Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge

This “snarky, diverse” urban fantasy featuring a kick-ass heroine and 14 cocktail recipes will be “an absolute blast” for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Nerdist). Booze is magic, demons are real—and millennial Bailey Chen joins a band of monster-fighting Chicago bartenders instead of finding a “real” post-college job. Bailey Chen is fresh out of college with all the usual new-adult demons: no cash, no job offers, and an awkward relationship with Zane, the old friend she kinda-sorta hooked up with during high school. But when Zane introduces Bailey to his monster-fighting bartender friends, her demons become a lot more literal. It turns out that evil creatures stalk the city streets after hours, and they can be hunted only with the help of magically mixed cocktails: vodka grants super-strength, whiskey offers the power of telekinesis, and rum lets its drinker fire blasts of elemental energy. But will all these powers be enough for Bailey to halt a mysterious rash of gruesome deaths? And what will she do when the safety of a “real world” job beckons? This sharp and funny urban fantasy is perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and grown-up readers of Harry Potter. Includes 14 recipes from a book of ancient cocktail lore.