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Belladonna U #1
Unreal Alchemy
Unreal Alchemy is a light-hearted urban fantasy collection of stories about a group of friends at a university for the magical, and unmagical.
Hebe wants her sister’s band to stop writing songs about her life. Sage wants to kiss boys and make music. Jules wants Sage. Holly wants to be famous. Juniper wants Holly to notice her. Ferd wants his magic back. Viola wants her best friend to stop ditching her for some geeky rock band!
Welcome to Belladonna U, where Australian student witches study the Real and the Unreal. On a Friday night, they drink hard and play hard down the local pub.
Roll the dice. Fight the troll. Let’s make magic.
This book collects four previously published stories and novellas: Fake Geek Girl, Unmagical Boy story, The Bromancers, and The Alchemy of Fine.
Hebe wants her sister’s band to stop writing songs about her life. Sage wants to kiss boys and make music. Jules wants Sage. Holly wants to be famous. Juniper wants Holly to notice her. Ferd wants his magic back. Viola wants her best friend to stop ditching her for some geeky rock band!
Welcome to Belladonna U, where Australian student witches study the Real and the Unreal. On a Friday night, they drink hard and play hard down the local pub.
Roll the dice. Fight the troll. Let’s make magic.
This book collects four previously published stories and novellas: Fake Geek Girl, Unmagical Boy story, The Bromancers, and The Alchemy of Fine.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 29, 2020
20 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Tansy Rayner Roberts
132 books314 followersTansy Rayner Roberts is a fantasy and science fiction author who lives in southern Tasmania, somewhere between the tall mountain with snow on it, and the beach that points towards Antarctica.
Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.
You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.
Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.
You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 10, 2020
It doesn't happen often, but it happens sometimes. I grab an ARC without actually reading the blurb or making sure I know what I'm getting myself into. It did happen with this free copy though. Because I read the first episode of Castle Charming and loved it and somehow blindly trusted the author to write another good book. And since the deadline to have my review ready for this book is nearing I thought to make a start with this book today. Well, I ended up finishing it too.
This book was just too entertaining and amusing and because it was so easy to read I couldn't put it down. It was a constant case of "one more chapter, then I'm gonna do this" turning into two, three, four, five more chapters or even an entire episode. Just like with tv series, something about this book was somehow addictive.
I think for the biggest part that something were the characters. All those characters had such unique personalities and were so different from each other. And because we were constantly switching point of views and got to read through everyone's eyes I really felt like I really got to know those characters and what made them tick. At first glance it's a weird cast of characters, not entirely fitting together, but that's exactly why it works and is so interesting. Those characters do clash at times, they do disagree and therefore there's loads of drama and conflict.
And then there was the world. Roberts has a unique way of doing her world building. There are no info dumps, there are no unnatural lengthy explanations in the midst of an inner monologue, we are not slowly guided into this unknown world of magic. We are diving in headfirst and we have to figure everything out along the way. That can be confusing at times, but I personally also find it interesting and challenging. It keeps me on the tip of my toes and it keeps my mind busy. And a busy mind can't worry.
The sequel to this book totally goes on my wishlist! After those four addictive stories I totally want more and I can't wait to reunite with these characters.
This book was just too entertaining and amusing and because it was so easy to read I couldn't put it down. It was a constant case of "one more chapter, then I'm gonna do this" turning into two, three, four, five more chapters or even an entire episode. Just like with tv series, something about this book was somehow addictive.
I think for the biggest part that something were the characters. All those characters had such unique personalities and were so different from each other. And because we were constantly switching point of views and got to read through everyone's eyes I really felt like I really got to know those characters and what made them tick. At first glance it's a weird cast of characters, not entirely fitting together, but that's exactly why it works and is so interesting. Those characters do clash at times, they do disagree and therefore there's loads of drama and conflict.
And then there was the world. Roberts has a unique way of doing her world building. There are no info dumps, there are no unnatural lengthy explanations in the midst of an inner monologue, we are not slowly guided into this unknown world of magic. We are diving in headfirst and we have to figure everything out along the way. That can be confusing at times, but I personally also find it interesting and challenging. It keeps me on the tip of my toes and it keeps my mind busy. And a busy mind can't worry.
The sequel to this book totally goes on my wishlist! After those four addictive stories I totally want more and I can't wait to reunite with these characters.
March 6, 2020
This book was awesome, and I love it to bits! Super fun collection of linked novellas of a semi-famous indie rock band at a magical university. Man this was so good. Plus, my name is in the back in the acknowledgements.
November 2, 2021
Tansy Rayner Roberts' Unreal Alchemy collects together the first four of her Belladonna U stories, following the lives of the members of student indie band Fake Geek Girl and their friends, flatmates and significant others in a magical alternative Australia.
Like everything I've read by Roberts, this is utterly delightful and just plain fun; funny and geeky and perfect comfort reading, with interesting characters (the point of view shifts between the characters, and their voices are so clearly differentiated that I stopped needing the chapter headings to tell me who was speaking after a while), plots that never get beyond "mild peril" and a queernormative setting. I ended up reading it in two days, because I couldn't resist the urge to read "just one more chapter", and then another, and another...
Like everything I've read by Roberts, this is utterly delightful and just plain fun; funny and geeky and perfect comfort reading, with interesting characters (the point of view shifts between the characters, and their voices are so clearly differentiated that I stopped needing the chapter headings to tell me who was speaking after a while), plots that never get beyond "mild peril" and a queernormative setting. I ended up reading it in two days, because I couldn't resist the urge to read "just one more chapter", and then another, and another...
December 19, 2024
Awesome Australian series about geeky indie rock band in a university with magical and non-magical tracks. Also twin sisters who are exact opposites and their interesting enmeshed circle of friends. Tansy Rayner Roberts, I'm begging you to write more on this series! I promise I will read it all.
P.S. Held up on a second read. So much fun!
P.S. Held up on a second read. So much fun!
February 16, 2020
This collection is adorable, and it works as an example of the whole is the sum of the parts -- according to my records, I've read all four of the pieces contained within, although I actually only have memories of three of them.
But I've just chewed through the whole collection, and reading in a clump makes them more enjoyable (and the rather abrupt endings for at least two of them much easier to deal with -- because there is more to read!)
Fandom references, geeks galore, music and magic and university students learning about life and love. In an Australian setting.
Although I do have one quibble: this Australian absolutely walks around a campsite barefoot.
But I've just chewed through the whole collection, and reading in a clump makes them more enjoyable (and the rather abrupt endings for at least two of them much easier to deal with -- because there is more to read!)
Fandom references, geeks galore, music and magic and university students learning about life and love. In an Australian setting.
Although I do have one quibble: this Australian absolutely walks around a campsite barefoot.
May 4, 2020
Collection of fun stories about a diverse group of Uni students at a magical university, tied together by a band and a share house. Tansy’s work never disappoints.
September 12, 2023
Unreal Alchemy is a collection of 4 interrelated novellas about a group of friends at Belladona University which has both real (magic) and unreal (mundane ) curriculum. The group is diverse (gay, straight, bi, magic free or nulls and magic wielding) and loosely connected by the band Fake Geek Girl and by living together in the Manic Pixie Dream House.
The stories are mostly about relationships and relationship drama-crushes, hookups, old and new friendships and family. It’s more contemporary fantasy than urban since there’s very little action - just a little troll fighting (the real kind, not the internet kind) and some magical body swapping.
I loved the characters and their found family. Considering all the relationship drama, it’s pretty low angst, but high on geek appreciation and snark. Funny, touching and extremely entertaining - I’m going straight to the next in the series!
November 7, 2023
I’d actually rate this 2.5. I’m old enough that I find everyone screwing around with everyone else, randomly male or female, is somewhat disturbing. I finally had all the characters fairly sorted, when a perverted fan body switches with one of the characters. The novel was all right, but I doubt I’ll be reading other works by this author.
Fake Geek Girl is a rather popular band. It turns out that Holly, the main artist of the band, writes almost all their songs about her twin sister’s obsessions. Oh, yeah, toss in the fact that they are attending college, and there is a blend of folks with and without magic.
Definitely YA; lots of online blogs, etc.
Fake Geek Girl is a rather popular band. It turns out that Holly, the main artist of the band, writes almost all their songs about her twin sister’s obsessions. Oh, yeah, toss in the fact that they are attending college, and there is a blend of folks with and without magic.
Definitely YA; lots of online blogs, etc.
February 5, 2021
The characters were great, but I had so many issues with this one. There were an overabundance of POVs, which weren't clearly marked, so it often took several paragraphs before I figured out who it was. And one character flipped back and forth between current time and the past, but there was no indication of when this happened. It was weirdly put together, which made it hard for me to enjoy despite how much I loved some of the characters.
May 1, 2022
2.5 stars
I've enjoyed many Tansy Rayner Roberts' books, set in many different worlds, parts of multiple series. This series isn't for me, but I'm glad I tried it out. It's no big deal, I'll just focus on the series by her that I do enjoy!
This is about a members of a band in a magical university in Australia - love, relationships, band stuff, magic. This book collects together four novellas following the same characters. Check it out if that sounds good to you!
I've enjoyed many Tansy Rayner Roberts' books, set in many different worlds, parts of multiple series. This series isn't for me, but I'm glad I tried it out. It's no big deal, I'll just focus on the series by her that I do enjoy!
This is about a members of a band in a magical university in Australia - love, relationships, band stuff, magic. This book collects together four novellas following the same characters. Check it out if that sounds good to you!
May 25, 2023
My ebook has a cover saying it is book one of Belladonna U. But the book itself is a series of very short stories about the same main group of college students with (or without) magic. Most of the characters were pretty cool, but unfortunately they didn't really do much development. Events were a bit bizarre (magic) but the core group of friends somehow had each other's backs. I won't seek out more from this author because the characters were so static.
December 23, 2021
This is delicious fun: four novellas about a university band, Fake Geek Girl, and their friends and hangers-on. In a world with magic, and plenty of geeky jokes. One of my favourite lines, a throwaway, is about someone writing Pride and Prejudice fanfic, about how it would have happened in a world without magic 😂
October 26, 2018
Pure joyful fun
This is just pure fun to read. Makes you want to move in with characters and be part of their lives. Only drawback is its not enough you are left wanting oh so much more.
This is just pure fun to read. Makes you want to move in with characters and be part of their lives. Only drawback is its not enough you are left wanting oh so much more.
January 31, 2021
Marking this as read so it's easier to track where I'm up to, but I read this as it was serialised.
June 19, 2020
This is book one of the Belladonna U series and follows a group of friends who attend a university for Australian student witches, so they can learn all about their craft. The university is split into two colleges, the College of the Real and the College of the Unreal. Then at the weekend, they party hard and listen to their friend’s band, Fake Geek Girl at their local pub, Medea’s Cauldron. Holly is the lead singer and Hebe is her twin sister, who often gets mistaken for her. Hebe is also the topic of most of the band’s songs, from her break-ups to anything else that goes wrong in her life. To get compared to her all the time after that is very jarring! Sage is the drummer and likes boys and making music. Juniper plays the cello and would love Holly to actually notice her.
Hebe gets mixed up with Holly by a handsome guy called Fern, who is from a very well off and well-known magical family. Unknown to Hebe and her friends, he had an accident during a class and lost his magic, so is now what they class as a null! He asked her how to go about changing from Real to Unreal classes, while she was at one of her part-time jobs. He used to be in a threesome of friends with Jules, Viola, having gone to school with them and their parents all being friends. Until his accident, where he lost his magic, there were all inseparable. Now they don’t know how to be around him, or try to find ways to fix him, like everyone else. At least Hebe and her friends treat him as normal, as some of them study Real and some Unreal. He wants his magic back, but doesn’t know how to do it.
There is the usual college shenanigans, with some of them wanting to get together with others, like Jules wanting Sage, even though they are so different in background. Viola feels the odd one out as Jules starts to join in with Sage, the band and his other new flatmates. Holly wants to be famous with her music and her latest bad-boy boyfriend tries to persuade her to go solo, only for Viola, Jules and Fern to find out he was using her for some evil magic, drawing trolls into the city.
The only annoying part of the book I found annoying was that the explanation of what Real and Unreal actually meant, wasn’t discussed until half way through the book. The College of the Real feels that only practical subject that witches need to study is magic. The College of Unreal coves all the other subjects that have nothing to do with magic, such as maths, engineering and even literature, amongst just a few. There is a huge distinction between the two colleges by some, especially those from high society families, looking down on any that study Unreal subjects. There is also a lot of abbreviations used in chats, some of which I couldn’t work out – might just be my age! The magical aspects and how they have to protect all electronic devices, was quite comical, as just a little spark of excitement could make them explode. The use of coffee to dull their magic was also a nice touch! I look forward to reading some more, as the characters are varied and the book is a light-hearted read, all about magic and nulls. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Hebe gets mixed up with Holly by a handsome guy called Fern, who is from a very well off and well-known magical family. Unknown to Hebe and her friends, he had an accident during a class and lost his magic, so is now what they class as a null! He asked her how to go about changing from Real to Unreal classes, while she was at one of her part-time jobs. He used to be in a threesome of friends with Jules, Viola, having gone to school with them and their parents all being friends. Until his accident, where he lost his magic, there were all inseparable. Now they don’t know how to be around him, or try to find ways to fix him, like everyone else. At least Hebe and her friends treat him as normal, as some of them study Real and some Unreal. He wants his magic back, but doesn’t know how to do it.
There is the usual college shenanigans, with some of them wanting to get together with others, like Jules wanting Sage, even though they are so different in background. Viola feels the odd one out as Jules starts to join in with Sage, the band and his other new flatmates. Holly wants to be famous with her music and her latest bad-boy boyfriend tries to persuade her to go solo, only for Viola, Jules and Fern to find out he was using her for some evil magic, drawing trolls into the city.
The only annoying part of the book I found annoying was that the explanation of what Real and Unreal actually meant, wasn’t discussed until half way through the book. The College of the Real feels that only practical subject that witches need to study is magic. The College of Unreal coves all the other subjects that have nothing to do with magic, such as maths, engineering and even literature, amongst just a few. There is a huge distinction between the two colleges by some, especially those from high society families, looking down on any that study Unreal subjects. There is also a lot of abbreviations used in chats, some of which I couldn’t work out – might just be my age! The magical aspects and how they have to protect all electronic devices, was quite comical, as just a little spark of excitement could make them explode. The use of coffee to dull their magic was also a nice touch! I look forward to reading some more, as the characters are varied and the book is a light-hearted read, all about magic and nulls. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Read
September 8, 20212021 reread (originally read as separate stories).
June 23, 2020
This is such a cosy read!! I really enjoyed this ARC and the world Robert's created. Her characters are quirky, cute and relatable and the world-building is really interesting. The author has managed to create a unique magical world without bogging down the storyline in lore and magical rules - and I love how cosy the world feels. Cute bars, nice coffee shops, fun libraries for students studying the 'Real' and the 'Unreal'.
This novel is a set of four stories within her wider universe, and I'm interested in exploring the full-length novels in the Belladonna Universe about these characters. I didn't feel like I needed to read the other novels to understand the characters and their motivations in this book though, and their desires, fears and ambitions felt real to me. The characters are so precious and warm.
Would recommend this book to anyone looking for a whimsical story where magical young adults still have young adult problems, but also with the added trouble of magic!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This novel is a set of four stories within her wider universe, and I'm interested in exploring the full-length novels in the Belladonna Universe about these characters. I didn't feel like I needed to read the other novels to understand the characters and their motivations in this book though, and their desires, fears and ambitions felt real to me. The characters are so precious and warm.
Would recommend this book to anyone looking for a whimsical story where magical young adults still have young adult problems, but also with the added trouble of magic!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
June 28, 2020
This was a wonderful read.
Loved the well fleshed out characters and their journey.
The plot and story line were extremely well written and flowed easily.
Fast paced read with delightful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading highly.
I received an ARC from booksprout and this is my honest voluntary review.
Loved the well fleshed out characters and their journey.
The plot and story line were extremely well written and flowed easily.
Fast paced read with delightful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading highly.
I received an ARC from booksprout and this is my honest voluntary review.
June 1, 2020
I like a form of the book. Set of diary like entries. Many characters and their point of view. Good reality of magical society. All together good read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 15, 2023
Needs editing (misspells, weird/incorrect sentence structures etc).
This is a really fun series.
Definitely continuing when more instalments come out.
This is a really fun series.
Definitely continuing when more instalments come out.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews