Rating: 4.75 / 5
This book is criminally underrated. The Scarlet Alchemist is a dark fantasy book about Zilan, an alchemist from a poor village in southern China, who uses a forbidden alchemical practice to make some extra money: bringing people back to life. She moves with her cousins to the capital and becomes entangled in political issues, alongside the emperor's son.
I don't want to say much because I feel like the synopsis already spoils quite a lot, and even then, there are still so many twists and turns that had me on the edge all night reading. It's been a while since a book consumed me this way. Baker's writing is extremely catching and immersive.
Zilan is a great protagonist. She won't let anyone step over her, and she will fight for what she wants. Something I loved about her was her intelligence and resourcefulness, how she used these virtues to push forward in her life.
Something didn't click for me at the end of the story, that being said, it was so epic and there was so much going on that my experience reading this book was not affected. If I could say something about this ending, it's certainly unique, and I applaud the author for not going through the typical route.
As I mentioned, TSA is technically DARK fantasy. It doesn't have any spice (it barely has a suggestive scene), but it does have quite a lot of violence and gore that are graphic, so check trigger warnings before reading.
Have you heard about this book? What are some books you believe deserve more recognition?