Summary of Cocktails for Three: A Novel by Madeleine Wickham

Immerse yourself in 'Cocktails for Three', where friendship meets life's bittersweet moments, sprinkled with humor and heartfelt revelations.

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Cocktails for Three: A Novel, written by Madeleine Wickham

Ah, Cocktails for Three, a novel that's like a delightful cocktail party where everyone's a little tipsy on dreams, relationships, and the occasional well-placed secret. Madeleine Wickham, under her pen name, serves us a fizzy concoction of friendship, love, and the slight bitterness of life's troubles, all shaken together with a splash of humor!

Now, let's dive deep into the lives of our three fabulous heroines: Maggie, Emily, and Nina. These ladies are tight-knit friends, and just like any good cocktail, they have a few ingredients in common-mainly their love for swanky gatherings and a thirst for sugar-coated gossip. Their monthly meet-ups revolve around lavish cocktails (hence the title, in case that wasn't clear) and the juicy stories each has to share.

Maggie, the seemingly flawless one, is a high-flying career woman juggling the pressures of work and the expectations from her engaging fiancé. But hold onto your hats, because spoiler alert-her perfect little world starts to wobble like a bad martini when old flames and new dilemmas stir the pot.

Then temos Emily, who appears to be the most grounded of the trio but is actually battling her own personal demons, wrapped neatly in a cozy, professional package. She's on the verge of becoming a first-time mother, the most challenging task yet. You'll laugh, you'll cry-oh wait, is that baby food? Oh, yes, it is!

And last but not least, drumroll please, we have Nina, the wild card whose love life resembles a soap opera more than anything else. With an array of romantic entanglements, her stories are a tangle of hilarities and heartbreaks. Spoiler alert: expect at least one or seven cringe-worthy romantic moments that make you want to cringe and laugh at the same time!

As the story unfolds, secrets begin to bubble up like carbonated water, leading to those moments when you'd rather have a cocktail than face the truth. Each woman must confront not only her own shortcomings but also the truths that threaten to unravel their friendship. With witty dialogues and relatable dilemmas, you'll find yourself giggling-even if it's just because you relate too much to Nina's romance disasters.

In a whirlwind of cocktail recipes you won't actually try at home (unless you want your kitchen to resemble a war zone), Cocktails for Three serves a hearty portion of life lessons wrapped up in the charm of laughter. Ultimately, it's a story about resilience-who knew friendships could be shaken, stirred, and still come out fabulously intact?

So if you're looking for something that balances the sweet and the sour, dive into this novel and remember: Friends are like cocktails, great in moderation, but you might just wake up needing aspirin and a strong coffee. Cheers!

Author's photo - Maddie Page
Maddie Page

Classics, bestsellers, and guilty pleasures-none are safe from my sarcastic recaps. I turn heavy reads into lighthearted summaries you can actually enjoy. Warning: may cause random outbursts of laughter while pretending to study literature.

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➡️ Cocktails for Three: A Novel

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