Alchemised
#1 New York Times bestseller
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4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.
“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.
In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.
According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?
To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This dark and twisted fantasy already has an established fan base because it’s adapted from an exceptionally popular work of fan fiction inspired by a well-known fantasy series. But even if you come into this story completely cold, you will still be magically compelled by the complex and painful bond between a torturer and his prisoner. The Resistance against the High Necromancer has been crushed, and healer Helena Marino has fallen into the hands of Kaine Ferron, the High Necromancer’s trusted lieutenant. His primary mission is to pry out the two years’ worth of memories that are alchemically locked within her brain—and as inaccessible to her as they are to everyone else. His secondary mission is to make her pregnant, as there is a shortage of alchemists. As their distorted present-day relationship progresses, Helena’s memories gradually reveal the dark secrets of their past relationship and her hidden role within the group known as the Eternal Flame. This book is the antithesis to the usual happily ever after. If you seek the flames of romance burning palely from an abyss of gore, emotional and physical torment, and the highest degree of angst you could possibly imagine, you’ll find them here.
Customer Reviews
Great adventure in a book
The book was pretty amazing in my opinion. It kept you guessing what was around the corner and how it would all be pulled together. Took many books fail to hold my interest so I was hesitant to pick this up given the size but it sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down.
Good god buckle up
I wish I hadn’t known this book’s source origins, because for the first half at least it kept creeping into my brain and cheapening the story. I also had no idea just how dark and disturbing and violent the content is, so be prepared. I didn’t even like it at first, but I couldn’t stop reading it.
But under that is a really, reallly long book that I read in three days and lost sleep over to read because I could not put it down. It’s heartbreaking and unflinching in the assessment of the horrors of war, politics, and the very human cost of trying to find something worth fighting for.
Go in ready for some difficult reading. I don’t think the characters get to breathe until past halfway, and neither do the readers. And even then it’s so brief it’s more like a gasp before drowning in the rest of the war and horror.
But read it. It’ll break your heart in all the best ways.
Trust the Process
This book is based off the widely popular fanfiction “Manacled”, and let me tell you—it's an experience. Here's the thing: it's tough to get into at first. You feel lost. There's so much being tossed at you that it can be hard to stay committed. And I almost want to say that's intentional, because you're SUPPOSED to feel what the main character is feeling. You're supposed to not understand the full scope of things right away. It's disorienting by design, and if you can sit with that discomfort, it pays off.
Because by the time you get to Part Two, everything starts to click into place. The pieces come together, the picture clears, and suddenly you realize you're in the middle of something extraordinary. This book was an emotional rollercoaster, and I loved every second of it. The way the story unfolds and reveals itself is masterful—you don't see where it's going until it's already taken you there.
Here's my hot take: someone on TikTok recommended a specific reading order:
Read Part 1
Read Part 2
REREAD Part 1
Then read Part 3.
It's over 1,000 pages, so trekking back through Part 1 can feel a bit daunting. But I did it, and I fully agree that this reading order gives the most emotional depth. Going back to Part 1 after you know more changes everything. You catch things you missed. You feel things differently. It's worth the extra time.
I finished this book months ago, and I still think about it regularly. It lives rent-free in my head constantly. The storytelling here is unmatched; the way SenLinYu builds this world, peels back layers, and makes you feel everything so deeply is something I haven't experienced often. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've closed it, the kind that makes other books feel a little less impactful by comparison.
If you're willing to push through that initial confusion and trust the process, this book will wreck you in the best way possible.