Review of Better than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts

Title: Better Than Chocolate
Author: Sheila Roberts
Published by: Harlequin
Pages: 372
Source: Little Bird Publicity/Author
Format: Paperback ARC
Available: September 25, 2012
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  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.

I love chocolate!  So when I came across this title I was instantly intrigued, because there is only a couple things I can think of that are better than chocolate and I wanted to know what Sheila Roberts thought was better than chocolate. 

If you are looking for a light, cute read this is your book.  You will instantly fall in love with Icicle Falls and all it's quirky residents.  Samantha can sometimes be pushy and overbearing, but she's got a company to save.  I can't imaging the pressure on Samantha's shoulders and while at times she acted irrationally I think I would have too, especially towards Blake.  While reader will love Blake from the instant they meet him, it is easy to see why Samantha blames him for everything.  It seems like he is in the way of saving Sweet Dreams and in turn ruining her life.  I loved to see Blake struggle, not only with Samantha's wild mood swings, but also how to make things right.  He's genuinely a good guy and we need more of those around.

The rest of the characters are just as fun.  They are unique and each bring their own spin to the story.  We do get to see into Samantha's family a bit, but I'm sad to say not as much as I wanted.  There are some loose ends, especially involving her sisters that I want answered.  I'm not sure if there is going to be another book or not, but there should be.  I want to know what happens to Cecily and Bailey's love lives.  These sister need some luck in the love department..  

The story itself was intriguing and hard to put down.  There was so much detail about running a chocolate factory and how it was built and passed down through the family.  I loved hearing about all the different candies and other creations that were made with chocolate.  The chocolate festival that Samantha and the town organized sounded amazing, but I think I would need a gallon of milk and some serious exercise after a weekend there.  To make sure that you didn't feel left out of the goodie fun, the book features some of the recipes of the creations talked about throughout the story.  I love when authors include recipes when they talk about interesting food.  I'm super excited to try the Lavender-White Chocolate Scones.  Don't they sound wonderful?

Whether you're in the mood for something sweet or just a fun read, try Better Than Chocolate.  Oh and if you make any of the recipes in the back make sure to send some my way!