 Author: Katharine McGee Pages: 374 Overall: 4.5/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Plot and Themes: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 5/5 Pairing: Empress Gin French 75 I know it’s the same drink as the first novel’s pairing, but this book felt like it was such a switch up when really it was the same so it felt fitting to change the flavor profile but keep it relatively the same. Ingredients -1oz Empress Gin -½ oz lemon juice -½ oz simple syrup -prosecco (or whatever sparkling wine you like) -ice -optional lemon peel Instructions -Add ice, gin, lemon juice and simple syrup to shaker -Shake and strain into champagne flute -Top with sparkling wine of choice -Option to garnish with lemon peel twist -Enjoy responsibly  “Facimus quod faciendum est. We do what we must.”
Take a Shot: In an America with Royals and the recent death of the monarch Beatrice must step up and take the throne long before she thought she would. She also must marry because of political instability due to her gender. She’s also marrying the man her sister loves and Sam is not about that. Nina and Jeff are no longer dating because of the way the media harassed her and Daphne sees this as her in. Read along as these characters all navigate their way through heartbreak and back to love. “In real life, no one would make the person they loved social climb to prove their worth.” Setting I said this last time, but I love the setting. I also love the addition of new locations and new names like Orange for what is now the California region. I love the changes that the residence gets too and the more we get to see as wedding preparations begin for the family. Characters Once again the characters are so good and I loved them a lot. I think in this one we see a lot more in depth sides of all characters particularly Daphne and that’s really refreshing to see and a reason to read in and of itself. I still want more of the other characters, particularly Jeff. He’s literally a royal sibling and he’s in like a pitiful amount of chapters. Plots and Themes The flip of the storylines from the first book was great to see how the characters come back. I originally was not a fan, but about halfway through fell in love with the way that the story was working. Each of the characters really changed and grew into themselves and it’s great to see. The theme of the character growth was my favorite part. Conclusion I think I originally was hesitant and didn’t love the book, but kept reading and truly grew to respect a lot of the characters and their decisions. It was truly a great duology. Reasons to Raise a Glass: character growth, realistic relationships Too Strong: WHERE IS MORE JEFF?, it’s hard to get through the beginning until you understand the characters motives Warning spoilers ahead if you click read more. Proceed at your own risk!
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 Author: Katharine McGee Pages: 448 Overall: 4.5/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot and Themes: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 4/5 Pairing: French 75 This is a very regal drink in my opinion that then goes beyond just being champagne or prosecco so it felt fitting for our cast of royals, tangential royals, and friends. Ingredients -1oz gin (I used Breckenridge) -½ oz lemon juice -champagne/prosecco, really whatever your favorite sparkling wine is you can switch it up and do cava too for my Spanish friends (; -dash simple syrup -lemon peel -ice Instructions -Add ice, gin, lemon juice and simple syrup to shaker -Shake generously -Strain into champagne flute (you could do a coupé glass but for this mix of a cocktail I think a flute is best to keep as much of the bubbles present as possible) -Top with sparkling wine of choice -Garnish with lemon twist -Enjoy responsibly *fun fact: the glass pictured below recently shattered into my dishwasher so this is my memorial to the glass itself  Take a Shot: What would happen if George Washington hadn’t been the President of the United States and instead the Washingtons became the royal family of the United States? Well this book explores that as the three siblings of the royal family are the modern American equivalent of royals. Told from four women’s perspectives it’s a great look into the lives of a royal and those who run in the sphere of the family itself.
Setting It’s interesting to think about the White House being a palace, but it was definitely very interesting to see the way that the US could end up having royal estates. I loved all the parties that our characters were able to go to and all of the opulence that does exist for the rich and wealthy as well as political figures currently, but it was fun seeing it in a royalty context. Characters I love the way that we get the four different young women to follow in their stories. We get Sam who has a wild side, Nina who just wants to be herself, Beatrice who feels the pressure of the monarchy and Daphne who is manipulative until the end. Truthfully the range of all these lovely characters is the best part of them and it shows the depth of understanding McGee had for her characters. Plot and Themes I think the plot and themes are truly interesting and I love a good royalty novel, but I think it’s really neat to see it in an American context. I also felt that the story moved very well and wove all four of our main characters together quite well. Conclusion This book is really amazing and is great for fans of The Selection by Kiera Cass. It’s really well written and the story follows an entertaining format. Reasons to Raise a Glass: STRONG. FEMALE. CHARACTERS., four perspectives, dystopian but not, fun concept Too Strong: not enough communication between characters, not enough of the brother or other characters outside of our 4 Warning spoilers ahead if you click read more. Proceed at your own risk!  Author: Sarah Henning Pages: 368 Overall: 3.5/5 Setting: 3.5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot and Themes: 3/5 Cheers Factor: 3/5 Pairing: Taillefer’s Brew Fair warning this is obviously not poisonous duh, but I felt the name was clever given his proclivity towards experimenting. Ingredients -2oz gin (I used Breckenridge) -¾ oz lime juice -¾ oz simple syrup -Orange bitters -mint sprigs -Ice Instructions -Add mint to shaker and simple syrup and muddle -Add Ice -Combine gin, lime juice and a couple dashes of orange bitters in the shaker with other ingredients -Shake generously -Double strain into glass with fresh ice -Garnish with fresh mint sprig  “Love doesn’t know anything about class, nor should it be bound by it.”
Take a Shot: In this gender flip of the Princess Bride, Princess Amarande is in love with the stableboy Luca and her father’s untimely death makes that more problematic than just loving a commoner would be for a princess. In order for Princess Amarande to rule she must first wed because she cannot ascend the throne on her own due to the succession rules not allowing women. Then Luca is kidnapped and is being held to sway Amarande to accept a marriage proposal and she must choose between playing politics to try to save her love or track him down and rescue him herself. “Power and strategic alliance wins out every time.” Setting The Itspi is interesting as well as the Torrent in terms of broad setting however, I don’t feel we ever really got a good description of any of the locales our characters were in. The Hand confused me as well as the place that the pirates brough Luca to stay at in the middle of the Torrent. It was confusing to follow at times. Characters I didn’t love Amarande as our leading lady and at times it was a little too aggressive to hear all the characters reiterate just how sexist their societies are, however I did love the strong female characters. I liked Koldo, Amarande, Ula and even the Dowager Queen. The intertwining of the characters was done really well and the connections of all of their stories which I really did enjoy and it was done well. I also just personally didn’t love that Amarande’s name reminded me so much of Amarantha from Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series that made it hard to like her in general. This is strictly because of name association and has nothing to do with the character, but it’s the same concept as reading a character with the same name as your ex or nemesis. Plot and Themes I have always loved The Princess Bride truthfully and it was nice to see the storyline play out this way. The flow of the storytelling was strong as well. It was a little slow in the beginning, but picked up about halfway into the book. Conclusion Overall, I liked this book and the way that our characters moved through the story. I wasn’t my favorite, but it was quite good and a fun retelling of an old story. Reasons to Raise a Glass: The Princess Bride (this one is self explanatory), political intrigue, female driven plots Too Strong: Villains seemed a bit comical almost like Wile E. Coyote comical and not in a way that was becoming of them, too much reiteration of the women being oppressed by circumstances (this is strictly my opinion that I felt the topic was repeated so often it almost felt like the book thought I wasn’t paying attention and hadn’t picked up on it the first 5 times it was mentioned) “Men do not have a monopoly on strength.” Warning spoilers are ahead if you click read more. Proceed at your own risk!  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!  Unpublished Manuscript Author: TJ Tristan Pages: 346 (roughly depending on actual publication and editing) Overall: 4.5/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot and Themes: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 4/5 Pairing: Grey Area Okay this cocktail is one I didn’t anticipate making, but I knew I had to make this one special for my dear friend TJ. This is a gin cocktail and I normally don’t drink gin except on rare occasions when Empress 1908 is used and that’s what I used here. I love that the cocktail when layered and originally presented has the beautiful balance of colors and looks to be perfectly vibrant and in alignment, however when you stir it the drink turns a light grey color that reminds of the grey stuff from beauty and the beast. I think this is very telling of Quinn’s journey and the shake up she feels during the course of the book and the grey area she begins to live in of court politics as she is removed from her homeland. “Perhaps that’s the greatest thing about mountains-they move for no one. No one except for me.” Ingredients 2oz Empress Gin (Don’t substitute because of the presentation if you do it won’t look like I’m describing) 1oz orange juice ½ oz orange juice ½ oz simple syrup Ice (I use a large square ice mold but any large ice format will work) Instructions -Combine orange juice, lime juice and simple syrup in shaker and shake. -Strain over ice in glass of choice (I used a coupe glass). -Gently layer gin on top -Enjoy responsibly!
You can find this title on Wattpad under the following link https://www.wattpad.com/875423856-lovely-dark-and-deep-before-you-begin
Please keep in mind this is a relatively unedited version. The author is continually working on this piece and even my own thoughts and edits have yet to be republished in this space, however even with that all considered I absolutely love this title. For a very early edition it’s amazing and I love it. The author has also shared with me her own art for the characters which I will include a few of my favorites in the character portion of this review. “Aside from the fact that the beautiful garden was actually just a gilded cage.” Setting Arastya is a very interesting place, but I loved learning about the realms and where all the Druids come from. It truly was a great setting to start a fantasy series. Characters Quinn is a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER! I love that so is Rhea and Ingrid. There is a lot of diversity amongst our cast of characters that feels very natural based off of where the characters come from and I appreciate that. The relationship Quinn has with Salem has a lot of unspoken tension that I loved reading. Plot and Themes I’m a sucker for anything fantasy and I love the idea of Druids. There’s so may stories that focus on the fae storylines within high fantasy so it was cool to see a fantasy series that felt like a fae fantasy novel, but wasn’t. I also like the concept of a selection style competition for the hands of the current king. Conclusion I am so excited to have gotten to read an initial version of this title and cannot wait to see what will happen in the coming months and year with this bad boy. As of right now the author is still in the process of editing and refining, but for a pretty early version I was blown away. Warning Spoilers ahead as well as my notes on what I thought of the series! Don't click read more if you don't want spoilers! |
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
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