Cake Book Tag: Books for Dessert

This is a book tag that I'm nabbing (and modifying) from Cait at Paper Fury (who nabbed and modified it from #bookstagram). I'll try to go with more recent books in cases where there are many answers I could give.

1. Chocolate Cake: A dark book you absolutely love

Hmm . . . I don't usually "love" dark books. But V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series is one of the darker I've read recently, and I did love those. (Note: They feature vulgarity, violence, and the occasional mostly tasteful scene of human love-making, so if those aren't your cup of tea, or you're like me and appreciate knowing beforehand, this is your warning.)

2. Vanilla Cake: A light read

I just poked through my reading challenge for this year on Goodreads and . . . I've not read many books this year I'd deem "light" (and truth to tell, a lot more of them are dark than I'd have given myself credit for. I still put SoM as my answer for dark books.) Of this year's readings, I'd say Kathryn Lasky's The Capture is the lightest, although it certainly has its fair share of dark things. But it's also the book written for the youngest audience that I've read this year, so there's that.

3. Red Velvet: A book that gave you mixed emotions (Um. Red Velvet isn't mixed emotions. It is JOY.)

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox. I started out loving this book, and by midway through there was no mystery left except how quickly would the main characters catch up with what the readers know and act on it (spoiler alert: almost the end of the book). And then there's the small matter of the final chapter being more than an open ending: it practically says, "There's another book to be written!" while the author has yet to announce any such book. That sort of thing irritates me about as much as cliffhangers to TV seasons that might not be picked up for renewal (I'm looking at you, Galavant season 1).

4. Cheesecake: A book you would recommend to anyone

Narnia. Till We Have Faces. Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a more recent book I'd put on this list (though again, there is a caveat of a sex scene that honestly feels out of place and is more graphic than I care for. However, it's easily skipped without damage to the story.)

5. Coffee Cake: A book you started but never finished

The Man in the High Castle. I just. Couldn't. Finish. The style was so clunky and jarring. The roots of the show are there, but I couldn't be bothered to keep digging for them when there were a hundred other books calling my name that were more interesting.

6. Carrot Cake: A book with great writing

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. It just gets better each time I read it.

7. Tiramisu: Book that left you wanting more

The Heart of What was Lost by Tad Williams. I wanted to dive into The Witchwood Crown as soon as I finished this one, but alas, it hadn't been released yet. (And I still have to reread To Green Angel Tower first.)

8. Cupcakes: Series with 4+ books

Harry Potter. The Wheel of Time. For series I've actually read at least part of this year: Narnia, Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief/Attolia, Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters, Tad Williams' Osten Ard/Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. All of them are worth the read.

9. Fruit Cake: Book that wasn't what you anticipated

Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I went in expecting a dark but hopeful book about games and carnivals and death traps. I got a romance. I still (mostly) enjoyed it, though, once the true genre emerged.

10. Lamington (favourite Australian books)

I don't know what that is. (Ok. I can mention Garth Nix because he's Australian and I love the Old Kingdom series, but really, I know nothing about Australian books so I'm going to make this one different.)

10. Strawberry Shortcake: Favorite American books

I'm going to list a couple here. Mary Robinette Kowal's Ghost Talkers (while not American-set, it does feature an American main character) is a phenomenal book. Dan Wells' John Cleaver books are very American and very chilling. Robert C. O'Brien's books are American fantasy and science fiction I've enjoyed. It's one thing I'd like to see more of: speculative fiction (anything fantastic, science fictional, or otherwise outside the "normal" realm) that is American rather than being pseudo-European/medieval and written by Americans. I realize that Albion Academy doesn't quite fit this (because I have too much fun mixing mythologies) but it's still something I'd like to see more of.



Are there any books you'd categorize differently from mine? Any you'd like to add? Let me know in the comments!