The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris By Jenny Colgan

‘The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris’ is the latest book by recent RONA winner, Jenny Colgan.

As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf and the cobbled alleyways of Paros come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest and richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris. It’s a huge change from the chocolate factory she worked at in the nothin of England. But when an account changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime – to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier.

With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate – and herself, than she ever imagined.

Jenny Colgan is one of my favourite romantic comedy authors, having recently won Romantic Comedy Novel award at the RONA’s, with ‘Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop of Dreams’, it’s great to see her back with another sweet treat that kept me smiling into the early hours.

Right from the start we are cast into the unfortunate world of Anna, having to deal with an unusual industrial accident and recently single. She finds herself unemployed and wondering what to do with her life. Help comes in the unlikely form of her old French teacher Claire, battling cancer she arranges for Anna to go to Paris and work in the city’s finest chocolate shop.

Unknown to Anna, Claire has an ulterior motive with this plan, as her first love Thierry owns the shop and she longs to see him again. Wonderfully written, the story is written in the past and present time, the past is about Claire in 1972, a young naive girl who au pairs in Paris falling in love with the city but also the younger and boisterous Thierry. The present scenes are seen from the perspective of Anna settling into Paris and making new friends and adventures.

Jenny has written the dialogue and scenes so beautifully and vividly, that I found myself remembering my own visit to the city and falling in love with the cobbled streets, long winding alleyways and the vibrant Latin quarter.

Filled with warm-hearted and bright characters, there was someone for everyone to love, Anna is a fabulous lead, sweet, gentle and courageous travelling off to Paris knowing no-one. Claire, strong and determined, she can’t let the past go, no matter how ill she is and Sami, Anna’s new flat mate adds a nice touch of flamboyance and charisma to the story.

I adored ‘The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris’, I thought it was a gloriously, sweet uplifting treat of a story, set in the exciting city of Paris and filled with witty and fun characters, it was hard to put down. A poignant, romantic comedy packed with chocolate recipes, this book is perfect for people who have a sweet tooth!

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0751549207″ target=”_blank” ] The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris on Amazon [/amazon_link] and will be available from good bookshops.