♾️⭐️ This book ripped my heart out stomped on it and had me sobbing but I wouldn’t change it for the world. A new Roman Empire book I’ll think about it everyday for the rest of my life. A painfully but beautifully realistic story about war and how no one ever really wins. How two people amongst it all with the weight of the entire conflict on their shoulders are pushed together making impossible decisions with no right or wrong answer. How they hold on to one another and in the unlikeliest of ways fall in love amidst all this pain and suffering. Grappling with if they’re even allowed to have this little piece of solace. After everything they’ve done to each other and to other people is it selfish to be happy even for a second when so much damage and pain has been inflicted. How do they survive despite it all. How do you keep going when everything good in the world has been decimated. Please check trigger warnings before reading this it’s an incredibly dark book and its descriptions of torture, suffering and gore are incredibly descriptive. But if you can please read this. I look forward to reading more from SenLinYu in the future.

This book delivered 1000 pages of excellence. No filler, just a harrowing and gripping tale. This book shines on its own, separate from Manacled. While it still contains the core elements of Manacled that made it such a good fic in the first place, it reimagines the story to make it into an epic, dystopian fantasy that I will never get over. I genuinely think this is one of my favourite reads of the year. I am so thankful to have gotten a proof copy to read early and I would highly recommend it.

TThis book was INTENSE! This is nowhere near Romantasy, it is a dark romance, epic fantasy. Going into this I knew it was a Dramione fanfic, but if I hadn’t been told that beforehand I would not have guessed. The story and characters asserted themselves and maintained their own presence. So… this book is an adventure. The first part of the book was unsettling to read. However, I appreciate that nothing was romanticised. Credits to the author, these are very heavy topics and I believe they did an excellent job of educating the reader. So yes, 1000+ pages this book requires significant commitment and devotion to read. I also thought I would fracture my wrist or break the book just by reading it, but I was utterly engrossed. The rhythm and pacing of the plot and character development was masterfully orchestrated. I wanted to know more and hear about everyone! The actual plot of the book I found unique and it held me captive. It didn’t shy away from laying out the grim realities of war. I think the ending, whilst ‘quiet,’ juxtaposed the plot. The characters are thrown into war and forced to live in brutal conditions for nearly a decade. They do not know what peace is. The ending gave them that. My only criticism would be, I think the off-scene death of a character was very anticlimactic. They deserved better. This book is gut-wrenching, but I recommend it so badly. The hype is real!!

This review is going to be short one because there is so much to process from this book and I want to keep this as spoiler free as possible. This is a dark dark fantasy with very heavy themes so please look at the trigger warnings before reading this. It is 1000 pages of pure talent, heart and emotion. This book is fundamentally about the impact of war on people and it is demonstrated so well. You come to feel so strongly for the charcters and become emotionally attached. One of the best pieces of writting I have ever read.

‘Kaine Ferron was a dragon, like his family before him. Possessive to the point of self-annihilation. Isolated and deadly, and now he held her in his arms as if she were his. The temptation to give in, to let him have her, and to love him for it terrified her.’ Alchemised was my most anticipated read of 2025, I’ve been waiting for this one, and somehow, it still managed to exceed every enormous expectation I had! This is not a light read. It’s dark, brutal, and emotionally relentless, definitely worth checking the trigger warnings before diving in, but beneath all the pain and violence is something deeply human, tender, and so, so powerful. I couldn’t stop reading, even as I was mentally preparing to be wrecked. (Spoiler: I was. Completely.) I wish I could attach photos of me sobbing to do this book justice, it’s already so special to me, and I know I’ll be rereading over and over again it with a highlighter, tabs, and probably a box of tissues! Incredible doesn’t begin to cover it. Just… prepare your heart. And maybe don’t read it on the metro, like I did.