I am a huge fan of Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy, so when I read the synopsis for A Golden Fury, I was immediately interested. 17 year old Thea wants to become a better, more famously known alchemist than her abusive mother. To do that, Thea must create the legendary Philosopher's Stone. However, Thea's mother is overcome with madness and destroys the stone. Thea must flee to her father, a man who doesn't even know she exists. Unfortunately, Thea's father cannot save Thea from the madness nor from the other alchemist who also hunger for the Stone. Thea must decide between the people she loves, and her own hunger for the Philosopher's Stone.
That description feels so unworthy to the details of Samantha Cohoe's novel, but I don't wish to give away spoilers. Unfortunately, there are a few issues I had with the novel. The main character Thea is the biggest one. At first, I liked her and her attitude. It was easy to be drawn in and to relate to her on certain levels. The want to be better than her parent, the desire to be accomplished, and the desire to be loved. However, it was the middle that made me begin to despise her. It was as if all the logic and reason I had read was gone. By the end, she was back to being the Thea that I understood, and liked. However, the middle was such a long length of pages that I almost stopped reading.
Another issue I had was Dominic. I really expected his character to shine more. I was unhappy with the flatness and casual support of him. I really felt that Thea was better when Dominic was in the scene, and yet he wasn't utilized in the ways that I felt he could have been. There was a potential there that was lost. I really hope Samantha Cohoe writes a novel following this character. I would like to see and know more about him.
The ending, overall, was what I expected for/from Thea. I really don't see how people felt the novel could have ended any other way. None of the characters (with the exception of Thea and her father) really had a character growth. The pages gave so many hints as to what the reader should have expected that I wasn't disappointed. There is one character that I know other readers have a problem with, and I agree with them. However, Samantha stuck true to his character that, again, I felt it should have be expected.
Overall, I was indifferent to the novel. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. I feel as a debut novel I rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars, and that this is a wonderful example of the author's potential. I hope she takes all of these reviews into consideration, because I will continue to follow her. I fully believe that Samantha Cohoe will write a magnificent novel and I cannot wait to put down
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