Book Review: The Chocolate Thief

Author: Laura Florand
Publication Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Kensington

Paris
Breathtakingly beautiful, the City of Light seduces the senses, its cobbled streets thrumming with possibility. For American Cade Corey, it’s a dream come true, if only she can get one infuriating French chocolatier to sign on the dotted line…

Chocolate

Melting, yielding yet firm, exotic, its secrets are intimately known to Sylvain Marquis. But turn them over to a brash American waving a fistful of dollars? Jamais. Not unless there’s something much more delectable on the table…

Stolen Pleasure

Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter?

The mini Eiffel Tower on the front cover told me that I was in heaven simply because I love anything that has to do with Paris. And then there is the chocolate! Oh my goodness let’s talk chocolate. From the start I knew that this book had all the making for a charming read. Then when I started reading I was so enthralled with the magic of Paris as it came out through the pages!

Laura’s ability to write characters that you sometimes love and you sometimes hate is out of this world! Sylvain and Cade often made me so mad when they tried to hide or deny their feelings for one another. Their relationship was a love/hate ordeal and it was so amusing and often times frustrating to read. I was thinking to myself, “OK, you both just need to swallow your pride and admit to the other that they are all you can think about!!” I loved watching their relationship develop and I can honestly say that this is not one of those contemporary romance novels that are often times way too predictable. This book keeps you guessing what will happen next!!

Cade Corey was my favorite character just because of all her spark and spunk. She came to Paris on a mission and she was determined not to return home until her mission was complete. Her love and passion for chocolate and Paris was so believable and as the reader I was cheering for her the whole time. She absolutely loved Paris and some of the best descriptions of the city came out through Cade’s thoughts and remarks to herself. She was a no back down type of character (if that makes sense)! She took nothing from no one and especially not Sylvain Marquis!! Here is a direct quote from Cade’s thoughts on Paris, “Outside, Paris put on darkness the way her women dressed for excitement-a black dress sliding over skin, something glittering in its threads. Paris pulled black net stockings over her elegant lines, added high-heeled black boots to click against pavement. Buildings lit strings of jewels-an earring here, a bracelet there, and a shimmer of something over the skin, a dusting of glitter” from page 89 of the ARC copy. Florand provides such eloquent descriptions all the way up until the last page!

Ultimately the best part of this book was the chocolate!! You will seriously crave chocolate and you will want to go out and buy some. The way that Sylvain talks about chocolate and his passion for making it helps to make this story what it is. Sylvain often used his chocolate to lure his women in; now that tells you how skilled he is with chocolate.

Such a fun, light and enchanting read about a beautiful city and a richly made chocolate with a handsome chocolatier!!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by Kensington for review purposes***