Happy Friday! Has your week been a doozy? Mine has. And I think I deserve a drink. And regardless of type of drink, you do, too. Wine, water, whatever.
Our drink inspiration for this month is Cross Breed by Lora Leigh! I know many fans of The Breeds series have been waiting for this book and I hope it lives up to all of your expectations. I’m rather new to The Breeds series, but I will say I didn’t have much difficulty following along. Both Sarah and I want to mention, though, that the sex in these books can be rather intense and feature some unconventional mating elements.
This was also my first time meeting Cassie, the heroine of Cross Breed. Though she’s tough and brash, there’s a…pep to her. Not in the bubbly sense, but she’s incredibly passionate and loving when it comes to her family. Those close to her mean a lot and I found that to be rather sweet, which translated into something with bubbles.
Now her mate (I don’t want to name him if it isn’t obvious and it’s also not in the book’s description) is exceptionally smooth. The smoothest booze that I happen to love is gin. Gin on its own has this silky mouthfeel. I hate using the term “mouthfeel,” but it’s really the only accurate description. I also love a gin and tonic, which is where the added lime comes in. It adds a tartness and oomph without the spice that something like ginger would provide.
The drink goes down really easy, but has a bright, effervescent taste. It’s not a bad marriage between Cassie and her mate. I could have gone a different drink route with darker alcohol and a bolder taste, but I typically associate those things will the fall and winter. You’ll just have to wait!
As an extra bonus, Berkley has five (5) copies of Cross Breed to giveaway! Send lots of love to Berkley, everyone!
Ingredients:
Gin
Blue curaçao
2 limes
Lime seltzer
Proportions:
2 oz. gin
2 oz. blue curaçao
Juice of 2 limes
Top with seltzer
Modifications and notes:
- For photo purposes, I layered my drink. To do so, you can use these instructions! I started with the blue curaçao on the bottom, then gin, lime juice, and seltzer. But I do recommend if you do that, stir it up before drinking it. It’ll taste much better, I assure you.
- I love fresh lime juice, but you’re welcome to use lime juice concentrate if you have it on hand. If you do that, I’d use about 2 tablespoons.
- If you have an aversion to blue curaçao or don’t have it on hand, triple sec has a similar orangey, citrus flavor and would make a good substitute.
- The blue curaçao at my local store isn’t the best quality and is clearly for mixer purposes. If there’s a better brand you prefer to use, have at it!
This drink is deceptively strong! Pace yourself!
Giveaway time! To enter the giveaway, comment below with your ideal animal hybrid form!
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to US residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18. Mating rituals can get messy, so please lay down a towel. They are complimentary and extras can be requested from the concierge. If you have any animal allergies, do let us and we’ll provide you a non-shifter room. Enjoy your stay! Comments will close Sunday September 30, 2018 around noon ET, and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
Cheers everyone!
Winner update
Congratulations to the following winners:
We’ll be sending you an email shortly. Winners, be sure to check your spam folders. Big thank you again to Berkley and to all the people who commented!
A cheetah. Fast, sleek, and awesome coat.
Snow Leopard. Who could ever resist that tail and those lovely big paws….
after reading about a hedgehog shifter, that one became my favorite
I’m tempted to read it just to figure out your cryptic spoiler, but I generally don’t like shifter books. To know or knot to know.
Love this series. I like the big cat hybrids preferably a tiger. Not a shifter book though.
Yeah, I agree with the other commenters, I like big cats! Although a house cat could be interesting too.
YotaArmai, if you just want to know just, ya know, check the tag on Ao3… (I honestly don’t find it that scandalous, but I may be jaded or something.)
Not quite sure how this hybrid thing works, but mine I guess would be a wolverine: take on larger/stronger opponents and WIN, eat bones like they’re potato chips, run up mountains for the joy of it…self-sufficient, but still having close family and romantic connections. Hopefully also get some fantastic teeth and jaw pressure out of it.
I’ve been waiting for this book for so long! This series was one of the first paranormals I read. I want to say more than a decade ago. But I’m terrible at time measurements.
This drink has all my favourite ingredients. I’m definitely giving it a try!
Ideal animal hybrid – snow leopard. I have Nalini Singh to thank for that!
Tigers or honey badgers
I’d be an owl. We have owls nesting near our house (we back up to the neighborhood greenbelt) & they’re fascinating to watch – also virtually silent when they fly.
Hedgehog, though, is my solid second choice. Good call, Janet!
Cats! Wild large cats but even small cats, like a domestic cat or one of those ones from that twitter thread you posted a little bit ago about smaller wild cats!
How about a sea otter? They are so sleek, fast, smart, and adorable! Would be interesting as a male or female.
I’d want to be a lynx. Small and compact, but still adorable. I mean, just look at lynx ears!
Tiger. Tiger. TIGER!!!!!
I’m boring, I like werewolves pretty exclusively!
Barn owl! Nocturnal and predatory. All seeing in the dark
Hummingbirds, because they fly while being aerodynamically unsound, and are incredibly cute and fierce at once!
Puma/cougar/mountain lion. They’re notice to my home area, sneaky, and have an understated beauty.
Native, not notice
Otter!!! Flexible, feisty and fun!!
Cat – I want to take all the naps I want with 0 guilt.
Ideal shifter: HONEY BADGER. Because honey badger don’t give a sh*t.
Second choice would be a snow leopard.
I rather enjoy stories with dog shifters. (Though I’ve yet to read one with a poodle shifter!)
My pick is wolves.
Ideal animal hybrid form…I’d have to go with lion. I adore cats of all sizes, and am a sucker for a guy with long hair.
I haven’t read the Breed series yet, but it’s (been) on my TBR mountain, and your comment about the sex scenes and unconventional matings intrigues me. One person’s warning is another person’s “oh I gotta bump this up!”.
flying unicorn!! thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m definitely a cat person, so gotta go with that. However, in all honesty I’d be so thrilled this was possible I wouldn’t care which cat was my hybrid. But I’d like to purr.
Dragon! (The flying kind, of course). Not only in my family’s crest, but I’m a forever fan of Anne McGaffrey’s telepathic dragons in the Pern series. Hmmm, both partners experience the bliss not only with their respective species but also “read” their mind-linked partners during mating time. Hoo yeah.
Gopher tortoise.
I am all about the cute, cuddly koala bear
A selkie.
Is that cheating?
An owl.