Sidra Patmos is plagued by sinister visions and unexplainable paranormal occurrences that force her to seek out an expert—Van Barlowe.  What she discovers is a dark world of demons, wraiths, and immortals who all want something from her.  It’s a struggle to fight for her sanity and resist her passion for Van.

Van has been searching for the Alchemist for 300 hundred years.  The trail has led him to Sidra and she is the means to saving him and his brethren from eternal damnation.  He must protect her from those of his kind who seek peace by destroying everything he and his brethren have worked for.

But first, Van must win Sidra’s love, trust and willingness to accomplish his goal.  Or all is lost.

Ciar Cullen expertly layers paranormal intrigue, mysticism, and romance into Love’s Alchemy, until as a reader you can’t resist the urge to believe every word.  It’s sheer talent to possess the ability to seduce an audience into ignoring the fact they’re reading fiction.  The character development and realistic dialogue adds richness to the narrative.  Shadows conceal enemies as friends, and friends as enemies; answers are partially veiled in mystery.

Sidra’s and Van’s chemistry dazzles and captivates.  Both are vulnerable, strong-willed people with a past, present, and future bursting with secrets.  Centuries of heartache are lovingly uncovered through Ms. Cullen’s paisley pretty writing. Salvation, redemption and exile are played out by the heroes and so-called monsters.  Nothing is ever black and white in this thriller, and that’s the way I like my harrowing, supernatural literature.  References to historical figures are beautifully interspersed into the storyline without missing a beat.  Overall, I appreciated the careful construction of each section, the detailed historical value of how alchemy is used in the story and the extra care Ms. Cullen takes to make it all work.  While other stories deserve to be labeled as fool’s gold, Love’s Alchemy is pure platinum.