The Alchemary: A Dark Academia Alchemy Romantasy

@abigailrachelreads

The Alchemary is a 5 Star read!!

"Wow, wow, wow. This was one of the most studious and intellectual takes on an academy setting in a book I’ve ever read, and it was absolutely perfect for the backdrop of The Alchemary. Where many fantasy novels use an academy as more of a facade and placeholder for where the main characters convene and get up to hijinks, the study and application of alchemy *IS* the story here - in the most fascinating and compelling way. I deeply enjoyed my time reading this book, and my desire to learn more only increased with every chapter. And, true to the best fantasy formulas out there, the last handful of chapters of the book produced some incredible plot twists, eye opening character revelations, and a jaw-dropping ending with a major cliffhanger. This is heavily plot driven, with romance very much taking a back seat while still being present - I say that as a positive note, it is executed perfectly and the story deserved to take a front seat. The “magic” system is really just science / alchemy, although obviously the application is fictitious to this world. The world building felt masterful and intentional, and I’m so excited to see where this story continues to evolve. Rachel K Vincent, The Alchemary is a WINNER and I’m so excited for everyone to get a chance to read this book when it releases. For now, I’ll be patiently (okay, a little impatiently lol) waiting for the next book to release and the story to continue!!! This is one you will certainly not want to skip if you’re a fan of fantasy, trials, and dark academia. ["

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April 8, 2026 Verified Purchase

Cara

At Least it’s a Magic Academy

"The Alchemary, book one in The Alchemy Trials by Rachel Vincent Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars (rounded up.) The Alchemary was my introduction to author, Rachel Vincent. I love a good dark mystery set in an academia setting. This novel definitely hit the vibes mark with the world that the author created. The imagery was done well and it was easy to envision this old timey, somewhat gothic campus feel one would expect from THE most prestigious Alchemy school. Chapter one, paragraph one even, drops us right into the drama and moment that the FMC, Amber, wakes up to discover that she has lost much of her memory. Not all of it, mind you. Apparently just the most critical and vital memories and facts that are pertinent to the time period and level of knowledge she’s expected to have reached during her third year of studies. Amber remembers her life up until a few years ago. She remembers that she wanted to be the best Alchemist. She remembers stories her mother had told her and things she was taught as she grew up (her mother once studied at The Alchemary.) She remembers her childhood friends, Wilder and Desmond, but cannot remember them as fellow students. She has literally zero memories of her time at school, professors or classmates (also doesn’t remember what a jerk she was to them,) and basic alchemical theory and practice let alone the advanced application. While this is surely frustrating and scary, something else surpasses that frustration and is truly terrifying- Amber is in her third and final year and just yesterday (before waking up clueless,) she was deep in preparation finishing up her research project and readying herself to compete in The Alchemy Trials. She must survive these trials (or possibly cease to exist.) Or if she’s lucky she’ll fail the trials but live and face expulsion while watching her Alchemy dreams die. I enjoyed this story. As I said earlier, I love a good dark academia tale. It was interesting to see Amber interact with all her colleagues who were (understandably,) suspicious of her. The romance and lusty tension vibe leaves you low key wondering what her relationship with the brothers was like before the memory loss. The trials were interesting as well. I enjoyed the scientific application to the way the students approached each trial. And what story in an academic rivalry setting would be complete without jealousy, angst and shady dealings? Unfortunately, it seems that the academy stories and the trials are a dime a dozen. I did appreciate the magic academy and Alchemy twist though, as it’s not done nearly as often. The pacing was a bit all over the place. The story would transpire slowly, then pick up, only to fall again. There wasn’t a lot of character development. Granted Amber spends the majority of the book trying to recover memories and relearn alchemy with the help of Wilder and sometimes Desmond. I feel like we could have used more details on what Amber’s relationship with her colleagues was truly like. We get a few glimpses but not enough. Overall, a good read. Despite the overdone storyline and the difficult pacing, the plot twist was a grand slam. Enough of a slam to warrant another half star in my rating AND peak my interest enough to absolutely come back for the next installment. Answers are needed! Publish date: April 7, 2026 ["

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April 8, 2026

Monica

Great Start to a New Series!

"4.5 Stars- This was such a good start to a new series. It was an interesting blend of romance, fantasy, science, and a strong female protagonist. It also had vibes from a long ago TV show that I loved called Samantha Who, starring Christina Applegate. I know this is a strange reference to put in a book review but I absolutely loved that show and I love that this book had a similar theme except with the added alchemy and dark academia world. Amber Fallbrook has amnesia and has no memory of the last several years that she spent studying alchemy at The Alchemary. Despite her memory loss she refuses to leave The Alchemary as it has been her dream since she was little to study alchemy. The only problem is she is a mastery level student and has upcoming trials to take. These trials are deadly and Amber has no memory of what she has learned the past couple of years. She decides that she is going to study as hard as she can in the hopes that her memory will come back. In the coming weeks she begins to recognize that past Amber was not the nicest of people. Plus she can't figure out her love life. Who was she involved with before and who is really her friend? Amber must figure out her past in order to keep herself alive. I am so excited to read the next book in this series. I loved this world as well as Amber and the brothers, Wilder and Desmond. Amber was a great character and I enjoyed reading about how she had changed. I liked that she was strong, and smart regardless of what had happened to her. I definitely think this book fits in the Romantasy category but I loved that it also had urban fantasy vibes as well. An excellent read and I can't wait to read more. ["

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April 11, 2026

Samantha H.

Good But Standard Dark Academia Romantasy

"An interesting premise with execution that fell a bit short and a twist that, while objectively awesome, was also incredibly predictable. A fan of Rachel Vincent since I was a teen, there was never any question as to whether I’d be picking up her newest novel, her first foray into “romantasy” – or at least her first work marketed as such. Think of this as dark academia romantasy, HEAVY on the academia, medium on the romance, and light on the fantasy aspects. In fact, the only fantasy to be found is how it relates to the academia of alchemy, though it does get increasingly complicated and convoluted as the story progresses. Also, if you’re not a fan of the sibling love triangle trope, leave this one behind; it is prevalent. Amber’s amnesia provides a clever and quick way to learn about the world of the story as she does, exposition provided in doses as she attempts to find years’ worth of missing pieces. I did really enjoy the fact that there is no magic answer to her missing memories, and that we learn her character trajectory is drastically changed because of their absence. The academic side of things feels very fleshed out, but almost too much so? The science of alchemy is described in detail, but to the point that I had to fight skimming passages because while the author needs to know how this world works, we the readers don’t need each and every feature of it. I found myself both pleasantly surprised and utterly annoyed with the romantic aspects of Amber and her relationship/s with brothers, Wilder and Desmond. A lot of things don’t make sense until they do, and I’d be curious to see how I’d feel on a re-read knowing what I do now. While specific between each pairing, there’s nothing to be found in the romance that is not very prevalent in the contemporary romantasy space and I found myself disappointed given my absolute adoration for Vincent’s previous romantic pairings. (Team Tod anyone??) The twists twist, though the cliffhanger pales in comparison to other reveals. I’d recommend this read to anyone who’s a fan of current publishing trends but needs something a bit different and a lot smarter than most of what’s out there. Vincent will never let you down with the quality of her prose and storytelling. Content warning: attempted sexual assault, amnesia, light body horror, vomit. ["

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April 8, 2026

Tiffani

Dark Academia with Mystery

"3.5 stars! I enjoyed reading this and am interested in seeing where the story goes in the sequel. However, I struggled with the pacing of the book. The first 30% of the book felt slow for me even though we were dealing with Amber's amnesia, academic life, and relationships with various characters. It felt like a lot of things were happening and yet the story was really going anywhere at the same time? I guess this might have been the point since it was in Amber's POV and we were essentially "relearning/remembering" along with her, but as the reader it made it difficult to stay fully engaged. The book picked up when the trials started but then slowed down again. The last 15-20% of the book went by super fast and so many things were happening at once...it was a lot to take in and I felt overwhelmed with all the information. The romance was okay but it didn't really feel like a true love triangle since it was pretty predictable who she would end up with. ["

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April 9, 2026