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Title: Red City (The New Alchemists #1)

Author: Marie Lu

Pub. Date: October 14th 2025

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 432

☆☆DRC PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW☆☆

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╰☆☆ “𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚢. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝, 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎, 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚜𝚑. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎. 𝙾𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎.” ☆☆╮

Red City by Marie Lu was one of the Book Of The Month selections from October last year pitched as The Godfather meets The Magicians. An easier time at choosing my books has never happened but also, this is Marie Lu’s first adult fantasy debut and my first book of theirs. I immediately imagined rival gangs at war, armed with magic, and an impossible romance and that’s exactly what I got! Set in an alternate Los Angeles, we are introduced to our main characters Sam and Ari while they’re still children living with their respective families. You get a sense when meeting them that they are unique in their own ways, observant of their surroundings, and destined to eventually cross paths. There are eight crime syndicates who import/export Sand, the substance responsible for mainstreaming Alchemy to any who care to enhance themselves. This can be for beauty, charisma, or simply to be more than who they are without Sand. Angel City is run by two of the crime syndicates, Grand Central and Lumines. Both actively recruit people who have “strong souls” in order to teach them Alchemy, a science that will allow them to wield magic at a price. A piece of their soul in exchange for power and perfection.

Ari – Living in India with his parents, siblings, and extended family when a member from Lumines notices his strong soul and recruits him for Lumines. Ari is described as being shy and struggles with anxiety, ironically when he’s under Sand he is charming and a social magnet. Ari has a tough journey learning Alchemy but makes for one of the strongest recruits for his networking/persuasive abilities.

Sam – Already living in Angel City in a small apartment in the not so great part of town with her singe mother who is just trying to make ends meet. Sam has been alone most of her life since the age of two while her mom works long hours to put food on the table. She has a photographic memory and came into close contact with Alchemy at a very young age. Sam seeks out Grand Central’s leader as an answer to the poverty she and her mother face. Under Sand, Sam’s sight is even sharper while she becomes sort of invisible to those around her. A valuable asset for a crime syndicate trying to make moves in silence.

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At it’s core Red City is the well known story we all know of gangs having turf wars over drugs and power and yet this story is so much more than that. Sam and Ari both come from humble beginnings prior to being thrust into having it all. Sam’s mother boarded a ship from China to Angel City with Sam when she was just a baby, she had dreams of having a better life there. Like many immigrants, she had aspirations of obtaining a well paying job to provide that life for her child but instead quickly found out that wasn’t what Angel City had to offer them. Instead they experience poverty in a fast paced city where baby Sam felt the absence of a parent at home. Sam’s mothers struggle is well known in real life to many single moms who have to choose between career or being a stay at home mom. Many can’t afford to do the latter, such is the case with Sam’s mom who we get to know through her POV chapters. Hers is not an easy story but its a very real account of what many immigrants face outside of this fictional story. The inclusion of her POV made the pain between mother/daughter feel deeply emotional and heart wrenching. Sam’s recruitment into Grand Central gives her access to a life she envisioned but always felt out of her reach. More than access to wealth, Grand Central is where she feels seen.

Ari on the other hand had a childhood rich in love and presence at home, leaving that all behind leads to feelings of displacement in a strange land and a broken link to his mother land. He didn’t really have a choice in his recruitment, he simply was obedient to his parents who believed that letting him go would mean a better life. The promise of financial security for his family is what motivates him to excel in Alchemy. The friendship Ari develops with Sam is rooted in innocence, two strong souls taken down dark paths destined to cross paths time and time again. I am HIGHLY anticipating the next installment of The New Alchemists.

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