In a year where so many books have disappointed me, what a delight it was to have one that not only met, but exceeded my expectations.
Triple Sec by AJ Alexander is a romance about a bartender which actually, gets this, has scenes of the main character tending bar and coming up with new cocktail recipes. It demonstrates an understanding of the precarity of working in that industry, the trends at high-end cocktail bars, and the flavors that do and do not work well together in a drink.
It’s sad that I’m excited about a book that treats its theme as more than mere window dressing, but after Second Night Stand failed to give me the dance-related content I was looking for, I really enjoyed reading the scenes of Mel making drinks. I enjoyed the fact that her dates had to mostly take place on weekday afternoons, because she works nights and weekends. I liked that the realities of her job didn’t disappear into some fog of love.
This is also a book with what felt like a really healthy depiction of polyamory. While I’m not personally poly, I do enjoy reading good communication, and that’s such an important part of a poly relationship. I felt like Alexander did that well, which made the book so much more enjoyable for me than if it was a more shallow “why choose” wish fulfillment sort of story. Mel, Bebe, and Kade have to do the work to make sure everyone’s needs are met.
This is also, as far as I can remember, the first time I’ve seen an explicitly AMAB non-binary love interest in a romance novel. I’m not saying there aren’t more such characters out there, but this is the first I’ve read (if you’re aware of others, please drop a recommendation in the comments!).
Triple Sec wasn’t perfect for me. There are some missteps. I found it really hard to believe that Mel, a queer bartender in NYC, was so surprised that Bebe and Kade were poly. I mean, I knew what polyamory was when I was a sixteen year old Christian homeschool student, you really expect me to believe that Mel would so easily brush off the idea that the hot woman flirting with her in front of her partner might actually be serious and interested in a consensual and ethical hook-up?
Additionally, Bebe and Kade are fabulously wealthy, and I’m just not into super rich love interests. At least in this book, they don’t sweep in and solve all of Mel’s problems, which I find is often a big part of the trope (and makes the romance feel ickily transactional). Their money does contribute to Mel achieving her dreams, but Mel also makes other connections through her skill and her industry networking.
An even more minor quibble: I really wish this had included some actual recipes for some of Mel’s drinks!
These small complaints aside, Triple Sec was just fun to read. The sex scenes are hot. Mel learns and grows as a person, becomes a better friend to her bestie, and follows her dreams. It’s well-paced, well-written, and well worth your time to read.
CWs and TWs: There’s a scene where Kade is misgendered multiple times by strangers, and where someone also utters some misconceptions about non-binary people. This book is very sexually explicit and involves some consensual kink. There’s also a lot of expletives, and of course, depictions of drinking.
Source and Format: I borrowed this as an ebook from Sno-Isle Libraries.
Book Bingo Prompts
SBTB Summer Romance: Bar or Pub. Mel, Bebe, and Kade all meet at Mel’s workplace, Terror and Virtue, and honestly, I’m surprised that’s not the real name of a real high-end cocktail bar.
Book Bingo Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 20 out of 25 prompts complete. 3 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 17 out of 25 prompts complete. 3 bingos.
SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: 21 out of 23 prompts complete, 6 bingos.
SBTB Summer Romance: 6 out of 24 prompts complete, 0 bingos.