I absolutely love Jo Thomas so anytime she has a book available I’m so ready! I loved this beautiful and heartfelt Christmas themed story. I loved watching Clara and her journey and all the delicious food/pastries talk made my mouth water. I also loved Gabriel’s character as well and how beautifully the story was laid out. I’ll be anxiously awaiting her next book!

this is my first time getting to read an arc, and i was really excited. unfortunately, the book wasn't as good as i'd hoped it would be. i generally love christmas romances, but the book didn't have much of a christmas vibe. it’s more so surrounding chocolate and switzerland, but that wasn’t why i didn’t love the book. honestly, the idea for the plot was amazing. but the execution could have been done better. (there are spoilers down below, so if u plan to read the book, don’t continue)

there were too many exclamation marks in the book to my liking. (even more than the first book of tog) i don’t think anyone speaks or thinks with that much enthusiasm, 24/7. that made it hard for me to sympathise with the fmc :( i thought it was really clever how the mmc lost his sense of taste, and how the fmc found out about it. but how she confronted him about it, how they got into an argument, and how he apologised - i found those parts quite dull. and i don’t really understand the fmc. it was obvious she felt nothing for daniel after breaking up with him for the first time. but then, she went back to him and had twelve dates with him? okay, i know it was for the chocolates that she had to create, but couldn’t she have gone on dates with gabriel instead? if she wants to feel inspired by the dates, it wouldn’t be with her ex that belittles her and dated other ppl while being broken up with her (he was also begging her to get back with him)

i think the best parts of the book was the friendship that grew between the other students in the class. how they went from hating clara, to making the last piece of chocolate for her, so that she would be able to get her certificate. if the book focused more on this area and the dynamics between them, i would probably have enjoyed it a lot more.

3 ⭐️

This was a really warm-hearted read set in a wonderful location and better still contains much chocolate. After taking voluntary redundancy Clara takes a leap of faith by joining her fairly new boyfriend Daniel in Geneva where he has been offered a new job. Whilst Clara finds her feet she embarks on a 6 week chocolate making course where she find herself totally out of her depth and with nothing in common with the other students who are half her age. There’s some brilliant characters and each has their own story to tell, there’s some fantastic history in the location and some (mostly) delicious sounding chocolates. Clara herself was a far stronger person than she gave herself credit for and I loved the impact she had on others, there’s some challenges in this for her but overall it’s a deliciously enjoyable and uplifting read, best enjoyed with a good portion of chocolate.