Strangebrew Apothecary - Rustin Lovewell
STRANGEBREW APOTHECARY
RUSTIN LOVEWELL
*****
Legends & Lattes meets The Lost Apothecary in this debut adventure fantasy following a potion maker who must hide her true powers from her misfit co-workers, only to suffer the consequences of leading a double life.
When Ellastaria Strange joins a ragtag crew of con artists, she knows she’s walking on a perilous knife edge – because unlike her crooked co-workers, she's the real deal: an apothecary with supernatural abilities, hiding from a suspicious world.
When a swindle goes wrong and she accidentally reveals her true nature to some fanatics with no tolerance for the supernatural, she and her friends suddenly find themselves on the run from a hoard of obsessed vigilantes. Desperate and terrified, they find refuge with a beer brewer who wants nothing to do with crooks or occultists – and his starry-eyed sister who wants in on all of it.
For any hope of a future, the scrappy misfits must band together, embrace what makes them outcasts and trust in each other’s talents – no matter how strange …
MY REVIEW
*****
Ellastaria Strange has a secret – whilst travelling with a team of snake-oil conmen, she has an actual talent of magical potion-making, passed down from her Grandmother. However, when she reveals this to the wrong village, she finds herself being hunted…
I wouldn’t describe any of my favourite books or genres as ‘cosy’. I love Crime, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Thriller books – I’m certainly not known for wanting a wholesome reading experience, as my Storygraph stats will attest to! I requested this book for the blurb and was a little worried when I saw the tag of ‘Cosy Fantasy’ alongside it afterwards. I needn’t have worried however – I personally don’t think this book should be classified as ‘cosy’, and there was plenty of peril and intrigue to keep my dark heart entertained throughout!
Ellastaria is a brilliant main character – she felt realistic and grounded throughout, if perhaps a touch naïve in places. A potion-maker having to deceive people on a daily basis for work, but still secretly wanting to help people with her skills made her easy to empathise with. The writing style was easy to read, and it’s well paced and balanced, with no real down time. Although there is a high-stakes plot and drama running throughout, the book is really about found-family in a multitude of different ways, and I found it quite heart-warming as I rooted for our rag-tag group of friends.
There is a slight romance element to the plot although it isn’t a main part of the storyline – just a nice addition. I also really enjoyed the character types involved in the core group – from the grumpy sorcerer to the over-enthusiastic child and slick salesman with questionable morals. As this is standalone fantasy, there is a certain amount of worldbuilding, but this was kept concise and clear, with only the elements that were important to the plot being built on and it was drip-fed to the reader in a way to keep it feeling realistic and not too overwhelming.
Overall, Strangebrew Apothecary is a story of found family, but don’t be deceived by its ‘cosy’ tag – there is a lot of drama and stakes in here that made it a gripping read that I didn’t want to put down! Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins, Harper Fiction and Magpie for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
LINKS TO BUY
Comments