Review: Better Than Chocolate

Book Title:  Better Than Chocolate  

Author: Sheila Roberts

Publisher:  Mira

Genre:  contemporary romance

Heat Level- sensual

Length-  4oo pages

Reviewer name:  Nikki

Rating-  4 Lightning Bolts 

Blurb:  Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, ever since Great-Grandma Rose literally dreamed up her first fabulous recipe. But now it looks as if they're about to lose Sweet Dreams to the bank—and that would be a disaster, not only for the family but for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the oldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it?
After Samantha does some brainstorming with her mother and sisters, inspiration strikes. They'll have a chocolate festival! Time's running out, but the Sterling women are determined and the town's behind them, so everything's bound to go smoothly….

Or not. Events seem to be conspiring against Samantha, and her mother's attempts to help aren't helping. To make matters worse, the fate of her company is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It's enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake's also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there's something even better than chocolate.

Review:  Welcome to Icicle Falls.  The community here is struggling to be brought back on the map for tourism.  Some of the companies that are family owned and operated are in dire trouble. Sweet Dreams, owned by the Sterling family, is facing this very dilemma.  With Samantha, stubborn, hard headed, and not ready to give up behind the reigns, maybe this company has a shot after all.

Samantha's mother has just lost her husband.   Samantha's sisters are dealing with their own troubles and lives. It's up to Samantha to keep this business going strong.  She's a little hard to like sometimes, because she comes across as bossy and snooty, but I have to cut the woman some slack. I know that deep inside, she seems to have the best interest at heart, but doesn't always display them that way. She just wants to keep Sweet Dreams where it belongs, and not have to sell it to a company that won't have the same family values and morals that they currently do.

Samantha's love interest is Blake. Although she's not going to give in to him. He's seen as a rival to her, because he works for the bank that holds the key to her business. What she doesn't know is Blake really does want to help, but his attempts and kindness are blown off.

I love the sense of community in this story. Everyone, well, with a few exceptions, wants to see Sweet Dreams succeed. In fact, the whole town could use a little boost. With a lot of things stacking up against them, Icicle Falls needs to pull together to make things run smoothly.

I'm hoping for more great books set in this town. Ms. Roberts writes with ease, creating characters that face every day situations, and though they have their low points, they just want what's best for their town- and their hearts all along.  I love that this story doesn't just focus on a romantic relationship, but on various relationships- sisters, mother/daughter, and friend.  Better Than Chocolate is a gem of a story, one that took my heart along for a great ride.


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