A Forbidden Alchemy (Volume 1) by Stacey McEwan

Australian BookTok star Stacey McEwan’s stunning slow-burn romantasy series traces a fated pair who stumble upon a world-changing secret and are catapulted into a violent class war, finding each other amidst love, loss and devasting betrayals.

Nina Harrow and Patrick Colson are only twelve years old when they are whisked from their disenfranchised mining towns to dazzling Belavere City to be tested for magical abilities. Nina’s lifelong dream is to become an Artisan, a powerful elemental mage who fulfills the city’s grand ambitions, while Patrick wants only to return to his family of Craftsmen.

Together, they discover a devastating secret: Artisans aren’t born, but chosen. With this information, they take their future into their own hands. Patrick departs for home, while Nina finds her place as one of the rarest, most coveted types of Artisan.

When a Craftsman revolution ignites years later, Nina is captured by Patrick’s rebel group – and despite the years, he hasn’t forgotten her. In fact, he needs her help for a mission that could shift the tides against Belavere City, which she reluctantly accepts, battling the sparks between them. But when Nina’s first love reappears, asking her to betray Patrick for the Artisans, she faces an impossible choice that will determine the fate of their world.