This book gave me a massive craving for chocolate after just a few pages so I treated myself to a box and I wrapped myself up warm and snuggled down to read the book - definitely the best way for me to enjoy it!  

Well, I loved the storyline and the characters were great too, it was a really well written book and one that I flew through reading in a few hours, in fact I didn't realise how far I'd read and the percentage was soon creeping upon my Kindle - time was literally flying by and I completely lost myself in the story - being a mum to a 17 week baby it was just what I needed - it gave me some well deserved "me" time! 

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is definitely one of the best Christmas reads that I've read so far in 2017 - really highly recommended and 5 festive stars from me - treat yourself to a copy today!!

If you love the christmas movies from Hallmark, than you would love to read this book!
It has the right tone and pace for a christmassy feelgood story. Everything that belongs to christmas: romance, happiness, food and chocolate has set the author in a very well story.

I think the author has done a very well job on the right tone, pace but also combining the love for christmas. You don't have the feeling there is something missing into the story as the author wants to have story based on christmas and not around summer.

Emma is mending a broken heart and making a living by running her own chocolate shop selling all sorts of mouthwatering hand made chocolate goodies. It is hard work making it pay and so when she receives a rent increase she is in despair as to how to make ends meet.... but she has the whole village begins her!

Living alone with her adorable dog she is not looking for any sort of relationship.... but who is the handsome stranger she met on the beach and will she ever see him again?

Another lovely book by this author, I have loved all of het books and this is no exception, they are always warm and cosy books that you just want to curl up with until they are finished

The first thing I'm going to say about this delightful read, is that I feel as if I've put some pounds on in weight after reading all about the yummy sounding chocolates that Emma makes and stocks in her cosy chocolate shop. It's even making me what to make some myself, hmmm good job there's some recipes at the back of the book.

In addition to all of the chocolate yummyness, the author has created a truly wonderful cosy and heartfelt story with lots of Christmas festive moments, which was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.  I loved getting to know all of the characters including the adorable Alfie. I also loved experiencing Emma's journey and discovering where it would take her.

So all in all a perfect read for the Christmas holiday or anytime during the year.

This was such a gorgeous book- full of friendship, romance, a coastal setting and the most wonderful chocolate shop. Emma is trying to make her little shop profitable but still a magical place for the locals to buy their weekly treats.

Northumberland is somewhere I would love to visit and it would be great to find a little chocolate shop when I manage to spend a holiday there!

The scenes are drawn so clearly that you can taste the new chocolates being created and picture the window displays enticing everyone walking past. The christmas display sounded particularly pretty.

Emma's friends are lovely and Holly, the young girl who works in the shop on a Saturday is a delightful character. She comes up with the idea to make the shop into a cafe to bring extra customers through the doors and the plans are so exciting.

I would love a return to the cafe.

Mouth watering delicious. Not just the chocolate. But had to reach for chocolate throughout the read. Nice read. I liked the pace of the story. Realistic timing. I recommend this book.

The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop

Emma has already lost one love, the man she wanted to be with forever. Can she open her heart to another? With chocolate, beautiful Northumbrian scenery and a handsome stranger in town, this novel is a great recipe for relaxing and getting lost in a romance. Light, sweet and as moreish as the chocolate treats in the book.

This book has Everything you want in a Christmas book and you know what I absolutely loved every single page of it! I really do believe this is one of the best Christmas books!

Emma is a brilliant character, she's been through a lot and has tried to move on with her life. The chocolate shop takes up a lot of her time if she isn't busy making chocolates shes out serving her loyal customers.

The chocolate shop was the perfect shop for this book (you often associate chocolate with love and romance right?). The chocolate's Emma made really made my mouth water, I really wanted to try them they sound so delicious! I just want her to make me a large gift box of chocolates up!

The love story in this book is just truly beautiful, at times I could cry it was so emotional and other times I just was screaming at Emma ''What are you doing!!'' but you will find you are reading this book with a huge grin on your face as you just want Emma to be happy.

There is so many magnificent descriptions in this book and so many little details which makes it so easy to imagine and it really makes you feel like you know the characters, shop, the town etc.

This is the perfect christmas book to curl up with in front of the fire on these cold winter nights.. but make sure you have some chocolate beside you as you will crave it so bad!

A delightful, adorable book that is both ideal and hell if you are a chocoholic (I was craving truffles throughout!). The technical details of being a chocolatier and mouthwatering varieties the shop offers are thoroughly well researched and a huge bonus to this book.
The characters are instantly loveable, I just felt the main romance lacked a little in the sizzling chemistry department, I'm not sure why, possibly because I've read some particularly well written attraction plots this year, but the hesitance and back story of Emma does explain why it is perhaps difficult, and certainly complicated. There were also a few moments where certain aspects of the plot lost me or seemed to just end without much explanation which I did find a bit disorientating, a bit smoother editing was needed in my opinion.
Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for this opportunity to review honestly.

Lovely festive books set around a little chocolate shop in the north east of England. Emma has been single since she lost her fiance will the chance encounter with a man she meets on the beach change all that. As well as struggling to make the chocolate shop profitable can she take a chance at happiness again? A lovely festive read!

Bit predictable. Was enjoying it. Didnt think the sex descriptions were needed.

After a tragedy took away the love of her life, Emma starts her new life in a small touristy village in Northumberland, where she opens a delicious chocolate shop. She is surrounded by a group of friends who support her as she tries to keep her shop afloat, especially after her landlord raises the rent. As she still grieves the man she loved, Emma kisses someone on Boxing Day. He disappears quickly before turning up again a few months later. Is he the one to mend her broken heart?

My favourite thing about this book is the delicious and tasty chocolates present throughout the novel and at the end there are a few nice recipes if you want to make them yourself. With likable characters, an atmospheric setting, and a plot that includes love, friendship and family, this is an entertaining novel to enjoy cozied-up with some chocolate!

Enjoyable Christmas read!

This was a well-written enjoyable story, with lovable characters, a gorgeous setting - and lots of chocolate!

A must-read to get into the Christmas spirit!

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher for my copy in exchange for my honest review. Also, thank you to Emilie from HarperCollins for the chance to be on the blog tour!!

I will be honest, I found this book a little slow going. I didn’t see an end point and I didn’t really get where the whole thing was going. Having said that, I did enjoy the story. I liked that Emma was finding happiness after an awful few years. I loved her little chocolate shop, and desperately want to find somewhere that will supply me with all the delicious sounding chocolates available out there!!!!

Emma was a likeable lady, she was witty when she wanted to be, she was loving and caring towards her friends and always put herself last when it came to others. Max I didn’t really feel anything for. He didn’t really come across as a gentleman, or even slightly likeable. Doing that right at the beginning of the book and then not coming back? Talk about leave a girl hanging!!! I didn’t particularly like any of the other characters to be honest. I didn’t get Holly. One minute she was 16 and then the next you’d think she was actually older – drinking in a pub, having a relationship with a 20 year old. I know no 16 year old is perfect, but this didn’t fit in the book.

The beginning of this showed huge amounts of potential. The mysterious man moment that Emma has, no names exchanged and that all added a sense of suspense and mystery but then, unfortunately it sort of just didn’t go anywhere with it. I enjoyed the fact that it takes Emma months to meet the mystery man (Max) but I didn’t feel the excitement that I felt at the beginning of the book. They had chemistry at the beginning of the book, but again I felt it didn’t stick around, everything felt stiff and formal after their formal introduction… Maybe I was expecting too much? A whole New Years Eve firework display or something equivalent to that? I just didn’t feel it sadly.

This review isn’t really saying what I need it to say is it? While I did enjoy the story, the feeling that Emma was finally finding happiness and peace, I just don’t feel like it was done in a way that I would normally enjoy. Everything was rushed and just sort of plodded alone. The description, for me, for the book doesn’t really match up. I don’t know what I was expecting but I feel disappointed in myself for not getting it.

So, after being disappointed in myself for not enjoying it as much as a everyone else probably enjoyed it I’m giving it a 3/5

Admito que me decepcionó un poco cuando ocurrió un primer beso con un desconocido (quien de inmediato sabes que será el co-protagonista) en las primeras páginas. Me resigné a que sería el tedioso instalove y el fastidioso "no puedo pensar en otra cosa más que en la persona que acabo de conocer"; pero estaba muy equivocada, no hubo nada de eso. Terminé encontrando una relación hecha y derecha que me hizo sonreír bastante. La química entre los protagonistas, Emma y Max, era tangible pero pudimos ver como se iban conociendo en lugar de ir directo a la lujuria. Y lo mejor es que la historia del libro ni siquiera se centra en eso, el romance toma segundo plano y el centro de atención es para la tienda de chocolates de Emma.

Esta mujer de 36 años perdió a su prometido dos meses antes de casarse. Necesitando un cambio drástico se va a vivir a un pequeño pueblo costal donde abre su tienda de chocolates- Siete años después y con los costos a la alza, Emma está teniendo problemas financieros así que más que ver solo las aventuras amorosas podemos disfrutar leyendo sobre el día a día de una chocolatier tratando de hacer su negocio. Por cierto que me entraron unas ganas enormes de comer chocolate al estar leyendo este libro.

Quedé bastante contenta con la narración que te engancha aún cuando pareciera que no sucede mucho, además los personajes secundarios amenizan aún más la lectura.

Lo único que encontré un poco difícil de disfrutar fue la actitud de Emma. Sufre mucho por la pérdida de su prometido sobretodo porque siente que lo está traicionando con Max y se entiende, lo amaba muchísimo, pero llega un punto en que siento que exagera y no se deja ser feliz ni soñar con tener una familia.

Afortunadamente todas sus demás características como fortaleza y perseverancia no son opacadas por esa negatividad y al final todo sale bien como era de esperarse. Me quedó un muy bues sabor de boca con este libro.

I really enjoy Caroline Roberts books and this was no exception. It is a wonderful story, a very suitable Christmas read but I warn you now you will be craving chocolate every time you read it. It describes the chocolate making really well and makes my mouth water even now.

The story takes a while to get going (there is a lot of set up) but once it does it is a very sweet story with endearing characters. I definitely recommend this book for anybody who wants a cute Christmas read especially if you have a sweet tooth ;)

This was a nice, easy to read book with festive romance and chocolates to boot!

Set in your a-typical English seaside village, this book is based around a chocolate shop and its chocolatier, Emma. Emma opened the chocolate shop following the sudden and unexpected death of her finance. Having turned her back on teaching, when it became a too painful link to her ex-love Luke, Emma sets her sights on opening her little Chocolate Shop by the Sea, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Emma is popular, kind, loveable and yet painfully lonely. She has a small number of close friends and family nearby and also a young work colleague that she’s close to but apart from her dog, Alfie, Emma keeps herself to herself and tries to take each day as it comes. That is until she is walking on the beach on Boxing Day and stumbles across a man who takes her breath away. Max is a builder and devilishly handsome but after their unexpected and unusual meeting, Emma doesn’t see him again for months.

With her encounter with Max a distant but sweet memory, the story continues with Emma trying to keep her little shop financially viable and looking at ways to make its future more certain, especially with her landlord and his rent increases always looming overhead.

Working part-time for Emma is 16-year-old Holly. Holly is another likeable character who has her own love story to share with readers - although her age did make me question the believability of her connection with Adam. I’d rather her have been 18 and nearing the end of her time at 6th form when starting out in a new relationship with a 20-year-old. But, that said, their connection was sweet and, if you ignored Holly’s age, her blossoming relationship with Adam kind of kept this story afloat until Emma’s relationship with Max finally got off the ground.

Emma’s relationship with Max is very tentative, despite Max making his feelings known to Emma. Finding it hard to get over what happened to Luke, Emma takes one step forward with Max then a dozen backwards. It’s only when her feelings are forced upon her, that Emma realises that she does love Max but can she ever really overcome her fear of losing yet another love?

I did enjoy this story overall, at times it was a little slow and deliberate in its plot but it kept my attention until its rather abrupt ending. I’m the first to say that I don’t like epilogues but the lack of one here did make the ending feel a little unfinished.

Overall, the book feels was very similar to others on the market but if you enjoy the sweet romance stories set by the sea at Christmas time then this book will be right up your street.

After a personal tragedy seven years ago, Emma has thrown herself running a chocolate shop in the harbor village of Warkton-by-the-Sea. She has a successful shop, a sweet dog, and the support of her friends and family - what else could she possibly need? A chance meeting (and a passionate kiss!) during a walk on the beach make Emma slowly realize that maybe the last ingredient she’s missing is…. love.

OK, ok, that was a bit cheesy, but honestly, this book is just so sweet, cozy and feel-good that I feel myself turning into one of those movie trailer narrators. The story takes place over a year at the chocolate shop, from one Christmas season to the next. The pacing starts out slowly as the inhabitants of Warkton are introduced, but then picks up steam towards the end of the book. Through it all, the descriptions of chocolates were mouth-wateringly delicious. I liked the characters, but I did find most of them, besides Emma, to be a bit flat. Emma’s hesitations about getting into a new relationship are detailed and believable, and her growth in the latter half of the book is shown well.

As for cons, it took a long time (nearly half the book) for the romance to really take off. While I enjoyed reading the non-romance bits, and I found the description of Emma’s life helpful to contrast to what she had while in a relationship, I had expected the romance to play a larger part. I was also weirded out a bit by a side relationship. Emma’s part-time helper, Holly, is 16, and she begins dating a guy who’s 20, and nobody bats an eye about the age difference. Maybe I’m just an old fogey, or maybe things are different in England, but that would’ve been a big deal when I was a teenager, and I can’t imagine my family or friends being OK with it.

Overall, an sweetly enjoyable, if unspectacular, read. Perfect for curling up on a cold day with a cuppa and a box of chocolate truffles!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emma and Luke have their lives mapped out; a wedding in the spring, new home and family. Tragedy strikes and Emma is left mourning the life which was snatched away.
Seven years later and Emma has her own business , a chocolate shop in a beautiful coastal village - is now the time to start living again?
This is a carefully crafted feel good seasonal story which kept me reading when I really should have been working! The characters were brought to life and although the ending was always assured (it is a Christmas story after all!) the reading to get there was pleasurable.
BTW - the recipes at the end of the book are delicious.