I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't. The queer representation in the book is amazing and I'm so happy to see more of that showing up in books.

Now I don't think this is a bad book, it was just not for me. I didn't really enjoy the main character so it was hard to keep going when I wasn't invested in them. The book's pacing was a little odd to me. The plot was going very slow then it just hits you all at once. Then the romance went from nothing to 100 in no time.

I am a bit sad, I have to be honest. I was so pumped for this book, I loved Felix Ever After by the same author so I got excited for Kacen Callender's new YA fantasy. Sadly I struggled with the first half of this book and even considered dropping it, but I am happy that I finished because I did end up enjoying it.

The magic system is a bit underdeveloped, but I loved how organic it feels. It had a really strong Full Metal Alchemist and I am all for it. The world-building was quite fun and complex, playing with a lot of themes of classism and the elite being on top while your common guy doesn´t have a lot of choices.

“Energy is infinite, and love is energy, so love has the potential to be infinite too” 

The cherry on top and the reason I pushed through was the queer representation. Love triangles that end up in polyamory is one of my favorite tropes, and on top of that we have enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and second-chance romance, which was amazingly done. I loved that Ramsay got the time to be mad and process his feelings before forgiving Callum, even if all the relationships felt a bit rushed.

This was one of my biggest complaints with the story, Ash falls very quickly for both Ramsay and Callum, and they for him in return. everything happens in the span of a few weeks and while Ramsay and Ash have some time spent together, connecting their spirits, Callum decides to trust Ash after exactly one day.

A lot is happening and I would have loved for the book to be actually split into at least two stories and give the relationships more time to develop, and the plot more space to grow, it felt quite rushed by the end. I am still on the fence if I will continue with this series (I was not aware it was a series until halfway through), but this has a pretty closed ending that works as a standalone in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ash Woods (he/him) loves alchemy but there’s one problem, he doesn’t have an alchemy license. When he tries and fails to secure his spot at an alchemic institute, he does the next best thing and applies to work as a groundskeeper. When he’s caught illegally practicing alchemy on campus, Ash is forced onto a quest which not only changes his life, but the future of alchemy forever.

This was a very unique novel and I’m having a hard time deciding how I feel about it. The magic system and world-building were very intricate and at times a bit confusing, but very unususl and interesting. There’s much to be expanded on for sure.

The characters definitely acted their age which I appreciated. They’re flawed and real and I love that. Also, the diverse representation in race and gender expression is amazing. We have trans rep, we have gender fluid rep and we have poly rep.

There was some pacing issues that kind of made some things feel drawn out and others rushed. If it was a smidgen more balanced I believe I would’ve been sucked in a bit more.

Overall, this was an extremely unique read with strong characters and great representation, all while touching complex societal issues. I personally didn’t connect with this one as much as I hoped, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

Big thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Infinity Alchemist was such a refreshing take on YA fantasy.

It is set in a world where alchemy (magic) exists, but only the elite are invited to learn it.

Our main protagonist, Ash (he/him), is unfortunately not amongst this elite. As such, he takes a job as a groundskeeper at a Mage College. He ends up studying alchemy in secret with the help of Ramsay (she/her/he/him) in exchange for helping her search for the legendary Book of Source (think like, the Holy Grail, but for magic users), which essentially provides unlimited power to its user. Through their quest for the Book, Ash and Ramsay develop feelings for each other and go through some truly intense trials/battles.

This book features trans, genderfluid, queer, and polyamorous characters of color in a way that I have never seen done so seamlessly. All of these elements are important to the characters/storyline, but they aren’t the sole focus of the book. Also, despite the fact that there are systems of oppression presented in the book, those systems were not tied to sexuality/gender identity, which….honestly? Thank Glob. FINALLY.

This book definitely needs to find its way into the hands of more readers. There’s a rad magic system, a lot of action, and just a hint of spice (like not even a full 🌶️, it’s YA, y’all). I absolutely loved this book, and I’ve rated it 4.75 stars (rounded up to 5)!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have a deep love for Felix Ever After, it was one of my favorite contemporaries back in 2021. When I saw the author was publishing a fantasy novel I was over the moon. I love fantasy and I love this author, it was looking like a win-win situation. The plot and themes had me intrigued from the beginning, I went in with high hopes. Those high hopes got squashed a little bit.

I want to say the queer representation was incredible. I adored that from start to finish, Kacen never disappoints with the representation in their books. The ideas and themes were something I did like, it was just the execution that felt very lacking.

I am going to try not to be too negative, I was just bummed that I found more things that I didn’t like than I did like. The pacing, world building, development of characters and relationships were lacking. World building is so crucial in fantasy and when that isn’t fully developed things are more likely not to come together. I barely understood the world in Infinity Alchemist, it felt all over the place. You got tidbits of the world throughout the book and it didn’t feel cohesive at all it was more like afterthoughts.

The conversations and inner monologues felt repetitive constantly. I was waiting to learn knew things but it was the same thing 9/10 times. Some of the characters I’m still confused as to why they had focus on them when they brought nothing to the table. Tobin for example, I know the idea of why he was there but it felt unnecessary to have as much as focus as he had on him in the beginning.

Overall, pretty much everything felt surface level and that was also a big factor in why I was struggling throughout the book. I wanted more of pretty much everything. The potential is very much there and I wish I was able to enjoy what was present more. I hope others enjoy this book, it just wasn’t for me.

a fun, genderfluid poly young adult fantasy about ash woods, an aspiring alchemist rejected from the mage's college where he would learn the craft. after taking a groundskeeper job at the school & forced to learn alchemy in secret, he meets ramsay thorne, who decides to teach ash what she knows in exchange for help finding the 'book of source', a sacred text that gives the reader power. this book is an adventure from beginning to end, and i loved the representation of queer nb poly characters. ultimately this book read a bit too young for me, and was a bit longer than necessary to pack a punch.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
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Genre:
Romantasy
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Tropes:
Found family, enemies to lovers, not a trope but polyamory
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Main Concepts:
Ash lives in Hedge and works as a groundkeeper all while holding on to a secret that could get him killed. He’s practicing illegal alchemy. Ramsey discovers his secret and uses it to his/her advantage. The two team up together to find the Book of Source. Lots of little twists and turns to go along with their journey.
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Favorite Scenes:
1.) Ramsey and Ash practicing alchemy to reach the higher realms. Lots of character/relationship building going on in the moments that I enjoyed.
2.) Callum being so sweet to Ash with making sure Ash is wearing enough clothes in the cold and preparing his meals.
3.) Ramsey going grocery shopping?!
4.) Ramsey, Callum, Ash sharing a bed for the first time.
5.) Ramsey, Callum, Ash saying goodbye when Ash went to find the book.
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World building:
Okay, so this is where my 3.5 rating really comes into play. The world building was honestly really fricken confusing to begin. Everything was kind of all over the place and I specifically remember a chapter that was in the past but we didn’t get any warning or header indicating the entire chapter was in the past. That just really confused me for about a chapter and a half.

Now I do really like the elements of magic in this world, I do just feel like things could have been a little bit more organized.
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Spice level:
1/5. Doesn’t really have detailed smut scene, kinda just fade to black but definitely has some adult explanation of character bodies.
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Overall thoughts:
So, I did struggle to get into this book at first with how the writing tends to be a little all over the place. Some chapters have a lot of jumps and you don’t really know it’s a jump right away. I do also feel like somethings were just over explained or way too detailed. I did want to DNF in the beginning but I am glad I pushed through.

The magic or alchemy aspect of the book is a really cool concept and I liked getting all the details about the different tiers of alchemy and how each House uses alchemy or does not.

I do think that this book handles aspects like pronouns, sexuality, and identity very well. Ash seems to be trans and Ramsey identifies with she/he pronouns depending on the day. The author has Ramsey as a character switching between male/female and readers can tell what gender Ramsey associates the most with that day with Ash’s use of pronouns. I just think that’s pretty awesome tbh and haven’t had a single book like that thus far. There is also polyamory included in this book and the author does go into detail on the different emotions like jealousy, feelings of not being loved, and confusion about going into a polyamory relationship. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book as well. Ramsey, Ash and Callum are just so perfect for each other, they all three really balance each other out.

Overall, I do recommend this book because of the neat concept with alchemy, the representation of pronouns and the representation of polyamory relationships. The author handled all of these themes very well and I am excited to see what comes next for these three. The cliffhanger at the end has also got me pretty interested in what journey they will be going on next because I know it’s going to be a wild ride.

I really struggled with how to rate this book because I wanted so badly to love it. On paper, this should have been a five star read for me, but it just fell flat in the execution.
One of the things that was so well done was the LGBTQIA+ representation in this book. The cast of characters was exceptional in its diversity.
The overall pacing of the book is where I think the story struggled most. Most of the best action and character development took place in the last 10% of the book so it felt rushed and, in the case of some of the character development, felt undeserved. The level of domesticity and the certainty of the happily ever after for the three main characters came so suddenly and completely, that I can't see it lasting.
It will be interesting to see if there are any further book in this same world (whether they have the same main characters or focus of different characters) because the magic/science system the author created was fascinating, but under explained and under explored in this book.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.
The main plot and the characters are good, but I prefer stories that are more slow burn and this book felt quite fast paced. I love the poly representation, that's always a plus. I liked that although it is a YA, it doesn't feel like a middle grade like most of the time it happens with YA books. Overall, it was a good read.

I’ve really enjoyed previous books by Kacen Callender, but I have very mixed feelings about this one. From a standpoint of queer representation, I thought it was great! There aren’t many mainstream books with genderfluid and poly rep, so I really enjoyed that.

However, from the standpoint of a fantasy book, this wasn’t my favorite. The worldbuilding was very lacking and, although it did sound cool at first, I never fully understood everything. The magic system wasn’t very unique - it’s a pretty generic “magic school.”

In terms of actual writing, this was just so-so. I was never hooked by the story, which I think in part was due to the pacing. Ramsay was my favorite character, but I honestly didn’t connect with any of them as much as I wanted to. Although the ending was sweet, I ended up skimming through most of this.

In summary: If you’re JUST interested in queer rep, this is a solid YA book. If you’re looking for a good fantasy book, then this is not it.

Fantastic world building, and I loved how the author wove together the magic system with the politics and social angst of the world. It all felt very realistic! The romance element wasn’t for me—I found the thruple and how they navigate that to be distracting—but I think it very much will be for some readers, who will be excited to see that casually represented on the page.

This book starts off so well. The magic is so interesting that I needed to know more about it. The characters are diverse and very well fleshed out. The journey ahead is exciting. Then it all sort of morphs into something else. The movement of the story stalls and it becomes more about getting to know characters instead of the magic system. I was bored during this time until the end where the pace picks back up and the thing we have been following and trying to understand is summarized rather quickly in a few chapters and tidily ends leaving the reader underwhelmed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I had to dnf this after the first several chapters because the main character and their everything just was literally putting me in a bad mood.

Ash Woods, what does power mean to you?

What does power mean to you, pals? What will it mean for Ash? Source, you’re in for it. Do you love stories of trans and queer characters as they navigate magical systems intended to subjugate them at every turn? Then BUCKLE UP, pals— INFINITY ALCHEMIST is here for you.

It is, yes, a YA fantasy, but really, it’s about three young folks trying to find their sense of belonging— to live and thrive in the world they’re thrust into. A world that’s divisive, cruel, classist, and racist.

Ash (bless my heart), Ramsey, & Callum— what a trio. I loved every moment of my ride with them.

- Ash, our fiery MC, wants to be an alchemist more than anything. But how will he get there? No one knows until he attempts to steal from…
- Ramsey, so powerful her gender shifts at will, is a professor searching for a book that ruined her family (long story there). Who has a star-crossed past with…
- Callum, our soft, blue energy exuding (it makes sense, I promise) guard who is fed up with the system….

Say it with me, “Kacen Callender is an auto-buy author.” I love Stars in Your Eyes, and when I saw this, Callender’s first YA Fantasy, I thought, damn, count me in. Did I love following Ash Woods (what a name) to magical planes searching for a lost book while defying his father? Oh yes, I did.

There’s a fantastic world of alchemy (where a magical college appears, however briefly) and magical plane jumping (that may be my favorite)— but what you’ll come away with, as in all of Callender’s books— is a deep love and respect for the characters.

Ash Woods, what does power mean to you? I can’t wait for more of this series. It ends, and you want more… when we get a date, I’ll let you know. Also— MARLOWE needs a book, k, thanks :)

Thanks to Tor Teen for the copy to review!

I was able to finish the book last night so happy release day to Infinity Alchemist ! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and the concept of the plot. I don't read YA fantasy that often, but I do love alchemy so this book grabbed my attention when I saw the cover and title. I also loved all the representation that was in this book. It had everything and more including a trans main character, a genderfluid side character and a polyamorous relationship. The way gender was handled in this book, I absolutely adored because I also wished we can just project what we are as a person and everyone can feel it too. If anyone was interested in a YA fantasy romance with LGBT representation then I would definitely recommend checking this book out. If you like the generic young adult protagonist, then you would definitely love Ash, he's hotheaded and impulsive. As much as I like romance, I was more interested in the world building and was hoping it leaned more on that then the actual romance. Don't get me wrong, I liked the angsty romance too because nothing is better than flawed characters trying to communicate their feelings during a time of crisis, but I just wanted to see more of the world that was created in this story. I was very interested in the concept of tiers when it came to performing alchemy, the segregation of the world's population, and more about each House, I wished it went into more detail on those things and split the focus evenly on the romance and plot. Overall, it was a fun read.

Thank you the publishers and netgalley for allowing me to read the book early!

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the magic system and was so here for all the queer love. I loved that author tackled hard narratives through the story and I feel like they did it well and it was pretty clear what issues they were tackling. I loved the representation of characters, trans, genderfluid, pretty sure pansexuality and of course a poly relationship.

I will say that the pacing was a little off in the story. It's pretty slow through most of the book and then rushes toward an ending. And there were a few cases of telling versus showing that kinda tripped me up while reading, but ultimately not a bad thing.

If your looking for a magical queer love story to pick up, then I definitely suggest grabbing this one!!

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!

I really, really loved the idea of this book. In theory, it's absolutely everything I could want from a book- academic setting, alchemy, queer and trans characters who I genuinely fell in love with and would die for. I wanted to love this book so much more than I did, but the tone and genre just did not do it for me. This seemed to swing very wildly from like young YA to more mature, bordering-on-adult YA every other chapter. The decisions Ash, the main character, makes are largely rooted in anger and impulsivity. I didn't necessarily hate that, as it's a very teenage thing to do. However, Ash is 18 and both Callum and Ramsey are 19, and all three of them are navigating incredibly complex situations and feelings, so having Ash more like a teenager rather than the young adult he is was at times very jarring. I think I would have enjoyed this book much much more if it felt more solidly like YA or adult. This was one of those books where I think I liked the potential of the story more than the story itself.

Along with that, I would have loved to spend more time with these characters and seeing their relationship grow and develop. A lot of the relationship development was done very offhandedly, with Ash just mentioning that time was passing and he was starting to get closer to Callum and Ramsey. That being said, I did absolutely adore all three of them (and Marlowe, I love Marlowe so much), as individual characters and as a part of a trio. The queer, trans, genderfluid rep was just spectacular. For me in particular, I was attached to Ramsey pretty much immediately. He was incredible and I can only hope that in future books we get more of his POV. I'm pretty confident she could very easily become one of my favorite characters of all time. I really hope to see more books with these characters in the future!

I found Infinity Alchemist to be a fun and entertaining read, while also tackling more serious issues. I really liked the magic system based around Alchemy and how the power is pulled from the body’s energy. At times I found myself getting frustrated with the characters, but their flaws made them feel more real and it made sense for their ages and the circumstances. I grew to root for Ash, I adored Callum and Ramsay grew one me too. I will say that the pacing wasn’t the best and the ending was kind of abrupt, but I would definitely read any sequels in the future and im so happy to see all the different kinds of representation present in this book.

Fantastic queer cast of main characters: one is transmasc, one is genderfluid, one is pansexual(?). This is a world where those identities are not an issue. The use of alchemy (magic) is 'othered'. The magic was cool in concept and explored a bit more at the beginning when Ramsy was teaching Ash, but then once we got into the action there wasn't a lot of descriptive magic. I felt a lot of the action parts were barely described and were instead glossed over. Was a bit confused what time period this is set and it's not super clear based on context clues. The dialogue reads more YA, but some of the content was definitely more New Adult. There was a lot of potential here, but it ended up being very character focused and the plot was a bit slow moving. I got rather bored by about 50%. The character dynamic between the main 3 were well done especially regarding their poly relationship. I don't know if this is going to be a series or not because it felt semi-conclusive. All the action really happens in the last 10-15% and that felt a bit rushed with how slow the rest of the book moved.


Content Warnings:
Graphic: Sexual content, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Cursing
Minor: Torture, Bullying, and Animal death

Thank you TorTeen and NetGalley for this ARC!

Overall, I really enjoyed the world-building and characters of this book! It is a great YA fantasy, and I had such a fun time reading it. Great representation, but the plot felt slightly rushed near the ending. Other than that, no complaints from me.