Chocolate Secrets

Love by Chocolate #4

by Zelda Benjamin

When the Martinelli family chocolate shop display goes up in flames at a Brooklyn street fair, fate throws Alex Martinelli and Mike Simone together. Alex, an ER nurse with a passion for reading her daily horoscope, has several valid reasons not to get involved with Mike, an NYC firefighter. An alliance between a true water sign and a man whose element is ruled by fire makes them an unlikely couple. Even worse is his connection to the man who stole her grandfather’s secret chocolate recipe. But the sexy hero always seems to show up when she needs him most.

In return for his heroism, Mike only wants two things from a chance to prove he is her soulmate and her grandfather’s secret chocolate recipe. In his quest to get the recipe and win the city-wide bake-off, Mike puts his relationship with Alex at risk. Alex tries to deny her destiny, but Mike is determined to melt her heart.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Firefighters, Contemporary

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 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

[Donnie]

Good romance. I love chocolate and I loved this story.
Sweet and enjoyable. :)

[Nancy H]

This is a cute story about a firefighter and a woman who thinks she will never go out with a firefighter, after her father had health problems as a result of his career. Things get especially complicated when she is not once but twice rescued by a handsome firefighter to whom she is attracted - and who just happens to come from the family who are sworn enemies of her grandfather.

[Monae Doyle]

This book was a perfectly sweet page turner. Alex Martinelli is a ER nurse with a passion for reading her daily horoscope. She meets NYC firefighter Mike Simone. Mike has a connection to the man who stole her grandfather’s secret chocolate recipe.

Mike ends up showing up when she needs him the most. Alex is reluctant to date firefighter’s. She ends up trying to help him win a bake-off. Mike is determined to be her hero as he tries to melt her heart.

This book was a cozy and heartwarming read and I fell in love with it from start to finish.

[diane st. onge]

Chocolate Secrets book 1

A quick read about a girl, a firefighter and a two family conflict!
Really enjoyed reading this on a very hot late summer afternoon.
There were some very funny parts that had me laughing out loud.
The author does a very good job engaging the reader into the book.

[Kari]

I felt it was poorly written with a number of proof reading errors

[Karen Cino]

I got an autographed copy of this book at RWA National this past June. What more can one ask for: chocolate, romance and a gorgeous firefighter. A wonderful romance with a twist of chocolate.

[Mae Clair]

Like chocolate? Zelda Benjamin has whipped up a sweet tale involving everyone’s favorite confection.

ER nurse, Alex Martinelli, has sworn never to become romantically involved with a fireman after watching her father suffer health complications as a result of the job. Her beloved grandfather, Max, has a hard and fast rule that family members should have nothing to do with anyone whose last name is Simone. Although Max won’t say why, he’s adamant they’re all no good swindlers and thieves. When a handsome stranger comes to the aid of Alex and Max at a local fair he just happens to be an off-duty fireman AND a Simone.

Delicious set-up, right? Toss in horoscopes, some meddlesome (but good-hearted) secondary characters, a long-standing feud, family secrets, and a firehouse bet, and you’ve got the recipe for a scrumptious tale. Ms. Benjamin’s characters are easy to relate to and her writing style is breezy and fun. A sweet tale of romance without the guilt of extra calories!

[Nd]

I picked this up looking for another author and thinking it was a light mystery I could take up to the mountains for the weekend. Turns out it's a romance, but there are enough twists and turns that makes a good vacation read. It's Brooklyn in a quasi-modern day setting, and it involves chocolate, a feud between the grandfathers of heroine Alex Martinelli and firefighter Mike Simone. The big question is what the feud is really about and whether Alex can overcome her resolve in a number of areas to make change the difficulties in the situations.

[Breanna]

I enjoyed this book. It was a clean romance overall. There was one short part that was a bit suggestive, though. I was a bit disappointed about that. Other than that brief part, the romance was clean.
This was a fun book to read. It had great characters and besides- who doesn't want to read a book with a hot firefighter in it? :)

[Tabitha Jones]

This book was simply delicious. Sweet and romantic with a bit of a family twist. The book is based on a lost or stolen chocolate recipe that has made two families dislike one another. That is until Er Nurse Alex and NYC Firefighter Mike cross paths. If you believe in signs this book is just right for you. I loved it.

[Angela]

Haven't read a strictly romance in a long time so I was very pleased with the depth of this one PLUS all the chocolate! I would not consider this a strictly romance novel because of all the mystery elemnts. Good characters and a nice plat esp. the astrology angle. Hope to read more by this author.

[Amy]

Adorably cliched romance novel, but also very enjoyable.

[Susanne]

I choked on the cheesiness of this book. The descriptions contradicted themselves throughout the book. It's a cute romance and a fun story line.

[Clare]

http://bookreviewsbyclare.blogspot.co...

[Lonnie]

I think I liked it better than the last one.

[Laura]

It was a super fast read. I thought it was a cute little plot. Just a simple story.

[Kristin]

It was a good beachy summer read.

[Amy]

It was pretty good. I had a hard time getting sucked in with this book like I hope to be in a good romance.

[Connie]

Really easy read. Good story, great characters.

[Margie Swanson]

Easy read. A cute story about a firefighter and a nurse who's family owns a chocolate candy store. There has been bad blood between the families about a secret recipe. The "star crossed" lovers want to be with each other but their families are against it. Sort of predictable, but cute.