Alchemised is the first fantasy novel written by American author SenLinYu. It was released in September 2025 by Del Rey Books in the United States and by the Penguin imprint Michael Joseph in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. The book is described as dark fantasy, horror, and gothic romance. Some people mistakenly classify it as dark romance. The story follows Helena Marino, a former alchemist, as she tries to remember details about a civil war. The novel became number one on the New York Times best-seller list the week after it was released.

Background and development

Alchemised is a revised version of Manacled, a popular fan fiction by SenLinYu. This story blends elements from the Harry Potter series and The Handmaid's Tale to create a dark, alternative version of the Harry Potter universe. It includes a romantic relationship between characters Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Manacled was removed from the fanfiction website Archive of Our Own on January 1, 2025, before the release of Alchemised.

In February 2024, Emily Archbold at Del Rey announced that the North American publishing rights to Alchemised were acquired in a two-book deal. SenLinYu began revising Manacled in December 2022. The author mentioned that they were inspired to adapt Manacled into Alchemised partly because fans had used the story to make money without permission. In an interview in 2024 with Rolling Stone, SenLinYu described removing references to copyrighted works as "liberating" but "definitely hard." The plot of Alchemised is mostly similar to the original Manacled, with SenLinYu keeping scenes they believed were essential to the story.

Plot and structure

The book Alchemised is mostly told from the perspective of the main character, Helena Marino. The story is divided into three parts. The first and third parts follow the same continuous timeline, while the second part shifts to events that happened four years before the events in the first part.

The novel follows Helena Marino, a former alchemy student and resistance healer who was imprisoned after a civil war ended. After waking from 14 months of stasis, Helena is questioned and tortured. She later discovers that magic has altered her mind, making her unable to remember her life before the war. She is given magic-blocking manacles and sent to the home of The High Reeve and her former academic rival, Kaine Ferron, for experiments to help her recover her memories. While imprisoned, Helena undergoes repeated mental procedures, during which Ferron enters her mind. These procedures cause her to experience temporary brain inflammation and seizures. Unable to escape, she tries to harm herself multiple times, but Ferron stops her each time. Eventually, The High Necromancer, Morrough, who now rules the country, concludes that Helena erased her own memories. Later, Helena learns through newspapers she is allowed to read that The Resistance has re-emerged after the assassination of the warden, Mandl, who had originally imprisoned her.

Without Helena’s knowledge, Morrough’s scientist, Doctor Stroud, reverses her sterilization without her consent. She is then forced into the country’s Repopulation Programme and told she must have a child with Ferron within two months. Over the course of a week, Ferron rapes Helena daily. Two weeks later, Stroud determines that Helena is pregnant. As Helena becomes more depressed and physically weak, she eventually regains her lost memories.

Part two of the story begins four years before the events of part one, recounting Helena’s forgotten memories. The story then returns to the moment when Helena regains her memories in part three.

Publication

In September 2025, the book Alchemised was released with a first printing of 750,000 copies because many people wanted to buy it. The book was translated into 21 languages at the time of its release. It was the most pre-ordered debut book for Penguin in 2025.

Eva Eller designed the book's cover. A black and white interior illustration by Avendell, the artist who also created the cover and illustrations for the fanfiction Manacled, was included in the book. Eleven extra scene illustrations were given to people who pre-ordered the book.

SenLinYu promoted the book through tours in the United States and the United Kingdom. They also appeared at the 2025 San Diego and 2025 London comic cons.

Reception

Alchemised received positive critical reviews. In a review by Kirkus Reviews, the book was described as having "a fresh feel" because of its "excellent world-building and unforgettable imagery," though the reviewer noted that "some parts have too much drama." Another review in The Daily Mail called the book "a work of staggering ambition" and praised its "gothic claustrophobia" that "wraps the reader in its dark embrace." A review by Lucy Baugher Milas at Paste Magazine highlighted the book's "sweeping dark romance" and "fast-paced narrative" despite its length, but also mentioned that the romantic scenes were "repetitive" and that some characters and relationships were "not fully developed" and "mainly used to move the story forward." A Guardian review described the book as "very readable."

The book was widely praised. In its first week, Alchemised sold 145,000 copies in the United States, according to BookScan. It became an instant number one bestseller on the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Indie bestseller lists. The book was named Amazon's Editor's Choice for Best Romantasy Book of 2025. It won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Readers' Favourite Debut Novel and was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Readers' Favourite Romantasy, finishing in second place. The audiobook, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, was also nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Readers' Favourite Audiobook.

Alchemised remained on The New York Times combined print and e-book fiction bestseller list for 15 consecutive weeks.

Adaptations

On September 10, 2025, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment, a production company, purchased the movie rights to a novel that had not yet been released. The deal, worth more than $700,000, was made to stop other companies from getting the rights to adapt the book into a movie. This amount is believed to be one of the highest ever paid for a book's movie rights, with some estimates saying it exceeded $3 million. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, SenLinYu said, "We were honored by Legendary's incredible enthusiasm for the project and can't wait to see the world of Paladia come to life." The movie is not yet being made.