M.T. Decker

Book Review: Accidental Alchemist

In honor of today’s author’s book launch announcement (the  Masquerading Magician… book two in the series being available in January) and pre-sale kick off – I’m posting this book review a little early)

• Author: Gigi Pandian
• Title: The Accidental Alchemist
• Pages:  360 Pages
• Formats: Book, Kindle, Audio book
• Availability: Available now
• Website: Gigi Pandian, The Accidental Alchemist Mysteries

Book Blurb

From USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian comes a modern tale of ancient intrigue

Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, herbalist and reformed alchemist Zoe Faust can’t help but notice she’s picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-half-foot gargoyle—not to mention a master of French cuisine—and he needs Zoe’s expertise to decipher a centuries-old text. Zoe, who’s trying to put her old life behind her, isn’t so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past . . . until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.

 The concept –

The Characters:

Main Character:

Character Name:  Zoe Faust

What works – Zoe is a very down to earth character who simply wants to blend in, but she is anything but ‘normal’

Least Favorite trait – Zoe has suffered loss and it still weighs heavily on her mind.  (I like characters who are happy until I start messing with them– but that’s me).  She’s a little too maudlin for my tastes, but again… that’s me.

Why it works/doesn’t work:  Zoe is a multi-layered character who wants to stay under the radar.  This makes for… complications… in her relationships.  She is a  well grounded woman who has had a lot of time to understand herself, having accidentally found the elixir of life (hence the Accidental Alchemist)

What I liked:  I liked the depth and character in the story and it was done in such a way that I was able to lose myself in the story.

What I didn’t like:  There was one moment, at the end, when the police made a very rookie mistake… other than that…

This was a delightful find and one of Audbile.com’s deal of the day audio books – I’m very glad I purchased it.  My one complaint was the fact that there were recipes in the print book unavailable for Audio listeners, but borrowing it as a library book took care of that issue.

All in all an enjoyable story.  Looking forward to book two due out January 8th 2016.