"The Alchemists of Loom" by Elise Kova (BR)

[Kristin B.]

Putting up the thread for Buddy Read that starts on 7/28.

:)

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Already?! Lol- well picking my next read should be easy enough anyway!

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Chapter one:
(view spoiler)[I’m somewhat torn at the moment as to whether I’ll like this. I like the math- that’s cool and something I don’t see often. But it seems like Ari relies heavily on magic, which isn’t always my favorite thing (I know right, someone who reads mostly fantasy and doesn’t like magic, what’s wrong with me?).

I am also finding a lot of cliches in the action and dialogue.

On the other hand, there’s lots of action. Which I like. It might turn out to be a good popcorn type read. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

I am planning on joining this! (Soon hopefully) I started Way of Kings early since it's so freaking long, and I'm about 45% through. I'll probably start this one as soon as I finish.

[Kristin B.]

Sarah wrote: "Chapter one:..."

Just finished the first chapter as well. (view spoiler)[ There is definitely LOTS of action, but I agree on the cliches. That being said, I am kind of a sucker for enemies being forced to work together. So I'm looking forward to where this thing with the Dragon is going. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Chapter one:..."

Just finished the first chapter as well. [spoilers removed]"

I’ve read a little more at about 12%- finished Florence’s chapter. The cliches and stiff dialogue seem to be getting a little better (or I’ve just accepted it.. lol). One part made me lol: (view spoiler)[”It’s a cookie. Who objects to a cookie? Florence takes another cookie.” I thought it was so funny because that’s 100% me. Also didn’t realize there is a f/f romance happening, so that was a cool find. I don’t see those very often (hardly ever). (hide spoiler)].

[Kristin B.]

Am I the only one confused by the timeline of this?
Not really a spoiler, but hiding just in case.
(view spoiler)[Arianna is not that much older than Florence. (The author said Ari is 22 and Flor is 16.) And even Cvareh is not that old (44). But it seems like Dragons have been subjugating the people of Loom for a long time based on the way it's discussed, yet somehow Ari remembers a time before? Even though she is barely older than Florence and Cvarteh is twice her age. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Is she only (view spoiler)[ 22? And what is she doing with a 16 year old? That’s a little icky. I was thinking she was somewhat older- not by much but still. And I didn’t think Florence was so young either- nor the dragon 44.

I don’t want to chalk the timeline thing up to self publishing (is this self published? I’ve caught a few mistakes.) but I do feel like it’s probably that- an idea that wasn’t thought out all the way. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

Re: Sarah's comments. (view spoiler)[ yup. If you go to the book's page, there was a question asked about their ages. The author replied with how old the main characters were. (Cvareh is actually 43. Sometimes I can't read. Lol) honestly, I'm still really confused as to Ari and Flor's relationship. It definitely seemed like it might be romantic for a minute, but now I'm not so sure. It's very strange.

I've noticed some typos as well. It says the publisher is Keymaster Press. Not one I'm familiar with. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "Re: Sarah's comments. yup. If you go to the book's page, there was a question asked about their ages. The author replied with how old the main characters were. (Cvareh is actually 43. Sometimes I ..."

Ahhh... okay. Do dragons mature at half the rate too? Lol

[Kristin B.]

Lol. I'm guessing so. In the same post the author said that the lifespan of the Fenthri was 44, and the average lifespan for Dragons was 121. (Weirdly specific numbers.)

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

44? So Arianna is middle aged?!

[Kristin B.]

Yup. And I just hit about 60% and they've referred to Flor as basically a woman coming into the prime of her life. It's weird. Trying to adjust my mind set.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "Yup. And I just hit about 60% and they've referred to Flor as basically a woman coming into the prime of her life. It's weird. Trying to adjust my mind set."

I’m guessing maybe they age like dogs age “adolescents” at 1-2 years old, adults by 3 lol. Except not by a factor of 7. Maybe just 2.

30%
(view spoiler)[Is it me, or are the action scenes really tedious and boring when everyone just magically heals immediately? (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

Re: 30% (view spoiler)[The healing factor does make them less inherently exciting. But hang tight, some of the later ones get a lot more interesting. There are still some story telling flaws that I think a few good passes by a competent editor would have really helped, but the action scenes improve. There are more factors involved. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

79% (view spoiler)[ Hah! take that Leona!

I kind of like when the action switches to Leona's point of view, because we don't know exactly what's happening with Ari, Flor and Cvareh. It's kind of cool to have that gap. It's also kind of frustrating, but I think it's more realistic to not have every little bit of a story. Or to have a different view of a story. If you learn about something in real life it's often second hand and there are always pieces missing. I feel like normally in a book that would drive me nuts, but for some reason I think it works here. I think it echoes a bit how the Dragons and Fenthri don't really understand each other. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "Re: 30% [spoilers removed]"

That’s good to know! It’s been a super hectic week for me so I’m moving along at a much slower pace than I usually do. Hoping to get through the rest of the book this weekend.

[Kristin B.]

It's a pretty quick read once you get going, which is nice.

I now have a dilemma. I'm fairly invested in the characters, but the sequels are not available from the library. Not ebook or physical book. And used copies are just as expensive as buying new. Kindle has the whole trilogy for $10. I have definitely spent that much money on far dumber things, but I have been doing really well not buying books.

I guess I'll have to see how the ending goes. That will be the deciding factor.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "It's a pretty quick read once you get going, which is nice.

I now have a dilemma. I'm fairly invested in the characters, but the sequels are not available from the library. Not ebook or physical b..."

You could always put it in an Amazon wishlist and track the price daily. You could also drop it in ereaderiq o get an email if the price drops.

It looks like the cheapest book 2 goes is $1.99 and book 3 $4.99. The omnibus has only ever been $9.99.

On another note- I’m at 54% and finding myself very frustrated with the style. It started with lots of action and now I’m feeling like there is way too much description. I also think the characters interactions with each other are really confusing.

(view spoiler)[And I really wish, for al the description, I had a better idea of Arianna’s relationship with Florence. They sleep in the same bed but also don’t seem to be lovers? I’m just confused. Their relationship doesn’t have to fit in a neat little box, but I wish it was clarified. Especially since the romance seems to be shifting to Arianna and Cvareh. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

I've never used ereaderiq. Time for me to start!

Their interactions are DEFINITELY confusing.

Just finished. (view spoiler)[ We never really get a defined idea of Flor and Ari's relationship. Ari continues to see her as "girl" which tells me its not romantic from her end. It's definitely more of a protective thing. And Florence's affections seem like hero worship.

Honestly, we don't ever really figure out Ari and Cvareh's relationship either. It was frustrating, but kind of intriguing. It's new to see such muddiness in relationships like that. And I just really like the characters.

Overall I liked the book. There were some definite flaws. The logic didn't always line up, the pace could get a little choppy and there were typos, which frustrate me. The characters and the world won me over, though.

And every now and then there would be a line that just felt like pure poetry. For instance:

But, sure enough, it slowly began to pass and the light at the end of her tunnel vision began to sharpen and grow.

I loved that line so much. Just the potential of more gems like that make me want to read more from this author. I want to see how Florence grows into her new strength and if Cvareh can live up to his goals. (hide spoiler)]

My plan at this point is to get through some other books I need to read and see if I'm still curious about these folks at that time.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Okay- so I just finished too. I’ll be honest and say that the first 3/4 of this frustrated me a lot.

(view spoiler)[There was way too much telling! Arianna and all her characters had sufficient personality/action scenes that I just got really tired of hearing how Arianna is basically the best at everything she does and how she’s so stubborn and blah blah blah. The author did a fine enough job of showing all those things too, I didn’t need it rehashed by every character in every chapter.

It finally seemed to slow down in the last 25% but it was almost like if the author didn’t have action scenes to write she didn’t know what she should be filling the chapters with.

The world building was really unique - and I enjoyed that part probably the most. I am a little frustrated that I feel like there wasn’t much closure to this book. I’d be hesitant to buy the next one but if I can get it from the library I might give it a try. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

I started this yesterday, only a week late to the party. I'll try to keep my expectations low and then maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Arianna don’t let my comments discourage you- it’s probably just me. Don’t know why I’ve been hyper critical of all the books I’ve read this year.

I also had just finished another book that I really loved when I started this one. They aren’t remotely similar but it could have been book hangover. Lol

[Kristin B.]

Totally understand your gripes, Sarah! There was definitely a lot of rehashing by the characters of things that had already been demonstrated.

That's part of why I kind of want to keep going with the series. See if the author got more comfortable with her characters and maybe doesn't feel the need to remind us so much. And as you said (view spoiler)[ not a lot of closure at the end there. I really want to see Ari in Nova. lol (hide spoiler)]

Looking forward to your thoughts, Ariana!

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Kristin B. wrote: "Totally understand your gripes, Sarah! There was definitely a lot of rehashing by the characters of things that had already been demonstrated.

That's part of why I kind of want to keep going with ..."

Me too!! I was so disappointed when I turned the page and it was like: “to buy the next book go here”.

Also I just realized- (view spoiler)[I made it sound like the book slowed down after 3/4, I meant that the telling slowed down, not the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

This is pretty fun! Doesn't hurt that the main character is a badass named Arianna. (I'll overlook the extra n)

I'm at around 38% and I'm dying to know more about the guilds. How many are there? What does each one do? DO THEY ALL START WITH R?!? I suspect we'll shortly learn more about the Ravens. I'm listening to audio, there's not a glossary or something in print, is there?

[Kristin B.]

There was no glossary in my Kindle copy.

Glad you're liking it so far!

[Ariana]

Okay, I finished this yesterday. Over all I thought it was a lot of fun. I really liked the culture clash between the Dragons and the Fenthri, especially how it showed up in different places (aesthetics in architecture and fashion, formality and respect in modes of address, etc.).
I would say up til around ~85%, I was pleasantly surprised, but (view spoiler)[I felt like the ending was a trainwreck. Not because anything dramatically awful happened, but just because there was a lot of nothing and it was really unsatisfying. The whole scene with creating the forsaken chimera felt non-sensical and extremely irritating. And I felt like we really needed to get some more backstory about Arianna, and instead we just got more "I'm tortured by my past" puttering around. (hide spoiler)]

Okay, but re: Arianna: (view spoiler)[Okay, so when she kills Leona, we find out that her blood is actually gold, not black, and she's got a box instead of a heart... so this means she actually perfected the "philosopher's box" and is herself a perfect chimera? Is that right?

I don't know, something about her motivations at the end just didn't seem to make sense. She hates the dragons, and wants Loom to be free, but she doesn't want to help a resistance because she's too traumatized from losing loved ones in the last resistance... She doesn't want to join or help the resistance, but claims to have dedicated herself to fighting the Dragons? It just didn't feel consistent to me. (hide spoiler)]

But overall, interesting and creative world building! Not sure whether I'll continue... Not against it, just have a lot of other things that probably will take priority...

[Ariana]

Also, the guilds:
Ravens - (view spoiler)[transportation, any kind of people-moving, also cartography (hide spoiler)]
Revolvers (Revos) - (view spoiler)[EXPLOSIONS. Also weapons? Or only the kind of weapons that explode? (hide spoiler)]
Rivets - (view spoiler)[Building things? Mechanical engineers? (hide spoiler)]
Alchemists - (view spoiler)[Any kind of science? Esp. bio-magical science? (hide spoiler)]
I feel like there was one more that I've forgotten. I would have loved to get more info on these, like specifically (view spoiler)[what they learn, what the exams are, etc. What was the Ravens exam Flor was sure she'd fail? (hide spoiler)]

So what percentage of the Loom population do we think are (view spoiler)[chimeras (hide spoiler)]? I mean, (view spoiler)[magic seems to play a big role in almost everything, but only chimeras and dragons have magic, right? (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

Re: the ending (view spoiler)[ The end was definitely rushed and kind of all over the place. You are absolutely right there. I kind of liked how she managed to hint at Arianna's arrival in Nova though. Through Cvareh's sister's POV. That was fun and I'm looking forward to how that story-line takes off. (hide spoiler)]

Re: Ari (view spoiler)[She is the perfect Chimera. When Leona asks her "what are you?" she replies that she is perfect. So yeah, she definitely figured out the box and she has it working in herself.

I am also really confused about her motivations. I can see her fear about losing people in a rebellion. That makes some sense. But at one point it said that she's the one who slit her loved one's throat. (Can't remember the name. Too lazy to go look.) So I'm assuming that gets explored more later. The only thing I can think is that her lover became a Wretched? (Not even sure if that's what the maddened Chimeras were called. That may have been the underground things.) (hide spoiler)]

Re: guilds/magic (view spoiler)[I think you're pretty on track with those four. And the last guild was Harvesters. Which in this new combined world means mostly harvesting Dragons. I assumed before it was more collecting resources for the other guilds.

I am also very confused about how many Chimeras there are. It seems pretty prevalent. But it also seems like it's not an easy process...? (hide spoiler)]

A continuity editor would have been very helpful in this novel. lol

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Ariana wrote: "Okay, I finished this yesterday. Over all I thought it was a lot of fun. I really liked the culture clash between the Dragons and the Fenthri, especially how it showed up in different places (aesth..."

My take on Arianna's motivations: (view spoiler)[She had a dragon lover, forgot her name, she and the dragon lover were out to make the philosopher's box and perfect chimeras, but something happened.

The lover betrayed Arianna and gave the plans for the philosophers box to the Dragons. So Arianna is all traumatized because she trusted a dragon once and it got her birth place blown up, which is also why she murdered her lover.

That's my take on it. But yeah- it's definitely confusing, and doesn't make a lot of sense because I'm pretty sure someone mentions how much Ari's lover loved her. Unless the alchemists don't know her lover betrayed them. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

Hmm. Interesting. I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility. Now I'm even more intrigued about the sequels. Have to get through at least three other books before I can even contemplate it though. lol

[Ariana]

Sarah wrote: "My take on Arianna's motivations: ..."

Ooooh, this rings very true. I need to go back and look at all the references to Eva, because I thought it was mentioned that she was Fenthri, but maybe I misinterpreted something. (view spoiler)[My guess was that she was betrayed by someone else (Alchemist Sophie?), leading to Eva trying to become a perfect chimera but instead becoming forsaken, and needing to be killed, and Ari did it herself because of their relationship. But I also like the theory that Eva was a dragon... (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Ariana wrote: "Sarah wrote: "My take on Arianna's motivations: ..."

Ooooh, this rings very true. I need to go back and look at all the references to Eva, because I thought it was mentioned that she was Fenthri, ..."

I could be remembering wrong- or maybe I’m taking two different people and merging them into one, but I definitely recall the phrase “dragon lover” being used in relation to Arianna. So I’m pretty sure I’m on the nose. (view spoiler)[I remember her saying she was in a wreck with eva and the master. The master died on impact but Eva lived, which would make sense if Eva was a dragon because they are so hard to kill. And I know Ari killed her. I can’t remember if it was ever specifically mentioned that Eva is a dragon though now that you mentioned it. I just know Eva was a lover, Ari had a dragon lover, and somehow the plans end up in Dragon hands, and there’s talk of a betrayal. I’d be interested to know if you can find a line specifically calling Eva a dragon or if I imagined that part. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristin B.]

So I did a quick kindle search (view spoiler)[ for the phrase "dragon lover" and that came back with no results. And "lover" came back with four results. None of which referenced a dragon in the passage. However, I don't know if my search function is working quite right, because I feel like that word was in the book more than four times.

There is a passage where she is comparing Eva and Cvareh. and she says:

his ability to see right through her reminded her of Eva. He was not Eva. He was a Dragon.

Which makes me feel like Eva probably wasn't. However, the continuity editing in the novel was not the best, so I wouldn't take that as definitive proof. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

Sarah wrote: "(view spoiler)[Ari had a dragon lover... (hide spoiler)]"

!! I did not catch any references to this! (Which of course doesn't mean that they're not there.) Any inkling when they showed up? I thought (view spoiler)[part of the tension between Ari and Cvareh was her actually getting close to a dragon for the first time, I got the feeling she was sort of surprised and confused by their weird attraction(?)/connection. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Haha- oh God am I that poor a reader? Hang on I have to get the Kindle out.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Okay- so in retrospect this is kind of vague:

At 92% (view spoiler)[ Because believing would mean trusting a dragon again..

So I read that as there was a dragon she trusted and they betrayed her once. And maybe my mind jumped to Eva since Ari hasn’t mentioned other characters. (hide spoiler)]

And I did just find a reference that has me swaying towards what Ariana said: (view spoiler)[ it actually says at 90% Eva the Alchemist. So now I’m not sure they’d let a dragon be an alchemist. But I guess if the dragon was working with them they might? (hide spoiler)]

Okay- got it now. I am very wrong. (view spoiler)[74% “Because the Dragon betrayed us all. He was responsible for the death of the last rebellion. The deaths of my teacher, my friends, and the woman I loved.” (hide spoiler)]

So it seems I am way off. Would have made for a good story though. I don’t really understand why no one meantions his name though.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

Found one other reference:

82%
(view spoiler)[
He..reminded her of Eva.

He was not Eva.

He was a Dragon. A Dragon who had her schematics for the Philosopher’s Box from years ago. Schematics that, the last time she had seen them, were in the hands of a dragon who had betrayed them all.

So I don’t think I’m way off base in thinking there was a Dragon in their inner circle. But I’m still annoyed they were never mentioned by name. lol (hide spoiler)]

In my defense I was reading lots of this after the kid had gone to bed and it was late.

[Kristin B.]

I have totally done that when reading. lol

I still really want to know what Dragon she dealt with before though. So I'll hopefully get to the rest of this series after the brick that is Way of Kings. (you know, once I actually start that.)

[Ariana]

Sarah wrote: "In my defense I was reading lots of this after the kid had gone to bed and it was late."

Hah! Me too, that's why I thought i had missed it 😁

[Ariana]

Kristin B. wrote: "I still really want to know what Dragon she dealt with before though..."

Me too! Give a heads up when you start the next one, my library has it and if I'm not too behind on other books I'll join you. My guess is (view spoiler)[the Dragon King! (hide spoiler)]

Also:
More detailed description of the guilds:
http://elisekova.com/the-guild-games/

Online quiz: Which guild are you?
https://www.buzzfeed.com/elisekovaaut...

I'm a Rivet!

[Kristin B.]

I am also a Rivet!

[Anna]

I am rivet(ed by this discussion! I think I have to read the book.)

[Kristin B.]

You totally should! It's not a literary masterpiece, but it is a lot of fun.

[Sarah, The Unsettled]

I’m a Raven:

Spread Our Wings. If life isn't moving full-throttle then it's not for you. You move at nearly suicidal speed in all your decisions, but you're utterly confident while doing it. Just as you're never lost geographically, you're also never lost in your purpose in life. It's the journey, not the destination, and you're determined to have a good ride along the way.


A couple things in here ring true: determined to have fun and not let small stuff bother me, journey not the destination, but everything else is wildly untrue.

I’m always lost- no idea what I’m doing, and rarely confident about anything except that I must be doing it wrong. Lol. I am also not a thrill seeker.