Chocolate Muse

Love by Chocolate #2

by Zelda Benjamin

Pastry chef Maddie Higgins is horrified when her prize-winning torta di chocolate gets a bad review. Choking critics is never a good thing, and she loses her job before the scathing article hits the morning paper. Forced to take a job in a friend's bakery and teach a children's evening class to make ends meet, she vows vengeance on the man responsible for her damaged reputation. But when she realizes that the father of two of her students is her nemesis, the charming food writer Brad Angelo, her anger deflates faster than an overcooked soufflé.

Brad, a single father struggling to balance parenting and his syndicated food column, is completely clueless about the trouble he's caused Maddie. He finds her evasive attitude and chocolate talent to be intriguing parts of her allure, but isn't sure he's ready to create a life that might be messier than melted chocolate when their secrets are slowly revealed.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

182 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2008

About the author

Zelda Benjamin is the author of the Love by Chocolate series. She writes sweet sassy romances. When not writing she spends her time traveling with family, baking, and of course eating cookies and chocolate.

Reviews

[Maddielucy(Patti) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and sweet read!

Loved the characters and the story. Was a fun romance and made me hungry! Great summer read with a side of chocolate

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's not to love about chocolate? This story takes us into the life and love of a chocolatier and a foodie writer. When one is unduly hard on oneself, just a small error can send one plunging into the depths of despair. This story takes us as she is crawling up out of those depths and finally returning to the world of chocolate, can love be too far behind?

[SandyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddie Higgins was working as a top pastry chef when somehow the powdered sugar that went on her signature desert was replaced by soap powder - and the result was served to a food critic whose column ruined Maddie's career. Six months later, she's trying to get out of her rut, find her muse and earn some money. She attends a chocolate festival where she runs into none other than Brad Angelo, the writer who named her desert "soap powder torta." He doesn't recognize her (actually he never met her) and as much as Maddie wants to hate him, he's actually a nice guy. Fate continues to throw them together as the story progresses. Although I enjoyed the story overall, there were a number of things that were never addressed - how did soap powder get on Maddie's original cake (I'm not sure why this was never investigated and BTW, who uses and calls it soap powder?,) and what caused Brad's reaction in the chocolate shop. Also, I kept remembering my long-deceased grandmother while reading this book - I haven't heard the term "pocketbook" used for a purse or handbag since she died!

[Renee Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

One mistakes, just one mistake is all it took to ruin Chef Pastry chef Maddie. She had a reputation for her tasty desserts, and was quickly making a name for herself. But when Brad, a very well known syndicated food columnist came by, it all went downhill. One mistake and he gave a bad review. Now unemployed, depressed, and self conscious, she vows revenge. When she meets him face to face, she has a change of heart, but will he forgive her for almost killing him, with that one mistake. This is a cozy story of dreams, dashed dreams, and picking yourself back up after devastation. I loved this book and definitely recommend it.

[Carol Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely read

Glass of wine, curled up on the sofa and you've got a great read. A co Yuri please or recipes would be nice!!!!

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better than a love story with chocolate mentioned more than once on every single page? Yummy! This was a sweet, clean, quick, chocolate filled book. Did I already say yum? YUM!

(This is an Avalon book that I picked up on a whim on my way through the library. The cover was just sitting there, begging me, daring me. I couldn't resist.)

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love chocolate and I love this book. :)
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

[Lonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I somehow read the last book in a series first...but it was good and only took 2 hours, so now I just need to read the first 2 books! :-)

[Susan Banner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute romance.

[Nd · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fluffy little romance short story. Knew what was coming in the first few pages, but still enjoyed the chocolate references & tension. Too bad I'm not at the beach; it would be a great beach book.

[Andrea Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to follow