Chocolate has always been magical to me! Dreaming in Chocolate is a darling, whimsical tale of a young single mother, Penelope, and her eight year old daughter, Ella, who is terminally ill. Penelope and her Mom run a chocolate shop in a small Appalachian town. In this shop is an apothecary table with magical recipes for anything chocolate. The whole town loves what these treats can do. This magic, however, did not work for Ella. She and Penelope are going through Ella’s “bucket List” of things that will make her happy before she dies. Sounds very sad, but it is actually very touchingly cheerful the way the author works around the impending gloom. Although farfetched, I enjoyed this story of a mother’s love and the love and hopeful innocence of dear Ella.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This is a thoroughly charming and magical book. I loved the characters, the small town, and the magic of love. I highly recommend this book!

I have enjoyed Susan's other books, so I was pretty excited to get into this one.

I really liked Penelope and Noah. She's reluctant and he's charming and together they have a hint of chemistry. I'm sure there would be a lot more if Penelope would let it happen. I think Sabina was my favorite character and of course Ella stole every scene she was in. It was absolutely adorable seeing her trying to play matchmaker.

One of the things I love most about Susan's books is that the magic is right out in the open. The chocolate shop is a fantastic setting and the apothecary table is like another character. Seeing the characters interact with the table was one of the best parts.

Plot wise, it did move a bit slow in parts. It did feel like there was a lot of push and pull, but it also sort of makes sense. I would have liked more at the ending, but it was hopeful and fitting. I'm just greedy.

**Huge thanks to Thomas Dunne Books for providing the arc free of charge**

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell
Source: Netgally
My Rating: 2½/5 stars

I don’t even know where to start with this review as it was a solid five star read right up until the very end. . . . .

Literally, everything but the ending of this book falls into the “Likes” category for me. The characters, the plot, the development, the love story, the pacing, the drama all appealed to me from the opening scene right on through to the last few chapters. Here’s the skinny . . . .

Penelope Dalton is raising an amazing kid with a bright spirit on her own. Penelope Dalton is also raising a kid with an expiration date thanks to an inoperable brain tumor. With nothing left to do medically, Penelope has decided to enjoy the time she has left with her daughter and help her tick off every item on her Bucket List! Though much of Penelope’s life revolves around her daughter, the parts that don’t revolve around she and her own mother’s chocolate shop. For several generations, the chocolate shop has been a place of wonder, hope, and quite literally, magic. Yes, the chocolate is amazing, but it also contains magic with the ability to help people see their one true love, find bliss, and change their future.

For a year, Penelope has lived with the belief the magic doesn’t work as advertised. After the town collectively wished for her daughter’s health and survival and it didn’t work, Penelope has grown bitter and somewhat angry. With no hope left for her daughter’s recovery, Penelope has cancelled her family’s involvement in the town’s beloved Festival of Fate which has prompted some serious backlash from citizens and friends alike. As if her life weren’t already complicated enough, Penelope’s ex, and father to her daughter, is back in town and wreaking havoc on her already turbulent emotions.

Fate and magic have everything to do with Penelope’s life and with the mix of her daughter’s condition, the town being angry with her, and her ex being back, both seem to be laughing at her. What fate and magic didn’t count on is the resilience and belief of Penelope’s daughter! That child has faith for a crowd and with a bit of conspiring, puppy dog eyes, and reliance on the old “I don’t have much longer!” Penelope’s daughter works a little magic of her own.

The Bottom Line: Right up to the last few chapters I was all over adoring this story, and then the end came. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? The pacing of this book, the characters, the story all deserved so much more than the craptastic ending they got. I have rarely been so disappointed in a book, but this one . . . . . let’s just say the disappointment is strong with this one. As I sit here writing this review, thinking about the ending, I get angry all over again. You have been warned, dear reader ☹

What an intriguing concept Susan Bishop Crispell, Author, of “Dreaming in Chocolate” has whipped up. Who doesn’t love chocolate, or wishes for that matter? The genres for this story are Fiction, Women’s fiction with an essence, and tad of magic mixed in. The chocolate have a certain magical quality. There is an old apothecary table that has opinions and offers suggestions and recipes. What else can you add to the mix?

Kudos to Susan Bishop Crispell for adding a colorful cast of lovable characters in a quaint community, each with their hopes and dreams. Single mom, Penelope Dalton and her mother run this shop where there is hot chocolate and assorted chocolates to dream for or of. Every year they are represented at the town fair. My favorite character is Ella, Penelope’s 8 year old daughter. Ella has been given 6 months to live, and so far there is no magical ingredient in the chocolate that can save her. Ella is strong willed, determined, courageous, brave, and writes her own bucket list. The most important thing on her bucket list, besides a cat, is finding her mother happiness, when she in no longer here. Could that mean finding her mother the man of her dreams?

This is a delightful, charming , heartwarming story of family, friends, community, love, hope and faith. I would highly recommend this for readers of fiction with a touch of magical realism. I received an ARC of this story for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it held my interest until the very end. I loved the idea of the magical chocolate shop with recipes for the magical candies appearing exactly when they were most needed. But I especially loved the story of forgiveness that wove its way through the whole story.

This book was an amazing and delicious journey. Go get you some!

I had high hopes for this book when I began but it felt like the author gave up halfway. There was no ending just a finalization that felt truly disjointed. Overall very disappointing.

I loved every single minute of this beautifully written magical book!!! I read it in one afternoon as I couldn't put it down. I even begged hubby to order pizza for dinner as I wasn't finished reading when I should have been cooking dinner! It is a magical story of family, love, and most of all hope. I loved the characters especially little sweet Ella. I felt all the love and joy from Ella, I felt Penelope's heartbreak and I completely fell in love with Noah. This is a book that must go on your TBR list! I received and ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

Charming and hopeful. Once again Susan Bishop Crispell combines culinary delights and a touch of magic for a delightful book perfect for cozy winter reading!

Light read with a lot of heart. Penelope and her mother run a not so average chocolate shop. While serving her own magical blend of confection, Penelope lives with a daughter's bucket list and the absent love of her life that has reappeared. The characters are likable and the plot moves along swiftly, making this an enjoyable book. The end came rather abruptly, so I'm hoping there is a sequel, but otherwise a great read.

Oh my gosh! Dreaming in Chocolate is so full of feels that you'll find yourself wanting this book to go on and on. After reading The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by the same author, I was totally looking forward to her next book and what a next book it is!

I love magical realism and Susan Bishop Crispell wove not only magic, but so much love throughout every page of this book that between the magic, the love and Ella, I was a goner.

I hate to say much because I don't want to give the story away, but I will say that if you enjoy books set in small towns with all the caring, nosiness and everyone knows my whole life story that comes with small towns, this book is for you. If you enjoy magic ~ a good magic that benefits people ~ love, single moms and little girls that are precocious for their age, this book is for you.

There aren't enough authors (for my liking at least) that write magical realism and they don't write as fast as I'd like them to. I could read a book like Dreaming in Chocolate every single day!Ms. Crispell has become one of my must follow authors so that I never miss a release of hers. Please do yourself a favor and curl up with one of her books today.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me an early copy.

If you like magical realism ala Sara Addison Allen, you will enjoy this book about the magical properties of chocolate. Penelope had her heart broken by Noah, years before he came back to town. Her mom, Sabina and Penelope have a chocolate shop, known to the town for its ability to change futures, but Penelope loses faith as her daughter Ella faces an incurable illness. Far fetched but a light read.

A lovely story full of magic and love.
I read The Secret Ingredient of Wishes last year, and it was one of my favorite books in 2016. When I heard about this book and when I was granted access through Netgalley I was really happy and eager to read it.
The story is about Penelope, a young mother who owns a Chocolate Shop along with her mother. But the chocolates they sell are very special...they are filled with magic. But what good does the magic do if it can't help her save her beautiful little girl? Penelope is disappointed in the magic and she just wants to spend all the time she has left with her daughter Ella, fulfilling her bucket list and making sure she's happy. But then someone from her past comes back to town and things get complicated...
I loved the story from the very start. It's written beautifully, the characters are interesting (I loved Ella!), the story itself is full of hope and love and...I can't even express how much I enjoyed it. I laughed, I cried. I really like how Susan mixes a little bit of magic into her stories, making them unique and lovely and so enjoyable. It was a very cozy read, perfect for the winter and to remember what's really important in our lives.
The only thing I didn't like was that there were no more chapters or epilogue! Gosh! I need to know more, please!

There is love, laughter and belief of the mysterious ways if fate all gathered beautifully together in a rather implausible tale.
Imagine a piece of chocolate with a special ingredient that will show you your future. Or a cup of hot chocolate that can give you the future you wish for or cure an illness. These are "miracle sweets" and the chocolate shop is owned by a mother and daughter. The daughter has a precocious daughter of her own. The plot does thicken as an old ex-boyfriend surfaces.
Believing and trusting are the background for this unique, well written novel.
The grandma says "It's not always about the end result, people just want to have hope." So- they dream in chocolate.
Quite a yummy saga!

The ending is odd, I can see it ending like the dream she had earlier in the book but it leaves so many things hanging out there. While reading this I was just waiting for the little girl to get sick and die so that's a plus it didn't happen but it still stinks that all Penelope can think about throughout this book. Then she keeps a massive secret from Noah for all these years, that totally sucks! I hate when they keep the kid news from the father, it's just not right or fair that you never gave him the option of getting to know his own kid. Her mom is a bit out there, just eating chocolates to help ease the pain from the memories of her dead husband, what?!?

Loved this book. There were so many story lines tied together I couldn't put it down. There could have been sorrow but wasn't, the towns love for the holiday was great and moving away from the past was quite the journey. A lot of surprises.

Penelope and Sabina own a chocolate shop where the chocolates are magical. An apothecary table gives magic gifts and recipes to those who need them. The table even protects the magic by making the recipes readable only by the chosen recipient. Unfortunately, Penelope's daughter, Ella, is very sick and the table hasn't given her a cure. So, determined to enjoy her last days to the fullest, she and Ella have made a bucket list of dreams to experience. The list gets complicated as Ella adds a dad to the list. And she knows just the guy who will fit perfectly into their lives.

I really enjoyed the magic in this book and the characters were delightful. I didn't like the secret that Penelope was keeping and I felt that it should have been revealed long ago. But, I tried to keep this from biasing my review and have left my rating at 4 stars. I recommend this one for fans of magical realism.

I received a this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to St. Martin's Press, and to Susan Bishop Crispell.

A little magic, love, friendship, family, a small town, and lots of chocolate. A perfect recipe for an enjoyable, heartwarming read.

Like the perfect chocolate candies it describes, this book manages to deftly balance its component parts so that nothing overwhelms. Readers aren't required to commit entirely to a tale of a young child with an incurable disease, a romance between two lovers fighting their fate, or a widow choosing an altered state rather than face her loneliness. Each of those stories alone has their strengths and pitfalls, when combined with a magical desk that produces recipes for, yes, magical candies, then the entire book takes on a much different quality. It brims with a different pulse and much more enthusiasm and joy than those tales might suggest. It is a winning combination that will leave readers with a strong desire for chocolate, in almost any form.