling new historical fantasy novel set during an alternative Tang dynasty. The story is centred around the protagonist, Fan Zilan, who dreams of becoming a royal alchemist and providing for her family by creating alchemical gold and gems that the wealthy can consume to stay young forever. However, she is currently trapped in her impoverished village in southern China, forced to practice illegal alchemy to earn a living by resurrecting the dead for a price.

When Zilan gets an opportunity to go to the capital to compete in the imperial exams, she becomes embroiled in dangerous politics. The novel's underlying themes revolve around class differences and how the rich exploit the poor. The author's ability to weave these themes into the story without detracting from the plot is commendable.

One of the main relationships that I enjoyed was between Zilan, Wenshu, and Yufei. The three characters are intertwined in a way that enhances the story's depth and emotional connection. Although I haven't read many stories on alchemy, this is one of the best. The author's portrayal of alchemy is captivating, and it was fascinating to see the various ways in which alchemy was used and often misused by the rich. The love interest, Hong Li, was a refreshing character. Throughout the story, we witness his growth and how he realizes his willful ignorance. His character arc is well-written and adds depth to the story.

The plot had some twists that I didn't see coming, and it managed to capture my attention throughout. The author did an excellent job of building suspense and keeping the pace of the story engaging. The story's darker elements were handled with care and added to the story's overall appeal.

Overall, "The Scarlet Alchemist" is a solid start to a fantasy duology, and I'm excited to read its sequel. The author's writing style is impeccable, and the story's characters and plot are well-developed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or fantasy novels.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC

Overall I really enjoyed this one. I particularly liked that the author chose to do a historical fantasy, placing the story in a version of actual Tang Dynasty China in which alchemists who had been looking for the secret to eternal life actually succeeded.

Another highlight is the working class mixed-race protagonist. There is a big narrative focus on class issues and the divide between the rich and the poor. Alchemists create life-extending substances for the royal family and the rich and the powerful, but the cost of these substances turns out to be steep, and it is not the elites who pay them. The protagonist, who in understandably more concerned with feeding her family than with the morality of what she is doing, soon questions whether the price she must pay for financial security is too high after all.

The story also explores family, identity, and mortality in interesting ways. The romance is there, but it does not consume the storyline. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would happily place it in my school's library or classroom bookshelves.

Review posted on goodreads.

This was a quick and fun read. Any who typically enjoys YA fantasy will definitely enjoy this book. I thought the magic system describing alchemy was really fascinating, and I also really enjoyed the necromancy book. The beginning and the end were definitely the best parts of the book. The beginning set up Zilan's character, her thoughts, and motivations really well. I love reading about ambitious heroine. The ending was very fast paced and had some surprising outcomes that I loved. The ending sets up the plot for the second book as well.

Although there weren't too many main characters, I feel like I didn't really get to know any of the characters well besides Zilan. Going in this book, I expected there to be a lot of political intrigue and scheming court politics, but it wasn't really there. All of the political aspects were very surface level

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an e-ARC of The Scarlet Alchemist in exchange for an honest review! Zilan is an aspiring alchemist finally given a chance to compete against the best alchemists in the country in a deadly competition. Caught up in a dangerous web of politics and alchemy, Zilan's alchemy strengthens, but at a dangerous cost. This book is very action-oriented and I really enjoyed the way the author contended with the world's magic system. I found the synopsis a bit vague, so going in, I was still pretty much left in the dark, which I found to be a good thing in the end. It was a solid fantasy and I had a good time. I will be awaiting the sequel!

"Alchemists need to break themselves into pieces, to want to rebuild the world around them so desperately that they would give their blood or body, or soul."

Baker's new fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China where the rich have finally found the secret to immortality, eating gold. An impoverished, biracial aspiring royal alchemist with the ability to raise the dead, gets caught up in the dangerous political power struggle to dethrone a wicked Empress. If you were a fan of the Keeper of Night duology (or even if you weren't), it is abundantly clear that Baker has taken your feedback to create an harrowing, blood-soaked, and breakneck fantasy that had me guessing until the very end!

Thumbs Up: Chef's kiss to this new shelf spotlight of a story. I enjoyed the magic system and the violence was crafted in a way that didn't feel cringey. I was strapped in for this rollercoaster that had me shocked until the very end. I am glad it is a duology because I rue the day that I am done hanging out with the Fan family.

Thumbs Down: I hate to say this but Baker struggles to write romance. I didn't feel any chemistry between the love interests and even the familial relationships felt a bit jagged. I would have also appreciated more world building, I really wanted to spend some time walking the palace and feeling the ambiance that could have been fleshed out more rather than trading it in for banter.

Was it a nail biter? YES! Fingers down to the nubbins. I was racing to the end and was SHOCKED at the twist. Well done, absolutely pick this one up.

KLB is becoming one of my go-to authors for all things historical Asian fantasy.

She has a real talent for highly immersive and vivid writing, letting the reader feel like they are on an adventure with the MCs. I also appreciate how her storytelling never holds back. I finished this feeling like KLB put in everything she had into the characters, plot, and world-building, which left me highly satisfied.

I really enjoyed the alternate view of the Tang dynasty and all the drama surrounding the royal family. The blood/death alchemy creates a high stakes element that works well with the tone and atmosphere of the story (the perfect autumnal read). And the characters are also wonderfully flawed and relatable.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this and am very much looking forward to the continuation of the series!

The use of stones for different magic was very fun to read, and I lamented the fact that Zilan wouldn’t let us study with her more, though it makes sense plot-wise. I enjoyed the relationship that Zilan had with her cousins, and their interactions were always a highlight to read for me. This unfairness presented to Zilan was presented so well that I had to stop reading at times in order to come to terms with my anger on her behalf. I had trouble putting this book down and will definitely be recommending it to everyone. I’d love to see it as a comic or movie.

*Thank you Netgalley, Inkyard Press, and Harlequin for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 28 March 2023

4.6 (rounded up to 5) out of 5 stars.

This has been my first read from Kylie Lee Baker and the way I absolutely devoured this book is insane. Were it not for my personal schedule, this could’ve easily been a book that I read in one sitting- I didn’t want to put it down!

What I loved most right off the bat is the world-building and the magic system. The alchemy used in this book was interesting- albeit my first read featuring magic like it, but it had me enraptured nonetheless.
The characters were also so lovable. I’m always down for a badass sibling trio, especially when the sisters are fueled by anger and their hatred for the rich, and the brother is the occasional voice of reason who will not hesitate to dirty his hands if his sisters need help.

Quick on her feet like Honey Lemon but with all the fire and means to get what she wants like Princess Azula, Fan Zilan takes the stage as an alchemist from southern China who helps her family get by, by using a form a illegal alchemy- resurrection. By far, she is one of my favorite leads who will bloody her hands for what she thinks is just. She is not without her flaws, and has some amazing scenes of displaying her potential when pushed into a corner.
I also absolutely *love* seeing different (for lack of a better word) depictions of Empress Wu Zetian and Kylie Lee Baker’s was *so* intriguing! As her character was introduced more and more, I knew I had to finish the book and unravel the story or else I’d be left on the edge of my seat until I could pick it up again!

All in all, ‘The Scarlet Alchemist’ is a MUST for those who like the darker sides of reimagined historical fantasy. Taking the darkness from ‘Juniper and Thorn’ and the self-assured yet secretly insecure main leads from ‘These Violent Delights’, and mixing them with the vibes of ‘Gilded Lily’ by Cults and ‘Show You A Body’ by Haley Heynderickx (to name a few), you get the binge-able story that is ‘The Scarlet Alchemist’. I cannot *wait* to catch up with the rest of Kylie Lee Baker’s books while awaiting the second installment to this series!

This was actually such a fun read. I really can't wait for the sequel. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the romance. I thought it was undeveloped.

4.5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for an eARC of this book!
The Scarlet Alchemist is a perfectly paced, action-filled book that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with. The plot twists and foreshadowing were wonderfully executed and left a lot of flexibility for the sequel.

There is romance in this book, but it's mild enough for the majority of the book that you can easily ignore it if you want to. However, there is a particular scene that I skipped ahead of, but nothing too explicit after that.

This book was amazing and one of the best fantasies I’ve read this year! While it started a little slow as I got into the world and alchemy I couldn’t put it down towards the end, all I wanted to do was read it! It was well written and kept me on my toes and was a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings. I really enjoyed the plot and premise but the best thing about this book is Zilan. She is willing to do anything to become an alchemist and might be a little unhinged because of that but I loved her as the mc. She will fight for those she loves too which include her cousins, which is complicated at times as all family relationships are, and Li Hong, who I loved to see her relationship develop with. And after the choices she’s made I’m so excited for the next book!

Overall this is an amazing historical fantasy that I highly recommend you read when it comes out!

Read if you like…
•historical fantasy
•fmc who will do anything to get what she wants
•forced proximity/fake concubine
•political scheming