Guest Review: Foxfire in the Snow (The Alchemical Duology #1) by J.S. Fields

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the queen’s alchemist is just within reach. But on the day of the fair, Sorin’s mother goes missing, along with the Queen and hundreds of guild masters, forcing Sorin into a woodcutting inheritance they never wanted.

With guild legacy at stake, Sorin puts apprentice dreams on hold to embark on a journey with the royal daughter to find their mothers and stop the hemorrhaging of guild masters. Princess Magda, an estranged childhood friend, tests Sorin’s patience—and boundaries. But it’s not just a princess that stands between Sorin and their goals. To save the country of Sorpsi, Sorin must define their place between magic and alchemy or risk losing Sorpsi to rising industrialization and a dark magic that will destroy Sorin’s chance to choose their own future.

Reviewer: Free Dreamer

Before we begin, a little TW: Sorin struggles with a lot of dysphoria and there's quite a bit of misgendering going on, so if that's something that bothers you, beware. Nobody's openly hostile or anything, people around them just don't get it, simply put.

In the book, Sorin doesn't use any pronouns at all, but to make things easier for reviewing purposes, I'll just go with they/them. Interestingly enough, I didn't even realize this lack of pronouns until I tried talking about the book. So it worked really well and didn't feel forced at all.

Foxfire in the Snow is actually the second book by this author I've read and just like "Ardulum: First Don", it didn't quite work for me.

Sorin's struggle with their gender identity was really well done and even as a cis woman, I was able to relate. It's essential to the story and I really enjoyed that part. The romance was also well done and fit perfectly with Sorin's troubles.

What didn't quite work for me was the Fantasy part. I really missed depth in world building. Ther was no clear explanation how witches work, if that's something everybody can learn or something that can only be inherited. Sorin hates witches, but I'd still expect some basic knowledge about them.

Magda was always eager to point that she's not a princess, but the royal heir, but there was no explanation as to what the difference is. I was also wondering how marriage and heirs would be handled. Magda is openly lesbian and with her mother gone missing, I would have expected some information on that. Would Magda be expected to enter a political marriage with a man to get biological heirs or can she just adopt an heir of her choosing? There was also zero mention of her father, which was a bit odd.

So, if you're looking for the story of a non-binary person finding their way in life, with a bit of fantasy mixed in, this is the book for you. For me, there just wasn't enough fantasy, so I won't bother with part 2 either.

A copy provided for an honest review.