Review: Potions Unincorporated by Iris Andersi

Potions Unincorporated is about a witch named Linatta who makes medicinal potions for chronic health conditions. She uses them herself, and sells them through a third party corporation (Potions, Inc.) to distribute them. This works well for her until the company representative, Trina, requests that Linatta produce 3x her usual batch in almost 1/3 of the time. Linatta, being chronically ill and just one witch, protests, but Trina ultimately persuades her to agree.

Facing the uphill battle of a seemingly impossible order, her life is disrupted further by the kidnapping of her familiar, a “cat” named Toad. But maybe she and the kidnapper can work something out…

Potions Unincorporated contains a sweet romance worth rooting for and realistic villains worth rooting against. Linatta’s journey is believable, gentle, and satisfying. The characters were memorable and interesting, and I loved the different kinds of love that showed up in this story.

As a chronically ill person myself, it was great to read a realistic book about someone experiencing chronic illness. Novels about disabled characters are pretty rare, and those about chronic illness specifically are even rarer, particularly ones that convey details as well as this one does. Struggles with a difficult healthcare system are rarely represented in fiction, despite their massive impact in real life, and it’s gratifying to see that struggle play out visibly in Potions Unincorporated.

I enjoyed that the world of Potions Unincorporated takes queerness comfortably for granted, which is a pleasant reprieve from real life. It was lovely to see an array of queer characters free from real-world struggles around sexuality and gender. I think this added to the gentle tone of the novel—the reader may be facing the real struggles of chronic illness, but we also get to enjoy looking at a world that treats all romance as equally wonderful.

Andersi wove together a really interesting world, with both cozy fantasy elements and the real-world stressors of medical access. The tensions are serious, but the overall tone is sweet with the promise of better days ahead. I really recommend it if you’d like a soft, nature-rich, lovely world, but want your story conflicts to feel real enough for their resolution to feel like a real relief and celebration.