5 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis

The Year of Yes for the millennial set: in I’ve Got This Round, actress, writer, and YouTube sensation Mamrie Hart returns with even more spirit, adventure, and heart as she decides to live life at full-tilt.

When Mamrie simultaneously enters her 30s and finds herself single for the first time since college, the world is suddenly full of possibilities. Emboldened by the cool confidence that comes with the end of one’s 20s plus the newfound independence of an attachment-free lifestyle, Mamrie commits herself to living life as fully as possible. She seeks out once-in-a-lifetime experiences (like meeting Dolly Parton), bucket-list goals (like visiting the Moulin Rouge), and madcap adventures (like going anchors-away on a Backstreet Boys cruise)–all while diving back into the dating world for the first time in a decade.

In I’ve Got This Round, readers will find the same shameless honesty and I’ll-try-anything-once spirit they loved in You Deserve a Drink. Mamrie doubles down on her strong female friendships, her willingness to engage in shenanigans, and her inimitable candor, taking the reader along for a wild and unforgettable journey through adulting.

My Thoughts/The Drinking Game

I started this book late one night thinking, “a nice, funny read to fall asleep with”…. Then, I finished the prologue with the DRINKING GAME INSTRUCTIONS and went, “Nope, this is a full on day investment! THIS IS HAPPENING!” (The things I do for you people… 😉)

So, here I am. Drinking for you so you know what to expect for yourselves. This will be a review, it will be a journey, it will be an EXPERIENCE!

Let’s start with…

The Rules

Drink when…

• She mentions a TV show that has been cancelled.
• She mentions a snack item that can be purchased at the 7-11
• She references a chein Restaurant
• She uses a slang term for a reproductive organ.

NOW, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

I will first say that at first, I was disappointed in the amount of times I got to drink. I was outside, in the hot sunshine watching my beer getting warmer and warmer as I read thinking, “COME ON WOMAN!! LET ME DRINK!”

she mentions food places that will DEFINITELY be chains, BUT NEVER BY NAME! “the place for greasy food court pad thai”, mentioning the Whopper without ever SAYING Burger King. SHE’S A TEASE!she mentions food places that will DEFINITELY be chains, BUT NEVER BY NAME! “the place for greasy food court pad thai”, mentioning the Whopper without ever SAYING Burger King. SHE’S A TEASE!

I found myself making notes to explain my drinking (I’ve mentioned before that my notes are a little unconventional!) These are some of my notes :

Trader Joe’s- not a restaurant, but a chain with food in it. I’m counting it.

Penis- not slang but I’m counting it as it’s referring to the look of a geoduck clam!

Late Night street food- I’m counting it (in my eyes, that’s PRETTY MUCH what 7-11 sells!)

Peanut Butter- it’s a snack. 7-11 sells it. Done.

Skittle- Ha ha! I’m drinking twice because genitalia AND snack at 7-11 (okay, maybe I should give you the context of that one.. “she danced as if the detached hand was crawling all over her to the tune of “I Put a Spell on You.”Boob grabbing and simulating diddling her Skittle was also included.” I’m sure that probably didn’t help… Did I mention this review should be 17+😅😂)

I found myself looking up shows like “Dance Mom’s”, “Toddlers in Tiaras”, “Fear Factor” and other sad, sad reality shows hoping they were cancelled so I could drink!… They are ALL. STILL GOING.

I was also getting so desperate for a drink caused by the rule ‘slang term for a reproductive organ’ that I was very close to drinking when I saw words like “butt” and “anal” … I know we’ve come far in medicines, but I don’t want to live in a world where THAT is a REPRODUCTIVE organ…so, I did forego. But I did have a note at drink number 38 (did I count and keep track of all of my drinks?? YES, I DID!) and number 38 just said “FINALLY! GENITALIA!” ….a note I NEVER thought that I would make!

Rules for Advanced Drinkers

Mamrie, I think you need to add these ones somewhere for those of us who are like you!

“But skipping breakfast wasn’t just out of habit. It was strategy. After all, I. CAN. DRINK. Not saying these women weren’t capable of putting back a twelve‑pack at a college tail‑ gate, but drinking is essentially my profession. I start feeling it after a bottle of wine. Let it be known that I am not proud of this, nor do I think this is a good thing. Do you know how much money and time and calories I would save myself if I could get buzzed off a glass of Pinot Grigio like a normal woman of my height and weight? My stature might say “average‑size female,” but my tolerance is that of Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.”

So, for all of you who want a real challenge, I would add

-Drink whenever she mentions a friend of hers.

This woman has SO.MANY.FRIENDS. You’ll be wasted by the end of the first story!

Why Mamrie Hart is My Spirit Animal

Well, I’m not going to do a typical Author Bio for this book, as, Mamrie Hart is my new spirit animal. I am just going to share my favourite quotes that made me write just such a sentiment again and again in my notes!

Firstly, her motto “Fuckin’ prove it”

Then, her drunken dancing regime… which is pretty much my Wednesday night (much to my cat’s dismay)

“Screw that ‘Sounds of Silence’ bullshit; I blasted some good ol’ Sean Paul on my phone and danced in front of my new floor length mirror closet doors until I was drunk and dripping in sweat, If this visual seems kind of sad to you, don’t worry. I eventually woke up Beanz, who had been sleeping under the throw blanket on the air mattress, to watch mt moves. She was unimpressed, which is rude considering how hard I was working it. I was dancing at the level that while you’re doing it, you can already predict how sore your thighs are going to be the next day.” 

On to her spot on description of Love,

“Sometimes love is sweet and salty like a rose. Sometimes it’s sweet like candies. And sometimes it’s so spicy that it makes your eyes watery.”

And, the description of the violent way she laughs… I am personally more of an arm grabber or a puncher,

“The other thing I do when I either laugh really hard or am trying really hard not to laugh is physically hurt others. I’m a big ‘grab someone’s wrist as hard as I can while I throw my head back laughing’ kind of gal, and if I’m trying not to laugh, you’re gonna want to get as far away from me as possible. I will end up gripping your thigh or pinching your elbow- whatever it takes to try to put my energy away from laughing and into something else.”

And, last but DEFINITELY not least… her slang term for pre-drinking,

“We slammed a few drinks out of the gate to warmup, or as I prefer to term it, we put on our ‘liquor ponchos'”

I’m going to end this review by saying that EVERYONE needs to read this book. It was fun, it was hilarious and anyone who starts descriptions of wine varietals with “Let’s start with the reds, because the phrase ‘let’s start with the whites’ just sounds inherently racist” and describes Pinot Noir as your “skinny bitch friend”, is literally my new favourite person!

PICK UP YOUR COPY HERE!!

 

Now for the drink count!!

I know that you you’re all wondering… so Nicole, who much DID you drink to bring us this wonderful information and drinking game?! Well… the tally was 140 drinks!!

If anyone picks up the gauntlet on this one, let me know what count you got!

Thank you to all of the fallen soldiers who helped me in this task… you served me well, my friends…

I’ve Got this Round is Best Served with a Vodka Vavooms Cocktail

“I was a weird child who wanted to be an adult by about age eight. While other kids were decorating their Barbie Dreamhouse or out in the yard playing hide-and-seek, I had a different routine. I would sit at my dining room table,ordering ‘Vodka Vavooms’ from an invisible waiter, which was really just cran-grape in a martini glass.”

Ingredients

• 2oz Vodka
• 4oz Cran-Grape Juice

Directions

1. Fill glass with ice
2. Pour in Vodka and Juice
3. Stir
4. CHEERS!!