When it comes to love and chocolate, it’s game on…
When traveling chocolatier Vivian Dawson comes to Marietta to open Delish, a chain chocolate shop, she’s unfazed by angry locals. She’s not looking for friends—she’s the competition, and her target is Sage O’Dell’s Copper Mountain Chocolates. To create marketing buzz and a friendly rivalry, Vivian declares Delish’s hot chocolate the best in town and will prove it at Marietta’s Christmas Stroll. Everyone takes a side, and Vivian hopes a certain deputy will take hers for another unforgettable night.
Sheriff’s deputy Reuben Price can’t believe his luck when the woman he’s been thinking about since a rebound one-night stand opens a shop in town. He’s shocked when Marietta’s normally friendly citizens become hostile, but he’s ready to welcome Vivian with open arms and more.
As Vivian is seduced by the charming town and the sexy deputy, she wonders if she’s finally found a home. But when tragedy strikes before Christmas, will Vivian run like she always has, or will her growing feelings convince her to stay?
Titles in the Marietta Chocolate Wars series include – All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate –
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Title: All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate
Series: Marietta Chocolate Wars #1
Author: Amy Andrews
Genre: Modern Western Romance
Published: November 12, 2020
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 4 stars
Now, being a totally committed reader of anything remotely related to Marietta, Montana I have to admit that All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate, the beginning story of the Marietta Chocolate Wars series had me hesitating. Why? Well, Sage’s Cooper Mountain Chocolates – you don’t mess with hometown girl’s business! So when Vivian officially comes to town (six months after one steamy one-night stand with Reuben) the residents aren’t exactly welcoming once they discover she’s opening a competing Chocolate Shop, Delish.
This was the first time that Marietta, Montana was not the most welcoming of small towns – and I completely got why that was. Yet, with some good-natured competition between Sage and Vivian (agreed to on both sides) as to who has the best hot chocolate in town everyone gets the chance to really get to know Vivian and decide she’s not the horrible person they first suspected her to be. It didn’t help matters any that they also thought she was the reason why Reuben and long time companion, Clementine stopped dating. It was mutual, in that Clem dumped Reuben because their relationship was going nowhere beyond friendship, but it added to the non-welcoming atmosphere that’s for sure.
All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate was a fun experience – and a very steamy one, and I’m not just talking Vivian’s steamed milk for her version of the best hot chocolate in town! Vivian is a strong woman, she’s had to be, and she’s not afraid to take on the big challenges – but Reuben was someone that she never believed she’d find, someone to make her want to stay in one town and build a future. I adored Reuben for many reasons, but mainly for his cluelessness about Vivian and his own feelings. One sexy, smart, dedicated to the law, and his town kind of man is going to have to admit that he isn’t as immune to falling in love as he thought he was. I had fun, and that’s the whole point – especially when the Marietta Christmas Stroll is involved.
Whether you are a dedicated to this world reader or discovering Marietta, Montana for the first time – if you love a good love story, if small-town shenanigans delight you, or watching two right for each other people fall in love is what you look for in your romance reading… then All’s Fair in Love and Chocolate is just right for you.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Tule Publishing. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Available for your favorite e-reader, mine is the Kindle.
