Posted by I was pretty nervous about this book going into it because although I can enjoy romances I can also be very nitpicky about them. I bounce off many commonly used tropes and I tend to DNF if there’s too much “UST” or whining/pining. My preference for romance tends to be toward older established couples rather than a new and budding romance that’s all hot and bothered. I think that’s why I clicked with another finalist this year that I wasn’t expecting to, Hills of Heather and Bone, as it was an established couple who were both middle-aged at the start of the book.
So anyway, I digress.
This was cute.
At the opening of the book, Ambrose is the owner of a potions shop and he’s an introverted, somewhat awkward, and a bookish kind of person. He’s very “particular” but I wouldn’t say “OCD.” He has friends who care about him, but he doesn’t have any family. His background is less than happy since he was abandoned by said family at a young age to a teacher/trainer of potions who was an asshole. There once was a plant store that was directly across from his potions shop, and he’s been very happy ever since they moved out and left the place empty. No more dirt out in front of the shop, no more noise, no more people.
Except now someone has paid to rent the storefront and is moving in. Ambrose’s friends group is trying to guess what kind of shop is going to open up, and when it turns out to be another potions shop, Ambrose panics a little bit. He goes over to meet the new owner and is like, so, dude, are you really staying here? You know that I, who was here first, have a potions shop 10 feet from you?
The other dude, Eli, is like FFFUUCCCKKKKK no one told me when I paid for this place, the insurance, the license, and all the merchandise to set up that there was another potions shop, like, right across from where I was renting!
Ambrose basically asked Eli, “so are you going to move?” Eli is like, “dude no, I have no money to do that.” Enter discontented enemies to lovers plotline. These two have to learn to co-exist with each other and work together or risk both of them having financial issues.
Ambrose is a little surly, he’s more withdrawn, and doesn’t want anything to do with Eli. Eli makes a concerted effort to smooth things over and get to know Ambrose only to be rejected over and over again. Ambrose just wants to sit and read his book alone, thank you. Eli is more bubbly, “bright” and makes friends easily. And it’s at this point I had this intrusive thought that Ambrose was like Bert and Eli was like Ernie from Sesame Street… and so from about halfway through the book to the end every so often I would get a head movie of Bert and Ernie making potions.
This is an intimate story with a small setting and cast of characters. The two perspectives we get are Eli and Ambrose and I found them sufficiently different enough not to be confused about who I was reading. Although, some of that had to do with backdrop and less to do with tonal changes that you get with a really developed character. As far as the worldbuilding, this story was mostly told in one location/setting which kept it kind of vague when it comes to a broader understanding of the world. I really don’t know what’s going on with the rest of the world…I kind of do, but mostly I don’t. There are things mentioned in passing but it’s definitely not a focus. I know that the races here are more “classic” than unique-to-this-world — there are elves, orcs, humans, gnomes, dragons, giant spiders et cetera. I know that there’s classic “hand wavey” magic like brewing potions and whatnot, but the details of what makes a world breathe weren’t really there for me. Now, this isn’t supposed to be some epic fantasy with sprawling lore and intricate world building, but I would have liked to have a little more foundation than I got. If I try and picture the world outside of the city, I can’t.
I found the prose to be quick paced and easy to read. This was very easy to sink into and enjoy on a cold snowy night when I wanted something that’s light hearted and breezily written. Not a lot “happens” in this book, so this won’t be for people looking for battles, sword fights, fireballs being thrown around and the like. This will be for people who enjoy T. Kingfisher, Quenby Olsen, and Becky Chambers in that it’s very character focused and warm. There’s a strong found-family vibe surrounding Ambrose as his friends have become his family after he was abandoned as a child.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this. There were some things that didn’t work for me personally, but for those who are fantasy romance fans this could be a big hit.
SPFBO FINAL SCORE: 7/10