Saturday, April 2, 2016

Spring Reading 2016 Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge


At last there is an explanation for why each city seems to have so many bars and taverns. They are strategically placed for maximum coverage of the population, so that the bartenders can serve and protect. Protect against what? Demonic beings called tremens that attack humans and feed on them are what the bartenders battle with the help of some carefully mixed cocktails. (This really does explain so much about urban life.) When Bailey Chen returns home with her newly completed business degree, she gets a temporary job at a bar owned by her best friend's family. She has no idea of the double life her friend Zane and the other bartenders lead, she just needs a paycheck while she is looking for the perfect career opportunity. The night she encounters a tremens on her way home from work, everything changes. Now Bailey, Zane, Bucket, and Mona are worried by the escalation in attacks as Halloween nears. Is it just the increase in partying and the number of inebriated humans that are luring more of the predators into the city, or is something else going on?

Readers who enjoy urban fantasy with some humor mixed in will have a great time with the Nightshade crew. The inclusion of the recipes for each of the cocktails used in the story and the details of their development helps to establish a background for the history of mixology. The mention of great bartenders of the past and the various ruling bodies around the globe are a nice piece of world-building which can be expanded on in later books. Fast-paced action, humor, and a bit of romantic tension all make this a book you will guzzle rather than sip.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

No comments:

Post a Comment