Title: A Conspiracy of Alchemists Book One in The Chronicles of Light and Shadow Author: Liesel Schwarz Publisher: Del Rey, Random House Publishing Group Genre: Steampunk romance My Review I loved this book. It had everything I need for an enjoyable read, a plucky heroine, a handsome warlock with an air of mystery, a cute small helper—in this case a fairy—and a great story full of action, intrigue and surprises. How well we like the characters often makes the difference between liking and loving a book, and the characters in this were the kind I love. Elle wasn’t going to let anyone push her around, or wait for a rescue that might never come. Her stubbornness was both a flaw and a strength.  Hugh—handsome, of course—was charming and somewhat conflicted about where his allegiances lay, until the end when it became obvious. Instead of the usual powerful hero, he was a man whose power, like all the warlocks in this story, was on the wane. This gave him a vulnerability that he had … [Read more...]