3.5⭐️

The Crystal Alchemist is the 2nd book in The Silver Order trilogy that follows the FMC, Hazel Grey and her return to her childhood home, Whitestone Manor, following her father's death, and MMC, Theo Pierce, who's family was forced to sell Whitestone Manor when he was a child. Theo has dedicated his life to getting his home back and redeeming his family's honor at whatever cost.. Set in the Victorian era, this historical fantasy (light) romance delves into Hazel's father's involvement in The Silver Order, a secret society that she has hated and feared most of her life, and the secrets that's they keep.

This was my first historical romance and I was pleasantly surprised! As an avid fantasy reader, I think this book is great for anyone that wants a taste of "fantasy" but isn't quite ready for crazy world building and magic systems. It was a bit of a slow burn, but I really enjoyed the atmospheric feel of this book as it's set in Victorian England. I wish we would've had a bit deeper character development, but overall really liked it! I was absolutely locked in for the last 25% of the book and felt like the story wrapped up nicely.

🩷 Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Crystal Alchemist by Ella Leon is a third person dual-POV historical light fantasy romance set in the Victorian era. Hazel wants nothing to do with magic or alchemy, as her father’s work with the Order has not done her any favors in society. When her childhood friend wants to buy the house her father lived in, Hazel sees a way to get rid of it and maybe marry her long-time crush. But Theo Pierce also wants to buy the house and he’s also attracted to Hazel.

Theo will fight for the house and Hazel and does a lot to help Hazel understand more about what the Order was doing and the part her father played. We learn early on that Hazel doesn’t actually believe that magic exists despite her father being deeply entrenched in alchemy and even teaching her some of the skills, so Hazel really does need someone to tell her that these things are real. I think Hazel would have been fine not knowing, but she always would have carried resentment towards her father whereas learning about these things helped her at least accept his actions a bit more. The main bulk of their relationship is this exploration of Hazel’s father’s work and the Order as well as their mutual attraction.

Like the previous book in the series, this is more of a light fantasy or speculative historical fantasy. Alchemy is the only really fantastical aspect and Theo pushes that science and magic are the same (which is a common thing in works dealing with alchemy and I love it every time), which grounds the fantastical even more. I love a high fantasy where the author makes everything themselves, but I also love lighter speculative elements that are allowed to breathe and be explored.

I would recommend this to fans of Victorian Romance with light fantasy elements and readers of fantasy romance who also love Regency/Victorian Romances

Unfortunately I found this story quite difficult to get into. The pacing was slow at the beginning and I did DNF at about 12%. The magic system is well thought out and I did enjoy this aspect. The MC is also likeable.