Azu is Reading A Rival Most Vial (Side Quest Row #1) by R.K. Ashwick
Two potion shops, one heated rivalry…until hate bubbles over into something else.
Any adventurer worth their sword knows about Ambrose Beake. The proud, quiet half-elf sells the best, and only, potions in the city — until a handsome new shopkeeper named Eli opens another potion shop across the street, throwing Ambrose’s peace and ledgers far off balance.
Within weeks, they’re locked in a war of price tags and products — Ambrose’s expertise against Eli’s effortless charm. Toil leads to trouble, the safety gloves come off, and right as their rivalry reaches a boiling point…
The mayor commissions them to brew a potion together.
The task is as complex as it is lucrative, pushing both men to the limits of their abilities and patience. Yet as the fires burn and cauldrons bubble…they find a different sort of chemistry brewing.
Review
I’m writing this review because I had the luck to be part of this book’s ARC team and I loved it and need to share this love in a review format.
I already said the most important part: I loved it. Since I found out about the cover reveal on Tumblr, I felt drawn to it and I’m glad I didn’t let my shyness stop me from signing up as an ARC. I was curious about how characters in the background of adventure D&D stories can make their own, and what they would be about. This was a great example to satisfy my curiosity and give me the spark to look for more of this kind. There’s no reason to lie, I love calm and quiet, cozy, love stories… though the calm and quiet part is pretty relative…
Who knew wand and potion makers can have that much fun? I’m not saying they exactly had fun, it wasn’t fun for them, but even for their undisturbed kind of lives, they had maybe too much action and drama for a lifetime. At least that was what I thought. For not adventurers kind of people, they’re also full of adventures. And it’s satisfying. We don’t always have to venture to the woods and slay dragons (please, do not slay dragons, dragons are friends!) to have a fulfilling, enriching life.
And what a potion maker needs to spice up their almost boring and not exactly fulfilling and enriching life more than another potion maker opening a potion shop right in front of their own? It’s war, baby. And people don’t always think this through, but war, wanting it or not, always leads to love. And I’m here for all the love.
Goddess, this book broke me and healed me in ways I’m still unaware of. Because of the love. Here are so many kinds of love and each and every one of them touched me differently. But don’t let me forget to tell you, this annoying potion maker didn’t want any kind of love.
I think I have said enough already. Why you don’t dive into the Scar and meet these amazing people? At first, I thought I wasn’t going to love them, but on the journey, all my thoughts changed. That’s what usually happens when you pass enough time, everything you thought about tends to change. Well… I’m glad. This is one of my favorite books so far.
Phrases that I liked so much that I marked them while reading
«“Ah, so this is all your fault? In that case, you owe me far more than berries, Miss Kerighin. Tea and cookie in Little Elwig, I think.”
“You ask for too much,” she sighed. “How about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.” He nodded.»
— Step 1.«“So, you’ve met the potioneer?” Lili asked. “What’s he like? Paint a picture so I can imagine myself punching him.”
“Lily.”
“Pa, come on,” she pouted. “He’s the competition. Give me the details, give me the drama, let me live vicariously through — “»
— Step 3.«“You should punch him,” Lily said.
“Violence is not the answer — ”
“Well, I’m not there to do it for him, Ma!”
“Just because you chased off one thief does not mean you get to…” Marcos sighed. “We’ll discuss this later. Eli, you still there?”»
— Step 3.«“You take care of yourself and Tom, now. She’s the wisest little beer mug I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, she did pick you, after all.”»
— Step 3.«“I, um…” Why couldn’t he think of words? He could always think of words. “I just wanted to…”
Ambrose’s look cooled into a sullen gray. “What do you need to borrow?”
Eli let out a breath. “How did you know?”
“Please.” He neatened his cuffs. “No one comes into my store just to talk to me. What do you need?”»
— Step 7.«“I can brew in smaller, more effective doses, and free up space on an adventurer’s belt for something else.” He set down the bottle with a clink and looked back at Eli. “Ideally, something that knocks some sense into them and keeps them from hunting river krakens in the first place.”»
— Step 7.«“Hey.”
Ambrose looked up. Banneker grinned.
“You’re my favorite dude of brew. You know that, right?”»
— Step 8.«He didn’t know where his brain had gone this morning, but it was clearly nowhere near his head.»
— Step 10.«“I think he just needs some time. Why don’t we come back when his aura’s more settled?”
Ambrose resisted the urge to snap the broom in half. “My aura isn’t…” He passed a hand over his face. “I don’t have! An aura! And if you say it’s blue one more time, I…” He pointed at his hair. “My hair is blue. My eyes are blue. I am literally wearing blue. Saying I have a blue aura signifies absolutely nothing — ”
Banneker’s gaze hardened. “It signifies, my dude” — he crossed his arms — “that you have some problems.”»
— Step 10.«Eli walked inside with his usual confident stride and stuck out his hand. “Hello. I’m Eli Valenz. I run the shop across the street.”
Yes, that was the entirety of the problem, Ambrose wanted to say.
But Eli was trying, so he supposed he should try, too.»
— Step 13.«“Well, you see, my last experiment broke down at step fifty-seven — ”
“Fifty-seven?”
“So, I made a tweak to that step. If my calculations are correct…” He flipped back to the clean list at the end of the notes. “This should work.”
Eli gaped. “How long will this take you? Three days?”
“Fifteen minutes, if I time it right.”
Eli searched Ambrose’s face for any hint of a joke. There was none.»
— Step 18.«He had failed Dawn, and she had left him there.
Apparently, he was very easy to leave behind.»
— Step 21.«He supposed he would have to be patient, too.
But patience was never his strong suit.»
— Step 22.«He didn’t want to talk to a date about his problems. He wanted to talk to Ambrose. Take him up on his offer to talk, step through his options. Maybe Ambrose could just write the solution in his notebook like before, with his clear steps and diagrams. He laughed to himself — he could imagine the list now. Step one: I told you so.»
— Step 22.«It was too easy to convince himself he was busy. That he had so much to brew. And by nightfall, he had convinced himself of even more.»
— Step 23.«They had been there; they had always been there.»
— Step 25.«“I’m so sorry,” he said, wiping the tears from his face, his throat stinging at the salt. “I can’t ever pay you back. How can I ever — how can I — ”
“No, no,” she murmured, dragging over her chair to sit by him. “This isn’t about paying us back. Not for any of it, you understand me? That’s not how family works.”»
— Step 25.«“Then you see who you can support in your own way. That’s all you can ever do.”»
— Step 25.«He cursed and backed away from the window, bouncing on his heels. “Okay, Ames, I’m coming in, and I promise I’m going to pay for the window after — ”
“What on earth are you doing?” Ambrose demanded. Eli jumped and clutched his heart.
“Ambrose!” He whipped around to find the man standing in the street, leaning against a staff and holding a cloth bundle in his arms.»
— Step 26.«“Can I make you some tea? Get you a healing potion?”
“Sherry already gave me some, but…” Ambrose lifted the bundle in his arms. “I would like your help with something, please.”
Eli stared at him. Ambrose, asking for help? Perhaps he was experiencing brain fog after all.
“Yes,” Eli blurted out. “Yes, anything.”»
— Step 26.«He looked up at Eli, his voice quiet, wide eyes pleading.
“Will you help me do it?”
When asked like that, Eli would have agreed to anything.»
— Step 26.«Oh, right. They had a quest.
Fine — quest first, then a date.»
— Step 26.«“We’re here!” Eli crowed. “How are you doing?”
“I suppose I’m not dead,” he muttered into the fabric.
“Come on. I just saved you a few hours ago. Why would I throw all that effort away?”»
— Step 27.«“Can I ki — ”
“Yes.”»
— Step 27.«Grim gently pushed on Banneker’s shoulder to guide him out the door — but then lingered at the doorway, their eyes soft.
“Should I be home by a certain time?” Ambrose asked, half smiling. But Grim’s gaze remained sincere.
“Proud of you, Beake,” they said.»
— Step 29.«They were standing in front of Widdershins’ Books, its warm windows a beacon in the cool evening.
“Are you sure?” he asked, unable to contain his smile.
“Absolutely.”
He turned to Eli. “I mean — I could spend hours in here, you understand. But if you get bored — ”
Eli shook his head. “I’m with you,” he said. “I won’t get bored.”»
— Step 29.«“I find your intelligence attractive.”»
— Step 29.«But if he wanted to be an adventurer.
He’d have to leave Ambrose.»
— Step 32.«“Stupid that you love him?” Dawn plucked the cookie out of his fingers and ate it. “Ambrose, I think it’s the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”»
— Step 33.«“So, you’re really dating him?” she asked.
“Yes, Lily.”
“And it’s not some corporate conspiracy to get rid of your competitor?”
“No, Lily.”
“Okay.” She pressed her lips into a line. “I had committed to some sabotage on the way here, you know. Tripping him in the street, breaking a cauldron — ”
“Lil.”
She raised her hands. “But I guess I’ll hold off for now. Just tell me if it’s ever needed, okay?”»
— Step 34.«You will not find a better potion master — nor a better friend.»
— Step 40.
