While we might not be looking forward to another year of classes as summer comes to an end, we are excited for the ultimate dark academia vibes that come with a new semester. And Rachel Vincent is here with a story unlike anything she’s written before with high stakes and big secrets as she brings one of the biggest fears to life in a heart-pounding and exciting new series.
Cosmopolitan has an exclusive first look at The Alchemary, which is set to be released on March 3, 2026. The novel follows Amber Fallbrook who suddenly finds herself without any memory of the last few years as she faces her toughest year yet at the Alchemary. With deadly trials awaiting her and two hot brothers who their own agendas and pasts, Amber has to find out the truth of what happened to her and her memories before it all crumbles down. Here’s some more info from our friends at Hyperion Avenue:
Neither amnesia nor the brothers trying to steer her fate will stop Amber Fallbrook from uncovering the truth about herself, the Alchemary, and the legend of the Philosopher’s Stone.
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers, The Shifters) pens a dark paranormal romantasy centered on alchemy magic—and those who dare harness it.Naked, knowing little more than her name, Amber Fallbrook does not recognize the stone tower she’s awoken in, or the vast, glittering ocean outside the window. Turning, she finds a very a different view: the beautiful, nearly naked man in the narrow bed is a stranger. So is the man who barges into the room unannounced, clearly expecting to find Amber alone.
Who are they? Who is she? Why can’t she remember?
Shocked to discover that she’s in her dormitory room at the Alchemary—the realm’s prestigious university dedicated to the study of alchemy—Amber has no recollection of having been one of the school’s top students for the past two years. The two men—brothers—are her childhood friends, even if “friends” is not the exact energy in the room.
One brother claims to want to protect her, and the other to help her recover her memory, but Amber soon realizes that nothing is at it seems at the Alchemary. Not the intentions of her classmates and faculty, not the stunning, labyrinthian campus, not the two brothers she’s increasingly attracted to—maybe not even herself.
Despite her memory loss, Amber rejoins her classes and prepares for the deadly Alchemary Trials alongside the other Mastery-level students. But as invigorating as the flowing language and symbology of alchemy is, she can’t help but notice that for an institution shining light on the quest for human perfection there are a lot of dark shadows in its winding corridors.
And what better way to welcome you to a new year at the Alchemary than by checking out the school’s front gates. After all, you don’t know what mysterious secrets they might hold. Check out the book’s official cover below!
Hyperion Avenue
That’s not all! You can also check out an exclusive excerpt below! Just make sure to pre-order The Alchemary and also check out some of Rachel Vincent’s other reads to make the wait a little bit easier.
An Excerpt From The Alchemary
By Rachel Vincent
“You really don’t remember anything?” Wilder sank onto the green armchair, fully dressed but for his boots.
Beyond the window, birds dove toward the glittering water far below. I inhaled the salty ocean scent, attempting to synchronize my pulse with the peaceful crash of the waves. Trying to breathe past the tension in the room.
Wilder’s attention was an almost physical sensation—a uncomfortable pressure, like a hand pressed to an open wound.
Desmond’s felt like a sunbeam focused through a lens. His copper-hued gaze looked skeptical. The arms crossed over his broad chest emphasized the sentiment.
“Nothing recent.” I sank into the wooden chair, my back to the desk.
How often had I sat in that very spot? Shouldn’t the chair at least feelfamiliar, if were mine?
“I remember being a child.” I closed my eyes, letting memories of the past swallow the enigma of my present. Relieved by how many there were. “I remember growing up in Innswood. We grew up together. All three of us.” I opened my eyes as the rest of the memory came into focus. “You’re brothers,” I said, turning to include Desmond.
Gregory. Their surname was suddenly…accessible.
Desmond nodded, but his expression was inscrutable, like an instructor administering an examination. A young but unforgiving instructor with a piercing gaze. The kind that could terrify any student.
The kind one wanted, instinctively, to please.
My focus returned to Wilder. “And you’re my best friend. At least, you were.” Though the fact that he’d been essentially naked in my bed suggested that at some point, the nature of our relationship had changed.
As a youth, I’d indulged and abandoned crushes on the Gregory brothers as naturally as I’d slept and eaten. But I’d never acted on those feelings, and it seemed impossible that I could have forgotten the circumstance that had put Wilder in my bed. That warmed my face and drew my gaze to him.
Wilder’s attention flicked toward his brother, then back to me with a bold frankness. “We’re still…close.”
My focus narrowed on the flowing black garment clutched in my left hand. Then on the row of gold-trimmed charcoal-colored dresses hanging in the open wardrobe. Then on the breathtaking sight through the window—a stunning and distinctive view. “We’re at the Alchemary.”
Wilder’s blue eyes widened. “Your memories are coming back?”
“No.” I huffed. “But I’m perfectly capable of deductive reasoning. This is a university cloak, and the only kind of university I would attend is an alchemy academy. There are several of those in the kingdom of Myros, but I would aim for the best, as would both of you. Which means we could only be at the Alkahest Institute or the Alchemary. And I know this motto,” I said, pointing at a triangle, skillfully embroidered on the front left side of the black robe I held. I traced the rich gold thread with one finger.
Mind. Matter. Spirit.
“And, of course, the Alchemary was always my dream.” I frowned, reconsidering. “Ourdream.”
We’d had a plan, since the day the recruiter’s circuit had brought him to Innswood, when we were children.
“Yes.” Wilder exhaled, elbows propped on his thighs, staring at his clenched hands where they dangled between his knees. “This was our dream.”
“And he…” My gaze narrowed on Desmond. On the distinctive, elegant collar of his asymmetrical cape. “He’s a professor.” Which meant he’d already graduated.
Wilder snorted as he slouched backward in the chair. “Des is just a staff researcher.”
There was no such thing as just a staff researcher at the Alchemary. I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, as if knowledge of the school’s stature was something I was born with. Yet Desmond seemed completely unbothered by the insult. He only stared at me. No, he was studying me, as if he could intuit the cause of my amnesia just from looking. As if he were puzzling through the problem with the same systematic winnowing down and testing of possible causes and solutions that he’d used on every problem he’d faced since we were old enough to wander Innswood with the other village children.
As if no scientific mystery would dare to confound him for long.
“Am Ia professor?” I asked him.
Desmond’s eyes widened. His skepticism waned.
Wilder laughed. “I think sometimes you assumed you were already beyond that. But, no, you and I are students.”
I turned to him, more relieved than I would have admitted. The only thing worse than forgetting part of my alchemy education would have been forgetting allof it. “What level?”
“This is the first week of year three for both of us,” he said. Then he sat up as footsteps hurried past my closed door, in the distinctive cadence of a stairwell descent. “In fact, it’s the first day.”
Year three. Mastery year. The final year of studies at the Alchemary.
Trials year.
“No.” It was difficult enough to believe that I had no memory of being admitted to the Alchemary. Of getting my father’s blessing to attend, considering his distrust of this place.
Or had I simply attended without his blessing?
Regardless, forgetting my application, interview, and admission was one thing, but the rest of it? Two entire years of classes and research? Both the Fundamentals and Proficiency years, lost to…some strange phenomenon that had also stolen the memory of whatever Wilder and I had done last night. Not to mention everything that had led up to it?
“No.” The anger on the surface of my voice masked a churning depth of fear. How could I not remember my own life? My own skills and accomplishments? My… relationships?
Knowing who I was meant very little, if I couldn’t remember becoming that person. I could not possibly be this close to everything I’d ever wanted yet have no memory of how I’d gotten there. No understanding of how to move forward.
“What happened to me? Why can’t I remember?” I cleared my throat and forced a bit more iron into my tone. “And…am I late for something?” Hearing the rush of steps past my door had left an itching anxiety in my hands, which wanted to start gathering up my belongings. In my legs, which wanted to rush me off to…somewhere. “For class, I suppose?”
“Yes, of course.” Desmond exhaled heavily. “But you can hardly attend in this condition.” He turned to Wilder. “Head straight to the Conservatory and ask for Dr. Winhoof.”
I blinked at him. “Winhoof, as in—”
“The Director of the Panacea Project.” Wilder turned to his brother, his jaw stiff. “But I don’t take instruction from you. And an issue of this magnitude should go straight to the Bluehelm.”
Desmond huffed. “The Bluehelm doesn’t see students without appointments, and she’s not the expert in this field.”
“No one is an expert in this field,” Wilder insisted. “She should know that one of her star students has—”
“Amnesia is an illness,” Desmond snapped. But his words echoed hollowly, with Wilder’s assertion still ringing in my ears.
I was a star student. At the Alchemary.
Or, I had been, before whatever this was.
Excerpted from The Alchemary by Rachel Vincent. © 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Hyperion Avenue. All rights reserved.
The Alchemary, by Rachel Vincent will be released on March 3, 2026 by Hyperion Avenue. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice: