A Forbidden Alchemy: an exhilarating slow burn romantasy of first loves and betrayals

‘This book is a pressure-cooked vial crafted with perfect romantic tension and pure gangster-style grit … I loved every chapter’ RAVEN KENNEDY, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Plated Prisoner series.

Australian BookTok star Stacey McEwan’s stunning new slow-burn romantasy duology traces a fated pair who stumble upon a world-changing secret in youth and are catapulted into a violent class war in adulthood, finding each other amidst love, loss and devasting betrayals.

Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are only twelve years old when they are whisked from their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to test for magical abilities. Nina’s lifelong dream is to become an Artisan, a powerful elemental mage who fulfills the city’s grand ambitions, while Patrick wants only to reunite with his family of Craftsmen in the mines.

But together, they discover a devastating secret: Artisans aren’t born, they’re chosen.

With this information, they part ways. Patrick returns home, while Nina finds her place as one of the rarest, most coveted types of Artisan.

When a Craftsman revolution ignites years later, Nina is captured by Patrick’s rebel group – and he hasn’t forgotten her. In fact, he needs her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City. She reluctantly agrees to aid him, battling the sparks between them. But when Nina’s first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the Artisans, she faces an impossible choice that will determine the fate of their world.

A concoction of all the best romantasy tropes:

Elemental magic Found family Tension & Slow burn Political Intrigue / Class War

What readers and authors have been saying about A Forbidden Alchemy:

‘If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would … This story has the morally gray characters of my dreams!! … I will be telling everyone that I know to read this book. I NEED MORE!!’ READER REVIEW, 5 stars

‘I’m never going to shut up about this book … the romantasy book you’ll never get over’ HANNAH NICOLE MAEHRER, internationally bestselling author of Assistant to the Villain

‘It catapults readers into an immersive romance, a rustic setting, dynamic characters, a world of secrets, ghastly betrayals ... I am obsessed with this book … this is the best romantasy I've read’ READER REVIEW, 5 stars

© 2025 Simon & Schuster Audio UK (Audiobook): 9781398537316

Release date

Audiobook: 3 July 2025