“Alchemised”, SenLinYu
Published September 23, 2025
“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”
Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.
In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.
According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?
To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.
“If he’s a monster, then I’m his creator.”
It feels surreal to hold Alchemised in my hands knowing its roots as Manacled, THE most iconic Dramione fanfic of all time. While the book can absolutely stand as its own original IP now—a dark fantasy romance with intricate worldbuilding—it would be disingenuous not to acknowledge how much of its early buzz came from the Harry Potter/Dramione fandom. SenLinYu’s readership helped build the foundation, and seeing that fandom energy spill over into traditional publishing feels like watching history loop in the best way. This phenomenon feels very much like how Ali Hazelwood paved the way for the Reylo fic-to-tradpub pipeline.
On a personal note, this book carries a special weight for me. Back in 2020, during the height of Manacled’s popularity, I actually made the very first Dramione fanbound book and sent it to Sen as a thank-you. I was pregnant and reading the fic while it was still ongoing, and when Hermione’s pregnancy arc arrived in the story, it resonated with me in a raw, immediate way. (Not the dark aspects of it—just the technicality of pregnancy.) The fic concluded shortly after I gave birth, and now, six years later, to see SenLinYu as a published author feels like closing a loop. Many kudos to them for breaking through.
Alchemised is a dense, ambitious book. It took me five days to finish, and I know I’ll need a reread—or maybe a listen through the audiobook—to really grasp all the alchemical concepts and worldbuilding details I missed the first time around. Kuang-like in its intellectual heft, the narrative doesn’t shy away from philosophy, history, and thematic tangents. Love that. For me, with ADHD, those segues felt like side quests: moments of reflection and flavor that added richness to the already dark and heavy premise.
Even with the more challenging passages, the story delivered everything I loved about Manacled. It has the same chills, dread, and moments of electric excitement. Sen’s prose is sharper, unrelenting. I’m thankful this was published as a single, massive volume rather than being split into a series with a year-long wait in between. The immersion works better uninterrupted, with no artificial breaks.
Alchemised is dark fantasy romance at its finest. It carries the DNA of its fanfic roots but stands proudly on its own—proof that transformative works can give rise to something wholly original and powerful. For longtime Dramione fans, it’s a full-circle moment; for new readers, it’s a rich, challenging standalone that doesn’t require any knowledge of fandom history to appreciate. Either way, it’s an adventure that rewards patience and rereading. It’s 1,024 pages, but I’m always up for a challenge.
In their Substack, Sen listed “the books that made alchemised.” Perhaps additional (or prerequisite, if you’re that kinda person) reading…? Another fascinating post is an inside look at Alchemised’s design journey. I am glad I got the hardcover with dust jacket, because now that I’ve finished reading the book, I can investigate the intricacy of the artwork and the the Easter eggs therein.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
war • rape • body horror • torture
Goodreads | Storygraph | Bookshop (support your local bookstore)
Owned: Books-A-Million signed hardcover