I have been previously underwhelmed by Laura Florand, but was heartily encouraged to try, in particular, this and one of her other novels as a better representation of her potential. I’m now very scared I am going to be shunned. Here is the plot summary — it’s basically You’ve Got Mail — in Goodreads’ words: “Welcome to La Maison des Sorcieres. Where the window display is an enchanted forest of sweets, a collection of conical hats delights the eye and the habitues nibble chocolate witches […]
You fed my heart to a dog?
In my last romance review I wrote about how romance novels can return you to the feeling of falling in love. I stand by that. But sometimes they can also return you to the feeling of realizing things aren’t going to work out the way you wanted. It isn’t the fault of the book, it’s what I as a reader bring to this particular table. I’m not going to go into my personal history (which doesn’t involve Paris, witch craft, or a happy ending), […]
Sex and Dessert and Control Freak Perfectionists
The Chocolate Heart is book five in Laura Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. The conceit of each novel is that an American woman is thrown into close proximity with a French chocolatier/pastry god. They fall in love quickly, get busy, and are engaged in short order. Florand provides consistently enjoyable escapism with romantic locations. The Chocolate Heart is not best of the series, that’s The Chocolate Touch, but The Chocolate Heart was certainly an absorbing and mostly entertaining read. Summer Corey has been told all her […]
Sex and Dessert
Look! I found Laura Florand’s romance mission statement. The Chocolate Temptation is book six in Florand’s Amour et Chocolat series. I reviewed the first four books in a previous effort. I will review the fifth, The Chocolate Heart, when I can get my hands on it at my local library, as it is priced out of my willing-to-pay range*. The conceit of each novel is that an American woman is thrown into close proximity with a French chocolatier/pastry god. They fall in love quickly, get […]
More love and hate and chocolate in the City of Lights
Sarah Lin hates Patrick Chevalier. She hates his golden good looks, his charming manner, the way he seems to be able to create magic with his bare hands and does absolutely everything flawlessly, without seeming to expend even the slightest bit of effort. She hates him because every time he brushes past her, or winks at her, or jokingly flirts with her, her heart beats faster and she has trouble breathing. He is her boss, and he is godlike, and he would never even look […]
Love and hate and chocolate in the City of Lights
3.5 stars Disclaimer! I was granted an ARC of this book by Kensington Books via Netgalley in return for a fair and honest review. Summer Corey hates Paris. It’s a city where she was frequently abandoned to be raised by ever changing nannies while her parents were globe trotting or negotiating international business deals, and it’s where she felt miserable, alone and outcast in boarding school from the age of thirteen. Having been forced back from her self-imposed exile, teaching on a small Pacific island, because her […]