R.K. AshwickBesprekingen

I couldn't put this book down and did not want it to end!

Emry the Bard really, really wants to be in the Auric Guild, it would help him earn something from his craft, and open a lot of doors. There's a mystery he's seen going on in his world where there are ripples appearing and things are going wrong where the ripples happen, he's finding it curious until he is in a grove that has a spirit and the ripple causes the spirit to jump into his lute. The spirit is curious about the human world and is also curious about what's going on with these ripples. Emry enlists the help of Cal, his ex; to research the problem who also finds it interesting.
It was interesting to see the travails of a musician and also interesting to see how the Spirit's curiosity about the world would manifest. It took a while to get started but took off from there.½

An absolutely wonderful cozy fantasy with a grumpy/sunshine achillean romance that I was totally rooting for. The DnD-style world is brilliantly realised, with the action all taking place on a street full of artificer shops, including the two rival potion makers. The collection of store owners functions as a wonderful queer found family with great diverse representation.  This is a lovely heartwarming book, 4 stars. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 was because of some sad character backstory that hit a little too close to home for me, but that’s a personal thing. Highly recommend this to everyone.

This book was ok at best. I liked the main characters, especially once the story moved past the kind of silly and pointless rivalry and on to the collaboration part of the story. But a lot of plot points were not integrated especially well into the story. I also felt like the book could have ended better.

The worst thing was when Ambrose and his friend Dawn were searching dangerous caves for potion ingredients. They had an argument and in response she used their return-home portal and abandoned him in a dangerous cave, alone. I honestly hardly have words for how much that horrified me (I admit I may be relating a bit too much to Ambrose in this particular situation), and the resolution of it is even worse. Ambrose made it back fine, but he soon decided that he needed to apologize to her, which I simply find breathtakingly awful. He did literally nothing wrong. Their argument was even because she wanted them to do something unsafe!½

I loved this book. The cast of characters is fun and well developed, you really feel like you are a part of a family by the end of the book. Everything from the characters to the imagery to the world building everything is so well written, I will be thinking about this book for a while. I usually don't like slow burns and this one is quite a slow burn, but I really enjoyed it. If you like found family, lighthearted fantasy reads then I highly recommend this book. My only complaint is that it didn't last longer. I received an ARC and am voluntarily writing this review.

I don't usually like enemies-to-lovers romances, but this book was actually really lovely. Eli is new in town and sets up a potion shop right across the street from Ambrose's The Griffin's Claw and so the rivalry and animosity begins. Unexpectedly they land a commission brewing a potion for mayor's daughter's birthday, on which they need to work together as well as spend time together. I enjoyed the world building and the motley crew of lovable characters, especially Tom the automaton. Ambrose and Eli were soooo cute together. This was such a delightful read. Oh, and the illustrations were really good too.
I received a free copy of this book from the author through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was so ridiculously adorable! The friendships and romance were very sweet. The descriptions of the Scar made me desperate to visit and wander through all of the shops. I think I had a smile on my face the entire time I read this book! This was my first cozy fantasy book, and I can't wait to read more in the genre!

I received a free ARC of this book, and I chose to review it because I enjoyed it so very much.

This was utterly delightful. If you ever wondered about the lives of the shopkeepers in the high fantasy adventuring games, wonder no more. Ashwick creates a wonderful world featuring the shopkeepers of Rosemond Street, who cater to the adventuring parties trying their luck deep in the caves where their town is built, or farther afield. Ambrose runs the potion shop, and Eli opens up another potion shop directly across the street.

This is a cozy queer romance, enemies to friends to lovers, found family, high fantasy tale that I absolutely fell into. I loved the characters, who were very flawed, the absurd circumstances that have them forced to work together, and the sweet family of Rosemond Street who all look out for each other. I highly enjoyed this.
½

Fun, fantasy rivals to lovers romp. I received an ARC via LibraryThing and I’m glad I got to experience this world.
The community formed by the neighboring shopkeepers, the cute little automaton (Miss Tomato), the challenge to collaboratively brew a potion to turn a spoiled orc princess into a hovering purple dragon, are just a few of the charming details that bring this story to life.
Fans of Lattes and Legends should check out Ambrose and Eli in all their caustic and occasionally explosive glory.

Cozy and fantastical and lovely! I’m a sucker for maps so I was very excited to see some world building right from the beginning. The scar is an original and exciting setting with lots of details and character. Immediately my heart belonged to Ambrose. He is a loner who is a little awkward and antisocial, but you can tell deep down that he doesn’t have the social experience as others. That is why the first half of the book was so hard for me to get past. I understand that Eli has a lot riding on his new store, but his words and actions were horrible. But perhaps even worse than that, Ambrose’s best friend Dawn has absolutely no care for his feelings. There is a difference between being friendly with a new neighbor and abandoning your friend and acting like a witch. Gut wrenching. I was so mad. The good news is that everyone finally starts treating Ambrose like a person and working harder to understand him instead of bully him. After that tipping point the book becomes amazingly epic. The potion work is fun and the adventure is exciting. The chemistry and protectiveness between Ambrose and Eli is adorable. Overall I really enjoyed the story and would love to read more from this world. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

I read this book so incredibly fast! It was an easy, fun read. This is a fun rival-to-lovers story that doesn't drag on anything. The rival part is well explored and then the lovers part is also equally well developed. I love the relatability of the characters, especially Ambrose and how everyone loved him on his terms. Truly a beautiful tale of not just love but friendships and connections as well. I highly recommend!

This cozy fantasy queer romance was a delight!

(I received a digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Great cast of characters, great friendships. The plot is low stakes, but still eventful and exciting. The main characters are just lovely, and I really appreciated the dual POV.

I’m not much of a romance reader, so I don’t know all the tropes, but I felt like this enemies-to-lovers relationship felt natural and sweet. It isn’t a spicy book by any means. It feels like we’re given just enough to feel the passion and heat, while still respecting their privacy.

All my cozy fantasy needs were met. There’s tea, there’s cookies, there’s reading and book shopping, all in a magical world with adventurers, wands, potions, and dragons. I grew to really love this city carved into a chasm, and I want to know more. Very excited for the rest of the series!

I got this book through the Early Reviewer program here on Librarything

This book was such a surprise! I picked it up because I loved the cover. I was not expecting the PERFECT cozy fantasy that I'd been waiting for. I loved how Eli made Ambrose smile. R.K. Ashwick now has a new constant reader. The worst thing about reading books early is having to wait longer for the next one! I'm thrilled to see this is a series and I can't wait to come back to Side Quest Row soon.

Grumpy x Sunshine
Found Family
Cozy Fantasy
Low stakes
High reward

This is a sweet and well plotted fantasy tale about a musician, a scholar, and a tree spirit who become friends during a series of catastrophic, mythologically driven earthquakes. The culture of the region is well constructed, including riveting travel by subterranean river rafts, a believable system of spirits and shrines, and an intricate music guild. The story nicely balances the different characters’ worries and skills. Major events include a fraught music competition, a quest for historical interpretations of catastrophes in folktales, and multiple layers of new and rekindled relationships. It’s a light and enjoyable tale with compelling characters. I’ll keep an eye out for more of the saga.

I quite enjoyed this. It's a little bit twee perhaps, but as a cosy fantasy it works very well.

The gods are fighting, and so the humans are suffering. It'd been decades or centuries since the last time the gods' disagreement touched the material world, and everybody has forgotten the signs and portents, and even the old traditions have fallen out of favour. It's festival season and a young bard Emry, feeling downhearted from being repeatedly turned away just wants a few moments solace as his family used to celebrate - he sings one of his favourite old songs in a local shrine. It's not the same, but it helps a little bit, even if there's nothing there to provide the luck he's wishing for. Just at that moment the first of the energy waves from the gods' argument briefly rolls through. No-one is more surprised than he is when a voice start's speaking from his lute. The wave has pushed the spirit from the shrine out of it's tree home, and the only shelter it could find was in the lute. Emry's attempts to research this phenomena but bumps into his ex-girlfriend in the Academy library, which is very lucky because she's always been better at that sort of thing, and the change to investigate Aspen is one she could never turn down. Together they realise these inconveniences of the spirit waves are only the harbinger of something much worse.

The characters are great, and interact well together. I'm not so keen on emo-teen, but the author keeps it fairly well toned down, and the innocence and humour of Aspen make up for a lot of it. Bonus marks for having not terrible descriptions of caves! Slightly unrealistic geography for their rivers to connect in a useful manner (especially flowing up into the mountains!) but original and well done.

I will look out for the sequels, although this wrapped it up quite well there is more to be told. Part of the fun is the rags to riches tale, and I'm not so sure it will be as interesting now that they're well established.½

Emry is a talented lute player, but his profound self-doubt stops him from realizing his biggest dream : becoming a Guild member. Wishing to see his dream come true, he gets the unexpected help of Aspen, an adorable spirit, stuck in Emry’s instrument after dangerous circumstances. Deciding to help Aspen go home, Emry soon realizes his quest may be more complicated and perilous than expected.

I discovered this book totally by chance when looking for something new to read. The author was looking for ARC readers for her debut fantasy novel The Stray Spirit. To be frank, I didn’t even read the blurb before requesting it, I just fell in love with the cover. I was really amazed by the world and the lore R. K. Ashwick created. When I started to read the novel, I felt immediately attracted by the very unique atmosphere of the book and the appealing characters.

The Stray Spirit is a unique mixture of Fantasy, Adventure, Music, Romance and Humour. The three main characters are charismatic and each of them bring a unique point of view on the story : Emry is courageous, but doesn’t believe in himself. Cal is extremely smart and often has an answer to everything. Aspen is an adorable being, sweet, curious and innocent. He often provides light and humour in the most difficult situations.

I really enjoyed that book, R. K. Ashwick is a talented storyteller. For me, everything in it is perfect. It is fresh. It is surprising. It is entertaining. It is really well written. Really, it is just delightful to read !