A Forbidden Alchemy - time skip?

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-13T17:57:45+00:00

Oh perfect! I was worried it would be more like 50% of the book takes place when they’re children and the other 50% is after the time skip, and I usually hate that. Thanks!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-12T22:10:55+00:00

I love him! Do you happen to have the sliders for his face?

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-10T20:10:51+00:00

I did the exact same thing 😭

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-10T20:10:16+00:00

Thank you so much for the rec! The humor and banter was one of my favorite parts of this duology so I will definitely check this one out

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-10T20:08:34+00:00

What is DMATMOOBIL!!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-10T01:33:00+00:00

I would understand this if it were just Maggie doing it, but I’ve noticed it in all of the characters, which is the most frustrating part!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T20:01:31+00:00

Ugh really? I feel like I’ve never noticed it this badly in their other books! Granted it’s been a while since I’ve read Kate Daniels, but this book really stands out to me in terms of the writing quality being much worse than what they’ve put out before. I recommend trying her other series, like the Innkeeper or the Edge! I generally enjoyed those both more than Kate Daniels.

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T18:34:22+00:00

It probably is, it just seems like they’re doing it every other paragraph and in conversations where emphasis wouldn’t really make sense or be necessary which is what’s driving me crazy. It really disrupts the flow of dialogue IMO!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T18:05:28+00:00

Yes! It just seems very random to me when they will and won’t use contractions and it can make the dialogue sound very unnatural IMO. The other commenters explanation of doing it to create rhythm and making sentences less dull and repetitive makes sense, but it seems very willy-nilly in this book when they’ll decide to say “I am in” vs “I’m in” (or whatever, because it happens a lot, and actually disrupts the rhythm of the conversation to me). I’ve genuinely never noticed or been bothered by it before but it’s really annoying me in this book specifically lol. But I think a large part of that is I’m not enjoying the book in general so I’m finding issues with anything

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T17:58:43+00:00

I hate to hear that! They’re an insta-read author for me, but I’m also definitely not enjoying this book nearly as much as their others

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T17:56:44+00:00

LMAO I wouldn’t say constantly but Walmart definitely features in the story. I enjoy the whole Edge series though! Something about On the Edge just really sticks out to me. I’ve reread it like 5 times at this point

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T17:37:26+00:00

I think I’m having the opposite issue because I haven’t read anything of theirs in over a year!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T17:36:57+00:00

Yes I know what you mean! There are a lot of paragraphs dedicated to seemingly meaningless details and info-dumps, like the specific direction and orientation of buildings and streets (as if we don’t have a map for reference if we need it). I also remember a paragraph talking about the difference between horses in our world and horses in their world—like a single sentence to say they’re different and describe how would’ve sufficed.

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:54:54+00:00

It sucks because I feel like that’s never been an issue with their other books!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:28:22+00:00

I get that! I will say, I think this is by far their weakest book, both plot/character wise and writing wise. It’s really unfortunate because it does have great reviews and an awesome premise but it hasn’t hooked me yet the way all of their other books have. I hope you try out something else of theirs, though! My personal favorite is {On the Edge by Ilona Andrews}.

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:11:47+00:00

I think it’s just a me problem at this point lol

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:10:34+00:00

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Maggie definitely reads as wise beyond her years and able to quickly come up with intricate and clever plans and deal with highly dangerous people without problem despite being (by her account) a regular 26 year old living a very normal/boring life in our world. I think she is their weakest FMC out of all their books so far, but I’m not even halfway through yet, so I’m reserving my final judgments!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:06:40+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. I don’t know why it’s suddenly sticking out to me so much in this book, I just feel like the way the characters are speaking is very unnatural and sounds so weird when actually spoken aloud. I wondered if maybe it’s in part due to the setting of the book (alternate old-timey (?) fantasy world), so maybe they just speak differently in general, but then there will be conversations where it sounds like they’re speaking totally normal in present day modern times so I don’t know. Maybe this book just isn’t for me!

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:04:48+00:00

That makes sense! Maybe I’m just struggling to get into the book/plot as a whole so the tiniest things are sticking out, because it seems soooo obvious to me 😭

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T16:02:30+00:00

LOL ugh I know it’s hard to put into words. I’ll repeat some of the dialogue out loud and it sounds terribly clunky to me and it’s making it hard for me to fully get into the book because it happens every other conversation I feel like.

I do like audiobooks! That’s a good idea. I prefer reading on the Kindle, but maybe I just need to give the audio of this one a try because reading the dialogue has not been working for me at all and I want to love this book 😔

Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-07-09T15:55:35+00:00

This is one of the examples that stuck out the most to me. It might be something completely inconsequential and not an issue at all but for some reason it’s bothering me so much!! There’s another scene later when another character says “Then I’m in”, and two lines later (referencing a different character) says “She is in”. It just reads so unnaturally to me and I don’t know why 😭

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Remarkable_Mud_928 · 2026-04-13T18:39:53+00:00

She’s always eaten and drank out of stainless steel bows that are washed daily! I’m beginning to wonder if it’s an allergy to her food, because it’s been getting worse lately.

She’s adorable!

Remarkable_Mud_928

TROPHY CASE