The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

Item: The Lovliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
Rating: 4
Author: Gaele

Jenny Colgan returns with a re-release of her stand-alone title, where Anna finds new purpose and a new dream after an industrial accident in

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris

Lighthearted fun with a touch of romance, set mostly in Paris and with frequent references (and recipes) with chocolate: it is hard to go wrong! Jenny Colgan introduces us to Anna, a supervisor in a chocolate factory in England. When she has an accident and loses two toes, she finds her roommate at the hospital is her French Teacher Claire. When Claire uses her influence to give Anna a chance at a change in scenery and a new opportunity, the story really takes hold and thrusts the reader into Paris and the kitchen of a famous chocolatier.

Thierry is a master chocolatier and his shop, Le Chapeau Chocolat is a favorite of many. He also found his muse in Claire and her reminiscences run through the story to correlate Anna’s journey and discoveries, to the moments that informed her own life.

What emerges is a lovely story that brings a woman, perhaps squandering her potential in favor of security and the known and by adjusting her living situation, she learns to find the potential in herself. She is faced with several challenges in her new city, but rather than allowing them to defeat her, she is enchanted by the differences, and finds potential and reconnects with her own dreams, long dormant. Clearly the correlation of Claire’s relationship with Thierry and Anna’s to his son bring a touch of romance and fancy to the whole story: as one is losing a dream, others are gaining one.

First person narration from Anna, and the third person reminiscences and reflections from Claire provide lovely description, feel and definition to the city and the story. Seeing Paris through Anna’s eyes is a lovely technique, bringing areas and elements of the city to light that perhaps are missed, or unseen by those more familiar. Also, the story is liberally peppered with hints and tips for handling chocolate, as well as some recipes for home-crafted treats – who can resist good chocolate?

Quick reading, fun and funny with a light touch of romance, this is a lovely story. I enjoyed this second (ok – probably fifth) re-read of the title as much as the first. And, it is Paris after all.

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

Title: The Lovliest Chocolate Shop in Paris
Author: Jenny Colgan
Genre: Contemporary Woman's Fiction, Food / Recipes, France, Friendship, Grief, Humor elements, Recipes, Romantic Elements, Setting: France
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN: 1402284403
Published on: 6 August, 2019 (Re-Release)
Format:eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Pages: 384
Audio Length: 10 Hours: 49 minutes
Rated:

Heat:

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A heartwarming, bittersweet story of life, love and chocolate. Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner and Jill Mansell will be craving sweets along with this tale of love lost and found.

Anna Trent may be a supervisor in a chocolate factory...but that doesn't necessarily mean she knows how to make chocolate. So when a fateful accident gives her the opportunity to work at Paris's elite chocolatier Le Chapeau Chocolat, Anna expects to be outed as a fraud.

After all, there is a world of difference between chalky, mass―produced English chocolate and the gourmet confections Anna's new boss creates.

But with a bit of luck and a lot of patience, Anna might learn that the sweetest things in life are always worth working for.

A copy of this title was provided via Publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About Jenny Colgan

Jenny T. Colgan was born in 1972 in Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK. After studying at Edinburgh University, she worked for six years in the health service, moonlighting as a cartoonist and a stand-up comic, before the publication of her first novel Amanda's Wedding in 2000. In 2013, her novel "Welcome to Rosie Hopkin's Sweetshop of Dreams" won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is now working on her next novel.

She is married with Andrew, a marine engineer, and had three children, Wallace, Michael-Francis, and Delphie. She mostly lives in France, with frequent visits to London. She occasionally writes for The Guardian newspaper, as well as a TV series.

Her Doctor Who novel Dark Horizons is published under the name J.T. Colgan.