"Compelling... [A] sure-bet read-alike for Stephanie Danler's Sweetbitter ." -- Booklist A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Electric Lit, New York Post , LitHub, BookRiot, and Library Journal A fiercely relatable coming-of-age debut novel about an aspiring bartender at the perfect Brooklyn neighborhood bar Samantha definitely does not want to be a bartender. But after a breakup and breakdown in San Francisco, she decides to defer law school for a year to move to New York, crashing on her best friend's couch. When she is offered a job at Joe's Apothecary, a beloved neighborhood bar in Brooklyn, she tells herself it's only temporary. As Sam learns more about bartending and gets to know the service industry lifers and loyal regulars at Joe's, she is increasingly seduced by her new job. She finds acceptance in her tight-knit community and even begins a new relationship. But as the year draws to a close, destructive cycles from her past threaten to consume her again. Sam is increasingly pulled between the life she thought she wanted and the possibility of a different kind of future. How much is she willing to let go of to finally belong? Filled with cocktail recipes and bartending tips and tricks, this captivating, utterly original debut will quench your thirst.