My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
Title: Red City (The New Alchemists, #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Narrator(s): André Santana; Eunice Wong; Natalie Naudus; Sid Sagar
Format: audiobook (NetGalley)
Pages: 432. Listening Time: Approximately 15 hours 20 min
Publication Date: 10/14/25
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Categories: Urban Fantasy, Dystopian, Alchemy, Romance, Organized Crime
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates’ brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
Content Warning: violence, torture, grooming, death
+ Marie Lu did her thing with this adult fiction debut! I listened to this as an audiobook and usually, I struggle with audiobooks but this one had me riveted. The voices were perfect for the characters and I could not stop listening to this.
+ Los Angeles is run by organized crime using alchemy. There are two main syndicates, the Lumines and Grand Central and there have been calculated moves against each other over the years but now it’s come to real blows and violence and Ari and Sam are caught in the crossfire of these groups. I loved the world building – I actually hope this becomes a show because I think it would be so cool to see mafia style alchemists battle out in the streets of LA.
+ The story follows Ari and Sam from childhood, both didn’t have ideal ones, but they are “saved” from it by being noticed. Ari is taken from his family and raised by the head of the Lumines. Sam is noticed by the head of Grand Central – both Ari and Sam keep alchemy a secret from one another but in essence they are best friends, at least as kids. As they grow, alchemy pulls them in opposite directions and without knowing it until years later, they are enemies.
+ Ari is described as the light of the party. People gravitate towards him, he is like the sun when surrounded by people. And it’s a good power to have since his main job is persuading and convincing powerful people to make deals. Whereas, Sam is invisible – has always felt invisible but now with alchemy and sand she can use it to be powerful in her own way. No one notices her, and she can do things without being caught. I love how they are opposites – love how their powers are so different and how they used them to their advantage.
+ This is an organized crime novel so it is brutal, and violent. There were so many creative and different ways these alchemists could torture and kill someone! I loved the politics and the war between the to sides.
+ I loved the storyline between Sam and her mother. I thought that packed the emotional punch this story needed.
+~ The romance isn’t easy. This story is dark. Ari has been in love with Sam since childhood but they go their separate ways. It’s not happily ever after for them and they both know it – that isn’t their path in life. They both signed their fates to a life of manipulation and killing if need be. So Ari’s first sexual encounter is not with Sam, but someone who actually wants to teach him so he can use it to manipulate people. As for Sam, she is groomed by Will, the leader of Grand Central’s son. He mentions he’s wanted to be intimate when he first saw her – she was 15 and there is a 9 age year gap. They don’t do anything until she’s much older but still…she is obsessed with him because he was her “savior” and that was uncomfortable. Do Ari and Sam come back together at least to speak about their past? Yes, but even with Ari telling Sam how he felt back then didn’t feel like they could bridge that gap between them now because they are both different people. They have killed, they have done bad things and I think they need to get to know each other again.
~ The only part that dragged for me in the story is the parts where it was full on alchemy studies, which is in the beginning. It’s setting up the story and showing how important it was for Ari and Sam to learn alchemy but all the science went over my head. Also, When Sam and Ari graduate and go on with their lives I wanted to know more about Ari. I had a good grasp of Sam, her motivations, her upbringing but Ari still remains a little bit of a mystery.
Final Thoughts:
I loved this one and that’s a surprise for me because audiobooks are not my favorite way of consuming a book. But I loved the narrators who kept me hooked to the story. The story itself was so entertaining I could not stop listening to it. I am so invested in this world of alchemy and organized crime, I have to see what happens next for Sam and Ari. I’ll be impatiently waiting for book two!
Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:
Skyhunter | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Book Review | The Kingdom of Back – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Warcross by. Marie Lu – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wildcards by. Marie Lu – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The Young Elites by. Marie Lu – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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