A Wedding Heist, A Family Lost and Found, and a Cocktail That's A Nice Little Buzz

Plus: A Short Novel That You'll Read In One Gulp

Friends, it has been a time. I spent a week in New York where I was on the move the second the airplane wheels hit the tarmac, going to operas and movies and seeing family and friends and walking in Central Park in freakishly warm weather and eating delicious meals and visiting so many great bookstores . On top of that, I got to visit the St. Martin’s Press offices, meet the folks who are marketing and publicizing The Slowest Burn, and go for a fancy lunch with my agent and my editor.

I had an absolute nonstop blast, and four days after getting back I am still TIRED. But it’s so good to be home, where after a week away many more trees are blossoming and where tulips have sprung up in all their red-yellow-pink cheer. I also strained my vin d’orange today and it’s excellent, like a ultra-citrusy Lillet. I’m excited to play with it in cocktails and report back to you.

And I’m listening to this, which is spring in song form:

Recently I read and loved…

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

I read this wonderful novel in paperback, but at times I could have sworn I was listening to an audiobook because Cara Romero’s voice was crystal clear in my head. She’s warm, caring, funny, frank to the point of rudeness, and stubborn as hell, and spending 200 pages submerged in her life story was a wild and glorious ride. This book has everything: sadness, anger, joy. I really liked Dominicana, Cruz’s previous book, but this is at a whole other level.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

If you’re looking for a book about the joys and complexities of familial love, this book cannot be beaten. William Waters grows up with icy parents who look straight through him, only finding refuge from his profound loneliness in basketball. When he goes to college on a scholarship, meets and marries Julia Padavano, and becomes part of her loving, passionate, scrappy family, it seems like Happily Ever After has arrived on page fifty. But instead it’s a fork in the road for William and the Padavanos, and their journey over the next few decades is a beautifully written examination of how family can hurt and heal us, and how the greatest gift we can give anyone is to love them for exactly who they are, not who we want them to be.

A caveat: I would not read this right this second if you’re feeling emotionally fragile. My mental health’s been solid recently, and I still had to hold back a heartbroken wail when I got close to the end. Ann Napolitano does not mess around when it comes to BIG FEELINGS.

Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan

Did you read and enjoy Crazy Rich Asians, but in your heart of hearts wish that it had had a little more depth? More to say about class and social mobility, a more nuanced portrayal of female friendship? And did you wish that the climax of the book was not a wedding, but a robbery?

Women of Good Fortune is so, so clever: on the one hand, it’s a fast-paced action comedy, with all the easy dynamism of Ocean’s Eleven, but Wan effortlessly mixes the heist hijinks with real emotional depth — examining not just how our heroines are going to pull off their wild plan, but why they want to do it so badly. I binged this book on the flight to New York and wished it didn’t have to end.

I also enjoyed…Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent, Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley, The Takedown by Carlie Walker, Football in Sunshine and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano, A Flat Place by Noreen Masud

And I mixed…Anna’s Americanos.

This cocktail is so named because the first time we went out for drinks together, my very talented writer friend Anna ordered an Americano with Botivo instead of Campari. If you haven’t had Botivo, it’s a non-alcoholic drink inspired by Italian aperitifs, and it’s the first bottle of its kind that doesn’t taste like disappointment to me. The dominant flavors are apples and honey, with a big splash of cider vinegar and enough herbs to make it taste grown-up. For non-UK pals, get your hands on a bottle of apple shrub and you’ll achieve a similar effect.

Long story short, this is a fantastic low-ABV drink, refreshing and spiced and just sweet enough. It’s perfect for a Monday night when you don’t want to drink a full-fat cocktail, but want something more complex than a beer.

Anna’s Americano

1 1/2oz / 50ml Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth

1 1/2oz / 50ml Botivo (or apple shrub diluted with still water)

Sparkling water

To make:

Pack a Tom Collins glass with ice cubes to the top. Add the vermouth and Botivo/shrub, stir a little, then top with the sparkling water and stir a little more.

This would benefit from an orange slice, but it’s still great without it. If you’re making it with apple shrub, I’d garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme or sage to add the missing herbal note.

I also enjoyed…a Mai Tai at Quo Vadis, a Negroni with Friday night spaghetti, a glass of dry Riesling with an amazing solo seafood lunch at noreetuh, Widow Jane bourbon neat, Martinelli’s apple juice, a 50-50 dirty gin martini at lunch with my agent and editor, and a Negroni Rosa at Union Square Cafe.