Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts ~ mini review, author interview & GIVEAWAY

Source:  Received ARC from publisher

From 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.

My Thoughts:



3 stars- A family that struggles to deal with death of both a member and a business.

Better than Chocolate is a story about a family business that has been neglected since the death of Samantha's father.  Her step-father made some very poor business decisions and the company now stands ready to fall.  With her step-fathers death, Samantha has to try and same the business but the new bank manager, Blake, is not helping. 

The characters in this story were dealing with some very emotional things.  Clearly, this book was about hanging on and finding solutions.  I liked that about it.

I wish there had been more romance but the laughs were nice.  It moved a little slow for my taste but it's a pleasant Sunday kinda read.

This books is an uplifting story of survival with a light at the end of the tunnel ending.

Author Interview:

Had some questions for this author and she was nice enough to answer them for me!  Check it out below.

Hey Sheila, thanks for joining me on StuckInBooks.  I’m loving the idea of chocolate and books.  They’re like my two favorite things in the world.  What brought them together for you?

Since I’m a complete chocoholic I thought it would be fun to write a story about a family that owns a chocolate factory. I asked myself, “What would that family do if the chocolate factory was in trouble?” So BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE is the answer to that question. And, oh, how hard it was doing research! Touring chocolate factories, trying out recipes – ah, the things I do for my readers.

Any hints on what to expect from BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE?

Laughs, a love story, some poignant moments and interesting mother-daughter interaction. And fabulous chocolate recipes.

I’m a dark chocolate girl, do you have a preference?

I wish I was a dark chocolate girl, but I prefer milk chocolate. And mint truffles are the best!

Finish this for me.  Guys are like chocolate…..

They make us feel good and we can’t live without ‘em.

What’s your favorite male character of all time and why?

Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel. He was dashing, handsome, romantic and oh, so clever.  I love those books! And, by the way, if you’re into romantic movies check out the 1982 version of this tale starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews, who really brought Sir Percy to life. It’s a great chick flick. I recommend enjoying it with girlfriends and chocolate martinis!

What’s your favorite female character of all time and why?

Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet. She’s not beautiful, but she’s smart. And she’s her own woman – a good role model, I’d say.

Thanks, Sheila for being on StuckInBooks today!

Sheila Roberts | Goodreads | Twitter | FB | Amazon | B&N | TBD

****GIVEAWAY****

I'm giving away my ARC of Better Than Chocolate to one of you lucky peeps!  I"m shipping this time, so this will be US and Canada.  Follow StuckInBooks and fill out the rafflecopter below.

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