Lit & Liquor's triumphant return with the first of our brand new episodes is somewhat diminished by book quality this week, but don't worry, we pull through the good and the bad like always. Mostly with the aid of, you guessed it, extra liquor. Pulling us through the rough patches this week is a Dowager Empress, a drink of Kassandra's creation featuring our Liquor of the Week, Empress 1908 Gin.

This delicious drink was paired with two books that were decidedly less pleasant on the palate: "We Hunt the Flame" by Hafsah Faizal, and "A Memory Called Empire" by Arkady Martine. It is in these books which we learned that you totally can have brain surgery in a black market alley and go on to save the world a mere 11 hours later, or make a dark ninja assassin hero too angsty for even Kassandra and Ashley to enjoy--a feat they would have said was completely impossible.

As sadly happens so often on L&L...we were proved wrong.
Welcome back to our brand new and current bi-weekly episodes, folks. We've missed you all.

Bamboo Bullshit 09.17 by Lit & Liquor

We're nothing if not about equality here at Lit & Liquor Inc. (sponsor us, someone, anyone) and so if we previously did a challenge of which guy-hero would you rather have at your back, we couldn't rest until we'd done girl-hero too.

We kick things off with "Deja Dead" by Kathy Reichs, the hit debut novel off of which the TV show "Bones" is based. Sam has come up with the appropriate and delicious but not-so-deliciously-named Embalming Fluid cocktail to go with this.

Meeting Temperance Brennan in the ring of this challenge is Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich's "Ten Big Ones". Fueled by a Wedding Cake Martini, she's not going down without a fight.

Who will win? You can only listen to find out.

We all like to like books, but this week Lit & Liquor turned everything on its ear by finding three "anti-heroes" and seeing if we thought the title was appropriate (spoiler alert: it was).

The first is a series of three short stories from "Night Winds" about Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, paired with a Blood Orange and Bourbon cocktail (second spoiler: the 'blood' part is very appropriate).

Second, paired with the new-at-the-time-of-recording-but-not-anymore-but-still-good Angry Orchard Rosè, is "The Elric Saga" by Michael Moorcock.

Last but perhaps not least (spoiler alert: totally the least) was "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever; Lord Foul's Bane" . perhaps the only redeemable quality of this book is that it birthed our story of dear Dildo Baggins, but that's just our opinion.

Is it tea? Or is it just leftover broccoli water? Make some Butterfly Peaflower Tea, and you too can be left stumped by these questions and more.

It's the main ingredient for our aptly named drink, The Beaudelaire, made in honor of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events", which we read and then watched the Netflix show, plus the 2004 movie. It was a comparison smorgasbord over here, but we rose to the challenge both tipsily and honorably, as always.

Welcome back!

We're sorry we ghosted you like that for a year and half, but hopefully you're as desperate as most girls on Tinder and will take us back with no questions asked and rules you don't mean.

We have a few episodes that have gotten better with age, like a fine wine or Betty White. The first is a book to movie comparison, "Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews. And if you're still salty about our absence and this terrible apology, we guarantee our Cold Sparrow drink won't warm you to us one bit.

PSA: For in-depth hangover stories from the L&L crew, listen as usual. For actual discussion about the book and literature, skip to 22:56. Do svidaniya!

We're back, bitches. Miss us?

Look for new episodes every other Tuesday, because the Lit train is rolling and we're all sitting at the bar in the dining car. We hope you'll hop back aboard as well, or maybe for the first time.

We’ve made many mistakes here at Lit & Liquor, some with liquor, and some with literature. We like to think you’re all out there learning from our humble mistakes, and if there’s one takeaway we’ve learned repeatedly over the last year, it’s this vital piece of information: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EVER STIR YOUR DRINKS.

Glad we got that out of the way, y’all. On to the good stuff: shots and books. We reach back to last October, when Ashley and Kassandra went to a small press and self-published book fair in Little Rock and picked up three gems to compare and contrast. Up first is Ashley’s pick, “Least Likely to Marry a Millionaire” by Cheryl Harper. She’s paired it with a Glamour Shot that looks like a millionaire bucks, making this a match made in heaven.

Kassandra provides a solid middle choice with “Taking Flight” by Colleen Young. What could more appropriate than a Vodka Speculoos AKA a Biscoff cookie shot?

Bringing us up with a strong finish is Sam with “Assassins of History: Transference” by Vernon Dutton. This is paired with an Alien Brain Hemorrhage Shot that you SHOULD NOT I repeat DO NOT EVER stir before you drink.

You’ve been warned. Lean back, don’t stir your drinks, and enjoy!

A tragic tale of goat cheese olives, outlaws, and office blow jobs.

We return with our latest and greatest Romance Novel Face Off: Billionaire Boss vs. Angsty Outlaw. This week Max King meets Lee Raven in the ring with a few drinks on the side and a special edition 'Dramatic Reading by Sam Howard'. "King of Wall Street" by Louise Bay has decent odds on it's side, backed up by a strong Maple New York Sour. In the other corner is "The Outlaw and the Lady" by Lorraine Heath, coached and cheered on by Melissa's Bloody Mary.

Who will come out on top and move on to the next round? You'll have to listen to find out.

February 2018 marks the one-year anniversary of Lit & Liquor—how time passes in a literary-and-alcohol-infused haze! Join our crew tonight as we each pick one of our favorite drinks from the past year and recap our best—and worst—moments of recording. Get behind the scenes information, hear some of our not-so-flattering sound tests, and be sure to drop us a review on this momentous occasion!