A Golden Fury follows Thea Hope, a young woman who has spent her entire life learning alchemy from her famous alchemist mother and who is currently assisting with the creation of the elusive Philosopher's Stone. On the cusp of their success, Thea's mother destroys the nearly completed creation in a fit of madness brought on by a curse on anyone who attempts to create the Stone. Thea finds herself sent away for her own safety to live in Oxford with the alchemist father she's never met. But he, and a lot of other people, appear to want to use her knowledge and skill to their benefit, and she soon finds herself faced with the choice of losing her sanity or losing the folks she cares about. Put simply,
A Golden Fury is a historical fantasy adventure that combines mystery, action and alchemy into a primarily plot-driven narrative. It was well-paced, and I certainly found myself flying through the pages of the novel. Sadly, the characters are the aspect of this story where it fell short of my expectations. None of them felt like real folks that came alive off the page, and there was a level of detachment in my experience of their struggles. This was particularly applicable to Thea herself, who felt like she could have been a really compelling character if she (and her relationships) had been just a touch more developed. Even with my reservations about the characters,
A Golden Fury was still a fun fantasy reading experience (with a few darker aspects I hadn't expected in the form of torture, violence and murder) overall.
What was your favorite branch of science to study in school? I personally loved studying biology when I was in my second year of high school. There was something fascinating to me about dipping my toes into studying different life forms, and it informed my choice to study botany in college as my core science class in my freshman year.
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Crazy Stupid Bromance is the third novel in the
Bromance Book Club series by Lyssa Kay Adams, and it centers around best friends Alexis Carlisle and Noah Logan (who we met in Undercover Bromance). Alexis is the owner of the cat cafe ToeBeans, which has also become a safe space for survivors of sexual harassment after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef in the last book. Noah is her best friend, a former hacktivist turned computer security expert and the person she seeks support from when a young woman turns up at her cafe claiming to be her sister. As they team up to figure out the truth about their situation, it's getting harder for them both to hide the feelings they have for each other (even though they're determined to do so in order not to ruin their friendship). Cue the book club (and their other friends) getting themselves involved, and you've got a good idea of the plot for this book! Honestly,
Crazy Stupid Bromance was a good time. I flew through the story, despite the fact that friends to lovers isn't always my particular cup of tea in terms of romance tropes. Adams just has a gift for writing great stories with excellent romantic banter, hilarious moments (involving the couple together or individually), and fun bits with the supporting cast (so here for the way the book club gets themselves entangled in this tale. It was great to see Alexis and Noah work out their struggles individually and as a couple, and I was obviously rooting for them to find their happiness together. However, I didn't find the familial aspect for Alexis' story particularly compelling, nor did I care much for the drama that ensues towards the end. But even though this one wasn't perfect, it was still a fun addition to the series for sure.
What would you name your cat if you had one? I'm terrible at naming pets, so I actually consulted Macky for this question! If we had a grey munchkin cat with blue eyes (and I was oddly specific when I said this to him), he says we would name it Mereleona (after a character we both love in Black Clover.)
I have been LOVING The Bromance Book Club series!!! It's the way everyone gets involved that's got me hooked! Of the three so far, which one is your favorite? Also I thought I read that you're terrible at naming pets so you would just name your cat Macky 😂😂😂
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