SHAKEN OR STIRRED (A Swizzle Stick Romance #1) by Georgia Beers
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, August 10th 2021
- Genre: Romance
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 288 pages
- My Rating: ★★★ (3/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
A new series with gay cousins and I’m so here for it! Shaken or Stirred is the first book in the Swizzle Stick Romance trilogy featuring cousins Julia, Vanessa, and Amelia Martini, respectively. I love this trio and am excited for Vanessa’s (On the Rocks) and Amelia’s stories because Vanessa is such a fun person who is an elementary school teacher and Amelia is in her late forties (48 in Shaken or Stirred) who takes zero bullshit. While Vanessa and Amelia seem to have more personality to them, Julia is… a business owner who is a workaholic. Maybe not the most intriguing character, her story was still an enjoyable one.
Julia Martini (38) just bought Martini’s from her uncle and reopened the bar. When Savannah McNally (34), who works as a caretaker, comes in for a drink one day, sparks fly. But there is something going on between the Martinis and McNallys on top of other issues within their own families. Will Julia and Savannah retreat to their comfort zones and miss out on this chance of love?
Before I get into the romance, I need to say that I love the theme of cocktails! Beers gave me a lot of drink ideas throughout this book and I need to do some experimenting with my liquor collection, including replacing cognac with bourbon for my sidecar recipe and having some fun with Godiva liqueur.
The mixology part of Shaken or Stirred is my favorite, and I also enjoyed a lot of the tender and cute moments between Julia and Savannah. Julia is clueless about dating and Savannah is sort of awkward, but together they are sweet. There is definitely a lot of potential for their story to be really romantic, but, for me, the family drama overshadowed the romance and I failed to feel chemistry between the two mains. Julia and Savannah also spent a lot of page time apart, so that might have been why I wasn’t too invested in their relationship.
I couldn’t quite understand the family members, especially Julia’s and Savannah’s fathers. The reasons behind their grudges are too weak (immature) for me to believe that those were the roots of some of the drama. Nevertheless, I did appreciate that Shaken or Stirred centered around families.
One last thing I wanted to mention is about the Black side character Tiffany (yes, I know Beers is trying). I have so many questions about Tiffany and Savannah’s conversations (especially the one that mentioned skin color) as well as why “white” was capitalized… But she’s a supportive and cool friend.
Now that we are introduced to this trio of cousins, I cannot wait for the rest of the series and watch Vanessa and Amelia find their own HEAs/HFNs, too!
content warnings: graphic sex, alcohol (recreational & abuse), addiction, blood, sexism, dementia, d-slur, acrophobia
Buddy read with Gabriella! Check out her review here!
I received a digital review copy from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
