I knew I was going to like A Golden Fury as soon as I saw the cover and that the publication date is the day before my birthday. I knew I was going to love it as soon as I skimmed the description.

Setting: It’s set in the late 18th century England and France which is a fascinating period in European history. It’s rife with political turmoil and guillotine executions. The book starts off in France in 1792 which means the French Revolution is well underway, the monarchy is gone, Britain is preparing to declare war, and the Reign of Terror is coming up fast. Most of the book is set in England but tensions are still high in England and France.

Characters:

Theosebeia “Thea” Hope is the main character and she’s extremely smart. She speaks several languages, five I believe, and while her mother is the most prominent female alchemist in the world, it’s clear the Thea will surpass her.
On the precipice of a creating the Philosopher’s Stone, her mother, Marguerite Hope, cuts her out completely so the glory is hers alone which I think sums her up pretty well.
I don’t think we ever actually learn Thea’s father’s full name, he is always “the Professor,” “Professor Vellacott,” or “my father.” Given how little we and Thea know about him, this seems fitting.
Dominic did not play the role I expected him to. I thought for sure we were going to end up with a love quadrangle or even a pentagon but thankfully that was not to be.
The Philosopher’s Stone gets it’s own little bullet point since it is technically the star of the show. Everyone wants it but they don’t even know what it is.
Then there is Will, the Jacobin Alchemist who is at the root of the story, I won’t say more than that.
Plot: The pacing wasn’t always super consistent. It lagged at times but I still read it quickly. Alchemy in general is fascinating and this is one of the only Alchemy related books I’ve ever come across. The antagonist situation was the best part by far in that there are several and who poses the greatest threat changes throughout the story as new information comes to light. It definitely kept me on my toes. The threat of madness also kept things interesting and was the largest contributing factor of this being on the darker side for YA which I have no complaints about.

Overall rating: 4.25 stars! This was an excellent debut and I fully expect Samantha Cohoe to blossom into a 5 star author.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc!