After reading some reviews on goodreads I now understand that Ramsay is genderfluid, I'm guessing that's why it swaps between He/She. That defiantly kept me confused.

Publisher's summary
Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic—so when Ash is rejected by Lancaster College of Alchemic Science, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret.
When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested—but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power.
As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists—Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the arc of this book!

Infinity Alchemist
By: Kacen Callender
Narrated by: Wes Haas
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: 02-06-24

I didn't finish this book. It ended up being too young for my tastes. I don't plan to review it anywhere else but I wanted to supply my feedback here.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I am so conflicted on how I feel about this book. On the one hand, the plot had such potential, and toward the end, I wanted to know what would happen more than I was confused or annoyed. On the other hand, the characters either annoyed me or left me indifferent to them, which is the worst thing a story can do to me.

There was wonderful poly rep that did so well at capturing all angles of the relationship and building it in a genuine way. The plot and idea itself had such potential and was really interesting to me. It was very different from any other fantasy world I've read lately, and that intrigued me and kept me wanting more.

I just really didn't find the characters relatable at all, and that made me unable to get into the story fully. I also found myself being confused far past the point I would normally be starting to get the hang of a fantasy world. I wanted to be able to fall in love with the characters to the point that the really great plot would have me unable to put the book down, but unfortunately that just didn't happen.

Maybe give this a try, it might be more your style than mine. I wish it had hit home more for me.

Loved this! Great polyamory, great trans characters and great magic! All around wonderful! I loved watching the characters have their walls come down and Bond with each other.

ALC Review: Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender
Pub Date: February 6, 2024

I had a really fun time with this! It's a little longer than most audiobooks I usually listen to so I was worried it would feel a like a slog but I actually ended up listening to the last 50% in one day because I didn't want to stop! Every book I've read from Kacen has been delightfully queer, and this is no exception! There's a trans MC, a genderfluid MC whose pronouns shift about every chapter, and a pansexual MC. The characters never face issues specifically related to their queerness, which I love.

As other reviews have said, this is definitely on the spectrum of younger YA - not so much in character ages but definitely in their emotions and reactions. That wasn't off putting to me but if you prefer older YA books, I think this will be a more frustrating read.

It does appear that this is going to be the start to a series so I am curious where it will go and if it's going to follow the same characters. I really would love to continue to see more of this relationship and how it grows because I think the characters are still figuring it out and I really enjoy reading that process. The relationships escalate relatively quickly in my opinion (I think it's about 2 weeks from meeting to being "in love"?) which I didn't love but also did seem to kind of fit in the story. Again, I'm hoping we get to explore this dynamic even more in the next book.

I enjoyed the narration immensely! I thought it added a lot to the story and I would be happy to listen to this narrator again.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Infinity Alchemist is the first in a fantasy series where our three characters race against other alchemists in search of a powerful magic. It's full of representation, betrayals, unlikely allies, and even unlikelier love.

The representation in here was absolutely wonderful. There's bi/pansexual rep, polyamory rep, trans rep, and gender fluid rep. All of it was done so well, and in this fictional world, it was normalized. The way these representations were spoken about didn't seem over-worked or forceful, they felt natural and fluid to the story itself. I absolutely believe that many YA readers would pick this up and feel seen and represented.

The ending felt much stronger than the beginning for me (which is honestly better than the alternative). I struggled to get in to the story itself until the halfway point, where the romance and plot line started to really pick up. The narrator did an excellent job, I do recommend the audio for sure. The resolution to the climax felt a bit underwhelming compared to the excellent build up we got, but the ending of the story following that felt very well done.

This is showing as a series on Goodreads, but I do feel like this could definitely be read as a standalone as the ending wraps things up clearly. My favorite part was Ash's character development. His self-realization at the end was so well done, and I loved what his character says to other characters in the last couple of chapters. It's very fitting for him and the storyline. The romantic buildup was done so well, and I greatly enjoyed how every piece of it developed. This definitely should be labelled as fantasy romance, as the romance part of the story is very heavy (this is NOT a complaint because that romance was SO GOOD!). There are some slightly heated scenes, probably more suitable for upper YA, that fade to black before it gets too into the scene.

I definitely recommend this story, thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for an ARC of the audio in exchange for a review!

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. Honestly. But Ash was just so incredibly unlikable from the moment they're introduced until the end. And for me, it got to be a little too much. Maybe other people might like him as a main character, but he just wasn't for me.

The world building was interesting. I really enjoyed the idea of the families/houses and the back and forth on alchemy and whether it should be allowed to be practiced. I loved the magic. And that opening scene was horrifying. I did find I was disappointed we didn't see more of it.

The story dragged for me, and that I think is why I can't give this book 4 stars. There were pockets of action spaced out by long intervals of Ash whining or being just absolutely annoying and stubborn, and I found my interest waning during those stretches.

Overall, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book, but I also know I'm not the target audience for it. There are definitely other people who will love this.

As for the audiobook itself, I thought the production did a great job. The narrator had a clear voice, even if they didn't differentiate between characters well/enough for me to really get a good idea who was talking 80% of the time.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I saw a lot of hype for this book online, which made me want to read it. Fantasy isn't normally my cup of tea, and it took me six hours to become invested in the plot, characters, and the world-building. But once I became invested, the book was hard to put down.

In a world where alchemy is only for the wealthy and regulated by the state, Ash is an orphan with a dream of becoming an alchemist. When he's caught illegally practicing alchemy by Ramsey, an alchemist apprentice, Ash is blackmailed into helping Ramsay find the book of source. Magic, mischief, and romance ensue, and readers are swept away on a high-stakes adventure.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and Edelweiss+ for both the physical and digital ARCs
If you're looking for a YA romantic with trans, polyamorous characters, Infinity Alchemist is worth checking out. It is important to notice that it does read very YA- complete with an extremely emotional and often irate main character… The plot was easy to follow and the word building was simple but effective.
I went into this book extremely excited based on the representation of both transgender characters and polyamory as these are not commonly written, especially in YA. And while the plot is easy to follow I lost my excitement as the pacing was a struggle going from super slow to fast paced. I also did continuously find myself getting irritated with the main character, Ashen, who came across VERY whiny. However, as it went on, my opinion did change (as the pace picked up), and I truly got lost in the story. I also did come to remember that Ashen is a teenager, and it is normal for him to react in a much more impulsive manner. Overall the characters and plot of the story are really well done, the only thing that I felt lacked was the pacing of the story as a whole.
As for the narration of the audiobook, that was really well done and did help me get through the “harder” parts of the story.

I am having a pretty hard time pinning down a star rating for this book, in some ways it's 5 stars for me and in others it nearly made me want to DNF. With that in mind I am going to give it a 3.5/5 because of my own rating scale - I will not be rereading this book and I would only recommend it to someone if it hits all of their very specific favorite things.

<b>Narration: </b>
I was lucky enough to get an audiobook ARC of Infinity Alchemist, and overall I was impressed with Wes Haas' narration. Wes did a great job of using accents to distinguish between the different characters when they were speaking. That can sometimes be a risky choice but all of the accents felt reasonably natural and appropriate for the characters. I did have to laugh a little at the Brooklyn accent that Tobin had, but I'm biased there.

The speaking pace that Wes used felt great, maybe even a little faster than average. I typically listen to audiobooks at 1.5 or 1.75x and for Infinity Alchemist I went with 1.25x, if Netgalley's audiobook controls allowed for more fine tuning I probably would have listened at 1.35x. So if you prefer a faster paced narrator you'll enjoy Wes.

The audio quality of the audiobook was great. There were no background sounds coming from Wes or otherwise. All of the cuts between takes felt natural, there were no jarring cuts where it was clear that line was re-recorded.

<b>What I liked: </b>
Our main characters were very convincing teenagers. They were emotional, very fast to make decisions and made some bad calls while also taking a lot of risk. Their choices felt appropriate for their ages and led to some interesting plot points.

I was thrilled to see the queer representation in this book, it was well executed and treated with respect. The characters in this book never faced problems because of their queerness, it was simply treated as part of them. I also liked the honest discussions of Ash's trans body especially in the intimate scenes, but more on that later.

The worldbuilding in this book was lots of fun, definitely not an entirely unique setting but one I do enjoy seeing. The characters never felt constricted by the confines of the setting and it felt like the choices that Kacen made in regards to the world helped move the plot forward in a very logical way. I was getting Full Metal Alchemist vibes from the world that Kacen created.

<b>What I didn't like: </b>
There were 3 main issues I had with the book. First, the characters fell way too fast - we went from these 3 not knowing each other (mostly) to "I love you, and would die or kill for you" in the span of a few weeks. While they are teenagers, it felt too fast to me. The plot could have easily been spread over 6 months or even a year, allowing for a more natural timeline of the characters to fall in love with each other and get to know each other.

Second, this is YA book with explicit scenes and explicit discussions of sex that do not feel tasteful. The on-page sex scenes are kept relatively vague but IMO this was too explicit to fall under the YA category. If anything, I think this book would have benefitted from being adult and just leaning in a bit more on those scenes.

Third, while this book is fun it feels more like a dungeons and dragons McGuffin chase than the premise for a book. The plot felt fairly predictable and while I did enjoy it, I wasn't really surprised by anything that happened.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to say I am a bit disappointed with how low some of the reviews are for this book but I understand that it might have hit the same notes with others as it did for me. I thought it was a good read and well worth my time. If I were to offer a critique, I am not certain it falls into the YA genre though it is fantasy, LGBTQIA+, and explores some fairly adult themes. I do feel much of the story has some YA content, but it does ride the line that could question which side of the fantasy fence it sits.

The main characters we follow, Ash, Ramsey, and Callum each have their strengths and weaknesses and in some ways could have been flushed out a bit better. I do feel as though Ash ( the overall main character) has some personality aspects that are daily unlikable and I was hopeful he would show growth through the book, but he really doesn’t.

I felt as though the writing of the LGBTQIA+ representation was well done and I really enjoyed being able to explore the polyamorous relationship and genderfluid protagonist. I enjoyed that the authors made these aspects feel “just a normal part of the narrative” which they are for many people in life. I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in return for my honest review and feedback. I want to explore more of Callender’s works as many of the reviews seem to say they are well worth the read as well.

3 stars!

Thank you to Tor Teen and Kacen Callender for an ARC of this book in exchange for my full, honest review!

I'm probably in the minority of readers of this who haven't read any of Kacen Callender's other books, mostly because I don't read much Contemporary, so when I heard they were writing a fantasy I jumped on the ARC.

There's a lot to like about this book. Queer rep always goes right to my heart and on the whole the cast is very diverse. I like the world even if it felt small at times because of the lack of focus on world building. I think the commentary about the effect of classism on people's ability to be trained and licensed in magic was well done. Ash, Ramsey, and Callum were all very likable and I really liked how their relationships and romance played out.

As for what didn't work, mainly it's kind of that strange quality that a lot of YA fantasy has that's really hard for me to nail down. I think it's the way the whole story treats the climax and resolution as an inevitability, so you're left finding it very predictable and not engaging. When the characters in a book act like they know their in a book, all the stakes essentially become null. And since the world building and magic system are relatively rudimentary, either as a result of the YA audience or Callender's inexperience writing fantasy, there's not a lot to fall back on once you've pieced out where the story is going.

Nothing about this book was objectionable for me, but there were long stretches where I didn't really want to finish it because I just wasn't that interested. If you're a long time fan of the author and really want an easy book full of great queer rep, give it a shot! But if you read a lot of fantasy and need a certain amount of complexity to get invested, I don't think this will be for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for this audiobook arc.

This audiobook is 10 hours and 30 minutes.

I was very excited for this book, however I discovered this book is not for me. I adore alchemy and everything along with it, and while I did like the alchemy aspects. The MMC’s actions and reactions at times drove me nuts. This book has an amazing queer rep and it’s done in a fantastic way. But there are moments in the book where it feels like it can’t decide if its a middle grade book or YA (the themes are definitely YA.) It also feels like the book is still trying to figure out what it wants to be. I Believe this could be a great starter fantasy novel, but as someone who reads fantasy/ high fantasy/ Romantasy on the regular this book was not for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC!

This book will appeal to readers of fantasy/romantasy, dark academia, and Own Voices works. It will make an excellent addition to any young adult collection.

This book was almost a DNF for me, but I powered through. Initially I was excited to read/listen to this book, as I have had the author’s books on my TBR list for a while. However, very shortly after beginning it, my excitement waned as I struggled to feel any sort of connection to the characters or the plot. In a nutshell, Ash, the main character, is stuck in a love triangle of sorts with Ramsay and Callum and is sneaking around practicing forbidden alchemy. The three are on a quest to find the Book of Source, something that cannot fall into the wrong hands. At various times in the book, the three have intimate relations with each other.
One of the most confusing parts of the story was the gender fluidity of Ramsay. This might be due to the fact that I was listening to the audiobook rather than reading the print version, but it was very confusing to have Ramsay constantly change between he/him and she/her. I feel like I lost chunks of the plot as I was trying to figure out who the author was talking about.
Another part that really bugged me was Ash’s character. My overall impression at the end of the book was that he is more into physical relationships than practicing alchemy, and he came off as weak rather than strong, as I’d expect a main character to be. He seemed whiny and immature for the most part, but he was supposed to be saving the great book.
All in all, I would not recommend this book to anyone. I might still be up for trying a different book by the same author though since they come highly recommended.

For a book that was 13 hours long... nothing really happened. This is a book that didn't know what it wanted to be - it had such promise but it did not live up to it (in my opinion).

Let's start with the good:
- Great representation all across the board: we have a trans main character, a genderfluid main character, and a pansexual main character, which is great to see in a YA book.
- The potential plot line was so interesting - Full Metal Alchemist is one of my favorite series of all time, so I am a sucker for a good alchemist book.
- THE COVER! IT'S SO PRETTY!
- Callum - an angel sweetheart baby (I have a soft spot for characters who are outwardly nice to others and easy-going. The rest of you can keep all your morally grey characters)

Now the not so good:
- For being a YA book that is written in a tone meant for younger grades (think more middle-school voice), there is a lot of romance and sex in this book. Nothing super spicy, and I don't think anything explicit on page? But still... it felt weird that the overall tone of this book felt very young but there were a lot of more adult plotlines involved and it just didn't work for me.
- I loved that we have a genderfluid main character, but this did not translate well on page/via audio. There would be chapters where we would switch from he/him pronouns to she/her without batting an eye, which was confusing enough (but easy enough to manage). But then when it would randomly switch to he/him, when our other two main characters are males that use he/him pronouns, it got really hard to decipher who was talking to who. I just think that this could have been done a bit better - not a problem, just an editing issue.
- We're not given enough backstory to care about any of this. This is supposedly the first in a series, so this could have been used to have more set up. Each book in a series should be able to hold it's own, but this one packs so much unnecessary information in it that while it can hold up, it doesn't give us anything to really care about or understand what is going on. The final "battle" scene... I'm still confused as to what happened. We lost all plot for the romance aspect towards the end.
- Why was Ash so infuriating? He was just always mad at one thing or another. In his defense, he is rightfully angry at the world for hating alchemists and for basically ensuring the poor will always be poor. But he acts as though his way is the only correct way and then gets mad at Ramsey/Callum for things that happened in their past or things they did based on the circumstances around them. I don't know, he was just irritating to listen to because he was always complaining.

Overall... unfortunately a 2.5/5 rounded down to 2. I wanted to like this one, but the pacing was all over the place and the characters' personalities were getting on my last nerve at times.

Loved this narrated version of this fantasy tale. The world building was easy to follow and lent itself well to root for the underdog. The narrator was an excellent choice as his voice was suited to Ash in the story. It could have been edited a bit for length, but it did not deter from the story line. I am so excited there will be a sequel so I can jump back in the world of New Anglia. Queer polyamorous relationships are not my typical wheelhouse but so glad I read of the love between characters. All worlds need more love in them, I say! This tale is released on Feb 6, 2024. I was blessed with an advanced copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

This book was a bit of a surprise, I thought it would have a lot more world building than it did but it definitely read more like a romantasy. I loved the fact this book included trans, queer and polyamorous characters! And the book being a YA, I feel like the characters acted in an age appropriate way - the romance starts off messy and a bit love triangle ish but I appreciated how the characters grew and sorted things out romantically in the end. That being said, the romance definitely overshadows the rest of the plot in the last third of the book. This focus on the romance slowed down the pace a bit and I feel like this impacted the high stakes feel of the story. Moreover, because the romance took center stage, I felt like the ending felt a bit rushed. The alchemy aspect of the magic was super interesting and I definitely am left wanting more answers there!

I listened to this book via audio and felt like the narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life!

Content warnings: Death, violence, classism, sexual content, grief, bullying, animal death.

Rating 3.5 stars out of 5.

A huge thanks to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

As a big fan of fantasy who's read other books by this author and liked enjoyed them, I was really hoping to like this book. Unfortunately, I just don't think it was for me. I ended up DNFing about 20% in, and while a lot of reviews say the book gets better in the second half, I didn't feel much motivation to push through. The fantasy elements of the story had potential but didn't feel developed enough, and I never felt myself really connecting with the characters. I did love the amount of queer representation, but that wasn't enough to keep me reading.

4.5/5 stars

Kacen Callender's "Infinity Alchemist" is set in a world where alchemy is a crime for SOME. The story follows Ash Woods, a groundskeeper at the Lancaster Mage's College. He has previously been declined admittance to this prestigious academy and practices alchemy in secret. When he is caught doing just that by the enigmatic Ramsay Thorne, he feels his whole world crashing down on him. Due to his obvious talents, Ash and the brilliant apprentice with dark origins embark on a perilous journey to find the legendary Book of Source.

This explores themes of gender with magic, class divide, power structures, and a touch of religious fervor. It features a diverse cast of trans, queer, and polyamorous characters of color. It delves into the complexities of power, family, and self-discovery, set against a backdrop of a unique and interesting magic system. The characters are wonderful and the romance is charming.

While the exploration of certain themes in depth is limited due to its young-adult nature, the book provides a fun and engaging read. The audiobook version, narrated excellently, was incredible and enhanced my enjoyment of the experience.

Highly recommended for those seeking a captivating blend of young adult fantasy with nods to dark academia with a diverse cast.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audio copy. All opinions are my own.