"Alchemists are forged from pain." 

I’m just gonna start by saying I really adored this book. One of my favorite parts was the author note at the beginning it made me chuckle. The story is really awesome. I honestly couldn’t think of a single thing I disliked about it. The pacing was really good, it started with a bang… and it just kept going. I adored all the characters and honestly, I forgot I was reading a YA story. 
I think all the characters were incredibly mature for the most part. Zilan honestly gave me Jude from FoTA vibes for most of the book. I liked the alchemy concept because it was fascinating and a different take on things that I hadn’t really read before. The political dynamic was enough of the story but not so much that it felt overwhelming. I liked so much of this book it’s hard to talk about things without spoilers haha.
It has secrets, conspiracy, death, magic, bringing people back from the dead and even a little romance built in. Most of all those it’s about Zilan coming to accept herself for who she is and I must admit that I did not foresee the book ending the way it did. I think it was super clever and the action scenes were great. The book didn’t overdo elements and the fantasy was easy to understand. Mostly, I need a second book because I am dying… I’m hooked on this story…