Name: Dearna Mulvaney's review of A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe
Item: A Golden Fury
Rating: 4
Author: Dearna Mulvaney

Samantha Cohoe

“A vivid ride through eighteenth century Europe with darkness and dread creeping at its corners. Utterly enchanting.” - Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints "Cohoe transmutes the legend of the Philosopher's Stone into a dark, intoxicating tale of ambition, obsession, and sacrifice. Prepare for a magic that will consume you." - Rosamund Hodge, New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty and Bright Smoke, Cold Fire In her debut novel A Golden Fury, Samantha Cohoe weaves a story of magic and danger, where the curse of the Philosopher’s Stone will haunt you long after the final page. Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness. While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of a revolution looming, Thea is sent to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists. But there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.

A Novel

A Golden Fury

Dearna Mulvaney

Megan Lowe

3.5 stars.

I liked the premise of this book but I felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Did it want to be a tale of a girl, looking for her place in the world? Did it want to be the tale of an alchemist struggling with what she wants to do? It is a romance? Is it a mystery? There’s so much going on in this book that seems to change mid track. 
I wish Thea were a stronger character and that the relationship with Will or Dominic or even Valentin were stronger to give some depth.
I wish her father were more consistent.
I wish the French Revolution theme were a bigger part as well.
As a final note, I wish there was a more solid end, rather than what were given. To me, it doesn’t read as a series but I might be wrong, but if it’s not, I would’ve liked a better end.
This book is a little bit of a mess, the result of too many themes, too many ideas trying to get out in one book.
It’s a great attempt but fell a little short unfortunately.

Sheena

This was kn-knife... Nuff… Nice. Kudos to anyone who gets that reference.
 
After reading the blurb, I was ready to step into a world of magical realism and the author’s take on creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone (got’em LOTR vibes!)—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—from the female alchemist perspective. It failed to wow me and I was terribly bored, and the slow paced of the novel didn’t bring in any favors. Characters wise, I didn’t care much for Thea or her wishy washy relationship with her mother, Marguerite, and father, Vellacott. Dominic and Will were far more interesting and kept me intrigued enough to see the conclusion of this story.
 
All in all, there was potential and though it failed to meet my high expectations, I will most likely give this author another go. Fingers crossed the next one is a keeper!

Elizabeth Neill

I want to start off by saying I am in love with this cover, it is what drew me to the book. Then I read the synopsis and it hooked me even more. Once I started reading I could hardly put it down but I do have to say that the main character Thea Hope was a little too arrogant for me. She did grow on me through out the book along with the others. I was fine with the pacing for the book and it kept me entertained, and it was easy to keep up with what was going on. Towards the end it started to feel a little rushed but it didn't take away much from the story. I just wish there was more, That is why I only gave it three stars, I will be picking up more from this author. I will also be recommending this to my friends cause it wasn't a bad book. It was very entertaining and it was a fun read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday books for sharing this arc in exchange my honest opinions.

Laura Kehoe

I've always been fascinated by alchemy and, in particular, the Philosopher’s Stone. So I was really excited to read this book, especially since it seemed to be a combination of historical fiction and fantasy. It took me a little bit to really get into the story, but by the end I was devouring each word. 

One thing that I really appreciated about this book was that it made magic understandable and more scientific. Many times in a fantasy novel, magic is portrayed as this mysterious entity and no one really explains how it works. There is some level of mystery with the magic in A Golden Fury, but I also felt like what was described made logical sense. 

I also appreciated how unique and well-developed each character was. They all had distinct voices and personalities; although there were a few of those personalities that I didn't care for. I enjoyed seeing the growth, and in some cases, decline, of each character as they moved through the story. 

I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book! It was a fun story and that ending tugged at my heart more than I expected! If you like fantasy that isn't quite as magic-heavy, or are just looking for a story with a strong female lead, this book might be for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Kaley Catron

For judging the book by its cover I quite enjoyed it. I loved that it was different. It wasn’t terribly irritating but I like that it wasn’t like actual magic but just science magic.

Jennifer

It is clear that I've been missing Europe and the remedy of this is to read books set in Europe. A Golden Fury is no exception. This interesting debut novel is a clever marriage of alchemy and 18th Century Europe. Starring in the novel is a strong & fearless female protagonist navigating through the dark human psychology, concept of blessing / curse, and family. If there's something that stood out to me, it's the unique concept and premise - so I have high expectations upon its potentials.

While the premise is very solid, I felt like there are still some technical shortcomings in A Golden Fury which results in a less than impressive reading experience to me. For instance, I think the pacing was too slow at the start - and it took me a few days to drag through the first 1/4 of the book. The pacing do pick up afterwards but it's still uneven. I feel like this could be improved if more details about the alchemy are fleshed out. I also think this could provide a less jarring thematic exploration on the concept of blessing / curse.

I think the explorations of human psychology & family are executed more successfully in A Golden Fury. Beneath the alchemy lies the dark and deeply apprehensive human psychology of the cursed individuals. As the novel progresses, I also grow to appreciate how Thea overcame the difficulties with her virtues and how she found where she truly belongs. If anything, this novel brings out a wide spectrum of emotions. If there's something that have rooms for improvement with regards to the more successful themes, this is tied to the less than desirable pacing - I think with a more even pacing, the build-ups and character development would make more sense.

Nevertheless, this is a rather unique novel which is built upon a very intuiguing premise. While the pacing isn't desirable (and this technical deficiency complicated both the character & thematic development), I liked the thematic exploration of human psychology and a touch of alchemy in A Golden Fury.

N.B. This novel contains the following triggers: self-harm, violence, gore, abuse, and mental illness.

Rina

I haven't read anything like this book. I don't see a lot of books about alchemy, and a plot involving female alchemists? Looks like this is my first. I loved the writing and the side characters, Dominic especially. I found Valentin intriguing as well and would love to have seen more interactions between him and Thea. I found the beginning of this to be quite slow but it picked up easily. The events that happened in the middle surprised me, I wasn't expecting the plot to transpire the way it did. Except what happened with Will, it was not a shock and the plot involving him and Thea became kind of repetitive. The family dynamics here were also interesting, I wanted to see more of Thea's relationship with her mother and estranged father. As for the main character, Thea, herself, I thought she was naive but her struggles? they felt very real. Overall, I thought this was a good book and definitely not a bore!

Story Eater

I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed A Golden Fury, but the whole time I was reading about Thea and the Philosopher’s Stone, it felt like there was something missing. While the characters were quite fleshed out and round, I felt that the plot was much too linear—the opportunities to flesh out the most important character in the book were completely missed. 

Most disappointingly, the ending is abrupt, leaving the reader depressed with the explanation of why things that used to be magical in the world and made it partly full of wonder now aren’t. 

I would certainly have enjoyed the story more with a bit more world building; the pace felt too fast for me and the story superficial, though it was not a bad experience. 

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

Candyce Kirk

Lately I've really been enjoying stories that take place quite some time ago and A Golden Fury fit that perfectly taking place in the late 18th century. Even though this was a fantasy, I really enjoyed the little pieces of history that are in this story. It's something that really interests me and a nice added touch.

Our main character Thea is a strong main character and very smart. Her mother is an alchemist and has been trying to figure out how to create the philosopher's stone. Things don't go as planned and she's determined to do it herself. I really enjoyed Thea as a character. She has to overcome a lot of obstacles, especially as a woman, in this setting, but she doesn't let that stop her at all! It's clear she wasn't planning on sitting around and act like how society thought women should act. And why should she?!? She was very smart and should use her knowledge.

A Golden Fury is pretty fast-paced and I loved the adventure and magic we get in this book. It's a darker story and has elements I wasn't always expecting. The cast of characters is actually quite interesting and I enjoyed seeing the development throughout the story! If I'm honest, I could've done a bit without the romance element in this story, but all in all, I highly recommend this debut fantasy. Samantha Cohoe is an author to keep an eye on!

Jessica Williamson

3.5 Stars

Look at how pretty the cover is! I do really like this cover and I think it will look great on my shelf next to my Stalking Jack the Ripper series! I love the golden tones and how it puts a spin on the ever-so-popular "girl in a pretty dress".

Thea, Dominic, Will, and Valentin (as I believe these to be the most central characters of the book) were very well done. I think Thea and Valentin had a great deal of character growth and through that growth, we were able to pull some morality into the story. It was very well done. 

I'm honestly not sure what to categorize this book as. It's not quite a fantasy, not quite a romance, not quite anything really. It's got bits of pieces of a few different genre's but nothing really stuck. Other than it's historical fiction but even that is marred by the magical aspects of it? I felt like the front half of the book was very well done, but maybe the author struggled with finding the right conclusion? It felt over-dramatic and forced for a few chapters in the last third of the book and I'm just not sure where we were going.

I did like the atmosphere and the settings. I think those were very well done. It's not often that I feel like an author has fully immersed me into a story down to the sense of smell, but Cohoe was able to do that.

Overall, I think if you enjoy historical fiction with a smidge of magic/alchemy, you'll probably enjoy this story. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future. 

I was given an ARC of this work by St. Martin’s Press & Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

laura

*I got this book form the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really did enjoy this read. I really loved the time period of this read and all the talk about alchemy and it was fast pace novel at the start. I really liked all the different setting that was featured in this book. I thought the end of this book has some pacing issues and felt it was very rushed at points. I did really liked the side characters in this read. I also really liked how this book tackled some harder elements like addiction to magic. That is element of books that I really enjoyed. I also really liked Bee as a character and one character i simply adored. If you are looking for heavy romance plot, this may not be the read for you but i have hope for more romance in book 2. A very fun read and one that has several spooky setting perfectly for the fall.

Kayla Smith

Womp, womp. I really wanted to LOVE this book, primarily because of the cover. I mean look at how beautiful it is. Unfortunately, this was just the definition of “meh” for me. If I didn’t have to review this one, I wouldn’t because I feel so ambivalent about everything I read.

At first, I really loved our main character. She’s one of the best alchemists and she doesn’t apologize for her skill or understanding of the craft. We love a strong female MC who knows her worth. I enjoyed reading about her tumultuous relationship with her mother and this aspect of the story had me hooked right from the beginning. If it had stayed this way, primarily about the relationship between Thea trying to save her mother, I think I would have enjoyed this more. Unfortunately, it turns into Thea doing everything she can to save her love interest Will, who quite frankly didn’t deserve it in my opinion. The relationship aspect was entirely unnecessary and everything she did to help save him just felt unbelievable to me as the stakes continued to get higher. This is a similar sentiment to what other reviewers have said, so I’m definitely not alone with this opinion. Will’s character just made me feel gross and I hated all the time we had to spend with him. There were also a few characters that were thrown in halfway through that never show up again, which was strange to me upon reflection. I also thought the ending was just wrapped up too conveniently.

With all that being said, I think Samantha Cohoe definitely has potential! I think the prose within this story was great. The way she described setting was lyrical and I truly enjoyed that aspect of the story. Unfortunately, that couldn’t save the book for me so I settled on a three star rating for this one. The premise was awesome, the writing was great, but the execution was a miss for me.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Golden Fury

Author: Samantha Cohoe

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, magic

Publication Date: October 13, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, slight sexual content, violence, slight gore, curses, sacrifice)

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Thea Hope longs to be an alchemist out of the shadow of her famous mother. The two of them are close to creating the legendary Philosopher’s Stone—whose properties include immortality and can turn any metal into gold—but just when the promise of the Stone’s riches is in their grasp, Thea’s mother destroys the Stone in a sudden fit of violent madness.

While combing through her mother’s notes, Thea learns that there’s a curse on the Stone that causes anyone who tries to make it to lose their sanity. With the threat of the French Revolution looming, Thea is sent to Oxford for her safety, to live with the father who doesn’t know she exists.

But in Oxford, there are alchemists after the Stone who don’t believe Thea’s warning about the curse—instead, they’ll stop at nothing to steal Thea’s knowledge of how to create the Stone. But Thea can only run for so long, and soon she will have to choose: create the Stone and sacrifice her sanity, or let the people she loves die.

Review: For the most part I enjoyed the book. It was a fun, fast paced read and the writing was well done. The plot was intriguing enough to keep me reading throughout the book and I did like the premise of it. I also liked the strong family relationship in this book and how clear and strong the women were. The romance, while not the main focal point, was also cute and the friendship was cute as well.

However, the book jumped around a LOT and the book was very confusing as it did so. The book didn’t spend a lot of time world building and I wish that the book was further developed and slowed down and possibly even broken up into two books rather than one. The second half of the book particularly feels rushed and underdeveloped.

Verdict: It’s good, but it’s got issues.

Heather Harrington

*I received a copy of this via the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Thea Hope wants nothing more than to step out of her mother’s shadow and make a name for her own in the alchemy world. The pair have been working together to create the elusive Philosopher’s Stone, but just as they were getting close, Thea’s mother banishes her from their lab. Thea is convinced her mother just wants all the fame and glory for herself, but when she becomes ill and starts lashing out, Thea starts to believe there’s something more sinister going on. Then one night in a fit of rage, her mother destroys the stone, attempting to kill Thea in the process.

After this encounter, armed with her mother’s notes, Thea flees France for England to seek shelter and help from a father who doesn’t even know she exists. When she arrives in Oxford, Thea finds her father and a group of fellow alchemists are also trying to create the stone, and they refuse to heed her warnings on how dangerous it is. Instead, they steal her notes and are not above pulling out all the stops to force Thea into helping them, even if that means torturing the ones closest to her. Thea must face a difficult decision: either make the stone and most likely lose her mind in the process, or forsake the lives of those she loves.

I was very much drawn in by the premise of this. The practice of alchemy is so fascinating and complex and I enjoyed seeing how it was portrayed. The entire story is very plot-driven and action-packed right from the get-go. Every single character has a motive for wanting to create the stone and will do whatever it takes no matter the consequences. Especially Thea. She was such a capable strong-willed character and I liked how she never seemed afraid of conflict and did what needed to be done. That being said, my issue with this was that I felt not as much time and effort went into the overall character development as the actual storyline. All the characters felt very one-note so I had a hard time connecting to them, and ultimately, I wasn’t that invested in what happened to them. I definitely think this had a ton of potential, and there are some interesting moments, so I would still recommend if you’re a fan of historical fiction/fantasy.

Elodia

** spoiler alert **
           Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an e-ARC of this book.

A Golden Fury was a fun and gripping historical fantasy.

Thea is an alchemist working to create the Philosopher’s Stone. She and her mother are very close to making it until her mother “goes mad” and destroys it. The story truly begins from there when Thea is sent to her father in Oxford. Once in Oxford, things go wrong and she has to run away once again.

A Golden Fury started off pretty slow, until about 50% into the book. The pacing felt rushed too, it was as if the characters were going from scene to scene just following the motions, but at the same time, it felt like nothing was happening. The pacing got better around the 60% mark when Thea started making the stone on her own and losing her mind.

The writing in this was beautiful with stunning descriptions. 

Thea was a good main character, she was naive and made very questionable decisions, but she was overall likable. She seemed too trusting of some people but too wary of others. I did not understand why she cared for Will so much. Thea’s overall development was great to see, it was a minimal change, but she felt stronger as a person by the end. 

The side characters were good, but I wish we had seen them more of them; as it was, they did not feel fleshed out enough. Dominic, Valentin, Rahel, and Thea’s father should all have been developed more. The most developed side character was Will, he seemed shady from the beginning, and I was not surprised when it was revealed what type of person he really is.

Overall, it was a good book, and definitely something you should pick up if you like historical fantasy or the premise sounds interesting.

For full review: https://wordsoftheroses.com/2020/10/0...

“If alchemy was our religion, then we were its priests. We held the power, and we would reap the rewards, but the burdens were ours alone.”⁠
⁠
Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for sending a copy my way! 

I was drawn to this book because I adore the idea of building a magic system around alchemy. This was everything I love in my dark, YA fantasy. I was captivated from the start.⁠
⁠
Thea longs to become an alchemist in her own right and be rid of the shadows of her famous mother. Madness, greed and murder quickly become part of her life the closer they come to creating the infamous Philosopher’s Stone. She flees to England and to a father she’s never known after her mother attempts to kill her in a fit of madness. Thea needs to create the stone to save mother, the boy she loves and her new friend. ⁠

A Golden Fury.is a fantastic debut. I’m not sure if we will be getting more from this world and I cannot wait to see what Cohoe writes next.

Joleen

Alchemist + female lead = YES

Everyone who reads my reviews knows that when there is a strong female lead in a man’s world, I am immediately in love. Thea is no different, a smart strong female trained by her mother to be an alchemist. Together they are seeking to complete an alchemist’s greatest achievement, the philosopher’s stone. But when Thea’s mother locks her out of the lab and suddenly goes mad, Thea is forced to go live with her father and soon discovers the stone’s true power and the consequences that come with it.

Like I stated above, Thea is a strong female lead and I really did enjoy her character. I thought she was incredibly smart and brave. Now I don’t want to give too much away but she sacrifices a lot for her family and friends. And I can always appreciate a character who does what is right to save her people.
 
This is the kind of book that I had a hard time putting down. Very fast-paced and had lots of interesting plot twists. I was slightly disappointed with the ending but overall it was an interesting book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me a copy!

Wren Hardwick

Thank you Wednesday Books for letting me apart of this blog tour and providing me with an eARC through NetGalley.

Head over to my blog to read an excerpt on this book! Link is in bio!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate that stunning cover? I love the colors on it and honestly it made me want to read this book even more than the premise!

This is one of those books that you devour in a day. 

This book totally started out strong. You meet Thea and automatically know she is not happy with her mother. Her mother comes off as horrendous and cruel right from the start and you are rooting for Thea to get away from her. I mean, she is keeping Thea away from the only person who has every encouraged and cherished her the way she deserves... he just happened to be the apprentice of her alchemist mother. They have been writing letters back and forth and she knows she will see him again. 

But Thea is more mad about the fact she and her mother were so close to creating the legendary Philosopher's Stone when her mother locked her out of the laboratory! She did this to take all the credit for herself when she KNOWS she was a key player in the creating of it as well! Little does Theta know that creating such a whispered-about item takes more than just smarts, but it also might take your sanity.

I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of Thea. She is strong, worried about herself and doesn't take no for an answer. She makes some pretty questionable decisions. As I mentioned before, the story started out super strong, but then it started to linger. The romance felt a little forced to me, and towards the end you find out why but the journey there wasn't for me. She felt a little love-struck with Will and I all I felt between them was her worry and desperation to be with him.

Dominic on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. I loved that he kept trying to get Thea to see the bright side of things, even when there was basically nothing bright to see. Thea just... she just got on my nerves in a few parts. Which, she is a flawed character so that is to be expected, you know?

The writing was absolutely lyrical. I am not usually a big fan of historical fiction, but Cohoe makes me want to try more with her descriptions and the way she weaves sentences together.

Trigger Warnings : Assault (that read as a rape at first), self harm, mental illness and mentions of madness through out the whole book

Samantha’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/smcohoe
Samantha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthacohoe/
Wednesday Books Twitter: https://twitter.com/wednesdaybooks
Wednesday Books Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wednesdaybo...
Buy link for A GOLDEN FURY: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/a-golde...

Solange Bello

Thank you to netgalley & Wednesday books for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review 

Once I started this book I just couldn't put it down. 
It's the perfect mix of Historical Fiction and Fantasy. 

From the beginning I was immediately intrigue with all the of alchemic information within this story. 
I could clearly visualize the process of making the stone and this book knows how to keep you in that state of 'is this magic or alchemy?' 

I felt like each character had their role to play in this book and no one was left on the side lines and that world building and character development were very well done. 

Now, one of the reason my book was so fun to read - its creepy factor. 
From the beginning it is evident that 'the alchemist curse' it very much real. To me it felt like not only was it more possession than power but the entire time they're working on the process is like something is just waiting to latch on to the creator of the stone. 

In shorter words this book was 'poetically spooky' 

I haven't seen many high ratings for this book and it kind of upsets me because it feels like people are going in reading this because of the cover and no acknowledging that this is a Historical Fiction and its not a genre that everyone usually reads and they probably aren't appreciating this the 'monster' in this book creeps up ever so slowly on the MC which to me was pretty spooky. 

If you like Historical Fiction and you like spooky trust me and pick this up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the arc of A Golden Fury I received it in exchange for an honest review  

A Golden Fury was an absolute delight to read. Once I started this book I just couldn't put it down! 
It's the perfect mix of Historical Fiction and Fantasy. 

From the beginning I was immediately intrigue with all the of alchemic information within this story. 
I could clearly visualize the process of making the stone and this book knows how to keep you in that state of 'is this magic or alchemy?' And being the nerd that I am I was absolutely obsessed with it all. 

I felt like each character had their role to play in this book and no one was left on the side lines and that world building and character development were very well done. As a lover of Historical Fantasy it was interesting to see it from a YA perspective cause I'm pretty sure i've only ever read it from an adult perspective. 

Now, one of the reason my book was so fun to read - its creepy factor. 
From the beginning it is evident that 'the alchemist curse' it very much real. To me it felt like not only was it more possession than power but the entire time they're working on the process its like something is just waiting to latch on to the creator of the stone. It was kind of like that feeling of being watched if that makes sense or that feeling of anticipation before something life changing happens.

In shorter words this book was 'poetically spooky' 

I haven't seen many high ratings for this book and it kind of upsets me because it feels like people are going in reading this because of the cover and not acknowledging that this is a Historical Fiction and its not a genre that everyone usually reads and they probably aren't appreciating that the 'monster' in this book creeps up ever so slowly on the MC which to me was pretty spooky. 

If you like Historical Fiction and you like spooky trust me and pick this up.

Lisa Beasley

This was really interesting, I don't think I've ever read a book about alchemy before and it was really fun. I liked Thea even if some of her actions did annoy me and I liked the supporting characters too. Dominic especially earned a special spot in my heart. He was just a sweetheart. The storyline was good and kept me reading, and in some moments I even felt outraged on our characters behalf.

I gave this book 3.5 stars.

Dearna Mulvaney &
A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

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