Books

The Chocolate Lovers' Club

Carole Matthews

'This is one of the best chick-lit books I've read for some time, with an interesting mix of characters and believable situations. It's both touching and funny, and is highly recommended!'
The Book Club Forum

'One word of advice before you start this book - make sure you've got a big bar of chocolate next to you. This book is more delicious than the feuillantines that Clive serves up in his Chocolate Heaven boutique - and your mouth will be watering by the time you've finished the first chapter.

This book proves something that I have always believed, hardened chocoholic that I am. It doesn't matter if you're a career bitch (Chantal), a struggling single mum (Nadia), a do-good rich girls (Autumn) or a dizzy grily (Lucy), if you have chocolate then you can do anything.

This is serious chick-lit and it will make you believe in friendship and love all over again.'
News of the World

'Kick off your shoes, sink back and enjoy an utterly delicious read.'
Elizabeth Buchan, Author

'What a rich and satisfying novel about love, life and friendship, and, of course, chocolate. With one of the best breakup revenge scenes I've ever gleefully read!
Melissa Senate, Author

From the Publisher:
The Chocolate Lovers’ Club brings together four very different women with one thing in common: they can't resist chocolate. This is an irresistible novel for anyone who wishes they were a member! Lucy Lombard can't resist it - rich, creamy, sweet, delicious chocolate. For her there's nothing it won't cure - from heartache to a headache - and she's not alone. Sharing her passion are three other addicts: Autumn, Nadia and Chantal. Together they form The Chocolate Lovers' Club. They meet in their sanctuary, Chocolate Heaven, as often as they can, and with a cheating boyfriend who promises he'll change, a flirtatious boss, a gambling husband and a loveless marriage, there's always plenty to discuss!

Carole's comment:
How can I review one of my own books and be impartial?  Well, I can’t!  I loved writing this book – helped, of course, by the wonderful research, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!  The members of The Chocolate Lover’s Club – Lucy, Autumn, Nadia and Chantal – became my best friends.  So much so that I couldn’t bear to leave them, so I then wrote the sequel, The Chocolate Lovers’ Diet.

The Chocolate Lovers' Diet

Carole Matthews

'Fans of Carole Matthews won't be disappointed with this touching and funny follow-up...'
Bella

'This is a delicious treat.'
Heat

From the Publisher:

Survival tips for times of stress:

1. Take deep breaths
2. Count to ten
3. Eat chocolate

Whenever the four members of The Chocolate Lovers’ Club call an emergency meeting there’s barely time to count to ten before one of them gives in to chocolate...

Lucy Lombard thought her ‘Happily Ever After’ was all sewn up when her gorgeous boss Aidan declared his love for her, but she’s just caught him in bed with another woman.  As always, she’s not the only one with problems – Autumn’s new boyfriend has yet to meet her parents, Nadia’s husband swears he’s given up gambling but she just can’t trust him, and Chantal is hoping to save her marriage, but not in quite the way she’d expected.  It’s not surprising that these girls are going to need a lot of chocolate to see them through the challenges that lie ahead…

Following on from Carole Matthews’ hilarious novel The Chocolate Lovers’ Club the unforgettable four members are about to sort their lives out once and for all.

Bread and Chocolate

Philippa Gregory

A rich selection of short stories from bestselling novelist Philippa Gregory.

From the publisher:
A TV chef who specialises in outrageous cakes tempts a monk who bakes bread for his brothers; a surprise visitor invites mayhem into the perfect minimalist flat in the season of goodwill; a woman explains her unique view of straying husbands. These are just some of the treats on offer in this sumptuous box of delights.

Carole's comment:
I absolutely adore Philippa Gregory’s books.  The minute her historical novels come out, I dash to my local bookshop to buy them.  They’re usually devoured in one day. 

This short story anthology is a mix of contemporary and historical tales.  There's only one story with chocolate as the mainstay - Bread and Chocolate - but it's fabulous. The other stories are well worth a look. I love her work. Wonderful.

Chocolat

Joanne Harris

From the publisher:
Try me...Test me...Taste me...

When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as the ultimate sin.

Suddenly Vianne's shop-cum-café means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a 'Church not Chocolate' battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair?

For the first time here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance. Rich, clever and mischievious, Chocolat is a literary feast for all senses.

Carole's Comment:
Joanne Harris is a fabulous writer who skillfully weaves the villagers’ secrets and troubles, their loves and desires, into this her highly-acclaimed third novel.  I loved this book and thought the film was equally wonderful – not hampered by the voluptuous Juliette Binoche and the universally gorgeous Johnny Deppe.  Yum, yum!

Like Water For Chocolate

Laura Esquivel

A romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness and bittersweet wit.

From the publisher:
The number one bestseller in Mexico for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness and bittersweet wit.

A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and in desperation he marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her. For the next 22 years Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.

Carole's comment:
Laura Esquivel is one of Mexico's most celebrated writers. Originally a screenwriter, she also wrote the script for the award-winning film of this, her fabulous first book, Like Water for Chocolate.

This book really is delicious.  A dark tale of cooking and romance set in Mexico – what a potent mix! Condemned by tradition to look after her tyrannical mother and remain a spinster, Tita finds her destiny in the kitchens of the family ranch. Her recipes for Mexican dishes are woven into the story of her doomed romance with Pedro, her brother-in-law. Beautifully written and a bit more high-brow than the other books on this list, this is definitely a novel to be savoured.

Chocolate Girls

Annie Murray

From The Publisher:
Set between 1939 and 1959, this is a story of love, war and chocolate! Three very different women work together at Cadbury's Bournville factory, and their lives become entwined by war and work - and a child called David. Edie, the main character, marries young to escape her unhappy family home Widowed at 19 and, after losing her child from the marriage, she faces the war grieving and lonely. Then one night during the Blitz, an infant mysteriously abandoned during the bombing is handed into her care...Ruby, meanwhile, doesn't want to be left behind in the wedding stakes and settles for marriage with Frank. Finally there's Janet, kind-hearted and susceptible to male charm, who is hurt desperately by an affair with a married man. David, the child who steals Edie's heart as she brings him up through a time none of them will ever forget, is the love of all their lives. And when David is old enough to wonder who he really is, he leads Edie through struggle and heartache to a life and love she would never have dreamed of...

Carole's Comment:
Annie is a lovely writer who’s heart-warming stories are all set in the midlands in England.  This is a really great book which will leave you with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye!

Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains

Susan Elderkin

From the publisher:
Planting a cactus garden around his mobile home where he can star-gaze and practise yoga, Theobald Moon provides a haven of security for his small daughterJosie, weaving about her a gossamer web of fairy stories and belief in an ordered universe. But there is a terrible secret at the hear of this novel, a mystery that propels the brilliantly constructed narrative between the Arizona desert and snowbound Slovakia, where an ice-cream seller and a shoe-factory worker meet and fall in love.

Carole's comment:
Can't wait to read this - Amazon says " Bold witty, questing, vividly evocative of time and place, Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains is a sparklingly original debut by an exceptional new novelist."

Death By Chocolate

Toby Moore

From The Publisher:
Being fat is no longer a matter of self-esteem. It's a crime.

For Matt Devlin, a health enforcement agent in future New York, being overweight is a crime he fights on a daily basis. But his humdrum routine of busting illegal eateasys is shattered by the discovery of a beautiful murder victim dressed only in 'brown' - the rarest, most potent cocoa powder known to man. Is this a case for homicide or a food crime?

As the full fat conspiracy spreads to the upper echelons of Manhattan society, Matt's investigation takes him on a bizarre trail of religious corporations and humonsters (the really big ones) in search of the truth.

Carole's Comment:
This is a very funny book. A satirical murder mystery - a genre I can quite easily say I had never read before. Hope this scenario never comes true though! Chocolate is a banned substance in America made illegal by the President and all the citizens have to pass regular weight checks. It could never happen, could it?

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate

Alexander McCall Smith

From the publisher:
Isabel is trying to deal with her uncertain feelings for an attractive young man, Jamie, who is planning to marry her niece, Cat. Things become even more complicated when Cat takes an Italian vacation and asks Isabel to look after her delicatessen. Isabel finds out that one of the customers has had a heart transplant, and seems to be accessing memories that he is convinced belong to another person.

Carole's comment:
The juggernaut of Alexander McCall Smith’s success rolls on.  His much-loved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series won him legions of fans, with its vivid Zimbabwean settings, quirky plots and his likeable, love-handled sleuth Precious Ramotswe. These gentle, enjoyable books were unlike anything else being published at the time and found a huge audience.

His follow up series started with The Sunday Philosophy Club featuring a new female lead character, the philosopher Isabel Dalhousie - a woman with a fondnest for chocolate. The elegant streets of Edinburgh also replaced the sultry Zimbabwe setting. Friends, Lovers, Chocolate is the second outing for Isabel Dalhousie. 

The only problem for me is that Isobel is supposed to be a woman in her forties and she seems so much older – but that could be that the books are written by a gentleman of a certain age rather than a forty-year-old woman!  A jumble of a plot with everything thrown at it, but just as entertaining and sure to be as hugely popular as Precious Ramotswe.

The Discovery of Chocolate

Jamie Runcie

From the publisher:
A story of love, chocolate and a greyhound called Pedro

A young Spaniard, Diego de Godoy, sets sail for the New world in 1518 in search of fame and fortune. Fighting alongside Cortes and his conquistadors, Diego falls in love with Ignacia, a native woman who initiates him into the sensuous secret of chocolate.

Although the lovers are soon separated, Ignacia has given diego an elixir that will keep him alive for five hundred years. He and his faithful greyhound Pedro are destined to wander throughout the world and down the centuries seeking lost love, the perfection of chocolate and the meaning of life.

Carole's comment:
This is a part-historical, part-love story, part-choccy facts, time-spanning extravaganza! Very hard to define! Apart from a very bizarre interlude in the prison cell of the Marquis de Sade involving Diego's put-upon dog, Pedro (use your imagination!) this is a very entertaining book which sees Diego travelling across time and continents to find the true meaning of love - and chocolate. This would make a great film and as the writer, James Runcie, is a film-maker, I can't imagine why he hasn't done it. Maybe he's still working on it...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl

From the publisher:
Mr Wonka's inventions are out of this world. He's thought up every kind of sweet imaginable in his amazing chocolate factory, but no one has ever seen inside, or met Mr Wonka! Charlie can't believe his luck when he finds a golden ticket and wins the trip of a lifetime around the famous factory.

Carole's comment:
A favourite book for both adults and children for many years.  Charlie and The Chocolate Factory was first published in the USA in 1964, followed in 1967 by publication in the UK.

The inspiration for Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is thought to come from Dahl’s time at Repton School in Derbyshire, England which was right by the Cadbury’s chocolate factory.  The schoolboys were regularly sent new chocolate bars for tasting. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another unforgettable masterpiece from the pen of legendary writer Roald Dahl, never fails to delight, thrill and utterly captivate.