 Author: Matthew McConaughey Pages: 308 Overall: 4/5 Takeaways: 4/5 Cheers Factor: 5/5 Pairing: Green Tea Shot This in no way tastes like green tea to me and is also odd it has whiskey, but when it comes to shots it's an easy one and far better than shooting it straight (sorry not sorry Carrie Underwood I will never be that girl) Ingredients (makes 2) -2.5oz whiskey (I used Tin cup Colorado represent but it's usually made with Jameson) -1/2 oz lime juice -1/2 oz lemon juice -1/2 oz simple syrup -1 oz sprite -ice -can substitute lime, lemon and simple for sour mix I just made my own Directions -Combine all ingredients except sprite in a shaker and shake well -Strain into glasses then top with sprite -You can stir it if you want unless you want to shoot it with sprite first to cover the taste -Enjoy responsibly  “No matter who’s in your bed each night, we sleep w/ ourselves. We either live or get sick and tired of it.”
“I was remembered by being forgotten." Take a Shot: Matthew McConaughey shares life lessons and his green lights that have kept him on his path. He takes on his career, his childhood, his marriage and many things inbetween. “Good from afar, but far from good.” If you don’t listen to the audiobook you are a fake fan. I can think of a short list of more exciting things than listening to McConaughey talk for 7 hours. I did indeed listen to it while working (if we work together you know I live to have my headphones in). But truthfully I feel like it was a great environment to listen to his wise words of wisdom. I really love when he talks about his time in Australia and the wacky times he had there. It reminds me of my own experience abroad, albeit in a different country, context and century, but nonetheless similar. I loved the way he so honestly described his desire to be a father and the way he spoke of his wife. I really loved the way that he elaborated in detail with candor about his career. I think someone who is very settled with themself can write those things from their own heart and that was my favorite part of the novel. There’s not message being shoved down your throat either. Now he may push you to follow your greenlights and to accept the things that present themselves to us in life, but it doesn’t feel condescending as though he has all the answers to life. He merely shares his own experiences in an inspiring manner that makes him relatable and easy to listen to (literally and metaphorically). “Don’t invent drama. It will come on its own.”
0 Comments
 Author: Chris Bohjalian Pages: 499 Overall: 3.5/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 3/5 Plot and Themes: 3/5 Cheers Factor: 3/5 Pairing: Not My Vacation This tropical drink fits this book because it’s a great summer travel read. I also like that it’s a tropical inspired drink that someone traveling would be expecting, only Cassie is the one who would be serving said drink because she’s not the one on vacation she just does her job at 35,000 ft. Ingredients -2 ½ oz Empress Gin -2oz Pineapple Juice -2oz Lemon Juice -1oz Orgeat Syrup -Ice -Optional Pineapple Wedge Instructions -Combine pineapple juice, lemon juice and orgeat syrup in a shaker with ice and shake -Strain into a Tom Collins glass over fresh ice -Layer gin on top -Optional Garnish with Pineapple wedge or edible flower (if it’s not edible just don’t eat it) -Enjoy responsibly!  “The truth was, there was nothing casual about casual sex.”
Take a Shot: Cassie is a flight attendant that lives the lifestyle to the fullest. With no ties she finds herself living dangerously and drinking her free time away. That is until she wakes up in the bed of the cute guy from 2C in the first class cabin on her route to Dubai and rolls over to find him dead and herself covered in his blood. To make things worse she has no recollection of the night before due to her blackout and she knows she has to leave or be charged in Dubai for his murder. “In the meantime, she would brace for impact.” Setting I really love the idea of having a flight attendant be the main character because of all the fun places the book can take place. Like I loved that we go from Dubai to New York then to Italy. I also love the travel references of first class cabins and all the joys that come from fun international travel. It reminded me of the fun times that I have had while internationally traveling prior to the pandemic. Characters I hated Cassie. Like really almost the entire time I didn’t feel like I was rooting for her. It pissed me off the way she acted and the way that she was so immature about a lot of serious situations. I did like the depiction of her addiction because that felt real and I guess it influenced her personality and her decision making, but it still made me angry. I really loved Enrico though and he saved it for me. I would love to date a cute Italian bartender who is as sweet as him. Plots and Themes I liked the plot of this book, but it kind of had me bored. I have a feeling that the TV show made it more sensational than the book did. A lot of the investigation made me hesitant to believe that it was accurate. It just felt predictable and slightly boring. Conclusion If you are a fan of The Girl on the Train or anything by Gillian Flynn you will like this. It’s a good thriller type mystery novel that I did really like, but it wasn’t entirely my favorite. It was, however a good vacation read. Reasons to Raise a Glass: Easy travel book, thriller aspects, murder mystery Too Strong: Cassie’s personality, seemingly low stakes despite it being a murder? Warning spoilers ahead if you click read more. Do not click read more unless you want spoilers!  Author: Rebecca Serle Pages: 255 Overall: 4/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot and Themes: 4/5 Cheers Factor: 4/5 Pairing: Bright Side This is a light pairing that’s super tasty and reminds me of our main characters best friend Bella. It also reminds me of my best friend Bella with the light taste and possibilities for cute presentation. Ingredients 1 ½ oz gin (I used Breckenridge) ½ oz Aperol 1 oz lemon juice 1 egg white Aromatic Bitters Lemon wheel Ice  Instructions
-Fill shaker with ice -Add gin, aperol, lemon juice and egg white to shaker -Shake for about a minute -Strain into a glass without ice -Garnish with bitters and lemon wheel -Enjoy “This is the thing she’s wanted forever. This right here. This is love.” Take a Shot: Dannie has it all. The boyfriend, the work ethic, and soon to be the job after her interview. On the night of her engagement she falls asleep only to wake up five years later in a bed that isn’t hers, an apartment she’s never been in, in a neighborhood she detests, wearing a ring that isn’t her engagement ring and with a man who isn’t her fiancé. The catch is, it’s five years later. After an hour in this future time, Dannie returns to herself in present time and can’t shake the thought of her night five years from now. “She is life incarnate. What would happen if we just pretended we’d never heard?” Setting I love the New York setting of this novel and it did a great job of not over explaining to the degree of becoming too minute in the details that I wouldn’t feel lost. Personally, I liked the details we were given and it was fitting Characters I didn’t love the characters individually, but I loved the relationships the characters had with one another. I loved the depth of the relationships that we didn’t see. It was reminiscent of Normal People to me which is beautifully private while still being a book. The friendship between the main character and our best friend is just so sweet and the kind of friendship that I feel like I don’t read frequently enough. I love the love displayed outside of romantic relationships towards other characters. Plot and Themes This one hit me with the We Were Liars kind of feel and I really liked the plot. It was meant to be a quick short novel so it felt somewhat underdeveloped and I don’t entirely love all of the insinuations throughout. However, I think it’s overall very moving and as someone who has experienced a lot of similar experiences to those depicted in the book it felt very real and raw. Conclusion I would recommend this book to anyone who loved We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and Normal People by Sally Rooney. Reasons to Raise a Glass: friendship between main character and best friend, ending tie in Too Strong: the pacing, realistic factors of real life were ignored To read a more of my thoughts including spoilers click read more! |
Cheers FactorEach book here at Cheers&Chapters is rated based off of certain categories that are genre specific, however every book will get a Cheers Factor. The Cheers Factor is how much we wanted to raise our glass while reading it. So get your glasses ready and cheers! Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed