TBR Pile Review: Cursed Cocktails, by S.L. Rowland

Description

When life gives you lemons, squeeze them into a stiff drink and stir.

After twenty years defending the frozen north against some of the most dangerous threats in the nine kingdoms, Rhoren “Bloodbane” has finally earned his retirement. While the blood mage’s service to the realm may have ended, burning veins and aching joints remain, and Rhoren soon learns that a warmer climate offers relief from his chronic pain.

And a chance at a fresh start.

In the warm and relaxing atmosphere of Eastborne, the umbral elf finds a new purpose and a sense of belonging. He may have left the frozen north behind, but he brings with him the skills and strength gained from a lifetime of defending the realm. Along with his most prized possession—a book of drink recipes inherited from his father.

Spilled cocktails may not carry the same weight as spilled blood, but opening a tavern brings a unique brand of challenges. With the right friends and a little bit of luck, he might just have a recipe for success.

My Review

Rhoran the blood mage retires after twenty years in the Northern Guard, fighting monsters using his magic, a magic that is slowly killing him. He settles in Eastborne, a warm, welcoming city in the south of the continent. It’s a chance to start again in a place where no one ever has to worry about behemoths or dragons. Krakens maybe, but not behemoths.

In Eastborne he meets Kallum, a bartender, at the seaside inn where he takes up residence. They bond over cocktails, exploring Rhoren’s father’s journal. Rhoren decides to open a bar of his own, with his new friend’s help, and twenty years worth of savings. The building he buys, for the flat over the shop front, is reputed to be haunted. With the help of his new friends, and a cat, Rhoren opens his bar. The mystery of the strange sounds is solved when Jinx the cat disappears.

Things seem to be going well, until a storm rouses a kraken, attacking the lowers city. Rhoren is the only one who can defeat the monster, but it might kill him.

I took this one with me to FantasyCon this past weekend, to keep me calm during the train journey and when things got too much. Cosy fantasy is good for that. This is a story of found family and accepting difficult parts of yourself. I enjoyed reading it.

The relationship between Rhoren and Kallum is a friendship that has potential to be more, without it being the only possibility. There are more possible relationships in the world than romantic or sexual; it would be great to see more books with platonic found family. Rhoren and Kallum’s relationship develops naturally, bonding over their joint interests and work. It’s based on solid foundations. They bond further when Kallum has an accident and a cleric helps heal him, and then when a gnome interviews Rhoren, building empathy with each other and with the reader.

The setting is clearly based on D&D, like many cosy fantasy novels, with many sentient species and monsters. The description of Eastborne is colourful and lively, with people from all classes and trades bustling about.

The attack of the kraken brought some tension into the narrative, with its threat to the city generally and to Rhoren specifically. It’s at this point that the relationship between Rhoren and Kallum starts developing from a friendship to a romantic relationship.

It’s a safe, comfortable read, for when you’re in need of a blanket of a book.

I went to a panel about cosy fantasy over the weekend, and a reading of cosy fantasy novels out on submission at the moment. The panel talked about what makes a cosy fantasy and this book has all the elements.

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