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⭐️⭐️⭐️ | It’s Okay. Still Recommend.
Alchemised by SenLinYu is a dark, necromantic fantasy that attempts to recapture the raw power of its fanfic roots. Read my full review to decide if this novel is the right fit for you.
Summary:
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.
In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.
According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?
To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.
📖 What’s Inside:
- 📖 What’s Inside:
- Political intrigue
- ❤️🔥Slow burn romance
- Single POV
- Necromancy
- 🩸Blood and gore
- Memory loss
- Explicit language
- Pregnancy 🍼
- Trigger warnings
- On-page intimacy 🔴
✨ Vibes:
Zombie vibes for sure with the whole undead thing.
💭 My Thoughts:
Okay, so here’s the deal: Alchemised had me in a weird catch-22. I only kept up with the plot because I’d already read Manacled, but that same knowledge killed the emotional punch this story was reaching for. If you come in fresh, the world-building is so dense it might feel like slogging through quicksand.
As a fanfic? Brilliant. As a novel? It stumbles. Manacled could lean on an established world, characters, and magic system so the gut-punch hit like a freight train. Here, all that had to be rebuilt from scratch—and the weight of it drags the story down.
Bottom line? I didn’t connect with the characters at all. I kept defaulting back to picturing Hermione and Draco, which says everything about how little these “new” versions hooked me. If I didn’t have that built-in Dramione nostalgia, I probably would’ve DNF’d.
Should You Add Alchemised To Your TBR?
Die-hard Dramione fans – No. Stick to the fanfics.
Dramione fans looking for nostalgia – Yes, if you want to revisit the emotional core of Manacled in a new shell.
Dark fantasy readers – Yes, if you enjoy complex, layered world-building and don’t mind working (1000+ pages) for a bittersweet payoff.
Fantasy romance readers in general – No. This isn’t the right fit.
Fanfic or bust
What do you think about fanfic-to-novel adaptations? Do they hit different or fall flat? And be honest… have you ever secretly binged a fanfic at 3 a.m.? 👀 Spill it in the comments!
Are you a Dramione fan? You might be interested in another fanfic adaptation…check out my review of Rose in Chains by Julie Soto or The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley.
✨ Loved this review? Don’t lose track of it! Scroll down and pin this post for later so you’ll always have your next fantasy escape ready. ⬇️
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