A review by chippyreads
A Captured Cauldron by R.K. Ashwick

4.0

 

I was thrilled to be diving back into the ‘Side Quest Row’ world, as I loved A Rival Most Vial and this little strip of shops on Rosemond street. Returning was such a treat. The first book was definitely a romcom/light fantasy, this one is more of a light fantasy with a side of romance. 

A Captured Cauldron follows 3 POVs.  

Ambrose: as he’s captured and forced to brew an impossible potion. 

Eli: working with the rest of the characters to desperately save his boyfriend.

Dawn: also working with everyone to save her bestie while also crushing on a new character

We’re introduced to a few new characters, one of my fav being Xavian. 

Xavian: Ambrose’s rival at potioncon who is brought in to cover Ambrose’s shop while he’s gone. They’re amazingly flamboyant and snooty at the same time. I’m hoping to see more of them in future books. 

Nat: a slave that Ambrose befriends while he works away at the impossible potion, she's the youngest character in this series. 

Rory: A reporter who is working at potion con, is quickly crushing on Dawn and helps Rosemond street rescue Ambrose. 

This book was quite short which I loved but was disappointed we didn’t get a lot between Dawn and Rory. They had some cute moments but because the attention is mainly on rescuing Ambrose and Eli fucking shit up they don’t get their moment to shine together. That's the only reason this book isn’t a perfect 5 stars for me.

Just a side note about other reviews. Not a fan of how so many people are assuming Xavian is amab and assigning them ‘he/him’ pronouns when they’re only ever referred to as ‘they/them’ in the text. I don’t like to question whether people actually pay attention when they read but it's pretty obvious some people just don't care enough about queer people….

I received a copy of this book from the author, all opinions are my own.