The Final Formula

The Final Formula is the first book in The Final Formula series by Becca Andre.

THE BLURB:


To a master alchemist like Addie, impossible is just another word for challenge.  When a fiery explosion destroys the Alchemica, the premier alchemy institute in the United States, she’s left with nothing.  No home, no colleagues, and no memory.  Learning what happened seems impossible, but she still has one strength, and in her opinion, it’s the only one she needs.  She hasn’t forgotten a thing about alchemy.

Addie brews a potion to restore her lost past, but remembers only the flames of the Alchemica’s destruction—and a man among the ashes.  A man with the elemental power of fire, who just happens to be the leader of the magical community.  He might know what happened, but getting him to tell her will require some…creativity.  The magical aren’t fond of alchemists.  Some say it borders on hatred, but Addie isn’t one to back down from a challenge, even if that challenge happens to be a man who can turn her to ash with a thought.



MY THOUGHTS:

When I read the first page, I worried that I would regret picking this one up. Happily, my first impression was wrong!

Our main character is Addie, and in the beginning her narration seemed to have a sort of forced quirky tone to it. The first several chapters were interesting enough, but I thought I was in for an overall kind of silly read.

But then I got sucked in. I'm not exactly sure what changed, but the tone no longer seemed forced, and Addie was the highly amusing narrator she was meant to be. By the end, she evolves into this truly conflicted protagonist, which adds to her interest.

The storyline was engaging and had an impressive number of layers to it. The characters were three-dimensional and all sympathetic in their own way.

In The Final Formula we've got chemistry and alchemy, magic, the undead, and a spunky (man I hate that term, but can't think of a better substitute at this time) heroine. And the romance is super hot (heh heh, a little Elemental humor there.)

Overall, this is a very impressive first novel. After my initial misgivings had passed, I couldn't put this one down. Well done!


MY RATING:

4.5 booksies

Author's website: http://beccaandre.com/

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