When Sarah Westwood’s deadbeat husband deserts her and their young son, she takes a job at her family’s restaurant, The Three Chocolatiers, working with her famous chef grandfather and her pastry chef cousin, Paisley. Determined to never fall for the wrong guy again, Sarah vows to stick to chocolate and steer clear of men, especially her delicious ice-cream supplier, Blake Harrison. But when Paisley signs her up for a dating site, Sarah is soon engaging in a sexy online flirtation with a stranger.

Blake Harrison wants nothing more than for Sarah to give him a chance, but all she’ll give him is the cold shoulder. Never one to run from a challenge, he works on becoming the kind of man Sarah can’t refuse. And since he just happens to be on the same dating site, he’s not above using a little cyber-intel to worm his way into her heart.

When Sarah’s grandfather collapses just weeks before an upscale chocolate-themed wedding that could make or break the business, the staff of The Three Chocolatiers is sent into a tailspin. With the pressure rising on personal and professional fronts, Sarah might just have to let someone sweet melt her defenses.

Includes four recipes from The Three Chocolatiers Cookbook.

Title: Love & Chocolate
Author: Gail Cleare
Series: /
Pages: 217
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: /

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I’m a huge fan of chocolate and a huge fan of romance - it would be like Sophie’s choice if I had to pick between the two! - so I was a little surprised when I just didn’t take to this book. I tried really hard to get into it but it was obviously just not meant for me.

We start off well enough with Sarah and Blake and their obvious attraction for each other. The author does a very good job of setting the scene and painting a picture for the reader. But…that’s also the first negative that I found. We are given so much detail - down to the very minutiae of what’s going on at any one time (the crinkle of the packet for the dog’s biscuits, the smell of them, the slobber on the dogs chops etc) - that it lost some of the sparkle and I felt went off every which way just to build a complete picture.

Then came the online chats between CocoLvr and HotNCold. And I could not cringe any harder. I actually could barely read them it was so embarrassing. It was like reading your mum and dad attempting to sext each other. *Shudders* And having dated online myself, I can tell you right now that if anyone writes ‘how r u’ or ‘c u l8r’ etc etc - you shouldn’t have sex with them. And, for that matter, if someone messages you and the very first thing they say to you is ‘want to cyber(sex)?’ the answer should also be a resounding no. Have some standards, people. Good grief.

And after all that we don’t even get any good stuff when they get down to the (real-life) dirty deed. The door is closed. And locked. The front door is guarded by a snarling dog and the moat is filled. We got nothing. It might have saved the book for me - it might not. I guess we’ll never know.

Finally in my list of grievances, we have the story itself. Sarah and Blake like each other at the beginning of the book. So there’s very little story to tell. Oh sure, we’ve got Sarah’s grandfather’s heart attack (which happens so early in the book that I wasn’t emotionally connected enough to care about) and the running of the chocolate restaurant (which I don’t believe could have lasted 1 month the way it was described as being run) but this is supposed to be a romance and there just wasn’t enough there, in my opinion, to make this a decent story. And if the roles were reversed, and it was Blake who slept with Sarah then ignored her for 2 weeks, and then jumped to conclusions when he saw her with another man and called her choice names - I don’t think that would have gone down so well. And I’m not game for that kind of double standard.

There were also some confusing parts where I’m not sure if Blake (and his brother at times) were being misogynistic, if they were being funny or I was just overly sensitive. Just things like ‘she should have fallen for me by now - I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do’, ‘go to the bathroom and do the things you females do’, ‘Most women seemed interested in him - Sarah’s reaction was illogical’ — just language and actions that made me uncomfortable for some reason - especially in  a book (presumably) written recently.

Despite not really enjoying the story, I had to give the book 2 stars rather than 1, because I did get to the end - even if I was skimming through chunks here and there.

This book just didn’t hit the right mark with me, I’m afraid. Having looked at other reviews, it would seem that I’m very much in the minority - so if the you love chocolate, and the premise of the story hits the spot - then I would still recommend you give this a go. But still only 2 stars from me.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

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Destiny is impossible to escape...

Caterina Bonavera had a solid plan. To move up the line from sous chef at one of New York City's top restaurants and then open one of her own. Moving back to Virginia to help her sisters run the family winery had been nowhere on her radar. But neither had landing the head chef's job at a popular local restaurant upon her return, only to find herself unemployed again after three years; nor getting romantically involved with a man who proved her ability to judge one's character hadn't gotten any better than her ability to fly by flapping her arms.

Caterina's confident she'll get her life back on track with Serendipity, the boutique hotel and restaurant she and her oldest sister Lucia were opening at the end of the summer, but that's almost a year away, and meanwhile, she's forced to deal with Liam Dougherty, the surly contractor building the restaurant of Caterina's dreams. Liam gets along fine with everyone else, but it's clear to Caterina that he's disliked her since their first meeting, and she has no idea why.

To complicate their already tentative working relationship, Caterina begins to develop an unwanted attraction to Liam. She tries to counter it by avoiding him, but then she discovers something that changes her opinion of him completely, and along with it, her desire for the one thing she wants most in her life. Will trusting Liam turn out to be another mistake when it comes to the men in her life, or have her prior mistakes been leading her to him all along?

Title: Caterina
Author: Patricia Paris
Series: The Bonaveras
Pages: 220
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: Ghosts - but a friendly one! <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

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I’m going to admit that based on the cover and title alone - I’d already pegged this book as a fairly staid, melodramatic type of romance. And when I read the first, fairly flowery paragraph - I knew I was right.

Boy was I wrong.

This book was so fresh, fun and (after that first paragraph!) I enjoyed it immensely from beginning to end.

With this being the first Patricia Paris book that I’ve read - and as a result, the first book I’ve read in the Bonaveras series - there are quite a lot of situations to understand and characters to meet - presumably that were first explained in the first book in the series. I’m not going to lie - at first it was a little overwhelming. There’s a pretty large cast of characters that confused me at first but once I got my head around them all, I just fell in love with them. The Bonaveras sisters just embodied family, love and I cannot wait to read more about them. With that said, the book does stand alone so you don’t have to read the others to understand and enjoy this one.

Caterina and Liam start off very much on the wrong foot. In fact, they pretty much can’t stand the sight of each other. When they are going toe to toe and trading barbs with each other I was rubbing my hands together with glee. I love a couple who start off as enemies - it’s that barely suppressed sexual tension and the thin line between love and hate. Caterina and Liam hit all the buttons for me. I loved them individually and together. The way their love developed was fun, funny and you felt it every step of the way.

There was a lot of sexual tension building and lots of anticipation between Cat and Liam as their relationship developed - so I was a teeny bit disappointed when the door remained firmly closed during the sexy times. We got a small taste later on but dammit - I wanted more. But I can’t let it affect my rating because it still felt real.

While the romance was the main focus of the book - there were a lot of other elements that really gave it depth and made it something a bit more special. Liam’s daughter Riley was absolutely adorable. Her relationship with Liam - her relationship with Cat - just too gorgeous for words! The whole Bonaveras clan was just the kind of big, American-Italian family that you would love to spend time with. And then there’s the ghost. Yep - there’s a ghost. But the ghost of great aunt Rosa isn’t a scary kind of ghost (and I would know because I’m a total wimp when it comes to these kind of things!). She’s a well-meaning ghost who helps those along who might need a nudge or two when confronted with a love they didn’t expect or anticipate.

The writing was very well done and I didn’t want to put this book down for a minute. Ms Paris has a knack for really painting a picture. I’m not sure if it’s a feature in all her books, but her descriptions, particularly of the food, really sold it for me and made my mouth water.

I enjoyed this book immensely and I feel like I’ve found a series I can really grow to love. I’m off to look out for the first book in the series (Lucia and Antonio’s story) and can’t wait until Eliana and Marcella’s stories come out. We’ve already had some teasing of who they’ll end up with so I hope I’m right. All in, an excellent story about food, family, wine and love. 5 stars.

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For a shameless libertine and a wily smuggler in the London Underground, marriage is more than convenience—it’s strategy...

Christopher “Kit” Ellingsworth, war veteran and newly minted Earl of Blakemere, buries his demons under every sort of pleasure and vice. His scandalous ways have all but emptied his coffers . . . until a wealthy mentor leaves him a sizeable fortune. The only stipulation? He must marry within one month to inherit the money. Kit needs a bride and the bold, mysterious Miss Tamsyn Pearce seems perfect.

Husband hunting isn’t Tamsyn’s top priority—she’s in London to sell her new shipment of illicit goods—but she’s desperate for funds . When a handsome earl offers to wed her and send her back to Cornwall with a hefty allowance, Tamsyn agrees.

But when an unexpected proviso in the will grants Tamsyn control of the inheritance, their arrangement becomes anything but convenient. Now, Kit’s counting on his countess to make his wildest dreams a reality and he plans to convince her, one pleasurable seduction at a time…

Title: Counting on a Countess
Author: Eva Leigh
Series: London Underground / Scandalous Ladies of London
Pages: 384
Genre(s): Historical, Regency, England
Hot Buttons: /

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This is the second book in the London Underground series by Eva Leigh - coming after From Duke ’Til(l) Dawn. The series follows 3 friends, Alex, Kit and Langdon as they all (hopefully) get their happily ever afters. While Alex and Cassie from the first book do pop up in this book, it’s a very brief cameo and each book so far, can easily be read as a standalone. Interestingly - and in a genius move I can’t help but applaud - Ms Leigh included Maggie and Cam from a previous book of hers. They’ve intrigued me enough to firstly search out the book they were from (Scandal Takes the Stage) and to pop it on my list for future reading. As I said, bravo!

Anyway, back to this particular book. We’ve got Kit - the debonair, wastrel third son who’s a newly minted earl. Or not so minted as the case may be. Until he gets bequeathed a sizeable fortune if only he can find a wife within 30 days. And despite never having been discriminating with his partners, suddenly Kit finds himself dismissing every single eligible girl as wifely material. Until he meets Tamsyn. I suppose with both of them it’s almost insta love - but it’s done so well that you really believe it. Even with the rakish Kit - who incidentally is one of my favourite types of characters - an amiable, carefree (and handsome, obviously!) rogue with hidden depths only our heroine can see.

Tamsyn is also a good character although I had a wee bit more trouble with her than I did Kit. It’s the smuggling you see. After Kit and Tamsyn started developing feelings for each other, it made me feel quite uncomfortable that she was keeping such a big secret from him. That was probably the point, to worry if the pair could overcome the obstacles, but I wanted her to tell him rather than have him discover it.

The pair’s chemistry was palpable and by the time they eventually got to the bedroom shenanigans - which was teased for some considerable time - I was as desperate and horny as they were! But it was worth it in the end.

Smuggling aside, I liked the fact that there wasn’t any faux drama and that both characters were open and mature enough to just be honest with each other about their feelings - after the understandable grumpiness and silence. The whole book felt emotionally true to life and felt believable.

While the writing flowed well and was involving, interesting and kept those pages turning easily - I have one teeny tiny thing that irked me throughout the whole book. Gotten. I HATE that word! I even looked up its history just to appease the rage over having to read it about 17 times in this book. (Yep - I counted!) Apparently it was widely used in the UK up until about the 1500s but it’s not used now and it wasn’t used in the Regency. To my British ears, it comes across as a continually jarring Americanism in a book that otherwise does very well to avoid any anachronisms and feels true to the period. I know that writers write for a modern audience but if you’re going to change sidewalk to pavement and fall to autumn in books set in the UK, I feel you should change this word, too. (Steps down from the soapbox.)

But apart from my mini rant above, I couldn’t help but smile at Kit and Tamsyn’s love story and enjoyed their journey on finding themselves and each other. An enjoyable and likeable book - one I would happily recommend. 4 stars.

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The London Underground / Scandalous Ladies of London Series:

       

         

       

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Their young love ignited rapidly but diminished in the blink of an eye. A heart wrenching, second chance romance, that will make you believe, that everything happens for a reason.

Charlotte Daniels is still as sassy as I remember her eighteen years ago, but now, she has a bite to match that bark. It doesn't help that she grew into an irresistible woman, that I can't keep my hands off of, not that I ever could.

Except now, there are two, very good reasons to keep my hands to myself. Yep...sometimes when people say they do something, they don't.

A mistake I thought we made, comes barreling back into my life, but the way I'm looking at it now, it doesn't seem to be a mistake. It seems like a blessing, like the raft that could pull me out of the deep waters, that have been dragging me down for a very, long time.

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I've always been sure of two things:
1. Passion is dangerous. It will suck you in quickly. It will make you feel euphoric but then burn you; slowly and painfully until you're left empty and abandoned.
2. Gabriel Gavinwood was my passion.

I've cut him out, not wanting to watch the train wreck, that replaced the boy I loved all this time. Fate has other plans though, and now our lives collide and there's no going back.

When life throws me another curve ball and I run into said boy, literally, can I ignore that passion that once consumed us? Should I even try? Can we move on from our toxic past, build a future together and have our happily ever after?

Title: Curveball
Author: Nicole Rodrigues
Series: Double Play
Pages: 205
Genre(s): Contemporary, US
Hot Buttons: /

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Nicole Rodrigues is a new author to me - and a fairly new author in general. This appears to be her third book but the first in the Double Play series. But never fear - this novel is completely standalone and has no annoying cliffhangers.

This story is written in first person, future tense - which not being my go-to type of novel, normally takes me a while to get into. Not so with this book - it took about 1 paragraph and I was hooked. Those pages practically turned themselves and at a fast rate, to boot.

We get the story from both Charlotte and Gabriel’s points of view - which really gives us a rounded picture of what the pair are thinking and feeling. However, we only get Charlotte’s point of view for the first wee while and when it came time to swap into Gabe’s head - I didn’t want to go. It says a lot that after such a short while I was 100% behind Charlotte and didn’t want to hear anything about that good-for-nothing former ball player!! Even though I softened my stance towards Gabe as the story moved on, I was still 100% team Charlotte. She was sassy but sweet - peeved at Gabe but still honest about her feelings towards him - good and bad. I loved her Southern charm and the language she used - all y’alls and drawls. But the fact that she was the same age as me yet had 18 year old children blew my mind. I am way too immature to be having grown-up children!

Gabe was a little bit more of an enigma to me. As a boy he was a cutie and as insecure as any other teenage boy; we didn’t really get a sense of his character until he was a grown man. And as a man he was a little bit alpha, a little bit possessive and a lot confused about his feelings and what he should be doing about them. At times he annoyed and frustrated me - and, like Charlotte, I really didn’t want to forgive him at the beginning. But the handsome rascal won me over and I couldn’t help but fall for his persistent charms - particularly in his dedication to Charlie and doing right by her and the twins.

The story was fast paced and I found myself thinking about it and the characters even when I’d put the book down. I wanted to know what happened and I felt involved with the story and the romance. It was never a chore to get back to reading and I just gobbled this book up.

The sexy scenes were on point and just dirty enough to get my pulse racing. Loved how Charlotte was a Southern belle in the streets and a dirty wee minx in the sheets. And of course, the alpha Gabe just had to be an insatiable beast when it came to his woman. Mmm hmm!

There were a few too many typos and grammatical mistakes to not make mention of but I honestly do think it’s down to new author excitement. Try not to let them blight what is an excellent piece of story telling.

While I did say at the beginning that there were no cliffhangers - we are shamelessly teased about what I’m assuming will be the next book in the series (hopefully) featuring Savannah and Jackson. Man, I cannot wait to read that one and uncover all their secrets.

If you love a second-chance romance or want to read about an alpha male working hard to win back his girl - then I would recommend this romance to you. It’s sexy, sassy and just a little bit dirty - great fun to read. Ms. Rodrigues has a new fan in me. 4 stars.

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* I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. *

The Double Play Series:

    

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