Review: Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts

Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA 

Pages: 400 

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, ever since Great-Grandma Rose literally dreamed up her first fabulous recipe. But now it looks as if they're about to lose Sweet Dreams to the bank—and that would be a disaster, not only for the family but for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the oldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it?  After Samantha does some brainstorming with her mother and sisters, inspiration strikes. They'll have a chocolate festival! Time's running out, but the Sterling women are determined and the town's behind them, so everything's bound to go smoothly….

Or not. Events seem to be conspiring against Samantha, and her mother's attempts to help aren't helping. To make matters worse, the fate of her company is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It's enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake's also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there's something even better than chocolate.



Kritters Thoughts:  For my introduction to Sheila Roberts, this was a fantastic read!  Set in a small town in Washington state, Samantha and her two sisters and mother are experiencing some personal and work tragedies.  Their mother has just buried her second husband and they are all hoping to resurrect their chocolate company that hasn't been doing well for awhile.  These ladies must work hard to come up with some money to pay off a bank loan that is being called in on a short notice.

There were relationships between mother and daughters, coworker relationships and potential romantic relationships - the author explored them all in such fun ways.  Being a daughter, I always love reading a book about the unique relationships different daughters can have with their mother.  As a working woman, I loved reading about Samantha as she took over the reigns for her family's business.  Finally, being a romance book, there was a little of the romantic relationships, but it was so perfectly fit into the book, so it was a part of the book, but not a main focus.

What a great way to start reading Sheila Roberts.  Have you read one by her?  What should I read of hers next?

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.