[Review] Chantress Alchemy by Amy Butler Greenfield

Buy on Amazon or the Book Depository

Title: Chantress Alchemy

Series: Chantress #2

Author: Amy Butler Greenfield [ Facebook | Twitter | Website ]

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Genre: Young Adult - Fantasy, Historical

Release Date: May 6, 2014

Source: Advanced copy provided by the publisher, opinions are my own. – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Lucy is the last Chantress, the only remaining girl who can sing magic into the world. Since she defeated the evil Lord Scargrave, England has changed—and not for the better. With crops failing and the people rebelling, Lucy is called urgently back to King Henry’s court. His Inner Council is convinced that making gold through alchemy will save England. But a critical element to the alchemical process has been stolen. Lucy is tasked with finding it with her magic… or else. And until she succeeds, the castle is on lockdown.

Court too has changed. Scargrave's brutal Chantress-hunter has become King Henry's closest advisor. Lucy’s beloved Nat has fallen out of favor and is shunned by his colleagues; their romance means trouble for both of them. Worst of all, something goes wrong with Lucy’s magic. The palace is a labyrinth, and there’s a monster at its heart — a monster who may have the power to defeat Lucy once and for all. 

This was an interesting read...and I have a confession to make... I did not read book #1. So going into Chantress Alchemy I was fully prepared to be a little lost, in fact I waited for that moment when a plot point would throw me off. Luckily, I was able to read this like a standalone.

"To be Chantress was to face enemies,
for the world feared women with power."

A power only passed on by women, um, heck yes! Around the 25% mark I found myself entering into a mystery with a number of suspects involved. By the 66% mark I felt no further along in the plot than the previous mark, which was underwhelming. A number of characters are introduced, among them Gabriel and Lord Wrexham who easily became the most interesting for me. I really wanted more out of Gabriel's character who comes off as a potential suitor of Lucy and also as someone who may have a hidden agenda. Lord Wrexham reprises his role as a Chantress-hunter and is creepy. Creepy because he's a murderer, has lies and secrets, way too much power and influence, and the words that come out of his mouth give you goosebumps. And this not in an endearing Loki-ish way. As the book came to a close I felt unsatisfied by the overall character growth of Lucy, Nat and the rest of the secondary cast. There are a few secondary characters who experience some personal transitions which seem like they'll carry over into book three.

The biggest obstacle in Chantress Alchemy is that Lucy has lost her ability to preform proven magic and must rely on Wild magic coerced from nature. However, Lucy struggles with wild magic as well due to the crack in her stone caused by Wrexham in book one. So basically Lucy is powerless in this book. She's got nothing, nada, zip. She's just a regular girl with horrible detective skills, which leads her into being skeptical about everyone, and experimenting with a different kind of magic to save the crucible. The ship for the series is, Lucy and Nat, who only share a few scenes together and then he goes missing for several chapters with no word. Lucy also does not mourn Nat's absence from court which makes their plight to be together unbelievable.

The plot is straightforward with a whodunit component throw in, and there are no real surprises throughout the story. This left me seriously underwhelmed. I waited and waited for a big twist but the plot kept saving itself with magic. I the end I didn't love this read and I don't dislike it, instead it falls all kinds of flat.

3-Stars: I probably will not be reading book three,
however fans of historical fictions and fantasy may want to give it a go.