SenLinYu - Alchemised

Last time Osa was eager to read and discuss a romance-themed book and so inspired me to gather some currently liked titles within the genre, to complement her suggestion a bit. We didn't pick the title she suggested - perhaps mostly for logistical reasons; many of us are away during July - but instead went for the book suggested by Weronika, who spoke about it with enthusiasm and said that she binge-read it in less than a week (!). In any case, we thought Weronika's recommendation was interesting and that even if we wouldn't be able to read it in a week, it'd definitely be a good choice of the summer - and we get to kick off the then soon-commencing autumn by discussing a dark romance book!

So, this novel is said to probably be one of the most hyped books of the year, that one can’t go on social media without seeing something about it, and that it broke records in the publishing space with it’s first print run. Reading this might thus give some insights into the going-ons in the contemporary hive-mind: Like, the book is written by an American writer in their mid thirties. "Their" because SenLinYu identifies as nonbinary, and prefers the they/them - in addition to the she/her - pronouns. The narrative around the book doesn't stop there: SenLinYu ought to deliver a powerful exploration of war related trauma and the effects it has on a society, with ingredients of pain and suffering, romance, and non-linear and unreliable story-telling. Sounds interesting, melancholic, and kind of very real. The book has won multiple awards, one of which is the sci-fi & fantasy category of the 2026 British Book Awards.

Goodreads sells the book in the following way:
“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.

The hardcover version of this book, publishes by Del Rey, is 1030 pages, while the audiobook - which I hear is very good -, published by Random House, is 36 hours and 14 minutes.

Exact location is TBD!