The Christmas Stocking Tag

Even if Christmas is now gone, I thought this tag would extend a bit the spirit of this special moment of the year. Thanks to Michaela from Journey into Books for tagging me! She found the tag on Kate’s Reading Through Infinity blog. Make sure to check these blogs!

You get up on Christmas morning and your stocking is full! You take it down and start to unwrap the treats inside. The first thing you see is…

An orange! Which book is refreshing and vibrant, both inside and out?

A book I just finished on Christmas Day is perfect for this first question! It’s Christmas at Mistletoe Cottage by Lucy Daniel. It made me feel cosy and made me smile.

The next thing you see is a bag of chocolate coins (Yum). Which book have you recently bought that was a little expensive but totally worth the price?

Since I buy a lot of ebooks on Amazon, a paper version is always a bit more expensive for me. So, I’ll go with Descendants of the Crane (which I have yet to finish) which is worth the price at least for its cover!

You also pull out a bath bomb. Tell us about a book that had explosive action scenes.

I’ll go with The Cruel Prince for this one. I haven’t read a lot of books with real action scenes (or don’t remember them) so I have little choice here 😂

Next is a pack of playing cards. Which series won you over?

Surprise! The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. It has been one of my main discovery of 2021 and I can’t wait to read the entire trilogy again!

You also get a candle. Which character is a symbol of hope in their story?

Definitely Diana from A Discovery of Witches. She and Matthew are both the sign of a new era and hopefully a more peaceful one.

There are stocks inside too. Is there a book that you think really encompasses all the distinctive tropes of its genre?

Those who have seen my review on this book will not be surprised by my answer. Crave by Tracy Wolff is the epitome of the YA fantasy book gathering all the usual tropes of the genre. You have the dark, handsome boy and the lonely, new girl, love at first sight…

There’s also a notebook. Which author’s writing process do you find most interesting/inspiring?

As Michaela, I don’t really know much about the writing process. However, I can say that the one of Deborah Harkness must be really interesting according to the few information I have on it and the quality of her books!

To go with the notebook, there’s a fancy pen. Is there a book or a series that you’d change if you’d written it yourself?

Probably some of the thrillers/mysteries I’ve read recently, just to make them a bit more complex.

There’s also a bedside clock. Which book took you a long time to pick up but was worth it in the end?

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco. I had it in my Kindle library for some months before I decided to pick it up (which is a long time for me when I’m intrigued by a book as I was with this one). In the end, it was a great discovery!

Your pile is really getting big. You reach to pull out the last gift and it’s… a lump of coal? You’re a little disappointed. But you look closer and realise there’s a seam running through the charcoal. You crack it open and sitting inside is a tiny golden gem. Tell us about a book that surprised you in some way.

I wasn’t really into the horror/spooky genre before picking House of Hollow. This book totally won me over!