Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: January 2, 1997 - 320 Pages - ISBN: 0515120146 - Published By: Jove Publications, Incorporated
Love by Chocolate
by Rosanne Bittner, Elizabeth Bevarly, Muriel Jensen and Elda Minger
Anthology
Chocolate is the ultimate aphrodisiac. And these four enchanting stories of love, passion and chocolate are guaranteed to melt your heart. Each story features a decadent chocolate dessert recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth and your hunger for romance all year ’round…
A traffic ticket and a melted chocolate bar spark a passion that breaks all the rules in “Miss Chocolate and the Law” by Rosanne Bittner
In “Just Desserts” by Elizabeth Bevarly, a search for a missing diamond ring at a chocolate benefit ignites a sizzling attraction between a pastry chef and her best friend.
A chocolate contest on a Valentine’s Day cruise unexpectedly reunites former lovers in “Sweet Nothings: by Muriel Jensen.
In Elda Minger’s “The Kitchen Casanova,” a romantic cooking course culminates in a rich chocolate dessert – and a change of heart – for an engaged woman.
Review: In the synopsis for the first story, ’a passion that breaks all the rules’ did not ring true for me at all. I didn’t feel a ‘spark’ between them whatsoever. I thought Pamela completely unbelievable as a character – did not feel real to me. The male character, Court, felt more real, but not by much. The whole story had an air of ‘inevitability’ to it. It wasn’t awful – just not a very believable or entertaining story.
The second story was cute and funny. Like the best friend Guss, I couldn’t see what Claire saw in Ben either. A very pompous character. If a man proposes to a woman, said woman should be able to answer the man, to promise one in a few weeks. But that was beside the point. The story was full of funny parts and groaning parts (not that kind of groaning, LOL!). But the part where two people who had been best friends for decades finally realize that it’s each other they really wanted was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for better!
The third story was ‘sweet.’ I loved the way the past was brought up and how everything was righted of wrongs. Each learned a lesson and I’m glad they, Maggie and Mike, came together again. You could feel what was between them.
I thought it was great how Jessica met Nick. And how they got to know each other. Nick helped Jesse find her own two feet and stand up to her family. I felt a certain amount of pity for her at the beginning, and an astronomical amount of hatred for her family. I thought the ending appropriate, but it could’ve had just a little more ‘oomph.’
Rating: 
.5
