This book was a tiring read. Which was deeply disappointing because I can say I'm a fan of Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After was my first trans book and it made me feel THINGS, so much so I can't reread it. I also liked This is Kind of an Epic Love Story so I was really looking forward to this book but it just gave nothing. I was halfway in on the book and it was still such a drag to read. The characters were boring and the plot was uninteresting although it really shouldn't be because I saw how it could've been interesting. The queer rep was good because, duh, it's Kacen! But other than that, I really couldn't find something I liked. Even the romance. EVEN THE ROMANCE! I didn't see the chemistry.

I did not like the constant thought process of the main character feeling like the poorest person because they did not get into this school. The rich students are really rude to them, which yeah I get that its frustrating and annoying to them, but the whole time Ash is feeling sorry for themself. They also feel like everyone else is incredibly stupid. Which, made me dislike the main character and I ended up DNF this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I like the world building, the alchemy, and the plot. The world building has a lot more potential if the series continues. The alchemy/magic system was clearly defined for me. And for the most part, the plot was engaging. It was also nice to see some representation of different gender identities and finding love with whoever you really connect with, even if that's one person or two. The middle of the book, Ash's time as a scribe, dragged for me. I needed more in that part.

4.2/5 stars !!

firstly, thank you to netgalley & the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

i went into this book extremely excited based on the representation i'd read it had both transgender characters and polyamory (in a healthy sort of relationship that isn't completely sex driven) are not commonly written. the first bit kinda dulled that excitement, i'm not entirely sure why but it was dragging for a bit for me at first, and i kept finding myself getting annoying with the main character, ashen, who to me just seemed to be constantly complaining every single moment.

however as it went on... my opinion changed a bit, and i truly got pretty engrossed in the story, as i then realized of course, these are teenage characters.. who have emotions and react in ways that might be more outgoing and impulsive than adults would expect. i truly got interested in each character, and loved the little bits of transgender representation with ashen's bindings and how he felt about it in terms of intimacy and references to how his energy was always male, and ramsey's genderfluidness and how the pronouns would just simply switch based on how she was expressing himself at the time, and how it wasn't the entirety of their characters, it wasn't a big deal it was just mentioned here and there because it's part of their identities but not the entirety of it.

i eventually got to the point that it was hard to put down, and i absolutely adored the polyamorous representation as that relationship between the three mcs grew, there is not a lot of representation for relationships of that sort, and it was so beautiful to read in my personal opinion. i truly loved this book more than i thought i would, and i recommend it, it can drag at first, and the pacing is a bit fast but i'd give it a chance if it seems interesting to you.

"Infinity Alchemist" by Kacen Callender is a captivating exploration of magic, identity, and resilience in a fantastical world. The book stands out for its rich world-building, nuanced characters, and the author's ability to weave themes of self-discovery into a magical narrative.

One commendable aspect of the novel is Kacen Callender's masterful world-building, creating a fantastical realm that feels both enchanting and thought-provoking. The magical elements are seamlessly integrated into the narrative, providing a backdrop that enhances the exploration of identity and the complexities of relationships.

Callender's writing style is evocative and immersive, drawing readers into a world where alchemy and self-discovery intertwine. The characters are well-developed, each with their own struggles and triumphs, adding depth to the overarching narrative. The author's exploration of themes such as identity, love, and acceptance adds a layer of emotional resonance to the story.

However, some readers may find the complexity of the magical elements and the intricate relationships between characters challenging to navigate. While the novel offers a rich and rewarding experience, those seeking a straightforward narrative may need to engage more closely with the intricacies of the fantastical world presented.

In conclusion, "Infinity Alchemist" is a mesmerizing novel that successfully combines magical elements with themes of identity and self-discovery. Kacen Callender's imaginative storytelling and well-crafted characters make the book a compelling read for fans of fantasy and those interested in explorations of personal growth. While the complexity of the magical elements may pose a challenge for some readers, the overall depth and emotional resonance contribute to the novel's success as a captivating and enchanting story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing an eARC.

I was SO excited to read this, especially considering it was the first ARC that I was approved for on NetGalley. I put it off until now hyping myself up, and... yeah I was disappointed.

I adored the trans, nb, and poly representation in this book. But the relationships themselves were underdeveloped. All the characters were so flat. Ash is too busy being angry at the world, Ramsay is only focused on destroying the Book, and Callum just wants everyone to listen to him.

The number of times that Ash yells at Callum for "not being angry" about literally any situation they are in was way too high. It was the same argument every time too, that being angry is nkt going to do them any good.

The hypocrisy of religious groups was well represented, and I think the ideas of Gresham Hain in regards to people being easily led into hating others were sadly true. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough substance with the rest of the story to really give it all any weight

The magic system is so intriguing and I'm enticed by that, but when we're given the chance for our MC to learn the basics, he just calls a good foundation stupid, has, like, one lesson, and its never touched on again. The writing was too concerned with rushing from one self-gratifying moment of plot to the next, never taking time to provide proper exposition. There's a clear flanderization of characters and its with all their worst traits. A main character with so little impulse control can't be made endearing with acerbic wit if the character's wit ends there. And if you're going to swap character perspective, the voice/inner monolgue thoughts and such can't sound identical, it's confusing and flat. The timeline is uncertain, and what I do know of it happens way too fast.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 21% :(

I'm sorry, but I just could not force myself to continue with this book. I was really looking forward to reading another Kacen Callender book after Felix Ever After, especially for YA fantasy, but this did not work for me. My main issues: writing, characters, and pacing. The writing style was "telling, not showing" whenever we learn about the world and characters' feelings and motivations. Ash was really annoying and impulsive to the point of making very dumb decisions and Ramsey was rude and condescending. I do not see how those two will grow an attraction to each other and join in a poly romance with another person later on (had not gotten that far into the story to learn about the third party). I don't like fast-paced stories. I prefer a story to take its time to seep itself into the world and characters' motivations. We were moving fast for me to feel as invested.

This would be good for someone who likes fast-paced queer YA fantasies, but I wish I was that kind of reader.

Cute, queer, fun, engrossing YA fantasy. What more can a book nerd like me want? This one wa absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for the arc

While I hadn’t read any other books by this author, I was aware that he had written a good number of books before this one and was generally quite enjoyed! So I jumped at the opportunity to see what types of books he had in store! Plus, I’m always down for a good alchemist story! Unfortunately, however, I really struggled to enjoy this one. But, as always, let’s start with a few things I did enjoy!

While heavy-handed at times, I enjoyed the world-building and society that this book presented and the ways in which the author used these fantastical features to make commentary on the real world struggles and prejudices that people may face. I wouldn’t say any of it was particularly subtle or ground-breaking, but it also got the job done, and I think readers who enjoy a good social commentary built into their fantasy novel will likely enjoy this aspect of the story. I also enjoyed the unique take on the magic system, in which everyone is capable of alchemy since it pulls from one’s life force, but use of this magic is still heavily regulated and licensed. It sets up a good foundation for our main character, a young man who practices alchemy in secret.

But while this premise is good, I found myself really disliking Ash throughout much of this book. Yes, it is YA and Ash is young and thus somewhat excused for bursts of emotion, but this character really took it to new levels. He would react so explosively to situations that it was immediately off-putting, especially given how often these reactions placed him and his friends in more danger. At a certain point, “fiery” becomes just plain dumb and unfortunately, Ash crossed this line more than once. And then he’d swing wildly back to swooning over love interests the very next moment.

And this got to another struggle point: love interests, plural. As far as my romance preferences go, throuple stories are fairly low in my interest. For me, they’re like love triangles that just…continue. And all of the struggles I have with love triangles then just…continue. In that I often don’t feel like enough has been done to build up actual relationships between all three of the characters and everything quickly begins to feel superficial and like instalove (more really, instalust, given the lack of time/development given to these relationships). Such was the case here. On one hand, this is on me. If I had dug a bit deeper, I may have just passed on this book, knowing that I’m not going to be the best reader for it. But on the other hand, objectively, I do think these relationships are lacking in any real substance, unfortunately.

And, lastly, I do have to touch on some readability issues. One of Ash’s love interests is a character named Ramsey who is genderfluid. This is then expressed on page by switching the pronouns from “they” to “him” between chapters. I’m not sure what the solution is to writing these types of characters, but this approach really left me struggling and more often than not pulled me out of the story while I re-read sentences to find the context that might clue me in on who the “he” was at any given moment. Given that the character also used “they,” it might have been best to just leave it at that. I’m not sure if switching pronouns between chapters served any real purpose, narratively, and, for me at least, it took me out of the book enough times to severely disrupt my reading experience, from a practical point.

Over all, I really struggled with this book. While there is a lot of action on the page, I felt disconnected from all of the characters and had a hard time maintaining interest in their stories. Fantasy readers who enjoy throuple stories and are looking for a good fantasy world with social commentary built in nicely may want to check this out. But I do think there are better books out there with all of these things.

Rating 6: A dislike of the main character and a struggle with some of the writing mechanics left this one as a bit of a downer for me.

(Review will go live Feb. 2 on The Library Ladies)

Dnf at 20%. What I read? 2.5 stars. Thank you netgalley for providing this arc.

So, usually I wouldn’t mark this as read, as well as stop this early on, but I’ve decide this year will be the year of dnfs. I wasn’t enjoying this. I was bored and uninterested and basically just skim reading to get through it. I can’t exactly pinpoint where this book went wrong, but I just didn’t like it. :(

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a standalone book or the first of a serie... Either way, the story was a bit too fast for me and I would have enjoyed reading more about the worldbuilding, as it was very promising.
However, the characters are the strong point of this book. Ash, our transmasc hero, is loveable and relatable to in his fight against injustice. His polyamorous romance with the genderfluid Ramsey and soft-hearted Callum is really the highlight of this story. Would have love to read this as a teenager and if there is another book in this universe, I would certainly give it a try!

All I knew when I requested this arc (thank you Tor Teen and Netgalley!) was that it was a fantasy and likely teen/young adult, but I did not know that it'd become such a fun romantasy to begin the year! AHHHH!

This is mostly a character-driven novel about Ash, Ramsay, and Callum, while setting up some conflicts for the next book or two. First, we are shown Ash's deepening connection with Ramsay, a skilled alchemy apprentice who finds out that Ash is practicing magic without a license, but offers to help teach Ash if he helps Ramsay find the Book of Source. Ramsay is a gender fluid character, and this is tied to the worldbuilding that Kacen built in too, which I found really neat!

Ash is a young trans man (though he does refer to Callum as "the other boy" multiple times, but in my head, they are young/new adults!), and I appreciated the discussions between Ash and others during the intimate encounters about not touching his chest. Ash navigates discomfort and body dysmorphia but is surrounded by partners who deeply care about him and constantly check in with him for consent. The scene where Callum helps Ash with his binder was so very swoon-worthy! The second part of this novel is Ash's introduction to and developing romance with Callum, which is confusing for both of them because Callum is Ramsay's ex from two years ago, and Callum can feel energy/read minds, so it is pretty much my worst nightmare. Meeting my new lover's ex, being attracted to them, AND they know it?! I would simply pass away.

Anyway, the final installment of the novel is with the three of them reunited, and I found it to be the fastest-paced, yet it remained quite tender and curious between the three. Since we are only given the limited third-person POV of Ash, we don't quite know everything Ramsay and Callum are feeling. We primarily read about Ash's jealousy, care, fear, uncertainty, and compassion. However, Ash drives all of the characters to name their feelings and ask for dialogues about the conflicting emotions they're sifting through.

Beyond the romance, each of the characters are working through their own past traumas, including romantic heartbreak, familial obligation and expectations, classism/elitism, and more. I thought these topics were introduced with great care, and of course you don't enjoy seeing characters struggle with these things. However, I really think that's the beauty and magic of books - no matter what world you're in, these topics will come up, and fiction finds a way for us to bring it out of the ether and ruminate on it, self-reflect, or be in dialogue with others. To me, it's never "just a book" and this is just another beautiful example of that.

Thank you Kacen for a lovely start to a new series!

cw: death, classism, violence, murder, cursing, grief, animal death, bullying, toxic family dynamics/child abuse/emotional abuse

Pretty fun and interesting YA read. The ending seemed a bit rushed and I would have loved a more concrete ending. Loved the LGBT rep!

Ash is a talented alchemist – but since he’s unlicensed, no one can ever know it, lest he be jailed or worst. The closest he can get to a formal education in alchemy is a job as assistant groundskeeper at the school where it’s taught. But when Ramsay, an apprentice at the school, discovers his secret – and just how powerful he is – they offer Ash a deal: alchemy lessons, in exchange for helping Ramsay achieve an impossibly ambitious goal.

The characters are all vividly drawn and very flawed, which I feel is very important when you’re talking about characters with amazing powers and/or high social influence. Ramsay’s pride, Callum’s often-misguided loyalty, and Ash’s impulsivity are flaws that make the characters more rounded and honest (though it can also make them frustrating.) The worldbuilding of the magic (“alchemy”) is strong, and I like how everyone can correctly perceive someone’s gender via the magic system. I couldn’t quite figure out what time period it was supposed to be, though. The “great house” system, as well as the general vibe, made me think high fantasy, and then the mention of trains and factories alongside carriages shifted that in my mind to Victorian, but then they’d mention light bulbs or refrigerators and it would throw me. I mean, it can be a fictional amalgam of course (though the fact it’s called “Anglia” makes me think it’s alternate history) but it just came across as inconsistent. In spite of that, though, I really enjoyed the book.

Representation: POC characters (including main characters), trans main character, genderfluid main character and other LGBTQ+ characters, polyamory

This was a very good fantasy story, and I really think NetGalley for giving me a chance to review the book prior to release. I think a lot of fantasy readers will be able to find something to connect to into the story.

This pulled me along at a rapid pace because I didn't want to stop reading it. The characters felt fleshed out and I LOVED the diverse representations!!

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel! There weren't too many characters and the world building wasn't too complicated to keep track of. I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this!

The writing was beautiful, the enemies to lovers satisfactory, the representation was amazing, and the magic system was pretty well developed.

I think I just struggle to enjoy this one because the pacing was a little bit off in my opinion.

Infinity Alchemist was a wonderful YA fantasy read and my first book by this author. I loved the premise of this book, specifically the use of alchemy as a power. The world building wasn't too difficult to understand, and kept me intrigued. The characters were interesting and it was nice to get LGBT rep in a YA book when so much of the world is trying to make them feel unseen. There's also a poly relationship in the book and the communication that they had within their relationship was quite impressive.

Well done!

thank you NetGalley, Kacen Callender, and TOR Publishing for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.