Alchemised - Book Review

The latest book to hit BookTok by storm is in the form of Alchemised by SenLinYu. Originally a Harry Potter fanfic centring around Draco and Hermione, Alchemised is a reworked piece of fiction set in its own world, following the love of two characters as they navigate through war. So why does this book have such a grip on the internet?

Let's dive into this Alchemised book review...

Many people that love reading, also love Harry Potter. The original fanfiction (titled Manacled), focused on the unlikely relationship formed between Hermione and Draco during the war with Voldemort. I'd heard about this work of fiction, but never really considered reading it.

However, I started seeing Alchemised advertised everywhere and it took me a week or so to realise that it was actually Manacled but reworked. After seeing many online reactions to how incredible this story is, I decided to have a read of it myself.

There's definitely a lot of inspiration drawn from Harry Potter and The Handmaid's Tale. Although we know that the Harry Potter world was the main inspiration, it was still difficult to picture these characters as anything other than the ones from Harry Potter. Helena still felt like Hermione, and Kaine still felt like Draco. Even the dialogue reminded me of the dialogue from the films.

Then Part One and Part Three of the book (which is present day) feels very similar to The Handmaids Tale (I'm thinking of Nick and June but a slightly more intense version). The breeding program doesn't play a huge part in the story in terms of plot, but it does create space for very dark moments and questionable situations that are thought-provoking.

I always try to keep my reviews spoiler free which isn't the easiest thing to do when you want to discuss certain points in the book but one of my great joys is going into a book blind. Other opinions and certain spoilers can take away from the experience.

There are a number of themes in this book which helps in its appeal to a wide audience. On the main front it's a standalone fantasy novel covering a period of war and the aftermath. It is predominately a romance, but not in the typical romance genre. Perhaps it falls into more of a dark romance. There is no story if you take away the romance, but I understand why people are reluctant to call it a romantasy. It is far from idyllic and there are moments when we question the characters motives.

The main plot though becomes how these two characters will survive the war, especially considering they are on opposite sides. From the beginning, we know that the "bad" side win, but Part Two (which covers the previous two years) is captivating nonetheless. We learn a lot more about Kaine Ferron as well as how his life became intertwined with Helena's. The main reveal being how we got to Part One.

A lot of people online saying that the ending was bittersweet. Personally, I think the ending is as happy as it could of been and there was no part of the ending was truly sad. We get to span a number of years in the last few pages allowing us to experience that positive part of the story.

My biggest issue throughout the whole book as the chemistry between Kaine and Helena. I know what I was supposed to feel but I just didn't feel it. There were moments when I couldn't tell if they actually liked each other or if it was just trauma bonding. A lot of people have mentioned trauma bonding, but I believe the author truly meant for them to be in love (although a part of the ending left me unsure).

Despite the book being over one thousand pages, I ended up reading it quite quickly. The writing and pace of the story is great. Yes, there is quite a bit of infodumping in order to build up the fantasy world and the magic system, but it's not terrible. As the book goes on, you get used to the way certain things work.

It's easy to see why it's become so popular, especially if you think about it being an alternative to Harry Potter. It's an enjoyable read with some heavy topics. It's a story to showcase the brutality of war as well as what people are willing to do for the ones they love. In terms of the story, you as a reader don't care about either side of the war; you only want Kaine and Helena to survive.

My Rating - 8/10