A Captured Cauldron
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Average rating5
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.
Series
Featured Series
2 primary booksThe Side Quest Row
The Side Quest Row is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2023 with contributions by R.K. Ashwick.
Reviews
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Reviews with the most likes.
Compared to the previous, there were higher stakes in this book and less of the cosy element, however I thoroughly enjoyed it as much as the first.
Our beloved Ambrose has been taken by the darkside of the Scar, demanding from him something that no one has ever managed to brew before. Eli is besides himself, as seen by some of his rash actions which causes setbacks, and while Dawn is also fretting about her bestie she manages to find love along the way.
The plot was a great middle ground between the last book and what I expect will be happening in the sequel. Eli grows immensely in this book, his hotheadedness causing some problems, which allows him to grow and apply it to his new profession as an adventurer. Ambrose's relationship with Nat, an orphan who has been disappointed many times in her short life so far, is wholesome to read despite the situation that they're in.
The ending was as happy as it could be, with sprinklings of the groundwork laid for the following book. While I am a little concerned for their wellbeing, knowing what the Aphosians are like, hopefully it'll be addressed later because I'm sure it's not the last we've seen of them.
