Magic and Mocktails - an ARC Book Review

September 27, 2025

Magic and Mocktails - an ARC Book Review

**Thank you to Amber L. Werner for providing me with an e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.**

✨️ Book Title: Magic and Mocktails

✨️ Author: Amber L Werner

✨️ Genre: Cozy Fantasy

✨️ Tropes: Brother’s best friend, second chance romance

⭐️ Star Rating: 4 / 5 stars

🌶 Spice Level: 1 / 5 peppers (warm/fuzzy - closed-door intimacy)

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, some violence (bar fight)

📅 Release Date: September 27, 2025

This cozy fantasy romance is a beautiful mix of humour, magic, and (of course) romance, that's sure to keep its readers hooked until the very end. Despite taking place in a small town, there is plenty of mayhem and romance to go around.

Right off the bat, one of the first things I fell in love with while reading Magic and Mocktails was the humour
and banter between characters. Lines like:

“Don’t suppose either of you learned how to work with wood while you were away?”

Kieran shoved off the bar with a chuckle. “Don’t worry. I don’t know about Seth, but I’m an expert

at handling my wood.”

And:

“That’s assuming it’s a good meal.”

“Oh, it will be. I wouldn’t dream of making you swallow anything unless it was guaranteed to please you.”

Had me giggling and kicking my feet right from the start - I honestly couldn’t get enough!

I was even more sucked into the Magic and Mocktails realm through the female characters and their dynamics. I found, and loved, that each character displayed various forms of power (personally and, in some cases, magically) - creating an underlying tone of strength in all different forms . Also, using “goddess” as their deity instead of “god”!? I am obsessed with this subtle change!!

In addition, Amber L Werner did a wonderful job diversifying the storyline, showcasing both disability representation and various family dynamics with such a natural rhythm. I appreciated that while details like there were facts in a character's life, it didn’t make up their entire personality.

This is definitely going to be a re-read for me (so much so that I think having a physical copy will be in order!). There is also plenty of room (and I’m keeping my fingers crossed) for this to become a series where we see some of our beloved side characters find love too!

Overall, Magic and Mocktails is the perfect cooler weather read - one that I would definitely recommend curling up to devour this read… while indulging in a mocktail of course!😉