I acquired a overview copy from the writer. This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my overview and all opinions are my very own.

Purple Metropolis by Marie Lu

Mogsy’s Score: 4 of 5 stars

Style: Fantasy

Collection: Guide 1 of The New Alchemists

Writer: Tor (October 14, 2025)

Size: 418 pages

Creator Info: Web site

Like many readers coming to Purple Metropolis, I’ve dabbled in and loved Marie Lu’s YA prior to now. Naturally, I used to be curious to see what she’d do together with her first foray into grownup fiction. What I discovered was a particular shift into darker territory—an city fantasy that includes rival factions warring for management in an alchemy-fueled underworld of an alternate Los Angeles.

Inside this world, we observe two gifted younger alchemists who develop into associates. Ari, a boy uprooted from his household and tradition in his native house of India, is obtainable a golden alternative when his pure expertise for magic is found. Sam, then again, was raised by a single, immigrant mom who labored tirelessly to offer for her daughter—and to protect them from the damaging world of alchemy. However Sam’s fascination of the forbidden proves too sturdy to withstand. Circumstances and a second of desperation lead her to hitch the Grand Central syndicate, enemies of the Lumines, who find yourself recruiting Ari. For a time, their paths ran parallel, sharing courses by day. However because the years move, their lives start to separate in reverse instructions.

Nonetheless, we subsequently see Ari and Sam’s paths cross, each immediately and not directly, as every climbs the ranks inside their respective crime organizations. Ari is a disciplined and laborious employee, rapidly rising to develop into the mannequin Lumines apprentice. In the meantime, Sam’s alchemical items lead her to the very best echelons of Grand Central’s community, the place she rubs elbows with the management. By the point they meet once more as adults, each have already embedded themselves deeply into their respective spheres of energy and affect. However whereas the recollections of their friendship might have light with time, the bond they as soon as shared endures as a secret that would destroy them each.

What stood out to me most was the world-building. Purple Metropolis’s model of Los Angeles, generally known as Angel Metropolis, is each grim and exquisite, with shades of glamor and decay layered atop one another. Alchemists run the present behind the scenes, adhering to a long time of rituals and guidelines established by syndicate hierarchy. On the coronary heart of all this energy is an alchemical substance generally known as “sand”, which heightens its customers’ talents. Management the sand, and also you management the lives and even the fates of these round you. It is a world that feels alive in Lu’s fingers, however on the identical time isn’t too overwhelming or hyper-dense. To seasoned style readers, the world-building may really come throughout as comparatively shallow, however relaxation assured it’s nonetheless deep sufficient to provide the story a robust spine.

Sam and Ari are additionally stable leads, every bold and flawed—even whether it is in predictable methods. The “forbidden love” throughout enemy traces setup is a well-trodden highway, and right here, for higher or worse, you’ll be able to inform the writer’s YA background nonetheless has a heavy affect on her model. The narrative beats, emotional drama, and romantic tensions are acquainted, simply with the added spice of intercourse scenes which have been in all probability extra specific than they wanted to be. By that, I imply they felt only a tad too self-conscious, nearly just like the story attempting to show it’s all grown up.

Story-wise, Purple Metropolis strikes quick. There’s a balanced mixture of political intrigue, motion, and—after all—romance that retains issues entertaining from begin to end. The primary half tends to focus closely on backstory and character setup, which does sluggish the momentum at instances but in addition lays the groundwork for understanding who Sam and Ari develop into. The story’s predictability once more turns into an obstacle, but by no means to level of derailing the entire expertise. What we get is a superbly serviceable city romantasy which might present readers with a bridge when transferring from YA to one thing extra grownup and a bit spicier. Whereas it’s apparent that Lu is principally specializing in the connection quite than on advanced plotting, on this case, that selection largely works in her favor.

All instructed, Purple Metropolis makes for a assured grownup debut from Marie Lu, even when it performs slightly protected by treading acquainted floor. This isn’t a lot a reinvention of something, however extra a refinement of her storytelling, with its edges sharpened with darker and extra mature themes.  Finally, it’s a satisfying new path.