a forbidden alchemy

I went into this book with little knowledge and found the characters, setting, romance, banter, and side characters really engaging, but the massive time jumps from age 12 to 25 made the pacing feel jarring and left me feeling like the characters were still kids during romantic scenes. The magic system was a bit confusing, and I was disappointed to discover it's not a standalone with a cliffhanger ending, though I loved the Peaky Blinders vibe and the rebellion plot. I think I'd appreciate it more on a reread once I know the structure, but the quick montages through magic school and years skipped important development. Overall, it's a fun romantasy if you can handle the series setup and time skips.