{REVIEW} The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova

THE ALCHEMISTS OF LOOM
by Elise Kova

 

Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk, Fantasy
Pub Date: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Keymaster Press
Length: 376 pages
Spoilers: MARKED
Goodreads ♦ Amazon($4.99)

 

I received this free digital ebook from the author in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Her vengeance. His vision.

Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds’ resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn’t a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer turned thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors.

Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family’s house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons’ society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King’s assassins.

When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go.

He offers her the one thing Ari can’t refuse: A wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom.

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World
God, I love steampunk! And that’s exactly what the setting of this story is with a little bit of fantasy thrown in here because it’s basically the clash of a steampunk, mechanical world and a fantasy world. The best part is how unwell they co-exist. 😉 I was very excited to read about these elements, but honestly would have liked more. The characters definitely utilized the elements of both the steampunk and fantasy worlds, but it just left my mouth-watering to know all the finite details. What can I say? I’m a geek. Hahaha!

Multi POV
Anyone who reads my reviews knows how loathe I am to having multiple POVs in a story because most of the time… they just don’t add anything. Sadly, there were a couple of those in this story. That being said, not all the POVs bothered me. I quite enjoyed and supported a few of them because they were vital to the story or character development, but others seemed unnecessary.

Slow & Steady
I wouldn’t consider this to be a fast story. Yes, there is plenty going on. Yes, there are action scenes, but for the most part, it’s a steady-paced story. At times it did feel a bit slow because it focuses rather heavily on the character development rather than the plot, but that only made me care more about the characters. I just wish it would’ve moved a little faster because even the scenes between characters took its toll after a while.

Characters
I enjoyed most of the characters in this story as they each had their own unique backgrounds, characteristics, haunts, enthusiasm, and direction in which they were growing. Though… I’m not entirely sure I believed all of it. Some of the character development felt a bit forced, in my opinion, but that doesn’t hinder the fact that I still quite enjoyed reading about each of the characters.

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That Relationship, Though
Nope. I don’t support the relationship between Arianna and Cvareh. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are different species, but I just do not feel the connection. Yeah, there is tension between them, but it’s not the kind of tension I see bringing them together in a romantic sense as was eluded to in the story. As such, I am really hoping nothing comes of it in book two.

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