I would like to thank Harlequin Australia, HQ (Fiction, Non Fiction, YA) & MIRA for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley. Although I required their approval, the decision to read this book is my choice and any reviews given are obligation free.

Well, this one was a little off the usual genre track that I read, but I do like to mix things up from time to time. And I also like to read my fellow current Australian authors as a show of support. Not that they read my books, but hey! :-D

This was an interesting book, though there was a bit “eye rolling” for me. I want people to know that my review may come across as a little snarky, and I do apologise if this offends… but I am trying to be open and honest. And I really do feel bad if I do offend. But – I didn’t like it. There, I’ve said it.

But that view is based on ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ BEFORE I read the author’s note at the back of the book. That did change my mind a little, as I discovered this was a story from the heart, based on a curiosity turned to passionate research and world building. I really found reading the authors note at the end shone a whole new light on ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ for me. I mean, until that point I was going to give it two stars. Not only because it was not really my sort of genre (which is actually my fault), but as I felt it a little annoying to fit as much into it as possible. It was like: ‘Hey, let’s pick a period of time and shove as much history into our book as we can to make it sell more.” That was the feeling I had… until I read the author’s note. And then I needed to bite my tongue for being such a cow as, judging on said note, that is not the case at all.

But, yes, there wasn’t the level of love and romance I expected… From the genre ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ was listed at on Netgalley I was expecting something a lot more light-hearted and “fluffy”. Which was why I asked for it, I wanted fluffy! :-D

Instead I got a historical novel that touched on life, death, love and hate… balanced as perfectly as one of the chocolate blends mentioned. Yes, I have tried a few of the ideas with my own cacao powder, hot water and nut milk. And… yum.

So I might not have been able to replicate 17th century London, cast a plague on my neighbourhood to relive the moments or burn my town down… but my critics who judge me on never trying things from the books I review can breathe a sigh of relief as I did, at least, try some of the chocolate, herb and spice blends suggested throughout ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’. ;-)

And, sorry to the copy editors, but this is a bug bear of mine… it is Baynard’s castle… not Barnyard’s. My all-time favourite genre is historical crime fiction and so know a little of London post the great fire and that little editing slip-up stuck with me throughout the book. Where was your style sheet for that one?

So, okay, ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ wasn’t exactly my cup of… chocolate, but it wasn’t a terrible book. A lot of love, passion and research have gone into it to spin a vivid, colourful and – I would like to believe – mostly accurate depiction of 17th century London during all these events. I still feel it was crammed a little too full of historical events than actual storyline about the characters… but that is just my opinion. I really would have liked to have seen the plot not have to rely so heavily on all the events to make it a story… if that makes sense?

For the technical side of things, I found the formatting rather lacking too. I feel they have only formatted ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ as a print to paper book and didn’t format to suit Kindle, as the paragraphs were all over the place, mid-sentence at times, and very jumbled. I am hoping these issues have been fixed by the final draft – I was reading an ARC after all – but please bear this in mind when choosing which format to purchase it in.

Would I recommend this book to others?

This is a tough call for me. I mean, ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ wasn’t exactly for me, but there is a lot of love, detail and creativity put into it. And, being by a fellow Australian author, I feel I would recommend it on those merits alone. But I would have to say that it is a historical novel with a touch of romance and a HEA, more than the historical (fluffy) romance I thought it was going to be.

Would I buy this book for myself?

I think we all know the answer to this one – no I wouldn’t. If anything, I would borrow and read it as a library book… maybe. But I really, REALLY want to emphasise that it is not a bad book, it just wasn’t what I was expecting… but hey! I finished reading all of it (including the author’s note) and that shows it had some major positives going for it. But ‘The Chocolate Maker's Wife’ was not the book for me. Good book – poor choice by this reader.

In summary: A vivid, event packed historical novel written from the heart with a lot of passion and research.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Harlequin Australia and the author, Karen Brooks, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Chocolate Maker's Wife in exchange for an honest an unbiased opinion.
This was the first time I have read a book from this author, but it certainly will not be my last. I loved it.
I was swept away with the imagery of the novel. The characters were well drawn and the storyline, captivating.
4.5 stars.
Well worth a read.

Karen Brooks crafts a compelling saga set in England between 1662 and 1667. It’s rich and evocative and meticulously well-researched as the story moves through the plague and Great Fire that occurred in London. We can imagine the paved streets filled with peddlers and carts and less-than salubrious characters, plus we can smell the sour-stench mixed in with the aroma of the warm melted chocolate that the main character, Rosamund makes. It is around this time that chocolate is introduced to society. But this is Rosamund’s story of survival against the odds in an exhilarating yet difficult time in history. It is fantastic to learn about chocolate making and London society. It’s a fantastic read and I’d highly recommend it.

Having read Karen’s, ‘The Locksmith’s Daughter’, I was eager to see what her latest novel would cover. With a somewhat different approach, Karen takes you on a marvellous journey to 17th century Restoration London. This book is absolutely laden with historical detail! What I found here is that research dominates as Karen deftly weaves a tale of fiction around a mass of London history of the time.

What is not covered in this book is the question (apart from the history of chocolate obviously)? You will learn of the Restoration period, the Great Fire of London, English wars, the plague, Chocolate Houses, slavery and the first attempts of journalism! Phew! What a list! As the author herself states in a fabulous epilogue: “fiction interweaves, diverges from or collides with fact in the novel”.

“One is never really aware of the world turning. Not until it suddenly stops. Then you forget to breathe, fall to the earth and grip for dear life else you careen right over the edge into a great void.”

On top of that, you have a story of full of cruelty and revenge, loyalty and love. There is a cast of many, real and fictional that lend their influence to the story. Once again, Karen’s epilogue reveals fiction versus fact. But much like her previous novel, we have a strong female lead who is forced to confront some horrible events and defend those she loves.

“... we worked together to save a chocolate house —’ began Jacopo. ‘And we did,’ said Rosamund. ‘Only this time the stakes are higher. We work to save ourselves.”

The history of chocolate is fascinating and I just loved learning of Karen’s inspiration for this book. Simultaneously, she provides us with evocative writing that rounds out a thoroughly researched and engaging read of that period.

“The important thing is not to get swallowed by the darkness. To remember, even when the shadows grow long and you fear they will consume you, there is still light in the world. You just need to find it.”





This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release

‘Chocolate had seeped into her blood.’

As you all know by now, historical fiction is my best and favourite. I'll read all sorts of genres within an historical setting that I'd not even crack a cover open for with a contemporary one. This year is already shaping up to be an incredible year for historical fiction. Two months in and I've read so many great titles with even more beckoning from the pile on the bedroom floor. Even though I like all historical fiction, I do have some favourite eras and one of them is Restoration England, the mid to late 1600s. The Chocolate Maker's Wife is set in the years between 1662 and 1667. For those of you who are not familiar with the era, the author neatly sums up everything I love about it in her author note in the back of the book:

‘England in the 1660s and the Restoration, was a naughty, violent, politically and religiously fraught, dangerous, cruel, exhilarating, and incredibly sensual time. Poverty and wealth existed side by side, resentments, racism and xenophobia ran deep, and so did plots. Increasingly literate people stretched their religious and other rights and sought to be free of the constraints the King imposed on them in a variety of ways. Arts and theatre flourished as did the sciences. But war was omnipresent and fear of a return to the chaos of the Civil War dominated many people’s minds and motivations. Women began to make their presence felt in science, literature, arts and business — so much so, as one historian has noted, the rights and liberties enjoyed by the women of the Restoration would not be seen again until the suffragette movement of the twentieth century.’ – Author Note

Karen Brooks has encapsulated all of those things in The Chocolate Maker's Wife. She writes with an intimacy that draws you right into the novel itself, and with such atmosphere! This is a novel firmly anchored by its history, with an eclectic mix of fictional and non-fictional characters. The year 1666 features heavily, and for good reason. It was the year that opened with the Great Plague of London, which was followed closely by the Great Fire of London, all occurring against the backdrop of the second Anglo-Dutch civil war. In the Winter of 1665, Halley's Comet appeared brightly in the sky, and it was viewed as some as a harbinger of doom, particularly given that the following year contained the foreboding triple six ‘1666', which seemed to herald the Apocalypse. Given the whole plague, fire and war events that unfolded, you'd probably have been forgiven for jumping on the bandwagon of hysteria that was travelling around back then. It's really such a remarkable period of history though. The Great Fire was a catastrophe of Biblical proportions that came on the heels of significant loss from plague. Approximately three quarters of the city burned. That London recovered is rather incredible. Oh, and also, this point in history is regarded as the birth of journalism as we know it – no wonder everyone thought the world was ending. The paparazzi were in town, whipping everyone into a frenzy of ‘too much information’. Life must have been so much quieter in the dark ages. I mentioned above how atmospheric this novel is. Here's an excellent example of this, as Karen puts her characters smack bang into the middle of the Great Fire:

‘As the afternoon wore on, it was evident that, despite all the reassurances, London was burning.
By mid-afternoon there were no more visitors and the light was dimmed by choking clouds of Stygian smoke. Scintillas of ash and molten sparks pirouetted in the hot wind, landing on eaves, the cobbles, people’s clothing, threatening to spark. Birds had long taken wing, dogs ran barking up the street, chasing those fleeing, while cats slinked into dark voids. Instead of rushing to help put out the flames raging by the river, people were intent on looking to their own wellbeing —and, Rosamund noted wryly as cart after cart bumped down the road, their material goods as well.
The sky was a furious tempest, as if demons writhed in an eternal struggle, raining glowing embers and ash upon the city, indifferent to the frightened mortals below. The world had been turned upside down and hell was now above — where heaven existed, God only knew.
When St Paul’s finally erupted in flames at nine of the clock — all the books stored in its cellars providing marvellous fuel for the hungry fire, ruining all but a few booksellers in the city, and the lead on its roof raining down into a river of mellifluent marvel through the streets — she watched without shifting, even when the stones erupted like canon, shooting up into the air and landing with loud cracks.’

As well weaving history through her narrative with absolute perfection, Karen has also crafted some pretty excellent characters. We see the whole gamut of human behaviours within this story, from the most loyal through to the most depraved. And each and every one of them holds their own. Of course, Rosamund, our main character, shines brightest of all. For what she had endured from the age of ten years through to eighteen, she was an incredibly brave, intelligent and insightful young woman, with a capacity for empathy and kindness that was amplified by her own suffering. I really loved her and her character growth throughout the novel was profound. She had a way of being able to see right through a situation and evaluate it with logic rather than emotion. That's not to say she wasn't fuelled by her emotions, she was, but she was able to intelligently break a situation down and act from there. She was highly resourceful. A born survivor.

‘Whatever his schemes, the very notion he was buying a bride was madness. Utterly preposterous. Rosamund sank down onto the stool and perched her hat on her head. It was also bloody marvellous.’

She was also the object of desire for many men, her beauty at times a curse for her just as much as an asset. There is a rough and winding road to love for Rosamund but it's all the more sweet when she finally lands where she is meant to be.

‘For that’s what this woman of endless surprises, resilience and kindness had done — this fine chocolate maker had taken the raw and bitter ingredients that made up who he was and remixed them until he was altogether more palatable.’

And this brings me to the chocolate. Oh, the decadent luxury of it!

‘It’s this aspect of chocolate I believe will allow our establishment to cast others into the shade. In due course, naturally.’ He smiled. ‘While coffee clears the mind, facilitates conversation and allows insights, chocolate is for those who seek pleasure . It’s the ultimate temptation: Eve’s apple in this overgrown city garden. I intend that every man and woman will desire to bite into its flesh and drink its juices.’

Chocolate was only just in its infancy in London at this time, at the beginning of its introduction and it had a sinful reputation, which made it all the more sought after. Rosamunde begins her life in London as the chocolate maker's wife, drawing the customers into what is best described as a cafe for men only, dedicated to chocolate drinking. But Rosamunde takes her role as hostess one step further, as her love of chocolate grows, so does her knack for combining herbs and additives into the drinks, resulting in ‘bowls of chocolate magic' that have the patrons flocking to her door.

‘Ah, he didn’t say you were an expert, signora, but an aficionado — they are different. An aficionado is a devotee, someone with a natural gift for understanding and sharing the essence of something. Through the eyes of the aficionado, others come to appreciate and experience the joys and divine mysteries of a thing. An expert is someone with great knowledge, but who is not always able to persuade others to share it. Where one includes all who come in their compass, the other excludes. You, Lady Rosamund, are the former.’

This novel is nothing short of delicious. It's infused with chocolate, the descriptions so vivid you can taste them. With all of that history that I mentioned above, the excellent characterisation, the chocolate making, some pertinent social issues under the microscope, as well as a family mystery and some pretty dark skeletons rattling around in the manor closets, I am truly in awe at the scope and cohesion of this novel. It's remarkable, rather political in a very clever way, a brilliant historical fiction that has jumped right to the top of my favourite books ever list. Needless to say, I recommend it highly!

‘If there was one thing the plague had taught her, it was that people needed the familiar in times of crisis. To cling to hope, they needed to know all was not lost —‘all’ being even the simplest things. And what was chocolate if not the most complex of simple things?’


Thanks is extended to Harlequin Australia via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Chocolate Maker's Wife for review.

‘Today, my lady, you also became a chocolate maker’s wife.’

The setting for this novel is Restoration London, between 1662 and 1667. London in 1662 is still coming to terms with the return of Charles II to the throne: there’s both frenetic gaiety and puritan sobriety. And by 1667 London will endure both the Great Plague and the Great Fire.

Enter Rosamund Tomkins. Born into poverty and treated badly by her mother, step father and step brothers, Rosamund seems condemned to a life of drudgery in her step father’s inn. But an accidental meeting changes the course of her life. Sir Everard Blithman recognises Rosamund as someone to be treasured, strikes a deal and then marries her. Could it be a dream come true?

Sir Everard Blithman plans to open a chocolate shop. Rosamund quickly becomes his greatest asset, and the chocolate shop is very popular. But Sir Everard Blithman has secrets, and Rosamund is a pawn in a much bigger game.

I enjoyed the way in which Ms Brooks wove her fiction around the history of London at this time. Most of the characters were well drawn, and I especially liked Samuel Pepys’s appearance in the story. A well-crafted story of cruelty and revenge, of loyalty and love. If you enjoy historical fiction set in 17th century Restoration London, you may well enjoy this novel as much as I did.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Fiction for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith