Book Review - The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. 

I was immediately drawn to this book by its cover. I mean, look at it, it's a work of art. The quality of writing in this book certainly matched its cover. I had never read any books by Kylie Lee Baker before, but I already know I'm going to be reading all her books. This book was amazing. 

The Scarlet Alchemist takes place in Imperial China and features a main character, Zilan, who is of mixed heritage (her mother was Chinese and her father was from Scotia). As a child, Zilan's father left and her mother died, so she was left in the custody of her aunt and uncle and grew up alongside her cousins Wenshu and Yufei. Since they grew up in a poor area of China, the cousins perform forbidden, illegal alchemy that brings the dead back to life in order to help provide for their family. However, the cousins have bigger dreams. Together they travel to the capital to try and pass Imperial exams so that they can serve the royal family. 

While taking the exams Zilan faces many obstacles and has to fight against alchemists who have been professionally trained for years. Eventually, though, Zilan passes her alchemical exam and becomes one of the Empress' royal alchemists and is given the nickname "Scarlet Alchemist." She also becomes involved with the crown prince Li Hong and helps him plot against the Empress. I won't spoil anything more, but the plot of this book was amazing. There were so many twists and turns and I never knew what was coming next. I still cannot believe that the author killed off one of the major main characters. How am I supposed to wait until the next book to find out what happens?!

Zilan is such an admirable main character. It's not often that I read a book where the main character never annoys me, but Zilan was such a well-written character and I found myself rooting for her the entire time. I also really enjoyed reading about her relationship with Hong. He was such a sweet, albeit a little naive, character. I really hope there is a future for them in any upcoming books. 

After the shocking ending of this book, I'm eager to see what happens next.