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Chocolate Burnout: Chocolate 4 Life
CHOCOLATE Chocolate 4 Life
Chantel Reed is a successful, single African American woman who has given up on romance to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a master- chocolatier. Chantel's best friend Astrid, a prosperous, single white woman who sacrificed relationships to conquer her dream job as a certified chocolatier, is the owner of Sweet Indulgence, one of the most popular Chocolate shops in downtown Seattle. Chantel drifts back and forth between her obsession with chocolate, and her obsessive-compulsive desire to find the perfect romance. After the sudden death of their close friend Allison, Chantel and Astrid start to drift apart. Astrid dives into her chocolate business, while Chantel, engages in mortifying relationships. Chantel's oldest sister, Daria, the family's maternal figure, is prickly and controlling; and she finally breaks up with her slacker boyfriend, Cameron after she finds him cooking dinner for another woman in her apartment. Astrid has a sweet plan concerning how Chantel should move on after the breakup. Chantel, who has always dated black men, is initially hesitant when Brandon, a white guy, asks her out. She quickly falls for him and they come close to marriage despite the push back and racism from both sides of the family.
But when Brandon and Daria team up together and ask an attractive black man to test Chantel's loyalty, her trust in everyone is shattered. Chantel's spiritual friend Serenity, a black woman, with a flamboyant sense of nature and style, tries numerous methods to try and heal Chantel's love wounds. Serenity's bizarre healing attempts, causes Chantel to seek out her own therapy and healing. Chantel's believes that her newfound chocolate healing therapy, ignites more joy than romance ever could. Chantel knows that eventually she will have to ditch her chocoholic addiction, and face her life, even if she must dig deep into her past and prod into Allison's death, to heal. But for now, Chantel is testing how far she can go before her Chocolate Burnout, sets in.
Chantel Reed is a successful, single African American woman who has given up on romance to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a master- chocolatier. Chantel's best friend Astrid, a prosperous, single white woman who sacrificed relationships to conquer her dream job as a certified chocolatier, is the owner of Sweet Indulgence, one of the most popular Chocolate shops in downtown Seattle. Chantel drifts back and forth between her obsession with chocolate, and her obsessive-compulsive desire to find the perfect romance. After the sudden death of their close friend Allison, Chantel and Astrid start to drift apart. Astrid dives into her chocolate business, while Chantel, engages in mortifying relationships. Chantel's oldest sister, Daria, the family's maternal figure, is prickly and controlling; and she finally breaks up with her slacker boyfriend, Cameron after she finds him cooking dinner for another woman in her apartment. Astrid has a sweet plan concerning how Chantel should move on after the breakup. Chantel, who has always dated black men, is initially hesitant when Brandon, a white guy, asks her out. She quickly falls for him and they come close to marriage despite the push back and racism from both sides of the family.
But when Brandon and Daria team up together and ask an attractive black man to test Chantel's loyalty, her trust in everyone is shattered. Chantel's spiritual friend Serenity, a black woman, with a flamboyant sense of nature and style, tries numerous methods to try and heal Chantel's love wounds. Serenity's bizarre healing attempts, causes Chantel to seek out her own therapy and healing. Chantel's believes that her newfound chocolate healing therapy, ignites more joy than romance ever could. Chantel knows that eventually she will have to ditch her chocoholic addiction, and face her life, even if she must dig deep into her past and prod into Allison's death, to heal. But for now, Chantel is testing how far she can go before her Chocolate Burnout, sets in.
330 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2022
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 1, 2022
I Loved This Book!
THE BOOK WAS ABOUT ADDICTION & MENTAL ILLNESS
When you are addicted to anything you make bad choices. People who deal with mental illness, don't know how to make adult decisions.
No, I did not like Chantel's crazy behavior. The book is about addiction involving a genuinely crazy woman. Chantel's friends really tried to help her, but you can't save a person from themselves.
The lack of compassion for those who suffer from mental illness is awful in this world. I look forward to reading Brandon's story.
5 stars for honesty.
THE BOOK WAS ABOUT ADDICTION & MENTAL ILLNESS
When you are addicted to anything you make bad choices. People who deal with mental illness, don't know how to make adult decisions.
No, I did not like Chantel's crazy behavior. The book is about addiction involving a genuinely crazy woman. Chantel's friends really tried to help her, but you can't save a person from themselves.
The lack of compassion for those who suffer from mental illness is awful in this world. I look forward to reading Brandon's story.
5 stars for honesty.
July 6, 2022
I absolutely fell in love with this book. The main character captivated me, I could relate to how she felt in some degree. The things in life that she endured and how she admits that she allowed some of those things to effect her even later on in life. She’s raw and her feelings are too. I strongly feel that a book should teach you some kind of life lesson at the end of reading or it isn’t a good book. THIS book did just that, I cant wait for the next part.The way the author used her writing to bring the story to life is just amazing in and of its own.
July 1, 2022
This is a very well written novel about the struggle that still unfortunately plagues interracial relationships. I do believe that Chantel receives a large amount of hate which is interesting to me because while it is no secret that she is a very chaotic individual, I do notice that whenever a lead woman in a story is imperfect she receives an overwhelming amount of hate, way more than any male lead would get. Just something I thought should be pointed out. I really enjoyed the book!
July 1, 2022
Emunah La-Paz' Chocolate Burnout spun me on a wild ride through three very different women's personal journeys and relationships.
Each of the three main characters at first seemed to be recognizable types: the successful yet lonely woman who kept wasting her time on the wrong men, the independent businesswoman who felt she didn't need romance, the motherly one who seems to have her life together and constantly gives the others self-help advice. Yet as the story progresses, each goes beyond the stereotype to reveal complex, yet flawed, humanity. This story illustrates how having education and a solid career and the money that can bring won't insulate you from life's problems.
The plot, which continued to surprise me as I read, left me with the same conclusion that the characters eventually reach. As much as you might try to help someone realize things, ultimately you have to step back and let them learn their own life lessons. Each effort someone makes in this book to control or manipulate others, no matter how well-intentioned, ends in disaster!
One main area where some characters intervened in each other's lives was their disapproval of interracial dating. Chocolate Burnout clearly shows that all people of all races are capable of kindness and friendship and deception and selfishness. Someone's worthiness as a partner depends on their character and your compatibility, not their race. That said, issues can come up in mixed-race relationships when friends and acquaintances of a couple assume that the couple is together for reasons besides mutual love and respect. This book illustrated the consequences of both Black and white characters' incorrect assumptions and prejudices.
The characters visit several of Seattle's fine restaurants, bars, and clubs, but the emotional interaction among the characters and their internal struggles seems to dwarf the setting. I can imagine the characters in my mind to a much more detailed degree than any of the city's architecture or landmarks. This makes sense for a story so tightly focused on characters who are each caught up in personal struggles and addictions. I can, however, visualize chocolate platters, arrangements, and fountains, which makes sense for this book!
Overall, this is a very human, relatable story, told in casual language. The best part is how these three women stay close friends and stand by each other through so many ups and downs and mistakes, despite being so different.
Each of the three main characters at first seemed to be recognizable types: the successful yet lonely woman who kept wasting her time on the wrong men, the independent businesswoman who felt she didn't need romance, the motherly one who seems to have her life together and constantly gives the others self-help advice. Yet as the story progresses, each goes beyond the stereotype to reveal complex, yet flawed, humanity. This story illustrates how having education and a solid career and the money that can bring won't insulate you from life's problems.
The plot, which continued to surprise me as I read, left me with the same conclusion that the characters eventually reach. As much as you might try to help someone realize things, ultimately you have to step back and let them learn their own life lessons. Each effort someone makes in this book to control or manipulate others, no matter how well-intentioned, ends in disaster!
One main area where some characters intervened in each other's lives was their disapproval of interracial dating. Chocolate Burnout clearly shows that all people of all races are capable of kindness and friendship and deception and selfishness. Someone's worthiness as a partner depends on their character and your compatibility, not their race. That said, issues can come up in mixed-race relationships when friends and acquaintances of a couple assume that the couple is together for reasons besides mutual love and respect. This book illustrated the consequences of both Black and white characters' incorrect assumptions and prejudices.
The characters visit several of Seattle's fine restaurants, bars, and clubs, but the emotional interaction among the characters and their internal struggles seems to dwarf the setting. I can imagine the characters in my mind to a much more detailed degree than any of the city's architecture or landmarks. This makes sense for a story so tightly focused on characters who are each caught up in personal struggles and addictions. I can, however, visualize chocolate platters, arrangements, and fountains, which makes sense for this book!
Overall, this is a very human, relatable story, told in casual language. The best part is how these three women stay close friends and stand by each other through so many ups and downs and mistakes, despite being so different.
June 16, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
As evidenced by the fact that this book is already out I struggled with this. I did manage to finish but this was not for me. The constant drama and bad decision-making was way too much for me.
As evidenced by the fact that this book is already out I struggled with this. I did manage to finish but this was not for me. The constant drama and bad decision-making was way too much for me.
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September 21, 2023Author Emunah La-Paz uses chocolate as a metaphor for addictions of the heart that extend far beyond sweet tooths and well into societal-challenging relationships in her novel CHOCOLATE BURNOUT, PART ONE!
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
May 25, 2022
dnf'd at 5%.
this is A LOT. sorry.
this is A LOT. sorry.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews