Showing posts with label stacey mcewan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stacey mcewan. Show all posts
Buy A Forsaken Prophecy
Read our review of Book 1, A Forbidden Alchemy
Read our review of Book 1, A Forbidden Alchemy
FORMAT/INFO: A Forsaken Prophecy was published by Saga Press on July 21st, 2026. It is 480 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Forsaken Prophecy is an excellent sequel full of all the angst and complicated emotions you could want from our poor tortured protagonists. Picking up from the tumultuous events from the end of book one, it does a great job of putting our characters between a rock and a hard place. Each must decide what compromises they’re willing to make: is it more important to make short term compromises in order to survive, or should you refuse to bend even a little in order to protect a fledgling rebellion? What’s more important, your rebellion or those you love? Which one are you willing to sacrifice in order to protect the other? There are plenty of terrible tough decisions to be made, and I was thoroughly engrossed to see how our characters navigated the waters they were in.
Nina in particular really bears the weight of these decisions and as a result, we are treated to some impressive bouts of feminine rage throughout the book as she finally decides she has had ENOUGH. But while Nina does get some fantastic moments to call people out, I did feel like she was put a little bit to the side in this book. That’s in part because there are more POVs in this sequel than there were in book one (which only featured Nina and Patrick). With more POVs, that means there's less time to spend with each POV, and in this case, it felt like Nina got the short end of the stick (somewhat ironic given there were those who were insisting that no one gets to decide her fate but her). Some POVs offered some interesting insights, but some POVs belonged to characters I wanted to drop kick into the sun (sorry not sorry Theo). I preferred it when it was just a two POV book, but I also understand the need to broaden the POVs as the scope of the series broadens.
As for the romance, it continues its delicious slow burn. Without going into spoilers from book one, Nina and Patrick have some things to work through and feelings to grapple with. I enjoyed the turmoil, especially as it didn’t feel like unnecessary roadblocks, but real people working through real emotions brought on by their circumstances.
The plot this time goes into the overarching lore of the world as our characters unpack a hidden prophecy and try to understand its implications. I enjoyed the race against time and continuing to see how other communities are faring in the world, especially as strikes and rebellion pit the upper classes against the working class and regular everyday folks struggle to hold onto ideals when they can’t feed their families.
All in all, A Forsaken Prophecy is an engrossing sequel that continues to put our heroes through the wringer, forcing them to make impossible choices. It’s moody and atmospheric and will throw you right back into all the angst and drama you loved from book one. Cannot wait to see how everything concludes in the finale!
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Forsaken Prophecy is an excellent sequel full of all the angst and complicated emotions you could want from our poor tortured protagonists. Picking up from the tumultuous events from the end of book one, it does a great job of putting our characters between a rock and a hard place. Each must decide what compromises they’re willing to make: is it more important to make short term compromises in order to survive, or should you refuse to bend even a little in order to protect a fledgling rebellion? What’s more important, your rebellion or those you love? Which one are you willing to sacrifice in order to protect the other? There are plenty of terrible tough decisions to be made, and I was thoroughly engrossed to see how our characters navigated the waters they were in.
Nina in particular really bears the weight of these decisions and as a result, we are treated to some impressive bouts of feminine rage throughout the book as she finally decides she has had ENOUGH. But while Nina does get some fantastic moments to call people out, I did feel like she was put a little bit to the side in this book. That’s in part because there are more POVs in this sequel than there were in book one (which only featured Nina and Patrick). With more POVs, that means there's less time to spend with each POV, and in this case, it felt like Nina got the short end of the stick (somewhat ironic given there were those who were insisting that no one gets to decide her fate but her). Some POVs offered some interesting insights, but some POVs belonged to characters I wanted to drop kick into the sun (sorry not sorry Theo). I preferred it when it was just a two POV book, but I also understand the need to broaden the POVs as the scope of the series broadens.
As for the romance, it continues its delicious slow burn. Without going into spoilers from book one, Nina and Patrick have some things to work through and feelings to grapple with. I enjoyed the turmoil, especially as it didn’t feel like unnecessary roadblocks, but real people working through real emotions brought on by their circumstances.
The plot this time goes into the overarching lore of the world as our characters unpack a hidden prophecy and try to understand its implications. I enjoyed the race against time and continuing to see how other communities are faring in the world, especially as strikes and rebellion pit the upper classes against the working class and regular everyday folks struggle to hold onto ideals when they can’t feed their families.
All in all, A Forsaken Prophecy is an engrossing sequel that continues to put our heroes through the wringer, forcing them to make impossible choices. It’s moody and atmospheric and will throw you right back into all the angst and drama you loved from book one. Cannot wait to see how everything concludes in the finale!
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Buy A Forbidden Alchemy
FORMAT/INFO: A Forbidden Alchemy will be published on July 1st, 2025 by Saga Press. It is 480 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: One simple test has the chance to change your life forever. In a matter of seconds, you discover if you are a magical Artisan or a non-magical Crafter. Nina and Patrick are just children when they undergo their test - and discover a secret that changes their lives forever. Over a decade later, the two are reunited as the country is embroiled in revolution. Nina is an Artisan trying to hide from both sides of the war, while Patrick is a leader of the Crafter revolution. After all these years, will their bond stand the strain of conflicting loyalties? Or will the sides of the war keep them apart?
A Forbidden Alchemy is a slow-burn fantasy romance that swept me off my feet. It takes its time to build up the dynamic between the two characters, first introducing you to them as children, when a formative event shaped their lives forever. When Nina and Patrick are reunited, you can feel the weight of history each carries. They’ve both done things to survive that they aren’t proud of. They're each living with the consequences of their choices that fateful day as children, and it has shaped them in very different ways.
It's the differences that keep the romance a slow dance between Nina and Patrick. Although they sparked a bond as children, they haven't seen each other in over a decade. Can they trust each other? Where do their respective loyalties lie? Would one of them put the other above their ties to any family or faction? While they figure out their hierarchy of trust and priorities, Nina and Patrick keep each other at arm's length. Watching those walls slowly crumble is what makes the eventual romance (and brief spice) worth it.
Supporting this romance is the moody and desolate world this story is set in. The bulk of the book takes place in an area that resembles a rural England mining town in the early twentieth century. It's the kind of town where the majority of men are involved in the dangerous work of mining, where people live in constant fear of hearing of a devastating tunnel collapse. The landscape is harsh and unforgiving, and full of windswept moors, the perfect backdrop to a romance fraught with tension.
While A Forbidden Alchemy is a fantasy story, it's a fairly low-magic one, largely due to the fact that it is primarily set in a non-magical Crafter town. The magical Artisans exhibit an affinity for manipulating some sort of element, metal, or other singular material. Nina, for instance, is an earth charmer (essentially an earth bender), while rapid communication throughout the country is facilitated by those who have an affinity for ink and can manipulate it across great distances. Their abilities are used infrequently enough that I sometimes found myself forgetting there was magic in this world, even though the clash between Artisans and Crafters drives the heart of the story.
But at the end of the day, the magic doesn't matter as much because the fight between Artisan and Crafter is really one of class warfare. The Crafters do the back-breaking work that keeps the nation functional, while the Artisans live in luxury, making occasionally useful things, but often things that are just pretty. It's the classic recipe for an uprising.
At the center of it all is Patrick, the heart of a workers' uprising. He's the cold leader of the town who will make the impossible choices so that life is better for the families that come after. He's brutal when he has to be and brooding most of the rest of the time, and yes, it's absolutely catnip for me.
Nina, on the other hand, is out for herself. Not in an actively malicious way, but in that passivity of "I don't want to rock the boat if it's going to mean bad things for me." To be fair, the more we see of her backstory as the narrative unfolds, the more we see how much she has lived in constant fear the last several years, despite being an Artisan. Gaining the confidence to work on behalf of others is as much about facing her own fears as it is about growing a conscience.
My only real flaw was the fact that I ended up having to yell at certain characters for naivete towards the end of the book. While I can see the plot reasons certain choices were made, I found myself banging my head against the wall as I foresaw the inevitable fallout from those decisions.
CONCLUSION: That said, A Forbidden Alchemy may be my first Stacey McEwan but it certainly won't be my last. I found myself completely hooked by the writing and was desperate to pick it up at every opportunity. Truly, my biggest gripe with the book? That it had THAT ENDING and now I have to wait many, many months to see where things pick up in the sequel. I'm ready for the next installment of inevitable drama and angst to be injected into my veins NOW.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: One simple test has the chance to change your life forever. In a matter of seconds, you discover if you are a magical Artisan or a non-magical Crafter. Nina and Patrick are just children when they undergo their test - and discover a secret that changes their lives forever. Over a decade later, the two are reunited as the country is embroiled in revolution. Nina is an Artisan trying to hide from both sides of the war, while Patrick is a leader of the Crafter revolution. After all these years, will their bond stand the strain of conflicting loyalties? Or will the sides of the war keep them apart?
A Forbidden Alchemy is a slow-burn fantasy romance that swept me off my feet. It takes its time to build up the dynamic between the two characters, first introducing you to them as children, when a formative event shaped their lives forever. When Nina and Patrick are reunited, you can feel the weight of history each carries. They’ve both done things to survive that they aren’t proud of. They're each living with the consequences of their choices that fateful day as children, and it has shaped them in very different ways.
It's the differences that keep the romance a slow dance between Nina and Patrick. Although they sparked a bond as children, they haven't seen each other in over a decade. Can they trust each other? Where do their respective loyalties lie? Would one of them put the other above their ties to any family or faction? While they figure out their hierarchy of trust and priorities, Nina and Patrick keep each other at arm's length. Watching those walls slowly crumble is what makes the eventual romance (and brief spice) worth it.
Supporting this romance is the moody and desolate world this story is set in. The bulk of the book takes place in an area that resembles a rural England mining town in the early twentieth century. It's the kind of town where the majority of men are involved in the dangerous work of mining, where people live in constant fear of hearing of a devastating tunnel collapse. The landscape is harsh and unforgiving, and full of windswept moors, the perfect backdrop to a romance fraught with tension.
While A Forbidden Alchemy is a fantasy story, it's a fairly low-magic one, largely due to the fact that it is primarily set in a non-magical Crafter town. The magical Artisans exhibit an affinity for manipulating some sort of element, metal, or other singular material. Nina, for instance, is an earth charmer (essentially an earth bender), while rapid communication throughout the country is facilitated by those who have an affinity for ink and can manipulate it across great distances. Their abilities are used infrequently enough that I sometimes found myself forgetting there was magic in this world, even though the clash between Artisans and Crafters drives the heart of the story.
But at the end of the day, the magic doesn't matter as much because the fight between Artisan and Crafter is really one of class warfare. The Crafters do the back-breaking work that keeps the nation functional, while the Artisans live in luxury, making occasionally useful things, but often things that are just pretty. It's the classic recipe for an uprising.
At the center of it all is Patrick, the heart of a workers' uprising. He's the cold leader of the town who will make the impossible choices so that life is better for the families that come after. He's brutal when he has to be and brooding most of the rest of the time, and yes, it's absolutely catnip for me.
Nina, on the other hand, is out for herself. Not in an actively malicious way, but in that passivity of "I don't want to rock the boat if it's going to mean bad things for me." To be fair, the more we see of her backstory as the narrative unfolds, the more we see how much she has lived in constant fear the last several years, despite being an Artisan. Gaining the confidence to work on behalf of others is as much about facing her own fears as it is about growing a conscience.
My only real flaw was the fact that I ended up having to yell at certain characters for naivete towards the end of the book. While I can see the plot reasons certain choices were made, I found myself banging my head against the wall as I foresaw the inevitable fallout from those decisions.
CONCLUSION: That said, A Forbidden Alchemy may be my first Stacey McEwan but it certainly won't be my last. I found myself completely hooked by the writing and was desperate to pick it up at every opportunity. Truly, my biggest gripe with the book? That it had THAT ENDING and now I have to wait many, many months to see where things pick up in the sequel. I'm ready for the next installment of inevitable drama and angst to be injected into my veins NOW.
Seal your eyes and sleep,
Still your lips, cease your breath,
Lie where sorrow dares not be,
Free from the hands of death.
Before we take a look at more details, let's take a look at the cover:
COVER DESIGNER: Kate Cromwell
Dawsyn’s miraculous escape from the Ledge was just the beginning. In the queens’ dungeon, Dawsyn awaits her execution while reliving the death of her lover, Ryon. There is no hope for mercy.
But hope finds her in the form of rescue by her village friends. On the run and struggling to tame her newly-gained and greatly unstable powers, Dawsyn's journey continues. As she ascends the perilous mountain slopes once again to the Glacian kingdom in a desperate attempt to save those remaining on the Ledge, she discovers a new evil awaiting her. With a contingent of hundreds, she must lead her people way, but she has no way of knowing what will lie ahead, or what might follow behind…
Fighting with her ax and newfound power is arduous enough, but finds she must also battle her feelings of betrayal and hope when those she thought lost forever, may not be gone after all…
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Stacey McEwan is a school teacher by day and fantasy writer by night. A book influencer on multiple platforms, she began writing the bestselling Ledge after book lovers of the internet begged her to share her story ideas. Stacey lives on the Gold Coast, Australia with her husband, two children and one questionable dog. When Stacey isn’t writing, teaching, or making ridiculous tiktoks, you’ll find her playing with her children, reading, annoying her husband, or possibly all three at once. Find Stacey on TikTok and Instagram: @stacebookspace.
MORE INFO: Chasm is the second book in The Glacian Trilogy. It is due to be published on 12th September 2023 in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats by Angry Robot books.
You can pre-order a copy of CHASM here.
View Stacey McEwans' guest post at Fantasy Book Critic, The Lure of the Badass Heroine here.
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