Not worth finishing. Sheesh! ( )

A cute, quick read that made me really want some chocolates!!! ( )

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of the Tell Harlequin reader panel.

Overall a cute book. Very focused on Samantha and her problems with starting a chocolate festival to save her struggling chocolate business. Almost to the exclusion of other things, including the romance in the book. Early in the book she shows dreams of Samantha and her mother. This seems just to be word filler and added nothing significant to the story. In the end the relationship of Samantha & Blake seems rushed and insignificant. I found myself bored with their relationship. I'm more interested in the story of her sister Cicily and Todd Black and I'm awaiting her story. Though after reading [a:Shelia Roberts|6586848|Shelia Roberts|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg]'s [b:What She Wants|16000979|What She Wants|Sheila Roberts|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358264152s/16000979.jpg|21762417] (after reading this one) I am dreading that I will be disappointed.

Cross posted: Ramblings of a Lost Dancer ( )

With a name like Better Than Chocolate I really expected more romance. There is very little romance in this book at all. It is more like how to rescue a chocolate factory. Still a good read just not if you are looking for a romance. ( )

I received this book as a part of the Tell Harlequin panel. I have received other books as a part of that program that I have absolutely adored, so I was incredibly hopeful for this one. Couple that with the fact that I had other friends with similar book tastes to me tell me they had heard amazing things about this author, and I thought for sure this was going to be another hit that would melt my cynical heart. Unfortunately, I just don't feel that it lived up to the hype.

I have sat here reading other reviews and wondering if I was reading the same book, because there were a lot of people according to Amazon and Goodreads that really enjoyed this one. I just was not one of them.

Firstly, there was a lot of filler in the story - bits and pieces that had no bearing on the outcome and were just there to fill up space. I really dislike filler. A good author can paint a picture without so much extra detail that is unrelated to the main plot. I get sub plots and all, but this was not even subplot, it was just, extra.

There were some editing errors that should have been obvious and corrected before this went to print, and yet they weren't and that is always a big sticking point for me.


And then, this was a romance, right? Because the romantic relationship coming to be happened in the last 15 pages or so and felt rushed and like it was there just because people would expect it to be. I mean, seriously, a check, a kiss, a hike, an engagement? Where are the details about the relationship developing and building. I felt like a couple chapters were missing from my book, but the page numbers matched up so I know that was not the case.

I am sure Ms. Roberts is a gifted writer, at least in the minds of some readers, but after reading this one, I don't think that I will be able to read another book by this author. It took me more than a month to finish this one, and I read books of this length usually in a much shorter period of time. I felt I had to make myself keep reading. The premise was great, and this could have been an awesome book. I just felt like there was too much gritty detail, and not enough meat. ( )