Review: A Captured Cauldron: Rules for Compulsory Brews by R.K. Ashwick

Title: A Captured Cauldron: Rules for Compulsory Brews

Series: Side Quest Row: Book Two

Author: R.K. Ashwick

Length: 334 Pages

Category: Cozy Fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

At a Glance: A Rival Most Vial easily won my adoration and captivated my imagination. A Captured Cauldron not only affirmed those feelings but built upon them to make me long for more from the Scar and the residents of Rosemond Street.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: Why steal a potion when you can steal a potioneer?

Grumpy potioneer Ambrose Beake has only one social event marked on his calendar: the country’s three-day Potion Convention. Alchemists from all over the world pour in to discuss their life’s work, and Ambrose eagerly dives into the excitement. Greeting old friends, speaking on panels, hopping into heated debates…

And getting kidnapped by an underground crime syndicate.

The criminals demand that Ambrose brew an impossible illusion potion—but the Guild’s protocol for such kidnappings is clear. He must agree to do the work, then delay the project as much as possible, while above ground, his boyfriend Eli and best friend Dawn plot to save him. They’re not alone in this venture, either—a beautiful journalist arrives to cover the rescue, just as eager as they are to investigate, infiltrate…and ignite a few sparks in Dawn’s heart along the way.

But while Dawn struggles to ignore those sparks and Eli struggles to save his beloved, Ambrose delves into the syndicate’s secrets—and finds something far more impossible hidden within its depths.

Review: Everything about this book whispers cozy. From the friendships to the romantic relationships, the warmth and affection between these characters fairly oozes from the pages and aims straight for the heartstrings. Not only does R.K. Ashwick build mutually strong bonds between her characters, she does so in a world rich with magic, and even a little mayhem too.

The criminal element in A Captured Cauldron are absent anything resembling ethics or conscience, as evidenced by their chosen prisoners. They are the definition of avarice, pure and simple, and they will use any means at their disposal to achieve their goal. Ambrose, possibly the best potioneer to ever brew, being excited to attend his country’s greatest potioneering convention offers a touch of affection to the man who isn’t one to give his emotions up whilly-nilly. He and his boyfriend, Eli, are the very definition of love and caring, but it was a delightful Enemies-to-Lovers free-for-all to get there. There is no greater signifier of their commitment to each other, however, than the lengths they will go to to protect those they love. Of course, this includes each other, but it encompasses the found family they’ve built along the way, too.

The bonus here is the budding romance between Ambrose’s best friend, Dawn, and the journalist, Rory, who has a vested interest in providing the information the Rosemond Street crew needs to pull off what is, for all intents and purposes, an impossible rescue. Where love and friendship are concerned, however, nothing is beyond reach. As Dawn and Rory navigate the link between their burgeoning feelings and the job at hand, not all is simple, but all is well where matters of the heart are concerned.

As Ambrose weathers his imprisonment, by Guild standards or not (mostly not), there is another dollop of care and compassion heaped upon the story. Ambrose didn’t set out to befriend a young servant girl named Nat, and he certainly didn’t conceive of the fact he’d refuse to leave without her, but the rapport that grows between them is yet another bit of added kindness in this lovely world Ashwick has built.

A Rival Most Vial easily won my adoration and captivated my imagination. A Captured Cauldron not only affirmed those feelings but built upon them to make me long for more from the Scar and the residents of Rosemond Street.