Alchemised is the first fantasy novel by American author SenLinYu. It was published 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. It is sometimes called dark romance by mistake. The story follows Helena Marino, a former alchemist, as she tries to remember her past during a civil war. It became number one on the New York Times best-seller list the week after it was released.

Background and development

Alchemised is a new version of SenLinYu's popular fan fiction Manacled, which combined elements from the Harry Potter series and The Handmaid's Tale to create a different, more serious version of the Harry Potter story. This version included a romantic relationship between characters Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Manacled was taken down from the fanfiction website Archive of Our Own on January 1, 2025, before Alchemised was released.

In February 2024, it was announced that Del Rey, a publishing company, had purchased the rights to publish Alchemised in North America. This was part of a deal for two books. SenLinYu began rewriting Manacled in December 2022. SenLinYu explained that they wanted to create Alchemised partly because fans had used Manacled to make money without permission. In a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, SenLinYu described removing references to copyrighted stories as "liberating" but "definitely hard." The plot of Alchemised is mostly the same as Manacled, and SenLinYu said they kept scenes they believed were important to the original story.

Plot and structure

The book Alchemised is mostly told from the perspective of the main character, Helena Marino, showing her thoughts and experiences. The story is divided into three parts. Parts one and three continue the same story, while part two focuses on events that happened four years before the events in part one.

The novel follows Helena Marino, a former student of alchemy and a healer for a resistance group. After a civil war ended, she was imprisoned. After waking from 14 months in a state of suspended animation, Helena is questioned and tortured. She later learns that magic has changed her mind, making her unable to remember her life before the war ended. She is given special cuffs that block magic 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 held there, Helena undergoes repeated procedures called Transference, during which Ferron enters her mind, causing her to experience brain inflammation and seizures. She tries to escape the house multiple times but is stopped by Ferron each time. Eventually, The High Necromancer, Morrough, who now rules the country, decides that Helena intentionally erased her own memories. Later, Helena reads newspaper articles and learns that The Resistance has reappeared 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 forced to join 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 confirms that Helena is pregnant. As Helena becomes more depressed and physically weak, she eventually regains her lost memories.

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

Publication

In September 2025, the book Alchemised was released with a first print run of 750,000 copies because many people were expected to want it. The book was translated into 21 languages before its release. At the time, Alchemised was the most pre-ordered debut book of 2025 for Penguin.

The cover of the book was designed by Eva Eller. Inside the book, there was a black and white illustration by Avendell, the artist who had also created the cover and illustrations for the fanfiction Manacled. Eleven extra scene illustrations were given as a bonus for people who ordered the book before it was released.

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

The book Alchemised received positive reviews from critics. A review by Kirkus Reviews said the book has a fresh feel because of its strong worldbuilding and vivid descriptions. However, the review also noted that some emotional scenes were too intense. Another review in the Daily Mail called the book "a work of great ambition" and described its dark, tight atmosphere as "wrapping the reader in its dark embrace." A review by Lucy Baugher Milas at Paste Magazine praised the book's sweeping dark romance and fast-paced story, even though it is long. However, the review also pointed out that some romantic scenes repeated too often and that secondary characters and relationships were not fully developed. The review suggested that some readers might compare the book's romance to the relationship between Harry and Hermione from Harry Potter. A review by The Guardian said the book is easy to read.

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

Alchemised stayed on The New York Times combined print and e-book fiction bestseller list for 15 weeks in a row.

Adaptations

On September 10, 2025, it was announced that the movie rights to a novel that had not yet been released were bought by Legendary Entertainment in a deal worth more than $1 million. The deal was made to stop other companies from trying to get 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, possibly exceeding $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.