 Author: Jennette McCurdy Pages: 320 Overall: 5/5 Takeaways: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 5/5 *caveat it’s not a happy cheers and more of a drink your feelings kind of vibe Pairing: Have the Champagne This is a limoncello mimosa and frankly is not for the faint of heart. It will hit you like a truck, but it’s perfect for a Summer spritz kind of vibe. Ingredients -1oz limoncello -Around 6oz sparkling wine Instructions -A few hours before drinking make sure you chill both the limoncello and the sparkling wine, this drink is not tasty warm and ice dilutes the taste -Into a chilled champagne flute add in limoncello then top with sparkling wine of your choice -Enjoy Responsibly  I am way behind actually reading this book and I will be the first to admit that. Before it’s official publication I was so excited to read it as I’d seen a lot of the press McCurdy was doing ramping up to her release date and it seemed like she had written a fantastic book. Thankfully that was true regardless of when I read it, but oh boy was it so much more than I thought it would be. I had grown up watching ICarly so I was familiar with McCurdy from that and after the show ended she had all but fallen off the face of the Earth which was puzzling given ICarly’s success and this book details a little bit of that and so much more. I think the most powerful part of this book, similar to They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, is the title is not a lie. I do truly believe McCurdy is glad that her mom died. Not in a malicious way, but after listening to this title and Jennette herself detailing the abuses of her mother, I can’t entirely say that I disagree. I think the most poignant moment was when her mother told her that a way to stay skinny was caloric restriction. It was quite hard to read a parent teaching their child how to have an eating disorder and it’s something that this author still struggles with and hearing the way that her eating disorder was so micromanaged by her mother makes me nauseous.
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 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.”  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  Molly Bloom, sister to Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom, ran one of the most exclusive poker games between LA and New York City. She herself was a skier and almost made it to the Olympics, but decided on a different path. Her players were celebrities, business tycoons, oligarchs and likely politicians. She had access to the exclusive on just about everything and had the ear of just about everyone who was an anyone. That is until she was indicted on mob charges and spent years trying to recover from the life she used to love so much. In this tell all book she takes readers behind the scenes to look at just what happened in her Oz while she was the Wizard. I read this book because I absolutely love the movie Molly’s Game. Jessica Chastain is absolutely incredible in that movie and she’s amazing. I think she is so damn talented and any movie she makes is great. However, obviously the movie version changes some events in order to spice things up that aren’t as Hollywood in the book. The movie takes place after the book was written and essentially explains how exactly she fell into becoming the Poker Princess. You essentially get a look into her lucky moments, her unlucky moments and the ones that you just can’t believe. She met the likes of Jake Gyllenhal, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck. She got lucky with getting to take over what was just some guys playing poker and she turned it into an empire, but sadly it grew to be something she no longer could keep control of. Molly started taking a rake and that made her game illegal and she also had enough buzz that people wanted to exploit her multimillion dollar business and take advantage of her which led to some of her scary encounters. Overall, I thought the book was okay. It wasn’t really my cup of tea just because I don’t really read too many memoir type stories. I felt like, for me, watching the movie was better. Just give it a shot though if you like a life of glitz and glam and poker.  “Although I had been told my whole life that money couldn’t buy you happiness, it was certainly clear to me that it could provide some desirable upgrades.”
 Author: Lily Collins Pages: 228 Overall: 3.5/5 Takeaways: 4/5 Cheers Factor: 4/5 Cocktail Pairing: Effen On the Rocks Vodka, The Cosmopolitan I found this in my local liquor store and in true Carrie Bradshaw fashion had to try it. It comes in this totally cute bottle with a cork and all and I loved that it was pre-mixed. It was also petite and perfect for 1-2 people. This brand has a couple other options for types of drinks whether it’s Whiskey Sour or Margarita. Here is a link to ShopWine Direct where you can purchase it if you can’t find it in your local liquor store! https://www.shopwinedirect.com/on-the-rocks-effen-vodka-the-cosmopolitan-ready-to-drink-cocktail-375ml.html Mocktail Pairing: Non-Alcoholic Cosmopolitan This easy to make Cosmopolitan Mocktail is super yummy and can make you feel fancy too. Ingredients 3 ounces cranberry juice 1/2 ounce orange juice 2 ounces sparkling water 1/2 a lime ice Instructions Step One: Measure out cranberry juice and orange juice. Step Two: Combine cranberry juice, orange juice and lime juice in shaker with ice Step Three: Shake until cold and strain into glass Step Four: Top with sparkling water  Take a Shot: In this book written by actress and producer Lily Collins she shares lessons and anecdotes from her own life on topics ranging from interpersonal violence to tattoos. It’s a quick read and can be done in a single day like I did. I already loved Collins, but this book just gave enough insight into her life thus far that was great. “I deserve to be loved just as I love others”
Step one: Pour ingredients into a mixer.
Step two: Shake with ice Step three: use a plate filled with a little water and dip rim of glass into it Step four: roll rim in plate with salt Step five: strain onto fresh ice in glass Step six: serve and enjoy |
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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