Tatjana Bluchel - Booze, Books & Banter Podcast

Tatjana Bluchel - Booze, Books & Banter Podcast Coming soon, the Booze, Books, & Banter Podcast. Plus check out my blog www.geekytalesandbeyond.com

📚The Girl From the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray ✨Glamour, Spies, and Survival on the Brink of War🍸The pairing for this ...
02/13/2026

📚The Girl From the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray ✨
Glamour, Spies, and Survival on the Brink of War

🍸The pairing for this doesn’t actually come from me but from the author herself! CAMILLE AUBRAY’S “SIDECAR COCKTAIL À LA COLETTE” 🍹- Make sure to check out her website www.camilleaubray.com for the full recipe and story behind the cocktail, as well as a slew of other recipes inspired by her writings!

Review:

In the summer of 1939, we follow Annabel Faucon, a young American, as she works at the Grand Hotel on the Cote d’Azur where her uncle is the manager. The first-ever Cannes Film Festival is about to happen and fills the hotel with movie stars and writers, but the arrival of N**i guests and the world on the brink of war threatens to overshadow the glamorous event. Annabel finds herself pulled into a world of international spies, mysteries, and murder.

I adored this book. A blend of a mystery novel and historical novel, sprinkled with spies, murder, a little bit of a love story, and a great coming-of-age story, you get The Girl From the Grand Hotel. I was definitely a bit hesitant, as I don’t usually read a lot of historical fiction, especially not more recent history, but this was such an intriguing story that was just intertwined with real events, people, and places that I couldn’t put it down.

(Continued on Substack! Link in my bio!)

This was definitely not a book I expected to like as much as I did, and I have to admit that I did get a bit choked up at the ending.

Thank you NetGalley , Blackstone Publishing , and Camille Aubray for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This one surprised me in the best way! What book have you read recently that you didn’t expect to love? Drop your recs below! 📚✨

February is going to be INTENSE. 📚I’m kicking off FOUR reading challenges this month, and honestly? I might be biting of...
02/11/2026

February is going to be INTENSE. 📚
I’m kicking off FOUR reading challenges this month, and honestly? I might be biting off more than I can chew. But that’s never stopped me before.

First up: my Banned Books Challenge. I’m working off the PEN America Index of School Book Bans from 2024-2025, and my first read is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. This book has been challenged for sexual content and offensive language—which honestly just makes me want to read it more. If they don’t want us reading it, there’s probably something important in there.

I’m also starting three other reading challenges this month (more details coming soon—stay tuned!), tackling everything from gothic horror to classic literature to nature writing.

I also finally got Brimstone by from my library, so I’m super excited to continue Searis’ journey!

Plus my usual mix of ARCs, book club picks, and whatever chaos Book Pong with throws at me. 🎲

Swipe to see the full lineup.

And if you’re wondering which book I should prioritize, drop your vote in the comments! I need all the help I can get deciding what to read first. 👇

What’s on YOUR February TBR? Are you doing any reading challenges this year? Let me know what you’re diving into—I’m always looking for recommendations!

Follow along for book reviews, reading updates, booze and book pairings, and probably me panicking about how many books I committed to reading. It’s going to be a wild month. Let’s do this together. 📖✨

Two weeks ago was my birthday and my husband absolutely nailed it — dinner at a German restaurant and then the LA Phil ...
01/25/2026

Two weeks ago was my birthday and my husband absolutely nailed it — dinner at a German restaurant and then the LA Phil at Disney Concert Hall 🥹✨

I grew up classically trained on the flute, so sitting there listening to that music in that space felt extra magical. It honestly made me want to pick my flute up again. Just one of those nights that fills your cup and stays with you.

Feeling incredibly loved, grateful, and still riding that birthday high. 💛

01/03/2026

📖🎯 24-HOUR READATHON UPDATE — BOOKPONG ROUND 2 🎯📖

We’re officially about 4-5 hours into the 24-hour readathon with my bestie , I’ve been up since 4 AM PST, and the chaos is already in full swing.

We kicked things off earlier with a TikTok livestream, complete with coffee, vibes, and our first round of bookpong. Now it was my turn again—this time tossing TWO rounds for Mandolyn:
📚 one for zir next physical book
🎧 one for zir next audiobook

➡️ Watch the reel to see what Mandolyn has to read next 👀📚

Current reading status:
• I’m just over halfway through The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson (aka Nick Cutter) — nostalgic, eerie, and quietly emotional in the best way
• Mandolyn is finishing up At Dark, I Become Lothsome by Eric LaRocca — unsettling, intense, and absolutely on-brand for a sleep-deprived horror readathon

We’re only getting started, so expect:
📖 more reading updates
📖 progress check-ins
📖 mini reviews
📖 and the results of Mandolyn’s next bookpong toss for me

If you’re reading along, popping into lives, or just here to keep me awake—you’re a real one 🖤
More updates very soon.

📚✨ 24-HOUR READATHON CHAOS INCOMING ✨📚This stack of books is a pretty accurate representation of what tomorrow is about ...
01/03/2026

📚✨ 24-HOUR READATHON CHAOS INCOMING ✨📚

This stack of books is a pretty accurate representation of what tomorrow is about to feel like 😅
I’m doing a 24-hour readathon with Mandolyn starting TOMORROW at 4:00 AM PST (yes, 4 AM, send coffee).

We’re kicking things off with a TikTok livestream, where we’ll have breakfast, chat, and do bookpong to decide our first (or next) reads—because nothing says good decision-making like random chance before sunrise.

Throughout the day I’ll be:
📖 checking in via IG + TikTok stories
📖 possibly hosting reading sprints on IG, TikTok, and/or YouTube
📖 doing a halfway-point check-in livestream on IG
📖 and wrapping up the full 24 hours with a final livestream on TikTok (or both platforms)

Basically: books, vibes, caffeine, and questionable levels of sleep deprivation.

I would love if you joined us—drop into a live, read along, help keep me awake, yell book recommendations at me, or just hang out for the chaos 🖤
If you’re not already, go follow me on TikTok: so you don’t miss the kickoff.

Let’s make this cozy, unhinged, and very bookish.

✨ Happy New Year from “New England”… by way of Los Angeles ✨Kicking off the new year in Stars Hollow 💙✨ Today we’re spen...
01/01/2026

✨ Happy New Year from “New England”… by way of Los Angeles ✨

Kicking off the new year in Stars Hollow 💙✨ Today we’re spending January 1st wandering the Gilmore Girls set on the Warner Bros. lot in LA, aka my personal comfort-show heaven. If you hear someone ordering coffee coffee coffee, that’s probably me.

From Luke’s Diner to Doose’s Market, the Dragonfly Inn, Miss Patty’s, Kim’s Antiques, and the Town Square, it feels like stepping straight into one of my favorite TV worlds. I’m fully prepared to emotionally spiral over the food, the coffee, and the very real possibility that Luke or Mrs. Kim could appear at any moment. I will absolutely be attending a town meeting in my head at Miss Patty’s later.

Stay tuned in my Stories all day for lots of updates, details, cozy corners, and probably way too much fangirling ☕🍩📚

✨ Tell me: have you been to the Gilmore Girls set?
What should I not miss while I’m here?

Happy New Year, friends ✨📚Quick life + reading update because the last few days were… a lot.I didn’t hit my stretch goal...
01/01/2026

Happy New Year, friends ✨📚

Quick life + reading update because the last few days were… a lot.

I didn’t hit my stretch goal of 100 books for 2025, but I did finish 80 books, and honestly? I’m incredibly proud of that. Reading stayed a joy this year — not a chore — and that matters way more than a number.

If you’re wondering why I went a little quiet during my 25 books in 14 days challenge, here’s the short version:
• Christmas Eve: water leaking through one of our windows
• Christmas Day: water leaking into our HVAC
• Also Christmas Day: after baking cookies, our oven fully died — goodbye Christmas ham 😭
• Several days of repair people in and out
• AND today, just to keep things spicy, the metal gate on our dumpster attacked me and slammed into my back

So now I’m parked on the couch, injured, playing Resident Evil and watching Ghostbusters, which honestly feels very on-brand for how this year ended.

Despite all of that, I’m feeling really grateful. For books that kept me company, for book friends who make this space so fun, and for a new year ahead that I’m hoping comes with fewer leaks, fewer injuries, and many, many great reads.

Here’s to readathons, cozy nights, chaotic TBRs, and incredible stories in 2026 🖤
I can’t wait to share it all with you.

How many books did you read in 2025? What was your favorite? What are your reading goals for 2026?

Winter is officially a mood. ❄️📚🍷My Holiday Booze and Book Pairing Special is live on my YouTube channel, and it’s all a...
12/24/2025

Winter is officially a mood. ❄️📚🍷

My Holiday Booze and Book Pairing Special is live on my YouTube channel, and it’s all about cozy winter reads paired with festive drinks—warm, indulgent, a little spooky, and very intentional.

From Glühwein + Game of Thrones, to hot chocolate with a kick and spice, sugar cookie shots for your nerves, and an icy snow globe Cosmo made for murder mysteries—this video is peak winter energy.

The pairings:
🍷 Glühwein + Game of Thrones —
🍫 Hot Chocolate + Quicksilver —
🍪 Sugar Cookie Shots + The Darkest Night (Horror Anthology)
❄️ Snow Globe Cosmo + Sanatorium —

Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just love the winter season, this one’s for slowing down, lighting a candle, and romanticizing your reading life.

🎥 Full video on YouTube
📖 Recipes + book pairings inside

Which pairing are you starting with?

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