If you’re anything like me, you’ve been existing on a spectrum of simmering anxiety to existential dread for your entire life the last six months. Well, Our Ship Must Sail is exactly what you need to help drop some cortisol and raise your dopamine. But first…

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It’s quiet in the Grimoire Cafe today. The windows are open, and the sweet-green scent of early summer breeze is the perfect compliment to the rich scents of coffee and sweet notes wafting from the rainbow of fresh baked macarons Tini just sat onto the bar.

She smiles when she sees you, and the neon pink color of her lip gloss is right at home with the brightly colored confections. She leaves the oven mitts on the counter and heads over to the ipad-register. “Hey, stranger! What can I get you? Today’s special is little different than usual–a blonde flat white alongside two macarons–milk and macarons of your choosing, of course.”

“Are you branching out into baked goods now?” you inquire with a laugh at the way Tini waggled her pierced brow when she said the word ‘macaron’.

“Nah, they’re from the new bakery across the street,” she replies. “We’re helping them get a foothold in the neighborhood. Shouldn’t be hard–their macarons are basically sex in your mouth.”

Who can say no to that? Obviously, you order the special.

Sex Cookies and flat white in hand (ceramic mug, of course), you settle into an olive green wingback chair that should be hideously ugly, but in the Grimoire Cafe, it fits as comfortably as a favorite pair of sneakers–and it sits just as comfortably, too. Vlad is across the cafe. He lifts his own ceramic mug in greeting when he sees you, and you can’t help but smile in return. Yeah, he might be a vampire (or maybe not?) but The Grimoire wouldn’t be the same without him.

Another breeze kisses through the space as you take the first bite of macaron, and your eyes fall close. Tini was right–these macarons could make angels cry.

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Let me get this out of the way first: In case you didn’t know, Lin Lustig (author of Our Ship Must Sail, and 9 other books!) is one of my best author-friends. AND/ALSO, I would be recommending Our Ship Must Sail even if I didn’t know her at all. I got the chance to beta read this book for her and I’ve been vibrating with excitement, waiting until I could tell you all about it because I LOVED THIS BOOK! 

When I say I still think about this story, I’m not exaggerating. It’s ADORABLE, and full of adventure, and feels, and cute AF chibis Lin illustrated herself.

Read that again: Lin illustrates her own novel-length books! Not on every page, it’s not a children’s book, ya’ll. They’re just little doodles (better than doodles) at key points in the story—character’s reactions and interactions, mostly—that add vibe and texture. And if you have a hard time staying focused while reading (looking at all my ADHD friends out there!) these chibis will help your brain stay engaged.

CUTE + FUNCTIONAL?! *squeeee!*

If you like any of the following things, OSMS 1 and 2 might be for you:

🏴‍☠️ Our Flag Means Death (these stories are an ode to Season 1, but the pirates are in sky ships instead of on the sea!)

🏴‍☠️ Cozy vibes with adventurous plot

🏴‍☠️ Second world romantasy without dragons/elves/fae (no shade!) 

🏴‍☠️ Grumpy/Sunshine 

🏴‍☠️ FF Happily Ever Afters 🏳️‍🌈

10/10 Highly Recommend.

And if you haven’t read the first Our Ship Must Sail (She’s more blundering than plundering), you can grab it here and start your adventure: Our Ship Must Sail 1 on Amazon

Flat White + Macarons

Macarons play an important role in the Our Ship Must Sail books, so of course they are featured in this week’s special at The Grimoire Cafe!

But, I am relying on experts to bring us the flat white and macarons we are craving because, friends, I’m not a macaron expert. I know more about coffee than macarons, but even then, flat white deserves an expert’s touch. So here are recipes and videos to inspire and instruct. Give them a try, and if you post about your creations online, please tag me! I’m on BlueSky mostly, but you can find me on IG and Threads too (@elle.beauregard.author)

Best Macaron Recipe for Beginners (I’m going to give this a try ASAP!) https://preppykitchen.com/french-macarons/

A dead entertaining tutorial video on what a Flat White is (from Austrailia!) : https://youtu.be/SbrLUjBe8tI?si=aIzOznaMGOwn1r64

A more technical video on making a flat white: https://youtu.be/-50tS3d2Yao?si=T_7U7EDdbWgQYHKa

P.S. It’s hard to keep all the various espresso drinks straight, but just remember: it almost always comes down to the milk. They put it really simply in this article from Food & Wine: “A flat white is less frothy than a traditional cappuccino, has less milk than an American-style latte, and has more milk and froth than a tiny cortado.”

Happy sipping! 💜