Nocturnal Book Reviews

Don't get me wrong, A Conspiracy of Alchemists is a book not without its merits. It's got great gadgets, features a cool female pilot, an honest to God helicopter powered by steam and a crazy bunch of megalomaniacs bent on changing the world.

I was prepared if not love but at least like this book, instead it simply failed to deliver.

That is the core problem of this read. It has no shortage of great ideas but doesn't follow them through, so you quickly lose interest. I really had to force myself to keep reading because my attention kept wondering.

The plot is loosely held together. I didn't see the point in alliances that were forming without obvious mutual targets. I didn't understand The Order's lack of willingness to do something in a face a of a great threat they were facing... The main villain is hardly in the picture, but instead we have an obvious sidekick of his, gloating over the main heroine in a cliche cackling speech. The end is as anticlimactic as it gets as well.

Eleanor is a nice enough girl, March is an interesting brooding Warlock, and the author has all these intriguing characters who seem to get wasted away for nothing. Aleix and The Countess, I am talking about you! There is no spark or some sort of connection between two main characters as well, and oh boy, Houston, we've got problems!

It really is a shame, but A Conspiracy of Alchemists despite its beautiful cover and synopsis is a mess lacking a strong plot and coherency despite its fantastic ideas. The potential is there, but it needs a lot of work. I do sincerely hope that the author will continue writing and improving and I wish her best of luck.

Despite plenty of positive reviews on Goodreads and from fellow bloggers, this book just wasn't for me, which makes me feel sad and jaded.