Notorious Sorcerer

How have I not heard more buzz about this book? I loved it. Nuanced, well-drawn characters, families of choice, strong platonic bonds, and a lovely queer romance that wasn't overdone? Right up my alley. When I go into a book marketed as M/M romance I'm never sure what kind of female characters I might find therein, but the women in here were fantastic, a whole host of them with a wide range of personalities and strengths and motivations. Zagiri in particular is my baby and I adore her.

I liked the pacing, the balance of action with exposition and quieter moments, and also the worldbuilding; this just isn't a book that holds your hand at all, so it's up to you to figure out what unfamiliar terms mean, Locked Tomb style. I much prefer that to the “As you know, Bob” type of exposition, so I rolled with it and was able to get my bearings before long.

Also, I just really enjoyed the flow of the prose:

The demon court was a congregation of nightmare and menace, bristling with horns and talons and tusks, rustling with scales and weaponry and speculation.

The world was so thick. Like a soup made of hallucinations and hangover.

This was the most fun I have had reading a book in a very long time. Years, probably. This book is a thrill-ride in all the right ways. The characters are often charming and witty (the good ones, at least), and the antagonists are properly threatening. It's a high stakes adventure that keeps a mostly fast pace that keeps you interested. Definitely one of my favorite books from 2022 and will probably be one of my favorite reads from 2023.

This book had a lot of potential and is a solid 3.5 for me. I have a feeling the sequels will improve would her higher rankings from me. The worldbuilding was fun and a I liked the way social strata was handled. The bravi were one of my favorite parts. I also appreciated the way women were treated for the most part. Clothing etc. was described but it never felt gross.
Things done well:
-worldbuilding
-relationships, though sometimes it felt like too much tell and not enough show
-The magic system has potential and feels more unique than some I've seen recently.
- The MC struggles and the first thing he tries doesn't always work. Yay troubleshooting!
Things that got a meh:
-The cast size combined with some people having multiple names was hard for me because I am bad with names.
-Certain world building things got repeated too much. I know, the characters know. Please chill
-The MC got mighty close to chosen one territory, which I do not enjoy
Overall: a decent book that doesn't feel like a retread. There are far worse things my father could have checked out from the library.

Siyon Velo dreams of being an alchemist. But ever since the Sundering (a magical earthquake) almost tore the world apart, alchemy is forbidden to all but the rich and elite. All Siyon can do is save money and convince someone to give him lessons. He does odd jobs for the rich like retrieve items from other planes they need for their alchemy.
His plans are put on hold when the alchemists realize that the planes are unstable. Something needs to be done to fix them because they don't think anyone would survive another Sundering.

I loved this! I would've given it 5 stars but I was confused by the alchemical magic system at times. Other than that, I thought it was fantastic. I feel like this is more character than plot driven. That being said, I loved every character. I would love more from this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.

For more of my reviews, check out my blog.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for providing an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to understand what was going on in Notorious Sorcerer. I'm talking at least 30% of the way into the book. I was totally and completely lost all because there was little to no explanation of the world the story is set in. Right away, the author throws around terms like we're supposed to know what they mean — I Googled and could find no real-world equivalent for a good many of them. Notorious Sorcerer desperately needs a glossary or index of character names and terms right at the beginning of the book. There's no shame in one of these — I love learning tidbits of the world before diving in. If there had been some explanation for frequently used terms, I think I would have enjoyed this book a hell of a lot more.

The world Davinia Evans sets up in Notorious Sorcerer is fascinating and deeply rich. However, I couldn't place what culture she was basing things off of. And I know, not every fantasy book is based off of something in real life. It's entirely possible this was just all in her head. But regardless, the city of Bezim reminded me a lot of Istanbul and Venice all mashed together. Evans name-drops certain alcoholic drinks that exist in real life, and mentions specific instruments and clothing styles just muddied the waters further for me. There is also the question of the law — alchemy is strictly illegal, but almost everyone gets away with it? Until things go south and then the inquisitors arrive to arrest people. Another confusing piece of the confusing puzzle.

It took much longer than it should have for me to get my legs steady in the world set up in this book. Once I did understand what was going on, I loved the story. The ending climax is fantastically well done. I really did love the characters as well — they all had very clear motivations, leaving few of them particularly flat or unexplored.

Siyon Velo is our main character. He is a supplier of alchemical ingredients. He is not an alchemist, but oh how he wishes he was. Siyon is poor, has no family, and does what he has to, to get by. He's also extremely sassy. A brat, if you will. He reminded me of Locke Lamora in all good ways. But by the end of the novel, we're really only given snippets of his past, leaving me (at least) wanting to know more about him. Zagiri and her sister, Anahid were extremely fun to read. They are complete opposites of one another, yet still care deeply for one another. Anahid, in particular, was my favorite. A high society woman finally figuring out she can get away with more than she thought. Izmirlian Hisarani, Siyon's love interest, is left a little vague, but it mostly works. (I have some questions about what his arc is saying, honestly.) The various alchemists that dapple the pages are all equally entertaining and ridiculous.

Overall, my enjoyment of the book would have been vastly improved had I known what was going on sooner. If you're willing to be lost for almost a quarter of the book, then you're in for a wild ride.

Also, it bothers me that his coat is PUPRLE in the book and very clearly bright red on the cover.

Full disclosure: I've known the author for a bajillion internet years (this is an actual measurement of time) and she sent me an ARC.

I can't even tell you how fun this was - cosy tropes encased in beautiful language and FEELS, because obviously. Mage from the slums who can do ‘impossible' things, because he hasn't been taught they're impossible. Should-be debutante who instead hangs out with the lower classes and gets her eyes opened to social and class injustice. A fight against prejudice and authoritarianism.

BUT ALSO, inter- and extra-planar shenanigans, a cracking pace, a delicious romance (FEELS), and a sidekick I did not see coming.