Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley.

Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley
Avon HarperCollins, 2010.

Review by Laura Parish.

Life is sweet for chocolate maker Chloe Lyon! In the picture-perfect Lancashire village of Sticklepond, Confectioner Chloe dispenses inspirational sweet treats containing a prediction for each customer. If only her own life was as easy to forecast – perhaps Chloe could have foreseen being jilted at the altar! But when a new Vicar arrives in the village, the rumour mill goes into overdrive. Not only is Raffy Sinclair the charismatic ex-front man of rock band ‘Mortal Ruin’, he’s also the Chloe’s first love and the man who broke her heart. Try as she might, Chloe can’t ignore this blast from her past. Could now be the time for her to make a wish – and dare to believe it can come true?

Novel Kicks verdict:

Chocolate Wishes is a wonderfully warm book that has an addictive plot and very likeable characters.

Chloe lives with her grandfather and half-brother in the village of Sticklepond. Happy with her job as a chocolate maker, her life is suddenly turned upside down when the new Vicar arrives in the village. Finding out the new arrival is her ex boyfriend, Raffy, who she believed abandoned her for a music career, isn’t the best news especially as she has unresolved feelings about her relationship. However, she finds that things aren’t always what they seem.

I instantly fell into this story. It has a warm plot and it moves along gently but at a good pace that kept my attention to the point where I struggled to put the book down. Aside from making me crave chocolate (which isn’t good for someone who is trying to watch her weight and needs no excuse to consume chocolate,) there is a funny, wonderful, charming feel throughout this story. I liked Chloe and Raffy and wanted to believe that they would sort things out by the end. There was also a nice balance of sub-plots involving other people in the village. I’m not saying any more as I don’t want to give too much away. I recommend this book.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.