*A Nerd Daily YA Debut to Watch Out for in 2020*

“Sharply written with a crackling, compassionately determined heroine, A Golden Fury is a vivid ride through eighteenth century Europe with darkness and dread creeping at its corners. Utterly enchanting.”

– Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints

“An engaging concoction of fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.” – Booklist

“Cohoe situates the supernatural among the historical, referencing the French Revolution and the Enlightenment while…keeping a sense of urgency as Thea struggles with the magical, demonic pull of the Stone.”

– Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“The attention to detail in the story is excellent… Thea herself is a confident lead with a strong voice. A solid fantasy to

flesh out the world of alchemy that most readers know only from ‘Harry Potter.'” – School Library Journal

“Steeped in mystery and magic, Samantha Cohoe’s A Golden Fury immerses readers in beautifully rendered world where magic and science mix, and where the intoxication of power can be deadly. Whip-smart Thea is a heroine readers will root for.” – Lisa Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Magician

A GOLDEN FURY

By Samantha Cohoe

Set in eighteenth century England, Samantha Cohoe’s debut novel, A GOLDEN FURY (Wednesday Books; October 13, 2020), follows a young alchemist as she tries to save the people she loves from the curse of the Philosopher’s Stone. The streets of London and Oxford come to life as this historical fantasy unravels. Weaving together an alluring story of magic and danger, Samantha’s debut has her heroine making messy decisions as she toes the line between good and evil while it becomes blurred.

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.

A GOLDEN FURY and the curse of the Philosopher’s Stone will haunt you long after the final page.

 When I saw that I had a chance to read a historical fiction book about female alchemists, I jumped right on it! This book definitely scratched that itch for me. Thea was such an inspiring character. After all she’d been through with her mother, she still didn’t give up home and still wanted to be into alchemy just like her. She never collapsed from the pressure of her friends succumbing to the Alchemist’s Curse and instead kept on her mission to find the Philosopher’s Stone. 

Thea’s mother is a famous alchemist and Thea wants to follow in her footsteps. Her mother is a stickler, and Thea is almost always walking on eggshells around her. But she knows that simply having access to her mother’s lab puts her on track to being one of the best alchemists in France. Then, she realizes that the Philosopher’s Stone is turning alchemists mad. The only thing that might be able to heal them would be the Stone itself, so she has to risk going mad herself in order to have the chance to save her mother. With the help of some friends and people she meets along the way, Thea goes on a quest to finish the job that her mother started. 

This book’s pacing felt a bit off at the start. It took me a while to get into the characters, but things definitely picked up after I reached the 20% mark on my ebook. A few side characters seemed distracting to me as they were only in the book for a very short time before they left, but I was able to keep track of who was important pretty well. The inclusion of these characters did not ruin the novel for me. 

This book is full of a lot of action. I was on the edge of my seat from the middle to the end as I was wondering how the curse would affect Thea’s journey next. Also, her connection with the character Will was fun to read about. After the wild ride that was this story, I can’t wait to read more by this author. 

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new historical fantasy/fiction novel or a new book that includes alchemy. 

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books. 

 

About the Author

Samantha Cohoe writes historically-inspired young adult fantasy. She was raised in San Luis Obispo, California, where she enjoyed an idyllic childhood of beach trips, omnivorous reading, and writing stories brimming with adverbs. She currently lives in Denver with her family and divides her time among teaching Latin, mothering, writing, reading, and deleting adverbs. A Golden Fury is her debut novel.

More early praise for A GOLDEN FURY:

“A Golden Fury is beguiling and unpredictable. Cohoe weaves an international adventure set against a rich historical backdrop, and alchemist Thea faces adversaries both human and magical with wit and grit. A compelling debut from a writer to watch.” -Hannah Capin, author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club

“Alchemists used many methods to hide their secrets, but Cohoe has deciphered their riddles — and uncovered a truth far darker and more complex than a miraculous rock. She lures you in with a promise of gold, then delivers something far more valuable: an intricate tale of ambition and sacrifice, loyalty and betrayal, the quest for knowledge and the

wisdom to use it correctly.” -Marie Brennan, author of The Memoirs of Lady Trent

“I adore Thea – her fierce ambition, her intelligence, and the warmth she so desperately wants to share with someone worthy. This is an alchemical wonder of a book. It takes all the elements of a good story – mystery, magic, devastating stakes, compelling relationships and impossible choices – and weaves them into pure gold.”

-Catherine Egan, author of Julia Unbound

“A Golden Fury invites you into a world of intrigue, magic and ambition. Set against the backdrop of the French

revolution, it follows a talented, driven heroine, raised by her famous and overbearing mother to pursue alchemy’s ultimate dream—the Philosopher’s Stone—in a time when women had little rights of their own. Cohoe’s prose is flush with clever dialogue and flawed-yet-sympathetic characters, so realistic they leap off the page. First loves, family secrets and shocking betrayals abound as our heroine pits her intellect against a curse of madness in this impossible-to-put- down debut.” -Ellen Goodlett, author of Rule

“Full of rich historical detail, clever world-building, and tumultuous relationships, A Golden Fury transformed me.

Cohoe’s debut proves we are in the hands of a deft and dangerous creator. I sat up half the night thinking about it, and the other half longing to see her next book.” -Tracy Townsend, author of Thieves of Fate series

“I fell for this thrilling tale of madness and murder, alchemy and obsession— and the fiercely determined Theosebeia Hope who will stop at nothing to get her heart’s desire. I could not turn the pages fast enough!”

-Gita Trelease, author of Enchantee