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Alchemy (Mercian Trilogy #2)

by K.J. Wignall (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 27 ratings · 13 reviews

In the thirteenth century, William, heir to the Earl of Mercia, was attacked and turned into a vampire. For 750 years, Will has spent his life in the shadows. Until he met Eloise.

Together, Will and Eloise must destroy an ancient evil that has led them to Marland Abbey, where Will’s ancestors lived and Eloise attends school. Here they uncover the truth about the four vampir...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published September 25th 2012 by Egmontusa (first published June 1st 2012)

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Aug 31, 2012 Dani GR Motherfuqqer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: galley

Ok, I literally just finished reading this book. It was such a good book. There was a point in the book where I wanted to strange Eloise, but other than that I did enjoy it. Its taken me longer to read these 2 books in this series because it's like actually being in the world the book has created. Sometimes the book reading trance is a bit freaky and this book does do it to you. I had to keep taking breaks just because of the creepy feelings you get while reading during the scary parts.
The wri...more Ok, I literally just finished reading this book. It was such a good book. There was a point in the book where I wanted to strange Eloise, but other than that I did enjoy it. Its taken me longer to read these 2 books in this series because it's like actually being in the world the book has created. Sometimes the book reading trance is a bit freaky and this book does do it to you. I had to keep taking breaks just because of the creepy feelings you get while reading during the scary parts.
The writing style is a bit slow paced but that doesn't seem to bother me one bit. I don't mind taking my time. Today things are too fast paced and sometimes its overwhelming but this book slows things down for you so you can wrangle the thoughts, ideas, and clues in your mind. Again I love that it makes me slow down to think.
This book continues right where the first one left off. Things are slow for a while but soon pick up. Will and Eloise are trying to find Wyndham and who the hell Lorcan Labraid is. Will has a hell of a time trying to keep Eloise alive because for some reason she keeps getting attacked. He soon discovers that Eloise fits into his prophecy and there will be two paths of which he can choose. With Eloise out of the way there will be only path and it's not looking to be the path he'd choose for himself.
Again this book kept me wondering what the heck was going on and it has very creative use of powers belonging to the paranormal creatures. The ending was kind of freaky too. These books border on being a full on horror story because of the kinds of things that go on in the story. I'm not going to give anything away just because it would ruin the experience of reading the books for yourself but hopefully if you've read the first one and enjoyed it then you came here to check out the second book review. This book keeps just enough elements of YA in the story that it's attractive. I know a hot guy will always keep the reader in the story just because we're all a bunch of horn dogs and this one is no exception on that front. It helps having a hot guy savior/vampire. He's not overbearing or a douchebag which seems to be the norm. Will is a gentleman in every sense of the word and is pretty damn innocent compared to the other kinds of books I read, where the guys are complete pervs. Of course he did come from another time. He thinks of love and a future with someone, not trying to get someone naked and getting down to business. It's sort of a refreshing break from the buttholes in most stories.
At the end of the book you get an answer as to what has actually happened to Lorcan Labraid, the evil fourth king. Will gets to confront the evil, self righteous sorcerer Wyndham who claims he's doing something good for the world, no matter how many people get killed on the way to his personal vendetta of killing Will. He's such a jackass, the more I read about his arrogant self the more I loathe him.
There were times in the book I was left feeling terrible for Will because Eloise was being a bitchface because of something she saw that wasn't even real. She started acting funny and I wished Will would just leave her ass alone. She can be annoying at times, but then I can't help it because I didn't write it. She's untrusting of Will and sticks her nose into his business whether he likes it or not and she lodges it in there too.
Other than that the book was good. I liked how it took me out of this world and completely pulled me into the story. I liked that I'd get the feelings you get while watching a scary movie. You go through the whole range of motions as if you're there immersed in it. For me I also had the sense of being in another country, because these stories were taking place in the UK. So I'd read everything in my head with an accent. lol I recommend this book to those who enjoy mysteries, paranormal, scary stories, and young adult books. Enjoy!

Review also found at myKindle Book Love Blog.(less)

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Dec 01, 2012 Pam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks-read-in-2012, read-in-2012, paranormal-read-in-2012

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Will is a vampire who has been alive for hundreds of years. There is a prophecy that he is the Vampire King and he is trying to find all he can about it. Wyndham is a manwhose mother was drove crazy by what she thinks are demon but are really vampires. He has spent centuries hunting vampires and is after Will. Eloise is the girl Will is in love with and she does everything she can to help him solve the mystery of what he is and who he wi...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Christina M Condy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-netgalley, book-challenge, review-requested

I received this book from the Publisher for my honest review.

In this story we have Will who is a child who has lived for hundreds of years. He is a vampire and one who is foretold to be the Vampire King. He of course has a girl, Eloise who he likes and who actually likes him in return and who is necessary to complete his journey. Sounds like a plain old vampire book right? Well what we have in this one is an arch enemy who has figured out how to remain alive. Wyndham is a man whose mother saw th...more

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Sep 06, 2012 ephrielle rated it 2 of 5 stars

The tone of this book is very serious. It reminded me very much of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Dark, mostly explainable material with a hint of otherworldly magic. The romance was a little confusing to me. The characters mention it as if it is so very important but it didn't quite feel that way to me. Will is a bit hard to get behind. He can often be so very detached emotionally and also very lordly. As if he hasn't a care in the world for himself or what others think. There was a lot o...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Krista (CubicleBlindness Reviews) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Characters: We are continuing the story of the vampire Will as he is looking deeper into his past as well as current day to figure out why exactly Wyndham is out to kill him. We mostly focus on Will and Eloise again, very little of Wyndham, he is still to be seen as he is using his magic to use others to spy on the them.
Plot: All of their stories, Will, Eloise and Wyndham have started to come to a head. Will must find the answers in the secrets hidden in Marland Abbey before harm is done to him...more Characters: We are continuing the story of the vampire Will as he is looking deeper into his past as well as current day to figure out why exactly Wyndham is out to kill him. We mostly focus on Will and Eloise again, very little of Wyndham, he is still to be seen as he is using his magic to use others to spy on the them.
Plot: All of their stories, Will, Eloise and Wyndham have started to come to a head. Will must find the answers in the secrets hidden in Marland Abbey before harm is done to him or Eloise. He has no idea why the sorcerer is trying to kill him and now that he has Eloise. He will do anything to keep her.
Originality: Vampires, lets face it are nothing new to literature, and perhaps getting harder to put a unique twist on their stories. But KJ Wignall brings something different to his stories that are reminicent of the older styles of literature. They are atmospheric and bring in the setting of the buildings and history of generations and a little different twist of having a sorcerer as the villian instead of another creature, or vampire.
Writing: As I said before the writing represents a very precise atmosphere to the story. As our MC is a vampire it takes place at night. It's quiet, dark and gives that feeling of something always watching you behind the shadows. There is not a lot of fast paced or action packed scenes. Most of this book, the second in a series could be referenced as an info dump. We get a lot more history of Will, his heritage and again the setting of the school and underground tunnels of the Abby.
Krista’s Review: What drove this story for me was learning more about Wyndham and Will's pasts. The interweaving storylines of their families and their history is intriguing. As Wyndham is acting by using others' bodies to spy on Will we still have so much to learn about him. We just get these little bits and pieces of his story and I love it! I was hoping for a little bit if a faster pace and more events happening in this second book, but I love the feeling I get while reading these books, it takes me to a whole different time and world, dark and menacing. Magic, ghosts and vampires in this one!
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Feb 09, 2013 Audrey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_publish, young-adult, vampire

I worry about the sophomore slump when reading series. I've been burned too many times. Luckily, I actually enjoyed Alchemy more than the first book in The Mercian Trilogy series, Blood. The characters that were introduced in the first book are given much more depth here, and we have the added bonus of the villain's backstory, giving insight into why Wyndham is after the vampire William of Mercia, and the history of Wyndham's alchemical experiments in an effort to live long enough to destroy Wil...more I worry about the sophomore slump when reading series. I've been burned too many times. Luckily, I actually enjoyed Alchemy more than the first book in The Mercian Trilogy series, Blood. The characters that were introduced in the first book are given much more depth here, and we have the added bonus of the villain's backstory, giving insight into why Wyndham is after the vampire William of Mercia, and the history of Wyndham's alchemical experiments in an effort to live long enough to destroy Will. There's also plenty of action to keep the reader interested.

Something that bugs me in young adult novels is when the romance is too easy. Often, stress on relationships is introduced through a third romantic party, acting as a rival to be overcome in order to demonstrate the truth of the love. Otherwise, the heroine never doubts her love of the hero, even if he is of questionable character or does bad things. However, Wignall allows Eloise to actually glimpse into the true nature of Will's vampiric life, and the evil that he's done over many centuries. This is the crack in their relationship, and will eventually lead to a deeper understanding and compromise between the two of them. I'm really happy to see this kind of thought and character development in young adult writing, bucking the trend of the easy love triangle.

Sadly, this is another book where I need to bring up my anachronistic language beef. During Wyndham's exposition of his life, he recounts fighting a vampire in 1791. During this episode, they say not to look in its eyes to avoid "the demon's hypnotic spell". This word jumps out at me because I know that hypnosis, as he means it here, wasn't a thing until the mid-1800s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (yes, I just went there), prior to 1843, when the term gained its modern meaning from the work of James Braid, hypnotic simply meant something causing sleep, not really to put in a trance where the person could be influenced. The same page uses the term "mesmerising," which is a term that doesn't appear in English until 1829. Obviously, this bugs me, but I'm probably alone in that.

Other than the historical language mistakes, I enjoyed this book and am pleasantly surprised with the series. There's real intrigue, a mysterious prophecy that needs to be fulfilled, and vampires. What else could you want?

On an unrelated note, I think the publisher could do much better with the cover for these books. If I were basing my reading on the cover alone, I'd pass it by. The story is much more distinguished than the half-naked, over the shoulder smoldering glance suggests.(less)

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Oct 07, 2012 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Alchemy is the second volume in the Mercian trilogy, and I for one believe it outdid its predecessor. Since I did like book one to begin with, this is wonderful news!

The biggest change I found when coming back to Will is the style, the “voice” itself. Perhaps it’s because it’s been a year between one book and the next, or because I’ve read so much in the interim that my brain’s saying something silly, but I think that Wignall has truly improved. The story is presented in journal like entries, t...more Alchemy is the second volume in the Mercian trilogy, and I for one believe it outdid its predecessor. Since I did like book one to begin with, this is wonderful news!

The biggest change I found when coming back to Will is the style, the “voice” itself. Perhaps it’s because it’s been a year between one book and the next, or because I’ve read so much in the interim that my brain’s saying something silly, but I think that Wignall has truly improved. The story is presented in journal like entries, this time pertaining to the “villain”, and third-person narrative. In book one, the narrative was good but felt slightly out of tune... This time, I totally believed in Will. Simply put, I bought him, his past, his fear, his love, his bleak future... it convinced me in ways Blood couldn’t have. And that’s before we get into the plot: just style!

The plot itself picks up from the point Blood let off and builds forward. Will has a little more information, but not much. He’s still largely blind to the destiny he so desperately seeks, and while he knows there’s people out there ready to kill him, he doesn’t truly understand why, or who they are. And this is what Alchemy did best: propel Will forward, blindly, stumbling in the dark... and somehow take us along in the same lightless, unknowing path without confusing us or loosing us in the interim. Kudos!

Admittedly, the trickle of information is slow. Very slow. Things will be found out, or stumbled upon, and then snatched away. Answers will only present more questions. But this didn’t bother me, because I felt like that’s the way it’d have to be in reality. If there was a 750 year-old vampire trying to find out and meet his destiny, his fate, it’d be hard to unravel, to figure out. That’s why I liked the risk taken.

Will and Eloise, the main characters, are consistent with their previous adventures but furthermore, their changes are consistent with what happens to them. Perhaps, since in Alchemy they are already in love, I didn’t let the pseudo-insta-love color my impressions anymore, but the fact is that this time, they felt like a better fit. Like a more real relationship. Actually, it’s like they are more real themselves—which I write down to the better writing quality found in Alchemy as much as to the extra space the author has had to develop them.

The villain is the one I can’t truly like. I mean, I get that he doesn’t think himself as a villain, which makes him more human. I get that he might even be the real hero, as he believes. But his journal entries, his past, it just didn’t resonate much in me. I didn’t feel pity or compassion or fear for him. This might be because I’m too cold... or because by this point I’m too invested in Will to care for someone who seeks his destructions, which would point to an excellent work on the author’s part. I’ll let you be the judge on that one.

So, to wrap it up, do I recommend Alchemy? Absolutely. If you held back with Blood, waiting to see more information before actually buying, let me tell you that you should go right ahead and read this series, because it’s only getting better.
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May 16, 2013 Michelle rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dft, fiction, paranormal, read-2013, young-adult

Posted on Dark Faerie Tales.

K.J. Wignall brings us back to the Merican Trilogy with Alchemy. The story begins shortly after the end of Blood. Eloise has returned to school with the purpose of investigating Will’s past. Only visiting Eloise in the evening, Will has inhabited his family’s property. But danger has risked Eloise’s safety, forcing Will to keep her safe. A sorcerer named Wyndham is a threat, keeping watch over their actions. The plot progresses and the momentum moves forward. Can Will...more Posted on Dark Faerie Tales.

K.J. Wignall brings us back to the Merican Trilogy with Alchemy. The story begins shortly after the end of Blood. Eloise has returned to school with the purpose of investigating Will’s past. Only visiting Eloise in the evening, Will has inhabited his family’s property. But danger has risked Eloise’s safety, forcing Will to keep her safe. A sorcerer named Wyndham is a threat, keeping watch over their actions. The plot progresses and the momentum moves forward. Can Will keep Eloise safe? And will they find what they’re looking for?

Each moment is catalogued in a journal-style entry with a third-person narrative. Wignall changes Will’s voice, which makes him a little more appealing. It was hard for me to connect to him in Blood, but that changes a bit in Alchemy. Will is a little more believable, a little more human. Will’s emotions, his vulnerabilities and fears were the one thing that allowed me to connect to him. There was a moment of disparity that made me long for his well being.

It’s rare that I would like a sequel over a debut, but that is the case for Alchemy. The writing seemed to have developed into something more natural, whereas Blood had a more forced plot. The depth of the characters were more substantial, easy for me to form tangible people rather than just words on a page. Wignall’s world was a little more believable, but there was something about it that I just couldn’t connect to.

It’s difficult to be a book in the sea of young adult paranormals. I felt that there were too many things already done before. I felt that the characters’ chemistry was too easy. The romance, which should have been complex and complicated, was actually fast and cliche. An arch nemesis was introduced, a rival to be defeated.

I wanted to love this book, and maybe I would have if I just didn’t read another amazing book previous to this. The world and the history of Will seems well-thought out with substance. But I couldn’t connect, and simply, I didn’t love. There were a few mistakes, but they were easy to look over.

It’s sad when my heart isn’t in a book. I hope that you’ll give it a try and maybe it will work for you.
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Dec 12, 2012 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 52-books-in-52-weeks-2012

After reading the first book in the series, Blood, I was interested enough to carry on to read Alchemy. I'm glad I did because Alchemy really raises the bar.

Eloise returns to her old school and Will stays close, visiting her at night and continuing to research his history and the mysterious forces of a sorcerer named Wyndham. But every step they take, they are being watched. And not by forces that intend to help them.

Alchemy's fast pace drew me in and kept me reading. There are some scary scenes...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-kindle, netgalley, read-in-2012, for-review-read, british-author

Alchemy picks up the story not long after the ending of Blood and I would recommend reading this series in order to make the most of the ongoing story line. Eloise has returned to her school to investigate the links to Will's past and Will is staying nearby in a property that used to belong to his family. It appears that there are enemy spies surrounding them though and it could put Eloise's life at risk. Can Will keep her safe as they work together to uncover the truth about his destiny?

I enjoy...more

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Jan 14, 2013 CYA added it

Shelves: teen-book, supernatural, sequel

Blood series
Blood
Alchemy

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Aug 16, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-fun, for-review, paranormal-reading-challenge, thriller-horror-challenge, 2012-favorites

Amazing!!! Review soon! I am in love with Will and CAN'T wait for book 3!
The writing is amazing and we get to dive deeper in the destiny Will is searching for....OOOO and a sorcerer thrown in...

Another one of my favorites!!
In fact I will be re-reading book 1 and 2!

=)

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Feb 12, 2013 Night rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About K.J. Wignall

K.J. Wignall is the author of "The Mercian Trilogy", the first book of which, "Blood" (September 2011 in the USA and UK), will be followed by "Alchemy" in 2012.

He is also the author of several adult thrillers and short stories, and has been nominated for awards in both America and the UK. His works have also been published in Germany, Finland, Japan, Russia and Poland.

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Alchemy (Mercian Trilogy #2)

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