Falling in Love with Chocolate is the light-hearted story of two people from different worlds, Juan Carlos and Lacey, who find one another on vacation in a romantic medieval city...They had totally different motivations and agendas for life, yet they fall in love; and in an unexpected twist of fate that surrounds eating chocolates, they learn to believe in the importance of falling in love and staying there before it is too late.Book One of the Dynasty of Love series. Stay tuned for more love stories from the Dynasty of Love series about the Guti�rrez family!
Every girl has had her share of sweet nothings. That's why she knows chocolate is the real thing...and why she'll want to unwrap these rich, color images of chocolate treats in all shapes and indulge in the cocoa-dipped sentiments, sumptuous recipes, and mouth-watering tidbits. With each bite, she'll
This down-to-earth, heartfelt business success story is designed to appeal to the ever-growing number of people who are drawn to home-based entrepreneurship and who are searching for successful role models. A dozen key lessons are illustrated with events from the author's personal and professional life in the field of luxury chocolate-dipped fruits.
Did you know that coffee was recommended as protection against the bubonic plague in the seventeenth century? Or that tea was believed to make men 'unfit to do their business' and blamed for women becoming unattractive? On the other hand, a cup of chocolate was supposed to have exactly the opposite effect on the drinker's sex life and physical appearance. These three beverages arrived in England in the 1650s from faraway, exotic places: tea from China, coffee from the Middle East and chocolate from Mesoamerica. Physicians, diarists and politicians were quick to comment on their supposed benefits and alleged harmfulness, using newspapers, pamphlets and handbills both to promote and denounce their sudden popularity. Others seized the opportunity to serve the growing appetite for these newly discovered drinks by setting up coffee houses or encouraging one-upmanship in increasingly elaborate tea-drinking rituals.How did the rowdy and often comical initial reception of these drinks form the roots of today's enduring caffeine culture? From the tale of the goatherd whose animals became frisky on coffee berries to a duchess with a goblet of poisoned chocolate, this book, illustrated with eighteenth-century satirical cartoons and early advertisements, tells the extraordinary story of our favourite hot drinks.
Try me . . . test me . . . taste me . . . Joanne Harris’s Chocolat trilogy has tantalized readers with its sensuous descriptions of chocolate since it was first published. Now, to celebrate the much-loved story of Vianne Rocher’s deliciously decadent chocolaterie, Joanne Harris and Fran Warde have created the ultimate book of chocolate lore and recipes from around the world, bringing a touch of magic to your kitchen.
When the exotic stranger Vianne Rocher arrives in the old French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique called “La Celeste Praline” directly across the square from the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock. It is the beginning of Lent: the traditional season of self-denial. The priest says she’ll be out of business by Easter. To make matters worse, Vianne does not go to church and has a penchant for superstition. Like her mother, she can read Tarot cards. But she begins to win over customers with her smiles, her intuition for everyone’s favourites, and her delightful confections. Her shop provides a place, too, for secrets to be whispered, grievances aired. She begins to shake up the rigid morality of the community. Vianne’s plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community. Can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair? For the first time, here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance, emerging as an agent of transformation. Rich, clever, and mischievous, reminiscent of a folk tale or fable, this is a triumphant read with a memorable character at its heart. Says Harris: “You might see [Vianne] as an archetype or a mythical figure. I prefer to see her as the lone gunslinger who blows into the town, has a showdown with the man in the black hat, then moves on relentless. But on another level she is a perfectly real person with real insecurities and a very human desire for love and acceptance. Her qualities too - kindness, love, tolerance - are very human.” Vianne and her young daughter Anouk, come into town on Shrove Tuesday. “Carnivals make us uneasy,” says Harris, “because of what they represent: the residual memory of blood sacrifice (it is after all from the word "carne" that the term arises), of pagan celebration. And they represent a loss of inhibition; carnival time is a time at which almost anything is possible.” The book became an international best-seller, and was optioned to film quickly. The Oscar-nominated movie, with its star-studded cast including Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, whose previous film The Cider House Rules (based on a John Irving novel) also looks at issues of community and moral standards, though in a less lighthearted vein. The idea for the book came from a comment her husband made one day while he was immersed in a football game on TV. “It was a throwaway comment, designed to annoy and it did. It was along the lines of...Chocolate is to women what football is to men…” The idea stuck, and Harris began thinking that “people have these conflicting feelings about chocolate, and that a lot of people who have very little else in common relate to chocolate in more or less the same kind of way. It became a kind of challenge to see exactly how much of a story I could get which was uniquely centred around chocolate.” Rich with metaphor and gorgeous writing...sit back and gorge yourself on Chocolat.
A handsome pastry chef stirs things up for a Parisian chocolatier in this charming romantic comedy by the author of The Chocolate Thief. The Heart of Paris 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 Lyonais, 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. Praise for The Chocolate Kiss “A mouth-watering tale of slow-burning passion and combustible consummation that’s as perfectly crafted as the hero’s surprisingly complex confections and as silky and addictive as the heroine’s dark chocolat chaud. Sensuous and sumptuous, The Chocolate Kiss leaves its reader with one thought: Mon Dieu, I have got to get myself to Paris!” —RT Book Reviews “The battle of pastries is an erotic subtext for their love affair, and every bit as decadent.” —Publishers Weekly “An adorable chocolate shop and heroine, a sexy pastry chef and a hot romance set in Paris. I highly recommend this one.” —Smexy Books
'I didn't mean to, honest to goodness I didn't. It just happened.' Amber Salpone doesn't mean to keep ending up in bed with her friend Greg Walterson, but she can't help herself. And after every time it 'just happens' their secret affair moves closer to being a real relationship, which is big problem when he's a womaniser and she's a commitment-phobe. While Amber struggles to accept her new feelings for Greg, she also realises that her closeness to Jen, her best friend, is slipping away and the tow of them are becoming virtual strangers. Slowly but surely, as the stark truths of all their lives are revealed, Amber has to confront the fact that chocolate can't cure everything and sometimes running away isn't an option...
When an American heiress and a French chocolatier butt heads, the business of chocolate is about to become a labor of love in this romantic comedy. Paris 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 . . . Chocolate 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 . . . Stolen Pleasure Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter? Praise for The Chocolate Thief “A delectable summer bonbon . . . The Chocolate Thief is for days when you lust not for wisdom, but for a bar of chocolate—at any price—and a hero who understands what is truly important: ‘Every dream I have has you in my apartment, has you in my laboratoire, has you with my babies . . . Every chocolate I’ve made since I met you, I’ve made for you.’” —Eloisa James, NPR.org “It’s like when you find that amazing piece of chocolate—you take a bite, and it sits on your tongue and melts into a pool of liquid heaven: Florand has managed to capture that emotional experience and put it into the pages of her novel.” —RT Book Reviews “[A] comfortable beach read . . . A good, fun read.” —Publishers Weekly
A candid and witty memoir describes one woman's search for a solution to her problem with a low sex drive and her efforts to close the libido gap that threatened her relationship with her husband, discusses the creative solution that accommodated the needs of both partners, and offers solace, information, and comfort to others in her situation. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.
