The Potent Solution

by Ashley Nova

"A fun, rollicking steampunk mystery with the feel of cyberpunk and a well-thought out system of alchemy that fictionalizes and dramatizes traditional alchemical practice, this book does not fear to ask the big questions, like 'what if capitalism invented the people-burning machine, and only lesbians could stop it?'" - Maya Deane, author of Wrath Goddess Sing

Charlotte Price is a mess; perpetually tardy, chronically unfocused, and indecisive to a fault.

She’d hoped that apprenticing for London’s only master alchemist and private detective would help solve her problems, but her first investigation will test her limits in ways she never imagined. On the trail of a dangerous magical drug, Charlotte’s mentor vanishes without a trace. Lost, overwhelmed, and inexperienced, Charlotte must use everything she’s learned, and improvise the things she hasn’t, to track down her tutor.

With the help of an old friend turned new flame, and a reluctant tattooed sorcerer with ties to the aristocracy, Charlotte takes on magically empowered assassins, gate-crashes a society ball, and uncovers a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of government.

Yet Charlotte’s biggest challenge is her own mind. After years of being told to ignore her ADHD, her errant attention span threatens to stop the investigation in its tracks. To find her mentor and prevent disaster, she must overcome her fear of failure, trust her instincts, and learn that she has everything she needs to thrive.

“Ashley Nova’s THE POTENT SOLUTION is a snappy, sexy, spellbinding fantasy thriller. In a world in which alchemy exists, the chemistry between the characters might be the only thing more powerful than the dark magic afoot!” - Jendia Gammon, Nebula and BSFA Award finalist author of DOOMFLOWER, ATACAMA, and THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN

“Nova weaves a tale of magic, alchemy and the city that breathes new life into urban fantasy." - John Bull, author of The Brexit Tapes: From the Referendum to the Second Dark Age

“The Potent Solution is an alchemical blend of wit, mystery and romance: a gaslamp detective romp fuelled by dangerous magic and a page-turner of a plot. Amidst a cast of delightfully eclectic characters, Charlotte shines as an endearingly relatable protagonist whose stubborn sincerity and chaotic charm is sure to win hearts.” – Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Mystery, Lesbian, Queer, LGBT

Paperback

Published October 16, 2024

Reviews

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this action driven mystery set in a Georgian alternate London which has magic and magical alchemy. The alchemical system is grounded in chemistry and is well developed. The protagonist, Charlotte Price, is clever but fallible and up against serious threats, making for a suspenseful read. The romance with Elly is well fleshed out, and the one with Jennifer is mainly indicated, which is apt for the scope of the novel. The central mystery involving mages was thought-provoking in how it explored class divisions among people subject to societal scapegoating. Fun read, and looking forward to more from this author.
…
Looking at another review, I remember how happy I felt to discover the that the main character has ADHD! Loved how that was handled in this alternate history.

[Barnesm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I revelled in Dr Ashley Nova's first, of what I can only hope are many more, novels. In an alternative Georgian (on the cusp of Victorian if the history of the monarchy follows our timeline) England where magic and alchemy are as real as steam power, which is appropriate as this gives us a best of steampunk genre's traits, we discover the protagonist Charlotte Price. Apprenticed to master alchemist and private detective who disappearance on a case throws Charlotte onto her own resources to find her, deal with the return to her life of a dear friend who she cannot deny her feelings for, nor deny the attraction of an insufferable sorcerer whilst uncovering a conspiracy in the aristocracy that that would condemn an already marginalized group to further suffering and servitude.

I'm not a scholar of the 19 century England but the story feels believable and grounded for that world to me, I am not neurodivergent but the anxiety and difficulties suffered by Charlotte seem to speak of someone who understands these conditions (obviously in Georgian/Victorian times they weren't called ADHD) and felt real to me, I've never experience a polycule but the description where our heroes wake up after all falling asleep in the bed after they have saved the day sounds like how I wish a polycule would work.

But as someone who worked as a research chemist Dr Nova's description of how Charlotte works through the combination of agents, reagents, systems and preparation that felt very true. This gives me hope that those other elements (pun intended) she writes about she has invested attention to also reflect them accurately.

I hope there are more of these stories.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book a week ago but haven’t been able to rate it yet because I don’t know how to take certain factors into account. What do you do when a book is really good in plot, characters, and pacing but is horribly edited? The number of times I was super into what was happening and then taken out of the action by a typo killed me. In the end I decided to lend the author some goodwill and hope that the next book in the series goes through another round of editing (and maybe future editions of this book will go back to correct errors).

This was a very fun steampunk-ish romp through London and was a lot of fun to read especially since my recent books have been much darker in tone. Ashley Nova’s alchemical and magical system was innovative without bogging down the pace too much with exposition and strict rules.

The three protagonists each bring their strengths to this ragtag team along with a healthy dose of sarcasm. My biggest disappointment in the story is that the character you expect to round out the team is missing for a majority of the story, and I hope that she’ll be around to interact with everyone more in the next book. Wanting more from the first in a series of novels isn’t a weakness though, because there’s a real chance I’ll get to know all the characters better, and I look forward to that.

[Jendia Gammon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashley Nova’s THE POTENT SOLUTION is a snappy, sexy, spellbinding fantasy thriller. In a world in which alchemy exists, the chemistry between the characters might be the only thing more powerful than the dark magic afoot