Amy Butler Greenfield’s Chantress Alchemy is the second book in the Chantress series. After defeating Scargrave, Lucy retreated to a small cabin by the sea. There she spent her isolated days with Norrie, learning the secrets of Wild Magic. Sadly, her quite life comes to an abrupt end when the king sends soldiers to escort her to the palace. England is in the middle of a crisis and the King’s court plans on using alchemy to save it. Unfortunately, the key element was stolen and Lucy is charged with finding it. To make matters worse, the kingdom is no longer the one she remembers. Now filled with old and new enemies, the court has become a complicated web of power grabs and manipulation. Lucy must root out a new evil in the kingdom, this time, without the help of her friends.
Many of Lucy’s core character traits haven’t change. She is still determined, curious and intelligent, but her magic has grown stronger during her year of training. Sadly, as soon as she reaches the palace, she is cut off from the two things she relies on most: friends and magic. Upon entering the palace, something goes wrong with Lucy’s magic. In addition to that, she is isolated as the people of the court attempt to manipulate her for their own gains. All of these challenges allow her other characteristics to shine through. In this installment, Lucy needs to find her strength without magic.
Chantress Alchemy was a great second installment that, in some ways, was better than its predecessor. In this installment, the plot was better structured. It started off fast paced and carried suspense and intrigue throughout the entirety of the book. As the story line progressed, the stakes became higher, trapping you in a story full of suspense. While the plot was much better, the story wasn’t without faults. Lucy’s powers were barely expanded upon since the book mainly focused on her powerlessness. Lucy was also the only character to develop. All of the side characters fell into one of two groups. The characters either receive too small of a role to all them to grow or are not trusted enough to be developed. Hopefully, we will see some character growth in future installments, but the future looks grim. Those looking for romance, between Lucy and Nat will be sorely disappointed as their time together was interrupted by politics. I give this 331 page book 4 stars.
Chantress
Chantress takes place in 17th century London. In the past, the Chantresses were a race of magical gifted and powerful women. Sadly, due to unfortunate events in London, Lucy becomes the last Chantress able to preform magic.