Winter Drinks + Books Pairings, Getting Cozy to Read

Dearest Gentle Reader,

It’s finally winter round these parts, we even got some rain at last. It’s cold enough to want to curl up with a hot beverage and a book, so I thought I would have some fun and pair mine up. (Let me know if you agree with my choices?)

Gail Carriger Book + Companion Hot Beverage

Romancing the Werewolf + Wassail

Wassail, of course. RTW is my one true holiday book, full of possible child sacrifice, swaddled squash, and wassail. (What, your holidays aren’t like that? What have you been doing with your life?) Here’s a recipe!

Soulless + Cinnamon Black Tea

Ready for a reread of an old favorite? Soulless is waiting for you. Alexia’s favorite tea is Assam, try it strong with whole milk. Or if you want something more winter themed, Alexia loves her some cinnamon (so does Prudence) and I think she would adore this tea.

Etiquette & Espionage + Hot Coco

Chocolate wasn’t around much in the 1850s, certainly not for daring young high flying ladies of quality. Still, I have no doubt it would be Sophronia’s favorite, so I’m going to say pair E&E with hot coco.

Prudence + Chai

Of course it has got to be chai. Prudence would love it, Percy would find it too spicy, and Primrose would be cautiously intrigued.

Poison or Protect + Boozie Nog

You know Gavin has a sweet tooth, and you know that big soft sweetie loves him some boozed-up egg-nog. I can just see him sitting around the fireplace with all his girls. Now, I’m a brandy in my nog lady myself, but Gavin would have his with Scotch, of course.

Preshea would just drink the Scotch, neat, out of a teacup, staring at her children and husband in mild discomfort (and too much love), and wondering how she got to this point in her life.

Romancing the Inventor + Pumpkin Spice Latte

A daring choice, but I think Imogene would love a pumpkin spice latte. She hasn’t had much spoiling and I can see Genevieve getting her anything she wants (while Madame Lefoux, of course, just drinks shots of espresso).

The Sumage Solution + Chocolate Pu-erh

Max loves his sweet lattes, but Bryan has strong feelings on tea. So while his man is swilling extra sweet caf, Bryan would allow himself to branch out from his customary harsher beverage to coco pu-erh. Because he still loves sipping dead bog people, just winterfied.

(Incidentally if you are also a tea snob: Learning about puerh can help you save a lot of money.)

How to Marry a Werewolf + Peppermint & Honey

How to Marry is not a particularly wintery book (apart from the attitude and eye color of a certain character). I see Channing as quite cold and biting so I’m thinking peppermint. Faith would get in there and add a little honey, so Channing wasn’t denying himself. He probably prefers it without, but humors her because he likes that she’s looking after him.

The 5th Gender + Winter Tea Sampler

I can just imagine what Tristol would make of human holiday customs on a space station (which might make for a good short story some day). The colors, the lights, the cheer. He’d LOVE it. I think he’d go all out and just get a big sampler, so he could try all the different winter teas. I like Tea Forte’s Winter Collection, and I think he would too.

Yours destined to drown in a vat of tea,

Miss Gail

Disagree with any of my choices? Leave a comment.

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• Coop de Book for December 2019 is to pick from Gail’s favorite holiday reads!

I have a new holiday book to love!

Gail: Mad giggling.
AB: *eyebrow up*
G: Snicker snicker snicker.
G: This book is so much funnier than I thought it would be. I’m so happy.
Book: “summoning a toilet paper demon”
G: Loses her tiny mind for 10 minutes.

So what book was I reading?

A Villain for Christmas by Alice Winters. And what an unexpected gem of a book this is! Gay superheros for Christmas. I picked it up in a string of holiday reads and this one was the star (at the top of the tree, nash). (Honestly I want a cover overhaul on this one, one of those cute cartoon ones I keep seeing like Red, White & Royal Blue.)

Look it’s not really a holiday read, it’s a HILARIOUS take on superheroes where a super-villain (who really doesn’t want to be) falls in love with a superhero and has to keep his identity secret until his bumbling evil family, a hairless cat dressed in pajamas, bags of cheese, and various other things conspire against him.

I did not expect to laugh as much as a I did but honestly, it utterly ridiculous and extremely funny.

If you like my character Max in THE SUMAGE SOLUTION or took my rec and enjoyed THE LIGHTNING STRUCK HEART by TJ Klune, then this one is for you. Honestly, give it a try, you won’t be sorry.

Like this post? Read my holiday offering! 

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I Can Read for Miles says of Romancing the Werewolf:

“Guys, it is worth the wait. This novella is delightful. It gave me so many vibes that I got from Soulless.”

Tags: Book Rec List, ROMANCING THE WEREWOLF, Tea & Nibbles