Book Review :: Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber

Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
ISBN: 1399631330
Published by Gollancz
on 7 October 2025
Pages: 324
Goodreads

It starts with a class in an old movie theater.

Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.

With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger.

And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.

Last updated on 19 January 2026

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What is Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber about?

Alchemy of Secrets is a little hard to describe. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into when I picked it up, but boy, was I hooked.

Alchemy of Secrets is about Holland St. James. She’s always believed in magic, even when everyone else insists it’s just stories. She’s the kind of person who signs up for a folklore class held in a crumbling old movie theatre and actually pays attention.

Folklore 517, taught by the mysterious Professor, is meant to be about local legends and urban myths. Most students treat it like fiction. Holland doesn’t (which, honestly, makes for great storytelling but makes it dangerous for her as a character).

When she tracks down one of those legends, the Watch Man, the world finally proves her right. Unfortunately, he also tells her she’s going to die at midnight tomorrow.

The only way to stop it is to find an ancient artefact called the Alchemical Heart. Whatever that is.

“What is magic, if not something that makes you believe and feel and wonder?”

With the clock ticking, Holland is thrown into a hidden magical version of Los Angeles, complete with secret histories, dangerous stories, and a magnetic stranger who promises her sister sent him to protect her. He feels like a bad idea from the start, and the more they chase clues, the clearer it becomes that everyone is keeping secrets.

As midnight creeps closer, Holland has to figure out who she can trust, because if she gets it wrong, no amount of magic is going to save her.

My thoughts on Alchemy of Secrets

As I mentioned, I ate this up.

I love Stephanie Garber’s stories – Caraval series and the Once Upon a Broken Heart series … ah! So so good! – and the way she takes a lot of the things that we know and are familiar with, and twists them to make them even more magical and almost whimsical.

Her storytelling is one of my favourites.

So even though the description of the book was a little mind-bending to me, I picked it up and read it in just a few sittings over our summer break.

And it was so enjoyable.

There is quite a lot happening in this book. There’s the old Hollywood vibes, the myths and legends, a scavenger hunt, so many secrets, two characters who appear in Holland’s life, and you really don’t know which to trust (if either of them), and then a sister who is mentioned so often and is quite key to the story but who isn’t actually in it.

A few other reviews I’ve seen on the book have mentioned there might have been a few too many things going on … and I think that’s a fair comment. However, I think the way it drew together at the end and the fact that this is the first book in a series, I’m okay with that.

It was a story of twists and turns, and I was both on the edge of my seat for the whole time but also slightly bamboozled with what was happening and also in a state of shock and ‘what just happened’ in some parts. But in the best sort of way.

“Hollywood was not built on dreams, it was built on favors from the devil, and the devil does not handle it well when those favors aren’t paid back.”

Once again, I loooove the world that Garber has created. It’s completely different and separate to her other books, but still feels slightly whimsical and magical. She has this way of doing that, and I don’t know how she does it.

If you liked Garber’s other books, or you like the Old Hollywood vibe but with magical, mysterious elements in it … pick up Alchemy of Secrets and let me know how you go!

Also huge shoutout to the cover artist, because that is STUNNING. And partly one of the reasons I picked it up. Look, we’re being honest around here right? Yeah good. No judgment.

Have you read Alchemy of Secrets? What did you think?