jjares reviewed on 10/30/2020 + 3413 more book reviews

These are four stories about chocolate candy; who can argue with such a great premise? I chose this anthology because Alexis Harrington was one of the authors (I've enjoyed every one of the books I've read by her) and because of the great reviews this book garnered by other readers.

ROCKY ROAD (Margaret Brownley) --
This author may be a new favorite; she offers a delightful, funny short story. Josh Travis, a town barber, sends a box of chocolates to his girlfriend, however, it's delivered to the bookish schoolmarm, Amelia Winklemeyer, instead. Thus starts a funny story about a schoolmarm who blooms and a barber who explodes with envy when his best friend takes 'Josh's problem' off his hands. This is a very cute Americana story

MISS DELWIN'S DELIGHTS (Raine Cantrell) --
Kit Sidell, Dennison's most eligible bachelor, had to have been drunk. He wagered his best friend, Jamie McCarthy, that he could court and get Bridie Delwin to agree to marry him in 30 days. Otherwise, the pride of Kit's horse farm, High Man (his breeding stallion) would become Jamie's. Once Kit realizes he's really interested in Bridie, he agonizes over the wager.

THE TASTE OF REMEMBRANCE (Alexis Harrington) --
Rebecca Baxter, after three years, is still mourning her fiance' lost in the Civil War. However, Aaron Monroe, a shopkeeper, asks her for the third time to marry him and she agrees (reluctantly). Her dream is to open her own dressmaker's shop (she works in someone else's shop now). Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates begin to appear for Rebecca and she assumes they are from Aaron, but they are not.

SWEET CREATIONS (Sue Rich) --
Wade Carlisle is the owner of a ranch and he's got a problem; his riders are fooling around on the job and taking naps. He goes to town to find out if his riders are drinking too much alcohol. Instead, he finds out that the riders are all buying candy from the new candy store (with two cute sisters running the place). Before long, that candy store starts a wild series of problems for Wade and the town.

After reading them all, I agree with the other reviewers; this is a great book and I will reread these stories. Although all of them are about candy, they approach the subject from different angles. All of them are worth reading again. Margaret Brownley's offering was delightfully funny while Alexis Harrington's was bittersweet. I think this is the best anthology that I've read in a long time.

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