Alchemised

De: SenLinYu

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy—and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.

“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.

©2025 SenLinYu (P)2025 Random House Audio

I had to know what happened next

The world building was really good, the characters were dynamic. I definitely recommend reading the content warnings before listening to the book.

Wow

SPOILERS
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just finished the audiobook, I really feel like i listened to the life of Helen . I wouldn’t mind a sequel novella of their daughter going to school. And gosh! The ending tore me up, I kept wondering when I was going to cry because I kept seeing people crying. I can’t believe how Helen was listed as a non combatant, that broke me a little inside. Having family with PTSD from the military I could see that they struggled after the war, especially because of the torture they endured. But what a AWESOME book. I’m so excited that this will be a movie and they better not screw it up.

This is my Roman Empire.

This is my Roman Empire. Senlinyu give us a masterclass in writing morally grey characters. Beautifully written. Masterfully crafted. Performed flawlessly. Emotionally resonant. A true work of art. The characters and story will stick with you forever. 5 stars. Highly recommend.

Heart wrenching

This is an EPIC war time dark fantasy novel with an incredible, extremely mapped out, complex magic system. It’s almost mind numbing how much intricate the world building is in this book with everything from sciences, magics, theologies and religions explained in depth. Deep dives into PTSD and the violent mental and physical abuses that caused them and the way the characters healed or couldn’t from all the trauma they received during and post war times. That being said there is a romantic SUB PLOT, and it’s is beautiful and extremely stressful and times. (Had me nail biting and tearing up)
I loved this book and it was well worth the listen!

Loved the narrator’s voice changes and inflections.

Loved the plot and world building and the master level of storytelling. Beautifully written and an incredible piece of literature.

No Words Through The Sobs!

I have no words. Actually, I do. Don't like the size of Alchemised or the threat of emotional wreckage stop you from reading!

I did read Manacled in 2022, and I never forgot that book. That being said, I will never forget Alchemised. The author successfully removed all HP from the plot. All of the best parts - the emotions, the angst, the characters - they were still there. The story was told present, past, present as she did in Manacled. Helena is a healer. Kaine is the High Reeve, and Helena is his prisoner. She couldn't remember the past but Kaine knew, and he had to impregnate her. He was controlled to do evil things, but Kaine would not stop protecting her. There were some changes to events and plot points, but it added to Alchemised and helped it stand on its own. I loved how she wrote Kaine and Helena. There were parts that made me sob, especially that ending!

Now I'm going to eat some chocolate a cry some more.

My Rating: All of the Stars

The Audiobook = Chef’s Kiss 🤌

While I haven’t finished the book yet, I wanted to shout to the world that I’m so glad that the audiobook released at the same time as the physical copy! (And it’s amazing quality! 😭🙏) I sometimes struggle to sit down and read, but I’m able to take audiobooks with me around the house or on my long walks. Thank you for considering the accessibility of this book for people who can’t stay focused long enough to visually read the entire thing. Even though it didn’t come with the new book smell 🤣, this audiobook is tremendous and I’d recommend it to anyone who is okay with the dark content it contains.

No, you do NOT need to read the popular wizard series to understand this book. I promise. 😤

Wow what a story!

If you saw a single female narrator and became weary about a long listen this narrator will not disappoint you. She did an amazing job with a plethora of different characters. I listen to about 200 audiobooks a year and she is top tier.
Now for the story. The way the story was told in parts was the perfect way to tell the story. I was a bit confused in the beginning and honestly could have used a bit of a guide to reference for names and majors but even without that the writing pulls you in. I have never experienced a writing style with so much detail and things happening that aren’t so obvious. It was truly masterful. The book is dark but in a way that the world is dark.
Now if you’re looking for something spicy 🌶️ this isn’t the book. They’re are several scenes but they are not descriptive and short. The really are there for the story purpose only. This is a story of war, love, and the stories we tell.

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what a beautiful, devastating, heartbreaking, emotionally dense wreckage of a book. I love any book that makes me feel deeply; be it hatred or adoration or abject sorrow, any book that brings out emotional depth and genuine empathy, anything that is so evocative that I feel it in my bones is an exceptional read for me. I don't want to over analyze the tropes or over think the narrative. I just want to FEEL the words, intuit the authors want from the audience, and this book absolutely succeeds.

to be more...thoughtful, I suppose, for review purposes...I'd personally characterize this with a good deal of fieldsurg and active war accuracy given the context, which i personally appreciate, but please do take care if that's something you need to mentally prep for/skip altogether.

the toll of combat surgery is seriously not something to minimize.

Absolute Masterpiece!

This book is an absolute masterpiece and everyone should listen to this at least once in your life.