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Those who are clever enough to find the location of the class (the first time and every class period) can take Folklore 517 and get credit for it at the end of the semester. The Professor shares an urban legend each class meeting. Most students find it an entertaining class, a collection of unnerving stories, shared in fitting settings. But Holland St. James has always been attracted to magic — and she knows these tales must be true. She’s just been looking for the magic to pop up in her life.
Holland has some clues to possibly lead her to the Watch Man, who tells people the day and time of their death. On a date, she takes along the nice guy she’s gone out with a few times and actually finds the Watch Man. And she’s shocked to find out she will die the very next day just before midnight. The only way she could prolong her life is to find the Alchemical Heart.
One problem: everyone wants to find the Alchemical Heart. And of course it’s nearly impossible to track down. It only shows up in the Professor’s tales here and there throughout time.
But while it’s a long shot, Holland has to at least try. As soon as she gets started on her quest, two strange and dangerous men appear in her life and tell her she has to trust them. Both say the other can’t be trusted, and both tell Holland that her twin sister, currently out of the country for work, has vouched for them.
Holland has certainly fallen into the world of magic she has so longed to find — but she may not have long to appreciate its existence if she can’t figure out whom to trust to help her.
I had to read Alchemy of Secrets because it’s by Stephanie Garber, who wrote one of my favorite series, Caraval. Those books are amazing: filled with magic, romance and mystery. This book, had it not been by Garber, I would have DNF’d about 10 or 20% of the way through. It felt too simply written and just did not grab me. Even as I kept reading and it got a bit more interesting, with Holland fully in the magic world, I didn’t love it. There are two potential love interests, and both fell flat for me. There was no time for her to get to know them at all, and both were under such suspicion that I couldn’t get interested in them myself. Even so, both kissed her and seemed sizzlingly appealing after a short time in her company. I couldn’t have cared less.
This whole book felt like a hodgepodge, all over the place. It couldn’t/didn’t settle on even one love interest, and then there may even be yet another … A second book is coming. It’s set in Los Angeles and explores the world of film, movie sets, and classic hotels and architecture, specifically referring to art deco. Readers who love those things may appreciate this more, but none of it drew me in.
I had such high expectations for Alchemy of Secrets. I know I can’t expect another Caraval. But I thought this book would feel at least like it was written by a seasoned writer who can spin a good magical tale and draw the reader into a fantastical world. It didn’t. (It felt like it was Garber’s first book, written before she published the Caraval series and now gone back to, without making any updates). I don’t even know if I’ll read the second when it comes out.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 1 use of strong language, around 15 instances of moderate profanity, a dozen uses of mild language, and a few instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes a few instances of kissing, and characters sharing a bed but doing nothing during that time.
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