as a child, this book was one of my bibles for years - i would’ve given it all the stars in a heartbeat.
now, rereading it as an adult, i can see why little me loved it so dearly: the world-building & all the potion-making, the old venetian villa with all its secret passageways & hiding places, packed with alchemy books & magical objects, the focus on friendship and nina’s relationship with her grandfather - it shaped me & my taste in all kinds of media so much, wow.
nonetheless, i came to realize that in some aspects it‘s not that well written after all: the child protagonist is not actually written like a child (she never feels scared & is incredibly good at her chosen role as an alchemist right away, she always just knows - i mean, really?), there’s so much telling where there should be showing, the cipher isn’t quite as ciphered as one should be lol and the overall pace is just way too fast.
yet, i‘m nothing if not nostalgic to my core and this once filled my little world to the brim with magic & adventure, so i can’t rate this any lower than 4 stars.