The Chocolate Book Challenge

The absolutely awesome Wendy Storer tagged me in the Chocolate Book Challenge.  She figured with my living in Switzerland, I should know a thing or two about chocolate.  And I do.  Like most Swiss, I eat it all the time –the Swiss eat an average of 12 kilos of chocolate a year!

I also read books.  While eating chocolate (and popcorn!).

The challenge is to list one book for each type of chocolate — dark, milk and white.  I’m going to list one book for each but add more chocolate types, because there’s a variety of chocolate out there that deserves to be covered.  As for authors, I’m sticking with mostly indies here, but there are a couple more well-known ones thrown in.

Dark Chocolate is for the adult in us.  It’s rich, but somewhat bitter.  Right away, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood comes to mind.  Adult in intelligence and theme, bitter in outlook, but sooooo rich in language.  A classic, but I had to list it here because it is a book that I read twenty years ago but that still sticks with me.

Dark Chocolate with Hot Pepper.  Adult in a very spicy way.  Deer in Headlights by Staci Hart combines mythology with some adult action.  It’s hot and satisfying.

 

Dark Chocolate covered Caramel.  Less adult, but very, very dark.  You’ll want to chew on it for a while.  Angelfall by Susan Ee is probably one of my all-time favorite YA books ever. It keeps you turning pages and it also makes your skin crawl.  

Dark Chocolate filled with Liquor.  A mix of taste and texture with an attitude.  Chasing the Star Garden by Melanie Karsak is a steampunk adventure that involves airships, absinthe and opium.

Dark Chocolate (can you tell I like dark chocolate?) with Lemon filling.  You’d think the two don’t go together — the super sweet lemon and the bitter dark chocolate — but they’re divine together.  Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming is a zombie apocalypse novel that is full of lovable characters.  Zombie but not horror.

Milk Chocolate is all about indulgence and fun.  Obitchuary by Stephanie Hayes is a romp in the world of chic lit crime stories.

Milk Chocolate with Krispies.  Fun with some snap, crackle and pop.  Miss Hyde by Imogen Bold is an historical romantic YA take on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.  

Hazelnut Milk Chocolate.  Fun and a little nutty.  Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins is about the ghost of a young woman who wakes up in Alabama.  It just gets crazier from there.

White Chocolate is for the younger crowd.  It’s sweet but rich and good to savor.  Where Bluebirds Fly by Wendy Storer is a middle-grade novel about a girl in a school for kids with emotional problems.  Deep and heart-warming at the same time.

White Chocolate with Nougat.  Still young, but the nougat adds an adult aspect.  Someone Different by Kate Hanney is a tasty upper middle grade romance about two kids from opposite sides of the tracks.

So there you go. Go out, buy a variety pack of chocolate, and fire up your kindle.  Time to read….and time for me to tag the next round of chocolatiers:

I tag two of my favorite book bloggers, Lexxie at (un)Conventional Book Views and Toni at My Book Addiction.  And author Stephanie Hayes.