Welcome to Thirsty Thursday, where we feature a recently enjoyed cocktail and make suggestions on what romances would pair well with it.

This week I’m featuring a Grapefruit Fresca. As the name implies, it’s quite refreshing. A perfect summer cocktail for backyard bar-b-ques, lounging on the beach or hanging with friends at a neighborhood block party.

This cocktail is made up of Zu Bison grass vodka, Giffard grapefruit, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It’s tart, and delicious.  It’s the perfect way to quench your thirst from the hot summer sun and the equally hot summer romance novels.

Fresh, refreshing romances to read with a Grapefruit Fresca:

Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!

Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is…cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be…love?

Feel free to sip away as you fantasize about Oscar’s, ahem, milk can.

Nuts by Alice Clayton

Roxie Callahan is a private chef to some of Hollywood’s wealthiest, and nastiest, calorie-counting wives. After a dairy disaster implodes her carefully crafted career in one fell ploop, she finds herself back home in upstate New York, bailing out her hippie mother and running the family diner.

When gorgeous local farmer Leo Maxwell delivers her a lovely bunch of organic walnuts, Roxie wonders if a summer back home isn’t such a bad idea after all. Leo is heavily involved in the sustainable slow food movement, and he likes to take his time. In all things. Roxie is determined to head back to the west coast as soon as summer ends, but will the pull of lazy fireflies and her very own Almanzo Wilder be enough to keep her home for good?

Salty. Spicy. Sweet. Nuts. Go on, grab a handful.

Salty. Spicy. Sweet. Nuts. always go well with a cocktail, right?

Thirsty Thursday: Grapefruit Fresca and Refreshing Romance To Compliment was first published on Fiction Vixen Books and Beauty