Review: The Cozy Cauldron Cab Co.
The first thing you have to do when reviewing an ARC (advanced reader copy) is confirm that you have been given the book for free, meaning the author has not bribed you for a good review. I promise that is what happened here, but after reading the following review of Nathan C. Ashford’s The Cozy Cauldron Cab Co., I forgive you if you think he slipped me a wad of crisp £20 notes. The novel really is that good. Although that title is quite long, so for the rest of the review I’ve abbreviated it to Cozy Cauldron. I’m also spelling ‘cozy’ the American way when referring to the title, and the English way (cosy) otherwise.
Before we continue, here’s the blurb:
Mitsi Blunderlock graduated from Gloombubble Academy with one problem: she’s a witch who can’t fly. After a disastrous crash left her with a crooked nose and a healthy respect for gravity, Mitsi has resigned herself to keeping her feet firmly on the ground (much to the horror of proper witch and warlock society).
When tea leaves spell out “GO. NOW.” Mitsi leaves the comforts of home for the cozy town of Marivell, with nothing but a magical pumpkin carriage (courtesy of her inventor father) and a desperate need to find her purpose. After accidentally retiring the local postal phoenix and causing chaos with her horseless contraption, Mitsi stumbles upon an idea: why not become the town’s first cab driver?
With the help of a distinguished elder werewolf, two eccentric harpy neighbors, the local opossum baker, and a myriad of other fantastical friends, Mitsi discovers that serving others might be the strongest magic of all.
And now for the glowing review, which does contain mild spoilers about characters you will meet, but hopefully not too much about the plot. Cozy Cauldron is so cosy it could be described as the hot chocolate (or perhaps pumpkin spice latte) of books. There were times when I wondered if it wasn’t a bit too cutesy, Ashford is not an author who kills his darlings. Although that is understandable when you consider how darling they are. At one point the main character, Mitsi Blunderlock, moves into a mushroom. Her landlords are mice. And the Santa Claus figure is a capybara. I was charmed.
We start with proper chapter titles. I love that these are making a comeback, it takes me back to childhood. I think that’s part of what makes cosy fantasies so popular, they do feel like a novel you might have read as a young adult, without all the dystopian derring-do of actual YA novels. Another reason is that there is a strong theme of communities banding together, something which is often lacking in real life. Which isn’t to say that everything goes smoothly in Cozy Cauldron, but this is definitely a low stakes tale.
It’s fashionable to market a book by comparing it to other authors. A few pages into Cozy Cauldron and I made a note ‘we’re in Pratchett territory here’. Yes, I really did mean Sir Terry Pratchett. This is probably the highest praise I could give a fantasy novel. But Ashford’s clever way of introducing modern inventions into his fantasy world are distinctly Pratchett-like, and the instantly loveable cast of eccentric characters hints at many more books to come. The small Christmas subplot suggests a festive tale is in the offing.
The only other current author I’ve compared to Pratchett is Travis Baldree, and I think Baldree’s fans will feel at home here. The large number of animal characters given human traits is an instant reminder of Juneau Black, and while there is no murder in Cozy Cauldron, I’d encourage Black’s readers to give this a whirl too.
Without an evil villain, a complex crime to solve, or even a romance, I wasn’t sure where the plot of Cozy Cauldron was going to go. Without major spoilers, I can tell you that it’s a satisfying meander through life in a small town, with plenty of subplots to keep the pace going. This is truly a 10/10 read.
Purchase the Cozy Cauldron Cab Co. (Amazon store page)
