A chocolate-themed blog tour? Gotta love that idea. So thanks to Kendra Leighton for tagging me. You can read her post here. Kendra’s debut novel, Glimpse, is coming out very soon. Inspired by Alfred Noyes’ classic poem ‘The Highwayman’, Glimpse is a ghost story, a love story, and a story of a girl fighting for her future by confronting her terrible past. Can’t wait to get my hands on it!
Okay, so dark chocolate. I love it. I always liked Bournville as a kid but now have graduated up to 85% – my favourite is produced by an organic cooperative in Madagascar. It’s a wonderfully acidic, shart, fruity chocolate, but sadly I am pretty sure that chocolate is a key trigger for my troublesome migraines, so I rarely eat it now. But occasionally I can’t resist the odd nibble.
My dark chocolate book would have to be American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. It is very, very dark, but also very funny and quite brilliant. I’ve always loved a good satire, and American Psycho sends up all that nineties loadsa-money yuppiness so cleverly I was laughing all the way through. Even during the gory bits. You will never see ties in quite the same way again. And like good dark chocolate, a little goes a long way
My milk chocolate book is We Were Liars by E Lockhart. This recently released YA book has taken the US and the UK by storm, and rightly so. Great when something really loves up to all the hype. I’m not comparing it to milk chocolate because it is bland – far from it, it’s full of beautiful, fiery prose and the story itself has a fiendishly clever twist that will break your heart. Take it from me. Few books make me cry, but this one did. No, I’m comparing it to milk chocolate because it’s so moreish – once you start, you won’t be able to stop, not until you get right through to the end.
And for white chocolate, I’m choosing an old favourite: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. One of the precursors to YA, I Capture the Castle is my white chocolate book because I somehow think of white chocolate as being lighter and less serious than it’s more cocoa-packed siblings. And Dodie Smith’s novel, while embracing some serious themes, is ultimately and sunny, happy sort of book. The kind of thing you fancy when you want some sweetness in your life.
I am nominating my bestie writing pal and thoroughly good egg, Wendy Storer. Mainly cos I love her, and partly to get her back for nominating me in the Seven Things challenge *sticks out tongue *. Wendy is the author of two fabulous YA novels, Where Bluebirds Fly and Bring Me Sunshine, as well as joint runner-up in the Mslexia Children’s Novel Competition in 2013. Check out her blog for reams of great writerly advice. Much better for you than too much chocolate.
Right, off to scoff something dark and delicious. Sod the headaches.