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Chocolate Lovers’ Club #3
The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas
Christmas is just around the corner but the women of The Chocolate Lovers' Club have more to worry about than present shopping . . .
Lucy loves running Chocolate Heaven but she hasn't spent time with her boyfriend, Aiden, in weeks. And then her ex-fiance turns up and things become even more complicated.
Nadia hasn't let herself get close to a man in a long time, yet she can't help feeling drawn to Jacob. Will he be her last chance for a happy ending?
Chantal and her husband, Ted, are besotted with their baby daughter Lana - but she's not sure that's enough to base a marriage on.
Autumn is dealing with a tragedy that has hit too close to home. But when she doesn't get the support she needs from her fiance, will she look elsewhere for comfort?
Can friendship overcome all in . . . The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas.
Lucy loves running Chocolate Heaven but she hasn't spent time with her boyfriend, Aiden, in weeks. And then her ex-fiance turns up and things become even more complicated.
Nadia hasn't let herself get close to a man in a long time, yet she can't help feeling drawn to Jacob. Will he be her last chance for a happy ending?
Chantal and her husband, Ted, are besotted with their baby daughter Lana - but she's not sure that's enough to base a marriage on.
Autumn is dealing with a tragedy that has hit too close to home. But when she doesn't get the support she needs from her fiance, will she look elsewhere for comfort?
Can friendship overcome all in . . . The Chocolate Lovers' Christmas.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2015
105 people are currently reading
1569 people want to read
About the author
Carole Matthews
75 books1,718 followersCarole Matthews is an international bestselling author of hugely successful romantic comedy novels. Her unique sense of humour has won her legions of fans and critical acclaim all over the world.
A Minor Indiscretion and A Compromising Position both reached the Top 5 in the Sunday Times bestseller chart in the UK. You Drive Me Crazy reached number 8 in the original fiction charts. The novel Welcome To The Real World was shortlisted for RNA romantic novel of the year 2007.
In 2006 Carole co-edited - with writer Sarah Mlynowski - two new editions of the hugely popular Girls' Night In charity series called Girls' Night Out - one for the USA and one for Canada. All proceeds go to War Child.
Carole has presented on television and is a regular radio guest. When she’s not writing novels, television or film scripts she manages to find time to trek in the Himalayas, rollerblade in Central Park, take tea in China and snooze in her garden shed in Milton Keynes which is near London, England.
A Minor Indiscretion and A Compromising Position both reached the Top 5 in the Sunday Times bestseller chart in the UK. You Drive Me Crazy reached number 8 in the original fiction charts. The novel Welcome To The Real World was shortlisted for RNA romantic novel of the year 2007.
In 2006 Carole co-edited - with writer Sarah Mlynowski - two new editions of the hugely popular Girls' Night In charity series called Girls' Night Out - one for the USA and one for Canada. All proceeds go to War Child.
Carole has presented on television and is a regular radio guest. When she’s not writing novels, television or film scripts she manages to find time to trek in the Himalayas, rollerblade in Central Park, take tea in China and snooze in her garden shed in Milton Keynes which is near London, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
January 2, 2017
If you’re into chick lit, you’re probably familiar with an author Carole Matthews.
She’s one of the most known writers of women’s fiction, with (I think) 30 novels written.
Also, her stories always come within the most adorable covers, so it’s hard not to pay attention to her work.
Being devoted reader of women’s fiction, I wanted to read her work for the longest time.
After few years of putting it off, I decided it was about time to finally grab one of those gorgeous paperbacks and start reading (plus TBD bargain section helped me to decide which one to choose).
The Chocolate Lovers’ Club is the third book in the series but it can be read as standalone.
However, if you want to read this book, I encourage you to read previous books first.
The reason why is because so many things happened in the first two books and, although an author mentioned them through the story and tried her best to keep new readers on track, I think that if I’d read the series in order, I would understand the characters better.
The story follows four women who are best friends whose love for chocolate connected them.
As the author herself said it in her letter to readers at the end of the book, the reason why she wrote this series is to show how women can be there for each other without judging one another.
I understand where she was coming from and I can say she solidly succeeded in her goal, but yet these women were so much different from where I come from, that even though I tried to go with an open mind into this story, at times it was really hard for me to understand them.
There is no girl code (one woman was one’s guy mistress and now her friend is dating him), with questionable morals (cheating and not knowing who your baby’s father is) and easy to fogive approach (becoming fast friend with your husband’s ex mistress who has his child (who’s by the way the same age as yours)).
If you’re a type of reader who avoids all of the above in their books, maybe this book is not for you.
The writing style is really, really good. I’d say it is the best part of this piece. Carole Matthews uses her words in a way that makes you fly through the story. That only is enough reason for me to want to read more of her work.
However, I wasn’t the biggest fan of how this book was concepted.
It follows four POVs, one of them (Lucy’s) written in first person and others all written in third person.
To be honest, I still don’t understand why Matthews chose to write her book that way.
For a really short period it gave me that Sex and the City vibe, in which Carrie tells the story, but then I realized that in those chapters that were written in third person when Lucy was mentioned, she was being Lucy, and not the person who tells the story, so that’s what confused me.
And while we’re talking about Sex and the City, I can say The Chocolate Lover’s Christmas is like a lighter version of it, only set in London and without parties.
Even some scenes reminded me of ones from that show. They would be amazing, if only they were original.
Overall, The Chocolate Lovers’ Christmas is a quick read perfect to put you into the festive mood, but if you don’t like not-so-smart protagonists nor promiscuity, you probably won’t like this novel either.
Read this and more reviews on my blog: http://bookdustmagic.wordpress.com
She’s one of the most known writers of women’s fiction, with (I think) 30 novels written.
Also, her stories always come within the most adorable covers, so it’s hard not to pay attention to her work.
Being devoted reader of women’s fiction, I wanted to read her work for the longest time.
After few years of putting it off, I decided it was about time to finally grab one of those gorgeous paperbacks and start reading (plus TBD bargain section helped me to decide which one to choose).
The Chocolate Lovers’ Club is the third book in the series but it can be read as standalone.
However, if you want to read this book, I encourage you to read previous books first.
The reason why is because so many things happened in the first two books and, although an author mentioned them through the story and tried her best to keep new readers on track, I think that if I’d read the series in order, I would understand the characters better.
The story follows four women who are best friends whose love for chocolate connected them.
As the author herself said it in her letter to readers at the end of the book, the reason why she wrote this series is to show how women can be there for each other without judging one another.
I understand where she was coming from and I can say she solidly succeeded in her goal, but yet these women were so much different from where I come from, that even though I tried to go with an open mind into this story, at times it was really hard for me to understand them.
There is no girl code (one woman was one’s guy mistress and now her friend is dating him), with questionable morals (cheating and not knowing who your baby’s father is) and easy to fogive approach (becoming fast friend with your husband’s ex mistress who has his child (who’s by the way the same age as yours)).
If you’re a type of reader who avoids all of the above in their books, maybe this book is not for you.
The writing style is really, really good. I’d say it is the best part of this piece. Carole Matthews uses her words in a way that makes you fly through the story. That only is enough reason for me to want to read more of her work.
However, I wasn’t the biggest fan of how this book was concepted.
It follows four POVs, one of them (Lucy’s) written in first person and others all written in third person.
To be honest, I still don’t understand why Matthews chose to write her book that way.
For a really short period it gave me that Sex and the City vibe, in which Carrie tells the story, but then I realized that in those chapters that were written in third person when Lucy was mentioned, she was being Lucy, and not the person who tells the story, so that’s what confused me.
And while we’re talking about Sex and the City, I can say The Chocolate Lover’s Christmas is like a lighter version of it, only set in London and without parties.
Even some scenes reminded me of ones from that show. They would be amazing, if only they were original.
Overall, The Chocolate Lovers’ Christmas is a quick read perfect to put you into the festive mood, but if you don’t like not-so-smart protagonists nor promiscuity, you probably won’t like this novel either.
Read this and more reviews on my blog: http://bookdustmagic.wordpress.com
December 14, 2015
I really enjoyed this Christmas read. The characters are lovely and the story doesn't quite go the way I was expecting, which I was glad of - sometimes chick-lit can be a bit predictable. A good read to put you in the Christmas mood - I recommend it.
February 26, 2016
A lovely sweet read, so much chocolate, I must have put on pounds just reading this book, I do love the characters in this series.
December 5, 2022
CAWPILE 3.86
If I hadn't set a rule in 2022 not to DNF then I would have stopped reading this 60-80 pages in.
I found the 'antics' of the characters, particularly our main character Lucy- cringeworthy. The real emotional impactful moments didn't land well- this may be because it's the third in a series and I don't have an emotional attachment to the characters (I just picked this up as a Christmas read) but I felt no connection whatsoever to any of the characters, most of them I found wholly unlikable.
I love a christmas chick lit- something fluffy, cute, a bit funny, even a bit spicy but this just missed everything and headed straight into first place for my worst read of the year...so disappointed.
If I hadn't set a rule in 2022 not to DNF then I would have stopped reading this 60-80 pages in.
I found the 'antics' of the characters, particularly our main character Lucy- cringeworthy. The real emotional impactful moments didn't land well- this may be because it's the third in a series and I don't have an emotional attachment to the characters (I just picked this up as a Christmas read) but I felt no connection whatsoever to any of the characters, most of them I found wholly unlikable.
I love a christmas chick lit- something fluffy, cute, a bit funny, even a bit spicy but this just missed everything and headed straight into first place for my worst read of the year...so disappointed.
December 19, 2019
I’m amazed I actually managed to get to the end of this book - the storyline was ridiculous and didn’t really go anywhere. The dialog between the characters was very unrealistic and basic. I get that chocolate unites these ladies however it was mentioned far too much and just became annoying - no one would ever talk that much about chocolate! Def won’t be reading the next one!
December 12, 2016
Who the hell are these people giving this 5 stars? I love rubbish chick lit. I love a good escapist holiday read. This was predictable beyond belief and dire. The writing is abysmal...how on earth does this awful woman have such a prolific career?
May 24, 2017
Another great book in the set about the chocolate lovers club, this is a book about the girls running the shop and then get a set of bad news before Xmas. It all comes good in the end.
December 18, 2021
2.5 stars
I just stuck around for the story. And now I need to finish/read the second book.
I just stuck around for the story. And now I need to finish/read the second book.
December 6, 2021
Pretty rubbish, which I guess I should have anticipated from the title... the first few chapters go on and on AND ON about the size of the women and the ‘guilt’ ‘naughtiness’ etc about eating chocolate... then the story actually begins.
It could be good after that except the main character is beyond belief, constantly getting into ridiculous situations that are too incredulous to be funny. For example, when trying to track someone down, she doesn’t hear from them for five days because the number she’s been ringing and texting turns out to be her dad’s... how could that even happen on a mobile phone?!
Throw in some horrible toilet humour, obvious storylines and daft plot holes... not impressed at all. Leave this series alone and stick to her older, less written-to-order novels.
It could be good after that except the main character is beyond belief, constantly getting into ridiculous situations that are too incredulous to be funny. For example, when trying to track someone down, she doesn’t hear from them for five days because the number she’s been ringing and texting turns out to be her dad’s... how could that even happen on a mobile phone?!
Throw in some horrible toilet humour, obvious storylines and daft plot holes... not impressed at all. Leave this series alone and stick to her older, less written-to-order novels.
November 18, 2015
Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love Carole Matthews, especially The Chocolate Lovers' and their numerous outings. This isn't my favourite of Carole's books but it's certainly a good read and definitely gets you in the Christmas spirit. There are some funny bits which had me smiling, along with heartache, friendship and of course lots of chocolate along the way.
A nice read, lovely writing and a great bunch of characters. Can't wait for the next instalment.
3.5 stars!
A nice read, lovely writing and a great bunch of characters. Can't wait for the next instalment.
3.5 stars!
December 11, 2020
Sadly this book didn’t bring the festive spirit I was hoping for. It was way too slow paced and too long, and some of the characters and relationships are just awful. You can’t read it as a stand-alone, and I wasn’t aware at first that is is part of a series (it isn’t mentioned on the cover).
And there was, dare I say it, too much chocolate 😅
And there was, dare I say it, too much chocolate 😅
December 26, 2020
My expectations for this book were practically nonexistant. Yet it still disappointed me big time. Some of the reasons:
1. Like many books issued en masse over recent years, it's trying way too hard to be everything at once, instead of just focusing on one genre/ action/ character/ theme/ etc. and trying to do that as well as possible. I'm perfectly fine with reading an unapologetic shallow fling at times, but books like this one are too all over the place.
- This one's trying to be funny but also deep and also romantic plus erotic, with a little added "mystery" and "adventure" in there. None of which is particularily good written. Furthermore, the book isn't graphic enough with its erotic scenes to be "steamy", but does give out just enough detail for it to be inappropriate for kids (who would be closer to this book's intelligence level). Neither here, nor there; just loosely Christmas themed and with chocolate every 2 pages.
- The writer's blurbs reveal that she's already written almost 30 books before this one and is writing at least two books a year. Welp. This explains a LOT about the quality. I'm not curious to read anything else from this author, if she and her publishers think this one was interesting enough to print out and call "book".
2. The action is horribly built. Barely a couple of things happen for the first 3-400 out of the 470 pages - most of which could have easily been avoided had Lucy not been so unrealistically dense - then over the last part, everything that did more or less happen is hastily "tied up" in the least exciting ways imaginable (some things are still left on a cliffhanger, perhaps they were forgotten). Anything remotely interesting in this work could have been fully contained within maybe 100 pages, the rest is an utterly useless and cringey romcom-soap attempt that's not giving us any context, nor giving its characters any depth. I would have thought that after the first 20+ books, one would start to learn a thing or two about writing better. So many poor trees died for this...
Autumn's story takes literally 300+ pages until she finally gets out of a bad relationship (through a convenient deus ex machina setting, not even of her own accord, no character progress), Chantal's and Nadia's love stories make progress only around page 400 (again conveniently, around the same time) and as for Lucy, I'm just surprised she hasn't poked an eye with a fork out yet... (sorry for that mental image)
3. The characters may have different backgrounds and looks (the author is admitting in the blurbs that she tried to emulate SATC and DH), but are otherwise very sterile, all of them are weak (whether it's about chocolate, alcohol or men) and there's absolutely nothing in there about their personalities, other than the narrator's/ Lucy's helpful indication that they all mean well.
- I was partially warming up to Autumn and her "poor little rich girl" cliché (pardon the Rich pun) in the beginning, but when it got to the part where she wouldn't wear a sexy outfit for a few minutes and "a good cause", in spite of her being revealed to sleep around quite easily I lost all sympathy for such a poorly written character. Like she randomly forgot how easily she's gotten naked with at least three guys in moments when she really shouldn't have (two whom she literally didn't know and one with which she knew it was over with; she could have been with even more guys in other books) and now she suddenly turned into a part-time prude for one chapter where there wasn't even any intercourse. It doesn't give her "depth", it's just poor building.
- Lucy is a complete idiot. That does not count as personality (though it does sum up the whole book, it should be listed as its plot and synopsis). She's the least endearing of all the characters, none of which I could relate to or sympathize with anyway. Her boyfriend is equally as stupid... perhaps even moreso, since he takes her back. They deserve each other (barfity barf). Mistakes like "endolphins" and "plutonium" are cringey, just embarrassingly atrocious. I don't need to read things like that to be able to tell she's a cretin. Really, that's unnecessary. Like most of the book.
- Too much chocolate, including during the least appropriate moments and occasions. I get the idea of comfort food, but some things such as those mentioned in the book can't be fixed by a hot beverage, anyone would take it as mockery. I can remember barely 2-3 mentions of other dishes without implied chocolate, but for the rest of the book everyone is simply having sweets, drinks, plus chocolate-laden dishes and who would want to read about their blood sugar spikes a couple more books from now? And did I mention how much alcohol they're downing? It's also highly cringey how they act like they're some kind of superheroes with their "chocolate emergency", "chocolate club" and all that jazz. Not to mention their moments when they speak, moan or groan in unison, further proving that neither of them has any personality. It's basically a cringey SATC parody with way too much sugar. More barf.
- That Stacey was an obvious rat from the start, I can't believe the characters were "smart" enough to not want anything to do with the slinky Marcus, but couldn't smell an obvious rat like Stacey from AFAR (not even one of them) and welcomed her so easily into their special club, which is not so special or hard to join after all. Again, characters built horribly poor.
- There's a chance that the characters might have been better described or delimited during the previous books in the series, though I seriously doubt it. They all sound the same and react in the same ways at all times (with the exception of Lucy being way dumber than any other character, but that's not a good thing).
4. Speaking of voice:
- The narration alternates between an omniscient narrator and Lucy (remember, the dipshit). This inconsistency is just wrong and adds to the pile of cons. At least keep Lucy's point of view throughout or switch to the other girls' once in a while. Or just stick to a tried-and-true third-party narrator who knows better than to use "endolphins" during a narration. Perhaps better writers could pull such a switch off (within reason), but this is not it.
- Far too much brit slang, like "smellies". Maybe it's just me, but most of it reads very forced.
- Some mistakes, but I'll rule those as typos, as I don't want to go back and look them up. I remember at least one speech quote was closed, but never opened.
- Trying too hard to make the story "christmassy", but other than a couple mentions of barely there snow, static standard decorations and other irrelevant bits such as the odd scene of someone taking their coat off, there's nothing festive about it - might as well have been a summer book, there'd be literally no difference. Absolutely none. I'm guessing the author had the story already somewhere and just added some wintery stuff in some descriptions.
- The "romantic couple" of the book is at one point compared to Ant and Dec (!) or to Scooby and Shaggy. The last I checked, those were the epitome of a romantic couple only if you specifically shipped them in your head. If it was an attempt at a joke... seriously CRINGE! Better to have stuck to old clichés on this one, such as Romeo and Juliet or even Jack and Rose.
- Too many repetitions, sometimes close to each other and mostly regarding different characters (such as "tod", "horseradish mash" and "if it would never happen, it would be too soon"). Please hire a proofreader to weed out these embarrassments before they go on the market, it can't be that expensive.
There aren't really any pros to this book... maybe the "j'ai faim" bit was a little funny, but even that feels pegged in at the last minute (possibly by someone else) and is too little to save the story anyway. It's not even a super-light read, as was the least I had expected from it. If it were at least that, just a shallow fling about some girls having chocolate and some love troubles, I might have given it around 4 stars, but as it is, there was nothing good about it that I could at least pretend to cling to. It's just almost 500 pages of barely any substance or character, too all over the place at all times and hardly enjoyable.
I'm sorry I sent my friend a copy before going past the first couple of chapters; I thought it would have been fun to read it at the same time, but this is so bad, that it shouldn't even be a loo book (maybe unless you're out of paper, not for actual reading). Never touching anything like it ever again.
Dedication for the author (whom I assume is a brit :D ) and to many similar ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq2kP...
1. Like many books issued en masse over recent years, it's trying way too hard to be everything at once, instead of just focusing on one genre/ action/ character/ theme/ etc. and trying to do that as well as possible. I'm perfectly fine with reading an unapologetic shallow fling at times, but books like this one are too all over the place.
- This one's trying to be funny but also deep and also romantic plus erotic, with a little added "mystery" and "adventure" in there. None of which is particularily good written. Furthermore, the book isn't graphic enough with its erotic scenes to be "steamy", but does give out just enough detail for it to be inappropriate for kids (who would be closer to this book's intelligence level). Neither here, nor there; just loosely Christmas themed and with chocolate every 2 pages.
- The writer's blurbs reveal that she's already written almost 30 books before this one and is writing at least two books a year. Welp. This explains a LOT about the quality. I'm not curious to read anything else from this author, if she and her publishers think this one was interesting enough to print out and call "book".
2. The action is horribly built. Barely a couple of things happen for the first 3-400 out of the 470 pages - most of which could have easily been avoided had Lucy not been so unrealistically dense - then over the last part, everything that did more or less happen is hastily "tied up" in the least exciting ways imaginable (some things are still left on a cliffhanger, perhaps they were forgotten). Anything remotely interesting in this work could have been fully contained within maybe 100 pages, the rest is an utterly useless and cringey romcom-soap attempt that's not giving us any context, nor giving its characters any depth. I would have thought that after the first 20+ books, one would start to learn a thing or two about writing better. So many poor trees died for this...
Autumn's story takes literally 300+ pages until she finally gets out of a bad relationship (through a convenient deus ex machina setting, not even of her own accord, no character progress), Chantal's and Nadia's love stories make progress only around page 400 (again conveniently, around the same time) and as for Lucy, I'm just surprised she hasn't poked an eye with a fork out yet... (sorry for that mental image)
3. The characters may have different backgrounds and looks (the author is admitting in the blurbs that she tried to emulate SATC and DH), but are otherwise very sterile, all of them are weak (whether it's about chocolate, alcohol or men) and there's absolutely nothing in there about their personalities, other than the narrator's/ Lucy's helpful indication that they all mean well.
- I was partially warming up to Autumn and her "poor little rich girl" cliché (pardon the Rich pun) in the beginning, but when it got to the part where she wouldn't wear a sexy outfit for a few minutes and "a good cause", in spite of her being revealed to sleep around quite easily I lost all sympathy for such a poorly written character. Like she randomly forgot how easily she's gotten naked with at least three guys in moments when she really shouldn't have (two whom she literally didn't know and one with which she knew it was over with; she could have been with even more guys in other books) and now she suddenly turned into a part-time prude for one chapter where there wasn't even any intercourse. It doesn't give her "depth", it's just poor building.
- Lucy is a complete idiot. That does not count as personality (though it does sum up the whole book, it should be listed as its plot and synopsis). She's the least endearing of all the characters, none of which I could relate to or sympathize with anyway. Her boyfriend is equally as stupid... perhaps even moreso, since he takes her back. They deserve each other (barfity barf). Mistakes like "endolphins" and "plutonium" are cringey, just embarrassingly atrocious. I don't need to read things like that to be able to tell she's a cretin. Really, that's unnecessary. Like most of the book.
- Too much chocolate, including during the least appropriate moments and occasions. I get the idea of comfort food, but some things such as those mentioned in the book can't be fixed by a hot beverage, anyone would take it as mockery. I can remember barely 2-3 mentions of other dishes without implied chocolate, but for the rest of the book everyone is simply having sweets, drinks, plus chocolate-laden dishes and who would want to read about their blood sugar spikes a couple more books from now? And did I mention how much alcohol they're downing? It's also highly cringey how they act like they're some kind of superheroes with their "chocolate emergency", "chocolate club" and all that jazz. Not to mention their moments when they speak, moan or groan in unison, further proving that neither of them has any personality. It's basically a cringey SATC parody with way too much sugar. More barf.
- That Stacey was an obvious rat from the start, I can't believe the characters were "smart" enough to not want anything to do with the slinky Marcus, but couldn't smell an obvious rat like Stacey from AFAR (not even one of them) and welcomed her so easily into their special club, which is not so special or hard to join after all. Again, characters built horribly poor.
- There's a chance that the characters might have been better described or delimited during the previous books in the series, though I seriously doubt it. They all sound the same and react in the same ways at all times (with the exception of Lucy being way dumber than any other character, but that's not a good thing).
4. Speaking of voice:
- The narration alternates between an omniscient narrator and Lucy (remember, the dipshit). This inconsistency is just wrong and adds to the pile of cons. At least keep Lucy's point of view throughout or switch to the other girls' once in a while. Or just stick to a tried-and-true third-party narrator who knows better than to use "endolphins" during a narration. Perhaps better writers could pull such a switch off (within reason), but this is not it.
- Far too much brit slang, like "smellies". Maybe it's just me, but most of it reads very forced.
- Some mistakes, but I'll rule those as typos, as I don't want to go back and look them up. I remember at least one speech quote was closed, but never opened.
- Trying too hard to make the story "christmassy", but other than a couple mentions of barely there snow, static standard decorations and other irrelevant bits such as the odd scene of someone taking their coat off, there's nothing festive about it - might as well have been a summer book, there'd be literally no difference. Absolutely none. I'm guessing the author had the story already somewhere and just added some wintery stuff in some descriptions.
- The "romantic couple" of the book is at one point compared to Ant and Dec (!) or to Scooby and Shaggy. The last I checked, those were the epitome of a romantic couple only if you specifically shipped them in your head. If it was an attempt at a joke... seriously CRINGE! Better to have stuck to old clichés on this one, such as Romeo and Juliet or even Jack and Rose.
- Too many repetitions, sometimes close to each other and mostly regarding different characters (such as "tod", "horseradish mash" and "if it would never happen, it would be too soon"). Please hire a proofreader to weed out these embarrassments before they go on the market, it can't be that expensive.
There aren't really any pros to this book... maybe the "j'ai faim" bit was a little funny, but even that feels pegged in at the last minute (possibly by someone else) and is too little to save the story anyway. It's not even a super-light read, as was the least I had expected from it. If it were at least that, just a shallow fling about some girls having chocolate and some love troubles, I might have given it around 4 stars, but as it is, there was nothing good about it that I could at least pretend to cling to. It's just almost 500 pages of barely any substance or character, too all over the place at all times and hardly enjoyable.
I'm sorry I sent my friend a copy before going past the first couple of chapters; I thought it would have been fun to read it at the same time, but this is so bad, that it shouldn't even be a loo book (maybe unless you're out of paper, not for actual reading). Never touching anything like it ever again.
Dedication for the author (whom I assume is a brit :D ) and to many similar ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq2kP...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2023
This was such a lovely, feel good festive read. It was my first venture into The Chocolate Lovers Club books and I loved it! It was written in such a way that I didn’t feel disadvantaged joining the party so late, with two other books published before this one. The author does a fab job of filling you in and makes you feel like an extra honorary member of the chocolate lovers club!
I quickly grew attached to all the characters once I’d gotten introduced to them all and understood all their stories and history (and man, it sounded like plenty of excitement went down in books one and two!). I also loved the split perspectives of the story. And now I definitely want a crew of like minded, chocolate loving women in my life!
It was a great Christmassy read with plenty of festive spirit and I really enjoyed it! :)
EDIT: I read this one first a few years ago before I realise that I’d picked up the 3rd in the series, and as I enjoyed it so much I went back to the beginning to read them in the correct order! Back round to this one as a refresher before venturing into the fourth and final, and as it’s Christmas, perfect timing! It was just as good as I remembered first time round. Loved it loved it loved it!
I quickly grew attached to all the characters once I’d gotten introduced to them all and understood all their stories and history (and man, it sounded like plenty of excitement went down in books one and two!). I also loved the split perspectives of the story. And now I definitely want a crew of like minded, chocolate loving women in my life!
It was a great Christmassy read with plenty of festive spirit and I really enjoyed it! :)
EDIT: I read this one first a few years ago before I realise that I’d picked up the 3rd in the series, and as I enjoyed it so much I went back to the beginning to read them in the correct order! Back round to this one as a refresher before venturing into the fourth and final, and as it’s Christmas, perfect timing! It was just as good as I remembered first time round. Loved it loved it loved it!
October 19, 2016
Not great. I'm only on chapter eighteen and bored rigid by it already, and I usually enjoy a good chick lit book!
Chapter six has Lucy talking about the Christmas prior and how she shagged her ex Marcus under the Christmas tree. Chapter eighteen she claims not to have seen him since their failed wedding as he walked away from the venue. Errors like that put me right off books. If the author doesn't care enough to keep her characters stories straight then why should we care either?
Way too much actual chocolate eating going on as well...nobody could eat the quantity of chocolate these women do without making themselves sick & becoming the size of houses! We all love a bit of chocolate, bit being the operative word. Not gorging ourselves on it all day as her characters do!
Chapter six has Lucy talking about the Christmas prior and how she shagged her ex Marcus under the Christmas tree. Chapter eighteen she claims not to have seen him since their failed wedding as he walked away from the venue. Errors like that put me right off books. If the author doesn't care enough to keep her characters stories straight then why should we care either?
Way too much actual chocolate eating going on as well...nobody could eat the quantity of chocolate these women do without making themselves sick & becoming the size of houses! We all love a bit of chocolate, bit being the operative word. Not gorging ourselves on it all day as her characters do!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2020
I would never suspect a book to be this stereotypical and still be written in 2015. I would’ve thought that even the most traditional people and authors should have at least learned that gender doesn’t determine that boys are wild and girls are calm. As a parent I laugh through all descriptions of a four year kid calmly playing by themselves while the grown ups discuss their problems, and afterwards the kid picks everything up and tidies with only one demand from an adult. No whining, no crying, no tantrums.
Apart from this it’s mostly chocolate, love troubles, chocolate, weight loss wishes and more chocolate.
Apart from this it’s mostly chocolate, love troubles, chocolate, weight loss wishes and more chocolate.
December 25, 2016
I love The Chocolate Lovers. Can't wait to read The Wedding. What I love about these books is everyone in a group of chocoholic friends has their own story. Clearly there will be more in The Wedding.
January 19, 2016
Although I thought it was a bit slow it was impossible to put down in the end. As with the other books in the series I was disappointed I'd come to the end and have to wait for next one to come out.
November 16, 2018
Perfect, as usual!!!
November 30, 2015
http://www.chicklitcentral.com/2015/1...
Also includes a worldwide book giveaway!
Also includes a worldwide book giveaway!
December 11, 2015
Really enjoyed this book, although not as Christmassy I felt as her last three Christmas books, all of which I have absolutely adored.
July 16, 2016
Silly. Couldn't finish.
January 11, 2022
Lovely story just a shame the voices used for some of the female adult characters was so childish
December 18, 2022
Truly terrible
November 7, 2024
3,5 / 5 ⭐️
kuuntelin äänikirjana. tää oli selkeesti parempi kuin sarjan kaks edellistä osaa. viihdyin tän parissa, tunnelma oli mukava joulun odotuksellinen ja lämmin. vaikka toki hahmot koki myös vaikeita hetkiä. edellisten osien tapaan paljon ihmissuhdesolmuja, mutta onneksi tää päättyi hyvin, eikä mihinkään ikävään tilanteeseen.
kuuntelin äänikirjana. tää oli selkeesti parempi kuin sarjan kaks edellistä osaa. viihdyin tän parissa, tunnelma oli mukava joulun odotuksellinen ja lämmin. vaikka toki hahmot koki myös vaikeita hetkiä. edellisten osien tapaan paljon ihmissuhdesolmuja, mutta onneksi tää päättyi hyvin, eikä mihinkään ikävään tilanteeseen.
November 20, 2021
Its that time of year. My first Christmas book of the season. I love the Chocolate Lovers Club of best friends. They have each other's backs all the time. They do some crazy things but its always for the love of each other
October 8, 2024
MC is even more TSTL than in previous books, and it's all so VERY predictable.
December 31, 2024
An enjoyable, albeit unrealistic, read.
March 8, 2023
I was limping through this very average book and then the storyline became absolutely ridiculous with the brother-in-law plot. It just went even more downhill from then on. Inane.
December 16, 2020
Least favourite Carol Matthews book, enjoyable but too far fetched and didn't tie up enough at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2024
An enjoyable rom-com but I found the main character slightly annoying with her ditzy attitude and, I know they’re called The Chocolate Lovers Club, and I love chocolate as much as anyone, but it was just a bit too much chocolate for me!
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