Mini-Comments

Ruthless. That was what they said about Damien Rosier. Handsome. Wealthy. Powerful. Merciless. No one messed with his family, because to do so they would have to get through him. No one thought he had a heart. Not even the woman he gave his to.
Cynical. That was what they said about Jasmin Bianchi. A top perfumer of her generation, Jess had achieved commercial success by growing a protective shell over a tender heart. The one time she cracked it open to let Damien in, he crushed it—after a night of unbelievable passion.
Lovers. That one magical night couldn’t survive the harsh light of dawn. When Jess woke up to discover the man in bed beside her had stolen her company, she fled.
Enemies. Now she’s come to the south of France with a threat to his family heritage. If he wants to reclaim both it and the woman who walked away from him, he’s going to have to fight as dirty as only Damien can.
But Jess knows how to fight dirty, too. And these days, she has nothing left to lose.
Certainly not her heart.

In his acclaimed novels Hunting Midnight and The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Richard Zimler has spun luminous historical fiction from the experience of the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula. Spanning decades and continents, his new novel is set in the lush world of colonial India during the age of the Inquisition. Here is the astonishing story of Tiago Zarco, a young man whose family fled forced conversions in Portugal and now lives in a twilight between local Hindus and the ruling Portuguese Catholics. As Tiago comes of age in Goa, the capital of the spice trade, he struggles to keep the far-reaching powers of the Inquisition from destroying his family and pulling him apart from the Hindu girl he loves. When an act of betrayal puts his beloved father in prison, Tiago is forced to hunt down the traitor and make an unimaginable choice…and for him, a harrowing journey begins–one that will show him the depths of human depravity, and the dark, poisonous salvation of revenge….
At once a grand historical adventure and a riveting tale of love and mystery, Guardian of the Dawn brilliantly illuminates a world that has rarely been described–in a novel that blazes with passion, fury, and hope.

Comment: I've been quite swift in finishing some books lately, so here I left two more small comments on books by authors I also read last month. These two new additions weren't that different from the previous ones, and I feel I don't have to spend a lot writing about them, as any information would be repetitive.

A Wish Upon Jasmine is the second installment in the La Vie en Roses series by author Laura Florand. As it happened with the previous installment, this was one was also a little boring. Again, we have this introspective style, int he same mental process we have when we think stuff to ourselves. This feels like not even thinking at all when it's something we do, but to read about it won't feel the same and it's repetitive and the plot doesn't seem to move forward. It's a pity, actually because the story is sweet. 

Damien and Jasmine met one night, they felt magical with one another but a misjudgment caused Jasmine to run and now that they are together in the same place over a sudden inheritance, they reconnect and the words they exchange are amazing, their love scenes very special. This is very cute overall, the reasons why we should like and care for the characters is very clear, but the story is also without much action, therefore boring at times. 

I loved this style in the first 3 or four books by the author. Then it became repetitive and lately, only too boring. I think this might be it for me when it comes to Laura Florand...

Grade: 6/10

Guardian of the Dawn is the third installment in the loosely connected Sephardic Cycle books centered in Portuguese-Jewish descendants of a certain family throughout the centuries. In this third story, the action takes place in the Portuguese colony of Goa, in India.

As expected, the story is well written, fascinating and filled with gray-shaped situations, which means the reader can decide what to defend and what to condemn. Some scenes feel very strong, emotionally, while others make everything easier but this is the author's talent, to make one think about things. 

As it happened with the previous books, the central story is rich and detailed, the author investigated the time period and that feels very well presented and allows for the readers to learn things too. I like how this author's books seem so well balanced, even if his views on this and that can also look too obvious. However, just the experience of reading about complex characters who see themselves in complicated situations and can't always control what happens not only is quite realistic but a status we still live with nowadays. 

An engrossing reading for certain, but the style is very similar among his work but unlike the previous book, this felt easier to read. One can also say the author's voice is easily recognizable.

Grade: 7/10

Laura Florand - Once Upon a Rose

Fleeing the spotlight, burnt out rock star Layla—“Belle”—Dubois seeks refuge in the south of France. That old, half-forgotten heritage in a valley of roses seems like a good place to soothe a wounded heart. She certainly doesn’t expect the most dangerous threat to her heart to pounce on her as soon as she sets foot on the land.
Matt didn’t mean to growl at her quite that loudly. But—his roses! She can’t have his roses. Even if she does have all those curls and green eyes and, and, and…what was he growling about again?
When an enemy invades his valley and threatens his home, heart, and livelihood, Matthieu Rosier really knows only one way to defend himself.
It might involve kissing.

Comment: This is the first story in the La Vie en Roses series by author Laura Florand. It has been in my pile of books to read because I actually really liked her other series, Amour and Chocolat. However, regarding the other series, my opinion is that each book got weaker as the installments came by and perhaps that is why it took me so long to start another book by the author. I must say, though, this was was as average as I imagined...

In this book we meet Matthieu Rosier, he works for his family business and deals with everything related to treat the roses his family uses to seel to perfume brands and such. This story begins with Matt celebrating is 30th anniversary and meeting singer Layla Dubois.

However, what he doesn't know is that she has inherited a propriety he thought would be given to him after an aunt's death but that she has already given to Layla and that Layla is a famous singer. Matt wants nothing to do with fame after a very disastrous public relationship with a model.

Layla only wants to rest and have time to write after a Grammy but she feels her producers have put too much pressure on her to succeed and she doesn't feel confident she can make it. Resting in a sudden inheritance felt like a dream but her life turns up even more complicated...

From a romance POV, this premise feels amazing. Two people at odds over a situation neither has control over but while still being attracted and with every chance encounter, their relationship developed even further. We also have the expected angst moments when secrets come out... on paper, it should read easily and pleasurably. I can imagine those who have loved the story would probably mention these details.

For me, though, this story has several of the same issues I found while reading, mostly, installments #4 and #5 of the Amour and Chocolat series. It stopped having a quirky style to be repetitive and slightly boring. The author has many ideas and I'm sure that in real life we all have constant thoughts in our heads or we analyze things like that but to read about so much inner monologue can be boring. I wanted more action or a type of action scenes where we could read between the lines instead of having the characters think about everything. From what I remember, this still read better than, say, The Chocolat Temptation, but for many moments, I just wanted things to move along.

This introspective style is a bit difficult to enjoy because instead of the reader imagining the scenes, the character's movements, we spend too much time analyzing their emotions. This isn't always fun to do. Some authors just tell too much instead of showing but in this case it's more a situation of showing but explaining everything to the point the plot feels stagnated. Even when something is happening it feels it's not, so for me this was too slow being described and then things finally got to an end, despite the sweetness of the HEA, I felt not much actually happened.

The main characters have many qualities and I was happy they managed to overcome several obstacles - mostly emotional - to reach a balanced ground where they could be happy. But they also have dialogues I feel aren't very realistic so after all the other situations one can only assume aren't very credible (the setting is in a valley in France, not an alternate reality), this ends up reading as somewhat poor. Things take too long to be described even when the actual scene is quick, for instance, they fall in love in three days, and the development isn't always focused on what would be more necessary.

Then, as a sort of opposed notion, they barely talk about the things that should matter or these things are not as easily inserted in their dialogues or interactions which feels odd for the quickness of their romantic feelings towards one another.

I think I have overdone my appreciation for this writing style but of course it still suits many others.

Still, I liked some details, especially the family interactions and how they defended each other. But to keep reading, I'm not sure. I'll get to the next one because I got it at the same time as this one but it's something to look for more in the sense of "accomplish a goal in my to-do list" rather than having real eagerness to start it.

Grade: 6/10

Laura Florand - The Chocolate Temptation

She hated him.
Patrick Chevalier. The charming, laid-back, golden second-in-command of the Paris pastry kitchen where Sarah worked as intern, who made everything she failed at seem so easy, and who could have every woman he winked at falling for him without even trying. She hated him, but she’d risked too much for this dream to give up on it and walk out just so he wouldn’t break her heart.
But he didn’t hate her.
Sarah Lin. Patrick’s serious, dark-haired American intern, who looked at him as if she could see right through him and wasn’t so impressed with what she saw. As her boss, he knew he should leave her alone. The same way he knew better than to risk his heart and gamble on love.
But he was never good at not going after what – or who – he wanted.
He could make magic out of sugar. But could he mold hate into love?

Comment: This is most recent installment in the Chocolate and Amour series by author Laura Florand. This book wasn't long in the pile because the author surprised me a lot in her first books and despite the title before this one was a let down, I still had hopes for this one!

This is Patrick and Sarah's story. Readers who read the previous book, The Chocolate Heart, will recognize them, as they work with and for the chef from that book. In fact, Patrick could be already at his own restaurant but he's with Luc still, and Sarah is one of the interns.
Apparently, there's only a professional relationship between Saran and Patrick, but is it? Despite the indifference Sarah shows, are her feelings deeper? Despite the friendly manner of Patrick's behavior, does he have stronger feelings for Sarah?

Based on the relationship I saw in the other book about these two, I had such high hopes for their story and I thought it would be amazing to watch. However, it wasn't as brilliant as that and when the author's style surprised and enticed me at first, now I find myself a bit bored with it because it's too "out there" and doesn't let me focus on the story itself.
I'll explain.
This author has a writing style very peculiar, the reader has access to all the characters' thoughts and inner struggles. This sounds refreshing at first, but after five books, I kind of wanted things to spread over the character's actions and surroundings, for instance, more about their work, about their lives, instead of so much narration about what they feel and went through and even more, not as much voice about what the other must think they really are.
I know this is a valid way of storytelling and like I said, in the first books is so new and different from what I used to read, I found the stories marvelous. But now it seems there's too much narration and not as much story development, even when they do things. Maybe it's the story itself that "demands" this bolder style which doesn't please me as much, or maybe it's me alone, and that can't be solved.

The relationship between Sarah and Patrick is the complete focus of this novel, with interesting points about their family history and how some family members influenced them.
Sarah is a fascinating character, she has done some things that went against her more cautious side, namely coming to Paris to study pastry and she has a dream about food. I think she is the kind of person we all wished we could be, letting almost everything to pursue a dream, no matter for which reason.
Patrick has a more exuberant behavior in a way. He is the type to make jokes and make everyone comfortable and at ease. He has dreams too but we only discover the reality of those in the end of the story and I confess it was a surprise.
Their romance is based on little moments at first until they become intimate. After that, it's practically only one scene after another of indecisions, of fear of saying the bad thing, they both lack some confidence in the what is becoming between them which can be seen as annoying because despite being real in real life for sure, and who knows in some books as well, but in this case it felt a bit suffocating.

In the end, there's a HEA but I wasn't totally sold on the love between them nor was I convinced it was true love, everything just seemed unappealing. I'm afraid my opinion of the series has been decreasing with each book, although the first three being quite good, in particular the first. This didn't have a supporting environment as interesting or polished, I think.
Grade: 6/10

Laura Florand - The Chocolate Heart

No one hates Paris--except Summer Corey. The moody winters. The artists and their ennui. The inescapable shadow of the Tour Eiffel. But things go from bad to worse when Summer stumbles into brooding, gorgeous chef pâtissier Luc Leroi and indecently propositions the hero of French cuisine...
Luc has scrambled up from a childhood panhandling in the Paris Métro to become the king of his city, and he has no patience for this spoiled princess, even if she does now own his restaurant. Who cares if she smiles with all the warmth of July? She doesn't eat dessert!
There is only one way to tempt her. A perfect, impossibly sweet seduction...

Comment: This is the 4th full length story in the Chocolate series by Laura Florand. Since Ive read the first book I got hooked on her stories set in Paris and the wonderful ways her couples find each other. After 4 books I still think the first was the better and this one the weakest so far, but I have hopes for the 5th!

This story features Summer Corey, a cousin to Cade and Jamie and Luc Leroi, another patissiere in Paris who comes from a not so good childhood. On the other hand, Summer had it all and has been miserable because her father never paid enough attention to what she wanted as a child, which was his care and love. Now, as a grown up, Summer accepts to spend 3 months in her father's most recent acquired hotel in exchange for a satellite for the island where she has been teaching for the last years. But Luc sees her and after some misunderstandings, their fates don't separate anymore...

Every time I started a book by this author I was so thrilled to read about chefs, the new it profession and how the story would develop. The author has a talent to create interesting characters and to put them in situations where we can't always expect a predictable response. However, she has never been a 5 stars author for me because she tends to "talk" a lot about everything and not always in a way that I thought was the most captivating, in particular the private thoughts of the characters. 
In this book, this was more obvious and I have to say I felt a bit bored by how often we would see both Summer and Luc think instead of acting. Their actions and behavior with each other started almost ever from what they thought the other was thinking, doing, expecting, waiting for, etc. I mean, it's always nice to see a couple feel attached by thinking in similar lines, but it wasn't so here.
I had the feeling each one of them hoped the author guessed what they were thinking, and both of them thought a lot, but this isn't a science, we can't know what others are thinking all the time and still they - Summer mostly - felt almost betrayed because their actions weren't clue enough! Ok... I guess I can understand what the author was aiming for, but in my opinion, it wasn't a successful tactic.

Summer and Luc as a couple had many expectations and fears about their own actions and what others would expect of them. But it annoyed me a little bit how they let that run their lives and they were so lonely...I think being alone and knowing your faults isn't wrong because I am shy and I prefer to be alone myself quite often, but in the character's case, they acted almost like the world owned them for their pasts and their failed experiences and family. I like humble heroes and heroines but I didn't get that vibe in this book.
Summer is rich and she always felt abandoned...she is also very smart...why couldn't she find other occupations, other interests instead of letting what she couldn't have rule her life and her over the top reactions?
Luc had a father he loved but who didn't take care of him properly so he feels abandoned too, although he was poor. He had his job, his interests...in a way his character is more believable than Summer's.

I'll stop the critics now...I just felt sorry this book with such potential main characters felt under the pressure of childhood fears and disappointments instead of putting in evidence what mattered, which was who they both were now, as grown ups and as people responsible for their feelings and actions. I feel sorry I couldn't like Summer more for instance...but after all things considered I still liked there was a HEA and that's why this grade isn't lower that what it is.
Grade: 6/10

Laura Florand - The Chocolate Touch

Dominique Richard's reputation says it all--wild past, wilder flavors, black leather and smoldering heat. Jaime Corey is hardly the first woman to be drawn to all that dark, delicious danger. Sitting in Dom's opulent chocolaterie in Paris day after day, she lets his decadent creations restore her weary body and spirit, understanding that the man himself is entirely beyond her grasp.
Chocolate, Dominique understands--from the biting tang of lime-caramel to the most complex infusions of jasmine, lemon-thyme, and cayenne. But this shy, freckled American who sits alone in his salon, quietly sampling his exquisite confections as if she can't get enough of them--enough of him--is something else. She has secrets too, he can tell. Of course if she really knew him, she would run.

Comment: I've loved the two books by this author I've already read and this is a series I'm very invested in, not only because of the character's lives or the plot itself but mainly because the author has created a style where what's around the characters matters and it's done with purpose, unlike so many books where it's all about the characters and honestly, no one is an island.

This is the story of Jaime Corey and Dominique Richard, two characters we've heard things about in the previous stories.
Jaime is struggling because of what happened to her an she's still trying to come to terms about who she is and what can she do. She takes comfort in Richard's chocolates and after meeting him, she wants to use him to bolster her will to live, but she isn't prepared for the strength and feelings Richard wakes up in her.
Dominique Richard is someone most people think is tough and not polite. But deep down he wants to be accepted and fears his manner and hands aren't proper for someone as delicate as Jaime. But desire opens the door to something bigger...

Like it happened with the other books in the series, I loved this one too. I thought the story was strong and portrayed interesting psychological features of the two main characters.
Jaime has had an awful experience in the course of her work and only to present a message to the world as the is a figure of importance. Jaime was traumatized and thinks her courage and determination are over, so she takes refuge in Paris, where her sister now lives. Jaime feels trapped, not by Paris, but by her emotions which she feels can't be controlled. She thinks she might live a life of fear.
Dominique Richard is someone who went from the worst life possibilities to the top. But in his mind he's still the butcher with the big hands and despite being successful and an imposing figure, deep down he also fears judgment and that he isn't able to have deep feelings. But after meeting Jaime, he starts to realize maybe he can achieve happiness as well.
I thought their romance was quite balanced, for both of them had issues to overcome and change before admitting their feelings. I thought the development wasn't too fast, therefore more believable.
I liked how Richard was all for Jaime and her feelings, not caring about bribes or fears. Overall, this was a good romance.

The secondary characters also have a part and we find out some things because of them, which I loved. Most people already know I have a preference for stories that can provide that family feel without being too cheesy or cliched.
Another thing I liked is how we see a lot of the guys' work in the story. They make chocolate and this isn't there just to provide those escapism scenes where the characters think while working. It's obvious the knowledge about chocolate in the pages and how it's done and how it also plays a part. 
Very good.

All in all, a great balanced storyline, with very strong elements included. It only could be better with a bit more angst, not too much, maybe a little bit just to make things a bit more powerful. I' not saying it needed it, just that I, personally, would have liked to see it.
But trust me, this is a great book.

Laura Florand - The Chocolate Kiss

Welcome to La Maison des Sorcieres. Where the window display is an enchanted forest of sweets, a collection of conical hats delights the eye and the habitués nibble chocolate witches from fanciful mismatched china. While in their tiny blue kitchen, Magalie Chaudron and her two aunts stir wishes into bubbling pots of heavenly chocolat chaud.
But no amount of wishing will rid them of interloper Philippe Lyonnais, who has the gall to open one of his world famous pastry shops right down the street. Philippe’s creations seem to hold a magic of their own, drawing crowds of beautiful women to their little isle amidst the Seine, and tempting even Magalie to venture out of her ivory tower and take a chance, a taste…a kiss.
Parisian princesses, chocolate witches, pâtissier princes and sweet wishes -- an enchanting tale of amour et chocolat. 

Comment: After such a wonderful first book, I was very eager to get my hands on this second one and I was more than hopeful to get a story as addictive and fun as the previous one, The Chocolate Thief. I bought the book the same month I read the other book and now I finally had the chance to pick it up.

This time, it’s the story of a character we knew about in the other book but who never made an appearance, if I recall correctly. Phillipe Lyonnais is a pastry chef, the best of course, and he just opened another store in Paris, very close to the Maison de las Sorciéres, where Magalie works with her aunts. Magalie doesn’t this to happen because she fears the clients will stop to go to their shop. She confronts Phillipe and the battle begins. They clash all the time but we know there’s more to it than just business differences…

I’ll say it right now, I don’t think this story was as beautiful and sweet and strong as the other one. I think one of the best things about The Chocolate Thief was how the characters looked more alive and better explored in terms of personality and inner thoughts, or just more likable at some point, that in this one I just wasn’t as marveled by them. Phillipe was quite intriguing and I really liked him. Magalie, on the other hand, felt stricter and I kind of approve of people to be cautious, but somehow in this book I wanted her to enjoy the playing more, to not feel like a capitulation when she and Phillipe finally got together. It’s hard to explain, but in general, the main relationship wasn’t as great as I imagined.

The story was good. This I expected and it was delivered. I felt Magalie’s fears for the future of her aunts and herself and why she acted impulsively at first and how she felt forgettable, I mean, in the beginning her character was very intriguing and I wanted to know what she was thinking. Until their relationship got more intimate, I was very amused by how Phillipe and Magalie would “fight” and meet and try not to feel the attraction, or better, tried not to show they were feeling it. Then Magalie finds out some things she wasn’t aware of and that sort of helped her decisions further. I get that, I do, but again, I don’t think she was that fun to read about from then on. Maybe I’m being too harsh, I mean, if it were me in her position, if I were to meet someone like Phillipe I guess I’d find it too good to be true as well, but well…in romances, we kind of want out heroes and heroines to be more understandable, right? Ok, let me get one thing clear, I didn’t dislike Magalie, I just think her character wasn’t as easy to care about as was Cade in the first book, that’s all. It’s the character’s build up and the author knows best, but personally I’d change her a bit, just a tiny bit…

The end was cute. Not fairy-tale-like-beautiful like the other – I guess I can’t help but compare them, as I truly loved The Chocolate Thief and all about it – but still able to make me smile and be happy for them. I think in a way, they got what they wanted and it was so cute to see them in a happy mode and with happiness in their future. I hope all the author’s books are like this.

Now, I can’t help but be really eager to read the next one, I already pre ordered it!

Laura Florand - The Chocolate Thief

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

Comment: I've decided to read this book after seeing reviews about the author in Nath's blog. I was so curious about it that I just had to get the first one as soon as possible! I really wanted to see if it was as good as it promised..despite being a contemporary and usually this isn't a genre I read a lot, recently I've come up with so many interesting books I might be changing my taste, how amazing is that....

This is the story of Cade Corey, she is the heiress of the American empire of the chocolate bars and wants to start a gourmet line. For that she travels to Paris to meet the chocolatiers there and propose a business deal. Amazingly, no one wants to be part of that and they all say no, some of them not very nicely.

Sylvain Marquis is the most recognized chocolatier of Paris and he is the first to say no to Cade but something about her intrigues him. As they go through a game of hide and chase there's something delicious happening between them and it's not only melting chocolate...

I really loved this book! I'm very happy to have read it.

The story is very compelling and absorbing and I swear I didn't want to put it down to do other things like work and eat. I'm very happy with the way the author has written it, in a rather simple way but to the point and certainly about a subject she knows well. It shows she has studied the chocolate art and how to work it. It was delicious to read about all the ways to have chocolate, to temper chocolate and to show off the chocolate.

The book wasn't meant to be funny I think, but it had some scenes I thought were amusing and it allowed for the plot to develop smoothly. I really anted to keep reading.

Talking about plot, it was clever and interesting and it was wisely done, in a way that didn't seem over the top or nonsense but not as weak as to be easily put aside. I think it had some good elements and together with the character's motivations it gained strength.

The characters were great. All of them played their part quit well and I look for seeing (some of ) them  again in upcoming books. Of course, the main couple was the most interesting in the cast of characters and I wanted to see their interactions. Lots of scenes with them that I think were great, like when Sylvain gives a lesson to Cade in his laboratoire and the first time they're together intimately....very memorable. I was curious to see their thoughts too, as they both have fears and limitations and had that natural reluctance to put is all in table before being certain about the other person...I think it was lovely to see them fall in love. The author has achieved a real good balance between who they are and what they were meant to be feeling. I look for to see them again to and now I can't even wait for the next book as I'm positive it will be amazing too!

Loved how this book ended..what a HEA, a really perfect and happy one. If all good romances could end like that...the author has done a real good job.

This was a great read and I recommend it to everyone because it has details to please all kinds of readers out there.