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!
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Author: Helen Hoang Pages: 323 Overall: 5/5 Setting: 4/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot and Themes: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 4/5 Pairing: Panty Dropper This has no pun intended; it's a pomegranate margarita. It’s a panty dropper because any gal who knows tequila knows. IYKYK. This drink makes you want to read this little book. Ingredients 1 ½ ounces tequila ¾ ounce lime juice ¼ ounce pomegranate juice ½ ounce triple sec Agave to taste Ice Salt Instructions -dip the rim of a margarita glass in a plate with water -salt the rim -combine all remaining ingredients in a shaker -shake, strain and enjoy Take a Shot: (18+ for sexual content) Stella Lane is so incredibly smart and loves her work as an econometrician, but she is also very clearly aware of how her autism affects her life and is dearly wanting to make her family happy and fulfill her life by finding a boyfriend and later a husband. However, she believes she needs more help so she hires Michael, a male escort, to teach her how to be a better lover and to overcome some of her impediments when it comes to men and the bedroom. I want to give this a preface though that Hoang does a magnificent job of ensuring that Stella’s autism is not the defining characteristic of her essence and that her disability is not seen as a disability, but more a facet of who she truly is.
Author: Chloe Gong Pages: 449 Overall: 4.5/5 Setting: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot and Themes: 5/5 Cheers Factor: 5/5 Pairing: Mary Pickford This is a fun drink that comes from the 1920’s which is when our R&J retelling takes place. Ingredients -2oz gold rum (Bacardi) -1 ½ oz pineapple juice -⅙ oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo) -⅙ oz grenadine syrup -ice Instructions -Combine all ingredients in a shaker -Shake and strain into a glass -Enjoy “Memories were beastly little creatures, after all - they rose with the faintest whiff of nourishment.” Take a Shot: We all know Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette, but we’ve never known them to be from warring gangs in 1920’s Shanghai where a suspicious monster is spreading madness that makes those infected rip out their own throats is killing gangsters and common folks alike. When Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai have to work together to extinguish the madness that threatens their very lives and way of life, memories of their past love resurface and become increasingly hard to ignore. 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 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. I have seen this book for months on TikTok and I hate to admit that TikTok made me do it, but this book was awesome so I’m not that mad. I saw it on many TikToks for spicy books and boy did it deliver. I don’t want to get too much into it, but it’s great like actually great. The sexual tension could be cut with a knife and I read this one in a day and a half because I was so ready to read what was going to happen to our sweet Poppy. The characters in this title are amazing. Poppy is written to be naive in her lack of awareness because of the seclusion of her position in the world and Hawke is seductive and experienced and is a great counter and adds a good balance. I also really like Poppy’s inability to wrestle her aggressive side into submission. She’s spicy in all the right ways that make it perfect for her not to conform to the role that she is supposed to do. The only problem that I had was with the plot and the setting. They weren’t bad, but there were many moments where I was confused as to what was even happening and why she was the maiden. A lot is explained at the end of the book, but as a forewarning it can be confusing to read a book when you don’t know what is happening and you are purposefully being left in the dark like in this book. That’s the only issue I took with the book, but that’s also typical of 1st books in series and now I feel like I’m prepared to keep reading the series because I’m informed from the first one. Overall though I feel like my new book boyfriend is Hawke and it definitely was worth raising a glass to. It’s a great fantasy world with a good amount of spice that makes it a great read for those who are wanting to get their YA fix with adult themes. Definitely don’t recommend it to your mom...or do I’m not gonna tell you what to do. Take this as a much needed lesson Penallaphe. Some truths do nothing but destroy and decay what they do not obliterate. Truths do not always set one free. Only a fool who has spent their entire life being fed lies believes that.”
Take a Shot: Alex Diaz Claremont is the first son of the United States. Henry is the Prince of England. The two have always had a rivalry that comes to a head when they are both at the royal wedding of Phillip, Henry’s older brother, and it involves a royal cake ending on the floor. After this public debacle both men are forced to fake a friendship by their respective press teams. Their friendship however quickly becomes more than that as they begin to realize that their feelings may be more difficult to hide and their relationship even harder because of their public statuses.
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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
July 2023
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