Herb-Witch (Lord Alchemist Duology Book 1) Kindle Edition

I really loved this book, and bought the second one from my Kindle the second I clicked the last page. Then I spent the next three weeks telling people about it in person and trying to decide how to write the reviews.

So here's what I told people:
It's got an interesting and well-realized world, with the feeling like we are only seeing a very small part of a much bigger map. The character motivations are not baffling or arbitrary, which one might be more tolerant of if it were being sold as a romance. And it certainly has every element of a forced-marriage romance. But both main characters are also independent and self-sufficient and have their own wants and needs which do not center around short-term desires. Sometimes they are stupid, but only because they don't have all the information to make a better decision.

It's self-published. I wonder if it is that lack of "saleability editing" that makes the flavor just a little unusual. This book (and the one following) are full of sexuality. Not sexiness, or explicit sex, but the different functions of men's and women's bodies. Perhaps the best illustration is this glossary entry:

"dry tea: a contraceptive preparation for women. "Dry" refers to "infertile fields," parched from drought; the tea is brewed and drunk normally. An integral ingredient is maiden's blood; the definition of "maiden" is very strict, for this purpose."

There is a male equivalent, also. Fertility, and the prevention thereof, figure heavily in the storylines. Also Kessa is one of those women with apocalyptically bad periods, and it's just... a thing. No one avoids talking about it, it's not taboo or secret, it's just an impediment she has. The whole culture is set up so that women are as capable of almost everything as men are. Kessa is not exceptional because she owns a business, nor because she knows how to defend herself. She is exceptional because she is imaginative and stoic and flexible. And the stubborn doesn't hurt, either.

She also has extremely striking eyes, and unlike any romance novel I've ever read, they are not a point of beauty, but a disfigurement. I thought it was interesting that she uses her ugliness as a weapon, and even the man falling in love with her has trouble making eye contact with her.

Kessa is a herb-witch, working with naturally occurring ingredients to make simple potions and mixes to help people stay or become healthy. Iathor is an alchemist, and works with chemicals or "metal-salts" to create more powerful medicines and potions. One of the ways he woos Kessa is to offer to teach her more alchemy to enhance her existing knowledge. And he needs all the lures he can get -- it turns out that proposing to people when you first meet them in a dungeon and you are in a position of power makes it hard for them to trust you. Who knew, right?

Of course, the other reason she can't trust him is she has a second life, and doesn't think he would approve of it, not in the least, but her second, secret life involves her family, and she's not about to give them up or endanger them by exposure.

Like I said at the top, I really liked this book. I was blown away by the worldbuilding and structure, the seamless genre-bending, and the interesting investigations on the nature of consent, love, dynastic marriages, and birth control.

Read if: You're looking for something living comfortably between fantasy and romance. You like thinking about the problems of consent and forced marriages. You love a heroine who has a bit of sneak thief in her. You're my sister.

Skip if: You are really going to be ooked out by female biology. Romance only clutters up your poisoning mysteries. You are allergic to the Magical Dark Skinned People trope.

Also read:
The Midwife's Apprentice for herbal healing and strong-minded women.
Herb-Wife (Lord Alchemist Duology) It's what I read next!

I REALLY liked this book. It's important to note that it is a Duology (which it says in the title, but some people managed to miss that, and complained about how the book "ended" without resolving everything), so this is only the first half of the story. The first book is pretty firmly in the fantasy/world-building genre with only some romantic undertones, but those romantic undertones grow in the second half (the fantasy/world building is still going on in the second book, but I know some people were disappointed that romantic story line grew. So if you want purely a book with no romance/sex then this series isn't for you. While there's no sex in this book, the second half definitely has sex). Also: If you're particularly squeamish about bodily functions, then this book is not for you ("moon flows" come up a few times and the ashes of them are even used in contraceptives -which is less gross if you keep in mind some of the amazingly disgusting things people in real life used to use as contraceptives, such as crocodile dung).

Elizabeth McCoy has created a fantastic fantasy world where alchemy and herb-witchery exist. Alchemist's immunity is an important trait and is required for the Lord Alchemist, or else Loyalty potions (which let you control the dosed person) or poisoning would be a risk. Unfortunately the current Lord Alchemist, Iathor Kymus, and his brother are the only immune people left in the country. Until a half-barbarian herb-witch with blighted eyes, Kessa, is accused of disminding a moneylender.
Iathor goes to question her with a potion dosed tea, and realizes she's immune.
So he proposes to her on the spot. In her prison cell. After having just met her a minute beforehand. After having just dosed her with an unknown (to her) potion. Which isn't exactly a trustworthy thing to do, and Kessa isn't someone who trusts easily to begin with, so she just... ignores his proposal but lets him take her out of the prison while the disminding is being investigated.

I like Kessa. She's an odd character. She's a bit bitter and a lot suspicious, but I think that makes sense when she was raised with little kindness and when there are so many biased people judging her for being half-barbarian (and since I've seen some reviews mention how pale Kessa looks on the cover of both duology books: she's supposed to be more olive skin toned, rather than black. But I'll concede it is a little odd to look at the cover after hearing her "dark" skin tone mentioned multiple times in the books). I've seen people complain about how strong female characters are often curse-word-spewing, and a little too easily provoked to violence. I'd say that this is a good example of breaking that trope. While she is fiercely protective of her family and smart with protecting herself, she often plays at meekness. To pull a quote from the duology: "She's a small rat, pretending very hard to be a mouse. Often, she nearly succeeds. But rats had sharper teeth."

And this review is getting longer than I was expecting so I'll try to wrap it up: There are a lot of interesting characters and hints into an interesting world, and while I sometimes wanted more details into the history of certain things (like the old Empire and its Imperial plots which are hinted at), I think Elizabeth McCoy smartly avoided info dumps that could have risked boring people. While the story wasn't rapid paced, I didn't think it dragged on either.

My main complaint would be that I would have like peoples' ages to be stated a little more firmly. Iathor is old enough to have hints of gray in his hair but no wrinkles, thanks to alchemical youth potions which keep the body young but doesn't work as well on hair (so 40? 50? older?). And Kessa is... old enough to have finished her apprenticeships and become a tradeswoman? It's mentioned Iathor's probably twice her age, or more. So she's ... mid 20s? Some ages for other girls/women were given by "probably a few years past her first moon-flow" or "probably around the age of their first moon-flow, if even that old" but the age of puberty can vary a bit (currently around 11-12 for girls (in America at least), but historically has been 13, 14, and even 16).

A wonderful book with a fully fleshed-out world. The magic is well defined and has needed limitations. Herb-witch is one of the most unique novels I have read in a while. It feels almost dicksonian in its story about a orphan being thrust into high society. Some of the characters are stock characters, but the protagonist is so steely and determined to care for her adoptive siblings and protect herself that I can forgive it. It's also a story of internalized racism as the protagonist comes from a minority group that is treated poorly. The "savage girl" trope can sometimes be heavy-handed, but that is my only complaint. I hope to read more in this world.

The while story, I kept waiting for the next stage of the story, or the next stage of their relationship, or for the action and treats to turn into something more intense, but.........nothing! It ended up as a long, drawn out, almost interesting, road to nowhere. I was disappointed! I actually started liking the characters and wanted to keep reading because I wanted to see what happened. Problem was, nothing ever did.....and the it ended! So disappointing, and definitely not worth buying.

I have re-read this book a few times now and still enjoy it. It's a different kind of love story, about two people that are difficult to know and love, especially the heroine.

The writer creates a rich world and the characters are complex and real. The book is not going to be for everyone - there are some scenes that will certainly turn away a few people, but overall the story is excellent and I highly recommend it to those that enjoy a love story that shows intimacy over sex.

I have read all of the books in this series and keep hoping for more.