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A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (From Blood and Ash #2)

12/22/2020

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Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages: 637
Overall: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4.5/5
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: Honeydew
This cocktail is a different take on the traditional Bellini instead it’s a Honeydew Melon Bellini. The reason for the twist is well… read the book and then let me know about why it’s honeydew. For this one instead of using prosecco or champagne I suggest using a cava. They are all virtually the same, but they differ in region of origin. Cava comes from Spain and its vineyards and I personally fell in love with it while studying abroad there and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to use a sparkling wine. 

Ingredients (This recipe is for using a whole bottle. I find it is easiest to use an entire bottle of sparkling wine then try to save it. Plus that means you get to invite friends over to drink it with you.)


-5 cups of diced honeydew melon (about half of a large melon)
-2 tablespoons lime juice
-Sugar to taste based on sweetness of the melon
-​1 bottle of Cava (for a relatively affordable option I love Freixenet Brut in the blacked out bottle)
Instructions
  1. Combine the diced honeydew with the lime juice and sugar in a blender and blend until it has a smooth consistency like a puree.
  2. Strain and chill for 30 minutes
  3. Fill a flute less than halfway with the puree
  4. Add cava carefully it may get very fizzy 
  5. Stir and enjoy


    Take a Shot: (18+ for sexual content) Poppy is on a journey of self discovery and unending revelations as the world she once knew is questioned and she starts to learn her whole life is a lie. Read along as her trust is tried as well as her newfound relationships that had been forbidden to her as The Maiden. 
    That’s all I’ve got without spoiling anything. Check out the review for the first book if you want to see more about the series!​

"Sometimes the heartbreak that comes with loving is worth it, even if loving that person means eventually saying goodbye to them."
Check Out From Blood and Ash #1

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From Blood and Ash

12/8/2020

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Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages: 634
Overall: 4.5/5
Setting: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4.5/5
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: Sippin’ Pretty Tequila Mule
I love, love, love Sippin’ Prettys so very much. I recently discovered this fun twist on them and I have not gone back. It is a very quirky and aggressive take on a classic mule and it reminds me of Poppy and her personality.
Ingredients
-1 ¼ oz Silver Tequila
-2 parts Sippin’ Pretty

-1 part ginger beer

-A lime wedge

-Ice

Instructions

Step one: Measure out all ingredients

Step two: Mix all ingredients in a shaker and shake

Step three: Pour into a glass or Copper Mule Mug


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Take a Shot: (18+ for sexual content) Poppy is the Maiden. As the Maiden she is not allowed to speak with anyone, show her face, have close relationships or even be touched. Her entire life she has been sequestered and guarded. Her closest companions are her assigned lady Tawny and Viktor her guard. However, events have been set into motion for some time that will change the course of her life and they start when she ends up in a tavern room alone with the new sexy guard Hawke Flynn. If you love Sarah J. Maas and Game of Thrones this is the book for you.

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Lean In

12/8/2020

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Author: Sheryl Sandberg
​Pages: 217
Overall: 4.5/5
Takeaways: 4/5 
Cheers Factor: 4.5/5
Pairing: Twinnings Buttermint Tea
This is my pairing because you want to be sharp when you read this one. This tea is a great herbal tea to drink when reading at night which is exactly how I read this title. It’s great to curl up with a soft blanket and drink your tea and read your book.


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Radical Candor

12/8/2020

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Author: Kim Scott
Pages: 246
Overall: 3.5/5
Takeaways: 3.5/5
Cheers Factor: 3/5
Pairing: Canned Peach Bellini by Infinite Monkey Theorem 
​This fun little canned cocktail is great for this book because it’s light and airy, but also makes you feel like a bad mamajamma. Plus the color of this can match the color of the book jacket which believe it or not is hard to do with those colors of orange.
https://theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com/wine-shop/peach-bellini-can-4-pack


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Girl, Stop Apologizing

12/8/2020

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Author: Rachel Hollis
Pages: 240
Overall: 5/5
Takeaways: 4.5/5 
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: I Ain’t Sorry - I think of the Beyonce song Sorry and I think it has a very similar vibe that Hollis was getting at with Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato. This is one of my favorite juice combinations that I actually drink regularly. I put mine into a Starbucks to go cup and take it with me even. Also this is an alcohol free drink which is a nice change in pace. Hollis talks about taking responsibility for being healthy and making good decisions. Now I’m not saying this doesn’t have a lot of sugar, but everyone knows I have an obsession with juices.
Ingredients
3 ounces Pineapple Juice
2 ounces Cranberry Juice
1.5 ounces sparkling water
Ice

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Instructions
Step One: Measure out ingredients
Step Two: Mix ingredients into a glass and enjoy

Take a Shot: Rachel Hollis started out as a blogger that has built her media business into a multi-million dollar company. She’s now a New York Times Best-Selling Author and she’s a badass. She talks about topics from excuses we need to stop telling ourselves to skills to start helping yourself. This one is great for a wide range of ages which makes it super awesome. 

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Molly's Game

12/8/2020

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Author: Molly Blume
Pages: 272
Overall: 3/5
Takeaways: 3/5
Cheers Factor: ⅗
Pairing: Reese’s Cup
I love drinking this as a nice strong sipping drink. Not only is it delicious, but it’s perfect for feeling like a badass, but it tastes great. Molly drinks whiskey a lot and talks about doing so. I’m also inspired by the way Jessica Chastain drank it in the movie so here it is.
Ingredients
1.5 ounces Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey

¼ cup chocolate chips

½ ounce Milk

 1 Ice ball (cubes can work but a singular solid is better)


Instructions
Step one: Start freezing an ice ball at least a few hours before drinking
Step two: Heat a pan on a stove on low and add chocolate chips and milk
Step three: Stir often until melted consistency (add additional milk as needed)
Step four: Add ice ball to a rocks glass
Step five: After allowing the chocolate to cool, but not harden pour over the ice ball in the rocks glass. Just add enough to cover the ice ball
Step six: Add whiskey to the glass and enjoy
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A Good Time to be a Girl

11/9/2020

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Author: Helena Morrissey
​Pages: 264
Overall: 5/5
Takeaways: 4/5
Cheers Factor: ⅘
Pairing: Infinite Monkey Theorem canned White Wine because sometimes you can be classy while also being hip and balling on a budget. Also I love this winery. It’s based in Colorado and I remember my parents first discovering it and really loving it. We have many bottles around my home, be them flattened or having Christmas lights in them and they decorate our bars and mantles. I definitely recommend trying to find small wineries to support in 2020.

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Shadow of Night (A Discovery of Witches #2)

10/27/2020

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Author: Deborah Harkness
Pages: 584
Overall: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 5/5
​Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: Blueberry Lavender Cider by Summit Hard Cider and Perry Company
     Obviously there wasn’t a cider this fancy back in the 1500’s however, this is one that I personally really love. There’s a little bar right next to my apartment where my friends and I hang out and it is my go to. Summit Hard Cider is a micro-brewery in Fort Collins and I love finding fun new drinks to try from small businesses.
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Take a Shot: Shadow of Night picks up right where A Discovery of Witches left off taking Matthew and Diana back in time to Elizabethan London where they ingrain themselves in society there and meet Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. The pair are continuing their search for Ashmole 782 and Diana continues her search for someone to teach her magic so that she can finally unlock her true potential. The clock is ticking for them to get back to the present day before they change too much of the past and send shockwaves to the future.
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Check out A Discovery of Witches Book 1!

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Dear Girls

10/16/2020

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Author: Ali Wong and Justin Hakuta
​Pages: 240
Overall: 4/5
Takeaways: 3.5/5
Cheers Factor: 4/5
Pairing: Spicy MF
1 ½ tequila
1 ½ Trader Joe’s Mango Nectar
¾ ounce Jalapeño simple syrup
½ lime juice
   The Spicy MF packs a punch in a little cup just like Ali Wong. It’s a tropical and spicy combo that looks like sunshine.
Step 1: Measure out all ingredients
Step 2: Pour ingredients into a shaker

Step 3: Shake with ice
Step 4: Use a plate filled with a little water and dip rim of glass into it
Step 5: Roll rim in plate with salt
Step 6: Strain onto fresh ice in glass
Step 7: Serve and enjoy

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A Discovery of Witches (A Discovery of Witches #1)

10/6/2020

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Author: Deborah Harkness
​Pages: 579
Overall: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: A big cup of Earl Grey tea. Diana prefers tea to coffee and drinks quite a lot of it throughout the book. The characters are all very studious so I figured it was good to give a recommendation to reflect that. I personally love this small tea house where I live called Happy Lucky's Teahouse. They hand craft all their teas and they make one called Madame Grey. I buy bags worth of it because I enjoy it so much and I get to support a local business.
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Take a Shot: ​Diana is a tenured professor at Yale who is currently doing research at Oxford. She’s also a witch but she refuses to use her powers. However, one day she’s able to call up an old manuscript that was thought to be lost and it just might be the key to the creation of witches, vampires and daemons. Matthew Clermont is also a professor at Oxford and a vampire and becomes interested in Diana for the purpose of obtaining Ashmole 782, but then he becomes interested in so much more than that.
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 My roommate from sophomore year got me hooked on the first season of this show. I watched all 8 episodes in one day because I was so hooked. I admit I did watch the first season before reading the book.  I try to always read the book first, but I am guilty and I will admit when I cheat. However, I feel that without having watched the TV show I definitely would not have loved the story as much. That being said I would highly recommend the tv show because Theresa Palmer plays an incredible Diana and I love her.
    Now for the actual book. I loved the adult nature of the story. It was so refreshing to read adult fantasy that was so purposeful in its delivery. The relationship that Matthew and Diana have is very mature and they develop such a true respect for the other which is really great. The forbidden nature of their relationship is also a nice juicy addition. I think everyone dreams of having a forbidden romance that isn’t actually a problematic one like him being your best friend’s brother. I also love the tenderness that Matthew has with Diana and it’s not because she’s a fragile human that he could hurt, it’s genuine and because he actually loves her. I also think he begins to realize that she’s a badass witch (see what I did there) who could easily snap her fingers and he would cease to be. 
    Arguably my absolute favorite aspect is the setting and scenes where everything takes place. I love the dark academia aesthetic you get from Oxford and their living quarters. I especially love the river that Diana goes rowing on. It surely romanticizes Oxford, and if I didn’t want to study there before sure as heck sign me up now. Harkness just does a truly magical job no pun intended with the setting and tone. The setting changes help to move the pacing along as well which I thought was very well done. Information unfolds naturally as certain events happen and you learn a lot alongside Diana which connects you to the character quite well. 
    This is definitely a great book to read in the fall and during spooky season. The changing leaves outside the window and the chilly mornings get you right in the mood to dig into this novel. If you enjoy the vampire and witch tropes this is surely one for you with its attention to detail and realism of the supernatural living amongst normal humans.
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“It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.”
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    Each 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!

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