herseriallife
Written on Jul 2, 2021
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.
In her debut novel, Samantha Cohoe weaves a story of magic and danger, where the streets of Oxford and London come to life, and the curse of the Philosopher’s Stone will haunt you long after the final page.
- ISBN10 1250220408
- ISBN13 9781250220400
- Publish Date 1 November 2020 (first published 13 October 2020)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 7 July 2022
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Wednesday Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
Quirky Cat
Written on Sep 28, 2020
I received a copy of A Golden Fury in exchange for a fair and honest review.
A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe is one of those debut novels that people everywhere seem to be talking about. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy, and I found it to be worth the hype.
Thea Hope has always wanted to be an alchemist – which is fortunate, since that is what her famous mother raised her to be. She's joined in the quest to recreate the infamous Philosopher's Stone, only things haven't gone quite as planned.
For one thing, Thea thought she'd be working alongside her mother, not forced to find her own path in this journey. Naturally, more complications quickly followed the first, and now Thea's in a race to save her sanity – in the most literal sense.
“She discovered that I wished to belong to myself, instead of her.” I said. “And she found that unacceptable.”
Warnings: There are some surprisingly dark twists found within A Golden Fury. Illness, suicide, insanity, sexual assault (threats of), torture (not shown), and self-harm all find a way into this particular narrative.
I've been hearing about A Golden Fury for about a year now, maybe a little bit more. The hype has been real for this book, and having now read it, I personally think that it lives up to those expectations. Granted, the cover is also stunning, and we all know how much I love a good cover.
Thea is a strong, smart, and stubborn young woman, and yet she hasn't had much of a chance to see the world for herself. That has left some bl anent blindspots in her education, a fact that becomes clear the further we get into this book.
Yet, she's also the perfect main character for this story. Her knowledge of alchemy is second only to her mother, and that is perhaps a bit debatable as well. She's arrogant at times, and while that doesn't quite suit her, it does fit the situation.
What I'm trying to say is that Thea Hope is everything this story needed for a main character. She carried the entire story along, all while trying to create the Philosopher's Stone. On that note, we've all seen stories about the infamous Philosopher's Stone, yet I don't think I've quite seen anything like this.
It was fascinating, to say the least. I'm happy that the search took up much of the book, with everything else almost feeling like secondary elements at times. I actually wouldn't have minded more details on that front – though that is my intrigue, and not a lack on the writing.
One more note; the romance. There is a romantic subplot in this novel, and I do mean it when I say subplot. It didn't end up following the path I expected, but honestly? I'm relieved by that. I think anything else would have been dishonest to the story, and to Thea herself. In that sense, it truly was perfect.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else Samantha Cohoe comes up with in the future. A Golden Fury has already rocked the literary world, and I have no doubt that her second novel (Bright Ruined Things) will do the same.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks