The Most Delicious Book Tag. The Pancake Book Tag

I've a confession to make: I never ate pancakes. I tried to bake them many times, but there's always something wrong with the batter or then it gets stuck on the skillet. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to take part in this delicious book tag created by Becky @  Blogs of a Bookaholic. I mean, how could I ignore an opportunity to drool at yummy pancakes and ramble about books? 🥞

Disclaimer: This book tag may leave you craving for pancakes.

Yummy!

The Rules:

• Link back to the original creator in your post.
• Feel free to use any of my pancake graphics in your post, or create your own!
• Tag 5 other people at the end of your post, and let them know you’ve tagged them.

When it comes to books that have a dusting of beautiful prose and/or descriptions, I've been fortunate to come across spellbinding tales. I know I've been rambling about The Bear the Nightingale a LOT, but I can't stop gushing about its superb writing and descriptions. The wintry wilderness sprinkled with magic and dark mysteries is beautifully written. The creatures from Slavic myths and folktales are woven with so much detail that they come to life. Every word in Vasya's tale is perfectly picked to craft a dazzling story.

 

Pancakes & Lemon Drizzle made me immediately think of Marcella from Vengeful (if I didn't misinterpret the prompt because of the language barrier). A mob wife, Marcella is murdered by her husband. In her last moments, she vows to ruin her husband. Because of her last thoughts, when Marcella comes back to life, she has the power to turn into ashes everything she touches. With her new ability and her sharp wit and strong personality, Marcella starts the climbing to become THE mob boss, crushing all those men who never took her seriously. She carefully plots her every move, as if everything and everyone is a chess piece, manipulating and sharpening everyone to her will. 

 

The word "comforting" always reminds me of cute and fluffy contemporaries. And, the first cute and fluffy contemporary that always comes to my mind is To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. From love letters to yummy cookies and an adorable and awkward fake relationship, everything about this novel screams "comfort". 💛 Now, I really want to re-read To All the Boys I've Loved Before, but I don't have the time! Well, I'll be rewatching the Netflix adaption.... 

I can't remember the last time I had a serious bad book hangover, but I do remember that when I read The Diviners I could not bring myself to stop thinking about it. The characters, the villains, the settings are all brilliantly written. Set in the roaring twenties, The Diviners made me fall in love with the charming epoch all over again. The story aura is chilling, to say the least, with an ominous and mysteriously dark atmosphere and the murderous Naughty John looming at every corner, whistling and singing a nightmarish rhyme.

I did have a hard time coming up with an answer for this category (blame the world "indulgent"). I guess A Darker Shade of Magic is book that gave me all the indulgent feels. As a huge fantasy lover, A Darker Shade of Magic gave me everything I could ask for and more in a fantasy novel: four parallel Londons with unique characteristics (Red London bursts with magic and While London with danger), unforgettable characters, a slow burn romance flawlessly put into the pages, and an intricate and dangerous magic system.

You must be tired of me mentioning Schwab's novels, I've to pick Victor Vale from the Villains series. Victor is an anti-hero, a morally grey character that does horrible things, like murdering people (some of these people are innocent) and torturing them with his ability to manipulate pain to get to his former classmate, Eli, who has been murdering EOs since becoming one. Nonetheless, he saves Sidney, a twelve year-old girl, and takes care of her. Her even comes to care about Sidney and becomes a strange father figure. Who would have guessed that in the middle of so much darkness, Victor would have hidden in the darkest corners of his being a beating heart?

While in Stalking Jack the Ripper, I guessed who the culprit was halfway through the book, in Hunting Prince Dracula I was kept guessing about whom the murder would be. Every time I thought this or that person was the one responsible for reviving Count Dracula and the vampire-like murdering spree, there would be an unexpected plot twists and I was once again trying to discover who the killer was.  

These are the only pancakes that don't make my mouth water because I don't eat meat. When the story began, America was in love with Aspen and so was I. Their secret romance made my heart flutter. However, then America became part of the selection and was sent off to the palace to meet Prince Maxon. I can't lie: it took me a few hundred pages (second book included) to warm up to America and Maxon and realize that they are perfect together. After comparing Maxon and Aspen, the latter came across as chauvinist (he got angry at American because he had to be the "provider" in the relationship). Maxon was charming and sweet and with America by his side he became a better ruler. America told him about the world beyond the palace walls and how unfair the caste system was, and Maxon listened to her. I ended up wishing that America would move on from Aspen, my heart no longer fluttering at the sight ot them. America and Maxon are a match made in heaven.

But I love peanut butter! Maybe we can pretend these are the pancakes with crispy bacon. 😋 If you know me, you know that I love the Ember Quartet and that any time I'm queried about an evil character that makes me recoil, I pick Keris Ventura, also known as, the Commandant. Keris will do anything to come into power, even if it means causing a war or allying herself to old destructive powers. Also, she will crush anyone who gets in her way, even her own son. I don't want to be spoiler-ish, but everything she puts Elias through is recoiling. Her evilness knows no boundaries.

Can we just dwell on how diverse and inclusive Six of Crows is? The world created by Leigh Bardugo is made up of several countries and each land is inhabited by distinct people with different skin colours and beliefs. This series ends up including numerous types of diversity: there's a panoply of races, body shapes, sexual orientations and religions. It also includes disabilities (Kaz has a physical disability and Wylan a cognitive one) and mental illnesses (there's a strong focus on trauma; every character from this group of misfits is haunted by demon from their hellish past). Six of Crows is without a doubt a fantasy novel with wonderfully diverse characters.

🥞 I'm tagging

• Annemieke @ A Dance With Books 
•  Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity 
•  Cat @ Pages and Plots 
•  Dani @ Perspective of a Writer 
•  Sam @ We Live and Breath Words
• And anyone else who loves books and/or pancakes.

An adorable kitten stealing a pancake.

Did you read any of the books I mentioned? Any favourite reads? Do you LOVE pancakes? Let me know in the comments section.

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