This book deserves all the love, praise, and adoration it can get. I found this by accident and instantly fell in love with the concept. From the cover to the title to the synopsis...

Now I know some people have crticized the book because they feel like it's a copy of Legends & Lattes. It's a similar concept, but it's not a copy, in my opinion. The author even stated they were inspired L&L, and I love that. You know why? Because I've turned into a sucker for cozy fantasy and have been looking for more books like L&L, and this PERFECTLY scratched that itch (and then made me want even more).

I'm not even sure how to break down this review. I feel like I didn't have a single complaint, so please enjoy the following word vomit in support of such a terrific book.

Now, I am not a drinker. In fact, I kind of detest alcohol. But reading about fancy made up drinks in fantasy worlds is a peculiar, niche interest of mine apparently? Because I am always fascinated by what authors come up with beyond the traditional stuff like ale, beer, or wine. The author also seems to know his stuff, because everything about every single drink was described so perfectly that it left no room for questioning. And the flavors that are described! Like I said, I detest alcohol. I hate the way it tastes. But the author actually managed to make a lot of these drinks sound good. That surprised me. But I suppose given that these are specialty cocktails, they're bound to be a bit different than the norm. I also want to applaud the author for writing about the actual creation of each drink and keeping it interesting. And I don't just mean what we learned from Rhoren's dad's journals, but literally how making drinks was blended seamlessly into everything else that's happening.

Then we have the characters. I really enjoyed reading from Rhoren's point of view. How he decided to make a fresh start for himself so that he could give his body a rest. His passion in his plight to open up Cursed Cocktails was evident from the start, and despite his doubts, worries, and fears, he's smart, capable, sensible. He takes a risk for something he loves. He's flawed, and he holds things back out of fear. I sensed from the beginning that there was always more to him than what met the eye upon the surface. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading from his perspective. I loved the glimpses into his old life as a bloodmage. The depictions of his pain were visceral and sad, but also made me root for him that much harder. I also very much liked his...friend. I had a feeling that little "twist" was coming, and I was actually quite happy that it did. Everything between them developed quite naturally. Not to mention how lovely the side characters were. And the cat! Oh, I loved the cat. There's definitely a community here, and I loved it.

This book leaves little to no mystery, but I don't think that was ever its intention. It's a cozy fantasy. You're not supposed to be left guessing the whole time about whether things work out or not. I think it's expected that things do, and I'd have been upset if they didn't. There are the occasional hardships, but I love how those are overcome. And I love how certain problems weren't actually problems at all, but led instead to some pleasant additional elements. Sure, things might be a bit unrealistic, but what do you expect from a book marketed as cozy fantasy? For me, that's honestly exactly what I needed.

I flew through this book, so I honestly had no trouble with the pacing. The world was also fun. I get the feeling there is a lot more to it than what this book was able to deliver on, which makes me excited to read whatever else this author writes in that world, because I'm happy to learn more about it. It's not the world of a high fantasy novel, but it's a lovely little world for a low stakes cozy fantasy novel, and honestly, that's all I wanted, so I am more than satisfied. So much so that I bought me the physical edition. It earned a nice little place on my shelf. There's something special about this book, so I implore that you read it.