DNF
Unfortunately I struggled to get into this one. The protagonist is highly unlikable.. She's rude, disrespectful and childish. All that would be okay if the story and other elements grabbed me but unfortunately it didn't.

This book was not as fun as it sounds. It was rather dull and clinical for a book set in a picturesque town, about whimsical chocolate and romance; the romance, in particular, never did anything for me. I hated one part in particular towards the beginning of their relationship, when SPOILER!!! Melanie's issues about orgasms are referred to by Maks as "we have to fix that problem" I don't know if anyone thought that line was romantic because he "cared about her satisfaction" or something, but it was equally as cringey as Christian Grey exclaiming "We need to remedy this issue immediately!!" when he learns that Ana is a virgin. END SPOILER

Wow, so very passionate.

I didn't actively dislike the book, but I'm never going to think about it again. Not memorable in any way.

While I have been known to go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs--I mean, rom-coms--in the past, this rom-com just was not my flavor.

Essentially, The Chocoholic's Guide To Getting It On is a book about a journalist named Melanie who travels to Germany to write and publish a story for Lust List about Sommer chocolate and what makes it so delicious. But in order for Melanie to get the story, she needs to get an interview with Maks, the mysterious man who is the heir to the Sommer chocolate dynasty. Unfortunately for Melanie, the mysterious Maks is a major recluse, so getting an interview with him proves to be easier said than done. But Melanie is nothing if not determined.

The plot seemed intriguing enough to warrant a read from what I first read in the summary, but in reality I had a hard time getting into the book. In my opinion, the pacing was just a little too off. The story started off really slow and never really started to pick up.And, unfortunately, I never found out for myself if the pacing got better as the story progressed because it was so slow in the beginning that I eventually gave up and decided to DNF the book (which I hate doing and try to avoid as much as possible).

From reading other reviews, it seems like the pacing picks up after a little while. And I'm sure it does. But I just am not invested enough in the story to make myself push through the long and slow beginning. That said, those who do get through the slow parts seem to enjoy the story overall. If the story calls to you, I recommend giving it a try and judging for yourself.

This was such a great book! The story was romantic, funny, and had a dose of chocolate too! I loved the chemistry between the characters in this story, except the relationship developed a little too fast. I loved all the descriptions of chocolate in this book, it is what drew me to it originally! There were several times I wish I could dive in to the book and devour all the chocolate! Overall, it was such a cute book and I would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley for my eARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

General info

Melissa, a food journalist, really wants to write a piece about the world famous, crazy expensive Sommer chocolates. She also really wants to prove that her grandmother is telling the truth about her younger days.
Maksim von Sommer is done with women, and with reporters. He has become a hermit who only works and tries to keep his family business afloat.
When Melissa appears at Maksim's front door he is not happy but she starts to grow n him. There's obviously some serious sexual tension between them and they really enjoy each other's company.
Add in a greedy ex, some thugs who want their money and the mysterious lost nudes and you've got yourself a story, this one.

Review

The general atmosphere of this book is great. Somehow it stays light and happy and romantic no matter what criminals or money hungry exes show up. There is always the atmosphere that Maks and Melissa would enjoy each other and possible fall in love, well, that is a given really. And I really like that. It makes the book positive and it made me happy when I was reading it.
The characters are also all great. Melissa, is a journalist who has seen life and has given up the chance of ever finding a guy who she can relax with enough to orgasm. She might be tough on the outside, but inside there is softness.
Maksim, a world famous chocolatier, has been hurt before. His trust has almost ruined the family business. He never wants to deal with romance ever again. Put Melissa and Maks together and you have a dream team. They learn to know each other and they learn to trust each other. This kind of made book ending a little predictable, but that is not always a bad thing. Together they try to create chocolate that would be mind-blowing and that would save Maks's family business. During that journey they fall in love and it is beautiful.

All in all this book is a happy and light read and it made me happy when reading it. It showcases a beautiful love story that keeps growing even after the ending. Melissa and Maks are two people who have gone through disappointments and loss in their lives and they truly deserve one another and their shared happiness. I truly recommend this book from the bottom of my heart.

* ARC received from the publisher through Netgalley

A fun and entertaining read.

Melanie is in town to try some of the famous Sommer chocolates, but gets more than she expected when she falls in love with Maks, the man who makes the chocolates. Both have a few secrets, so what will happen when it is time for Melanie to return home?

Found it a bit hard to suspend disbelief at first and get into this (I mean, she's a reporter and she doesn't know there is one-year waitlist for the product she needs to review? What about the research she must've done for the job?) But the characters have a way of working at you and eroding your defenses until you've got them under your skin and you really, really, really want to know what's going to happen to them. Also loved that I got to 'learn' quite a big deal about chocolate, and that was a lot of fun throughout

The descriptions of chocolate in this made me want chocolate every time I picked up this story. Make sure to have some with you if you plan on reading this!

This was a weird one...Generally, it was a nice narrative and a cute love story. I really enjoy anything with romance and the culinary arts...
But that is where my enjoyment ends. As a German, the lack of research on Germany and its health system was infuriating and made it impossible to properly enjoy the story as is. Also, the pacing was off and went from 0-100 in 5 pages

This was a fun book to read. There were some dangerous elements in the storyline, but the author did a good job of writing them light enough to be fun.

Melanie is a fun and quirky character and seems to balance the more serious Maks. With the other fun and entertaining cast I was highly entertained and had a lot of laughs.

The book was funny sexy and filled with chocolate I have to admit to eat lots of bags of chocolate while reading this book. I loved how this book describes the chocolates it makes me hungry just think about it.

I just finished reading “The Chocoholics Guild To Getting It On”, and it was just so damn good. It was sexy, witty as hell, great chemistry, little drama, romance and so funny with everything going on in the world, this book brought me so much reading pleasure. Thank you for this Michele. Totally needed this book right now!! Happy reading everyone!!

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." - Charles M. Schulz

My Rating : 🌟🌟🌟.75

My thoughts:
This story was funny, sexy, romantic & cute all-in-1 with a healthy dose of chocolate added to it. It had an overdramatic but funny heroine & a dark, handsome & mysterious hero. I liked their chemistry but felt the romance developed too fast in a short span & felt a little too cheesy at times. But overall I liked the interactions between the two & with the other characters. The Chocoholic part of the title was what pulled me into the book & was what made the story so much better. There were quite a few descriptions of drool worthy chocolates that made me wish that I could dive into the book to have a taste of them all. Such books must come with warnings to be ready with chocolates beforehand because it had me craving chocolates so badly at times that I had to make some for myself at home. 😁😋

I liked the setup of the story which was in an old quaint village. It just gives the story a homey feeling. Overall the book was a light fun read which Rom-com lovers will definitely enjoy. ❤

“Chocolate is happiness that you can eat.”- Ursula Kohaupt

Disclaimer: Thanking Netgalley & the publishers for providing me with an eARC copy of the book in exchange of an honest review. The thoughts expressed in the review are therefore completely my own.

Chocolate and romance are the ultimate duo. You get knowledge, romance and comedy in one place which is quite enjoyable.

The two main characters form great companionship from frequently spending time together, but some of their communication seems forced as it takes a while for either to let their guards down. The reason behind it is explained after previous experiences in relationships and bad dealings. Some of these interactions did make me cringe from 2nd hand embarrassment.

Overall a nice read; just not an immediate page turner. If you do not know much about chocolate hopefully you will gain some insight after reading.

I saw this book and knew I wanted to read it. What's not to love? steamy romance to get your pulse racing, comedy to make you chuckle out loud, and the best descriptions on chocolate that will have you drooling I absolutely loved it and couldn't put the book down, brilliant x

An interesting take on the reclusive billionaire theme. When journalist Melanie peters gets the job of interviewing chocolatier Maksim von Sommer, she is excited for two reasons. First, this may be her only opportunity to sample the ultra exclusive summer chocolates. Secondly, her grandmother has told her for many years the story of how she had a fling with the elder Sommers and somewhere in the castle there’s a picture of her. Marlene would like to get proof for her grandmother to shut up the doubting old biddies in her nursing home.
When Melanie gets to Germany she discovers that both tasks are going to be a lot harder than she thought. The towns people are very protective of Maks and unwilling to disclose much information. The one store that sells the chocolates has a year long waiting list to get them. Getting into the castle isn’t gonna be any easier as Marlene literally gets the door shut on her foot when she tries to get in to see Maks. Eventually her persistence pays off and he agrees to let her interview him. As time goes on Marlene learns more about Maks and his business and finds herself attracted to the mysterious chocolatier. Max discovers that Marlene knows a lot about chocolate and Is attracted to her independent spirit.
As the romance deepens an underlying threat becomes stronger and Marlene discovers the truth about her grandmother.. this story definitely has twists and turns both in the personal relationship between Melanie and Max and the professional one. You definitely don’t want to read this while you’re hungry because the descriptions of chocolate will send you right over the edge. Maks and Marlene are the main characters but there are several quirky supporting people including Jeeves, Maks’ butler, who seems to be a man of many unusual skills.
This book is the first book in a series and was definitely a fun read. I look forward to reading future books.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Disappointing romance novel. All of the chocolate imageries and comments were overwhelming and boring. I guess only a chocolate lover could enjoy a novel with cliched lines of chocolate so good it can help you get laid. Really? Not romantic at all. Main characters lacked chemistry and humor. Could not get into it

3.5 stars. Wow. This book had so much drama and so many secrets. It was quite the ride.

I expected this to be a fun, lighthearted story about chocolate and love, but that's only sort of what I got. Melanie is a bean-to-bar snob and all of the details about her feelings about chocolate and how she tastes chocolate was a bit much for me to really care about. I definitely enjoy chocolate, but why does she have to hate anything that's not "perfect" dark craft chocolate? Maks makes these delightful bonbons that people spend a year waiting to buy. It definitely makes me wish I could try them! With all of the secrets each of them are hiding, it's a miracle that they actually managed to talk at all. I felt that some of the secrets came out a bit too easily, especially when you know that Maks has been burned before.

Outside of those problems, I really did enjoy their story and them getting to know each other both professionally and personally. I would also love to know more about Angus and the other writers for Sexology!

DNF at 50% - so take my rating with a grain of salt.
This is possibly it's not the book, it's me type of situation.
It has all the ingredients for a fun, lighthearted romcom but I just couldn't connect to the characters at all. Melanie is the typical not like other girls kinda gal, quirky and fun, whereas our sexy German love interest is the lonesome playboy in the castle. I don't mind clichés, especially in this genre but it just wasn't working for me here.
I do believe that is due to the writing style itself more than anything. It often felt forced and overdone, the wording awkward. No one talks like that! The flow was just not there and as a result, the chemistry between our main characters suffered.

1. Chocolates galore ☑️⠀
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2. Small European village ☑️⠀
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3. A broody, mysterious and sexy ⠀
chocolatier ☑️⠀
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4. A journalist who is determined to ⠀
get the story about the ⠀
chocolatier recluse and what ⠀
makes him, I mean his chocolate, ⠀
so alluring ☑️⠀
⠀
A cute, funny and steamy read laced with a rom-com type mystery. Oh and of course, lots and lots of chocolate 🍫⠀

It was a cute read and really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters.⠀
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