Cursed Cocktails

Tales of Aedrea

By: S.L. Rowland

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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

After 20 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.

Welcome to the enchanting world of Tales of Aedrea, where small-scale stories, low-stakes adventure, and cozy fantasy come to life within an epic, high-fantasy realm.

©2023 S.L. Rowland (P)2023 S.L. Rowland

Eastborne Sour sounds pretty good right now.

A fun jaunt to the Eastborne seaside! The detail and the characters made me really want to actually see some of these places! The drinks sounded pretty amazing as well! I keep wondering if the Tiberian Monk's Herbal Elixir is supposed to be based off of Frangelico or wormwood absinthe (for all I know it could be just be the fantasy version of dandelion wine)? Truth be told I actually thought it was going to go in a different direction with conflict involving the the spirit fox. So it was an interesting surprise to see where it went with its largest conflict during the end. I have a feeling that Fate's Fortune adventurers or Dobbin will pop up in the next of the series. I'll be excited to see!

Rowland delivers another amazing story!

I have to say first off I love all of his novels. This does take a change of pace from his LITRPG stories. You won’t be getting any statistics here though you will get some great drink recipes. There is still magic and intrigue enough to satisfy. This is much more relaxed though and gives you the story of a retiring blood mage and his finding happiness in the opening of a bar to make the drinks recipes left him by his father. Finding love and friendship and purpose in life after adventuring. One day I would love to hear the battles of the 20 years in service. For now I am quite happy to hear of the days after. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Puts you in the Cozy Spirit

S.L. Rowland does it again. This story had me hooked from the first paragraph and the last sentence had me excited for me. Cursed Cocktails has been my guide into the Cozy Fantasy genre and now I don't want to leave. The characters are written in a way that I found myself feeling like I had met them in real life. (Kallum's beard has me jealous by the description alone) I do have to provide one warning to those that are wanting to read this book. You will end up pausing to make the cocktails, I ended up making everyone and loving them. If you have to pick one book to get this year, choose this one. You will get transported to a world of magic, friendship, and of course cocktails.

Enjoy!

Excellent and so cute

cozy and cute. whole heartedly recommend to any fan of Ledgends and lattes who might be looking for something similar. it's alike in many ways but is doing its own thing. I loved it to bits

Cozy fantasy fun

Like a good drink with friends after a tough week. the only critique is that it's not longer.

drinks are good

I wonder how the author came up with all the drinks in this book and that he did not spend a lot of time drinking while writing. It was a very good book.

Nice cozy story, with cocktails.

Love the story and the characters. The pace of the story was great and the narrator did a great job. All the drinks in the story sounded completely delicious and made want to go get some cocktails myself.

Blood pressure friendly fantasy!

A charming, cozy tale with an equally cute performance. Cursed Cocktails is a lovely story, easy to enjoy and delightful in the soothing style of cozy fantasy.

cute cozy fantasy

This is a nice entry into the slice of life/cozy fantasy genre. it makes for some nice easy listening especially while doing chores or something around the house. for someone who doesn't prefer romance in their fantasy that aspect is very light and won't detract from the overall story.

now I can't wait for the next sentenced to troll to get my Lemmy fix!

Thoroughly Enjoyed It…

The young kids might not get it but those of us with a few dings and scrapes from battles past will totally identify. The world being what it is these days, we could use a lot more books about friendship, community, comfort and good cheer. It’s the little things in life after all. Bravo!