This melted my cold little heart, yay! I read this while in Paris, and I felt like this gave a really cool overview of the city. The author obviously has a great love for the city of Paris, and it shines through in this book. The romance was sweet, the characters loveable, and the setting fully realized. I knew nothing about studying abroad when I went into this book, so that added another adventure to this book. It was a little cliché, but still enjoyable. I stand by my assessment that theater kids are pretty weird sometimes, but this book was still really fun and I liked the characters

Super cute read. How can you go wrong with Paris, romance and chocolate? The characters were cute and I did wish for a little more in some spots to make them a bit more teenager in their angsty behaviors. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I read a lot of books. I enjoy a lot of books. I love so many of them. I meet a lot of authors that are so talented. But every once in a while, I read a book that is so compelling and maybe even captivating that I think this author is gifted. This is one of those books. Keep in mind, there are few literary things I love as much as YA romances but still. The chemistry in this book, and not just between the male and female leads, but between all the characters makes you want to read more. And so I did. I read this instead of folding the pretty big pile of laundry and I stayed up past my bedtime. It's a big deal.

If you like Paris, Josephine Baker, romance, friendships, soccer (well, football) and, of course, chocolate, this one needs to be read immediately.

One of my biggest regrets was not getting to study abroad while I was in college, but for a couple of hours, I could imagine I was.

Ravynn K. Stringfield's debut novel is, first and foremost, a love letter to the City of Love.

As far as debuts go, it's fine (I've read much much worse,) but I couldn't help but find myself wanting more when I finished the book. Love Requires Chocolate has a lot going for it. Whitney isn't a generic protagonist with a bland voice, and the narrative has some sparks of humor. The premise is cute--who doesn't love a good grumpy x sunshine summer romance abroad--and the setting, well, it's hard to beat Paris.

Love Requires Chocolate is an easy, fun read, but I hard time connecting with the characters or the story. I just wasn't emotionally invested in the romance or plot. The storyline itself isn't bad, but it feels a little incomplete. For example, there's a whole subplot with Whitney's standoffish roommates and her struggles to develop friendships in Paris that isn't developed at all. It feels like Stringfield just waves a magic wand to jumps straight to the resolution, glossing over the development of her side characters and their relationships with Whitney. In the same way, the romance falls flat for me. I wanted to like it (after all, who doesn't love falling for a cute Parisian boy?) but the romance lacks any kind of chemistry. I think a big problem is that both Whitney and Thierry don't feel like fully fleshed out characters. Overall, I think Whitney's character arc could've been a little stronger and wish her personality had been developed out a bit more. Even though the fictional tour of Paris is definitely the strongest part of the of the story, I wanted more. Stringfield touches briefly on the idea of living in a city (albeit temporarily) versus being a tourist, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of every day life and the hidden gems of Paris.

Overall, Love Requires Chocolate is a fun, quick read. I'm curious to see what's next in the Love in Translation series

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
When I read the description of this book, it reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I loved that book so I dove into this one with pretty high expectations.
The idea of high school kids studying abroad for a semester is not really one I'm familiar with. College, yes. High school, not really. But I went with it because it wasn't the first time I'd seen this theme and I'm sure it does happen. And for it to happen in the city of Paris, and while I'm watching the Olympics take place! How fortuitous.
I loved the idea of a book set in France. I've spent a bit of time in Paris and in the French countryside, as well as other famous towns in France, and I just didn't feel like I was in France during this story at all. I wanted to truly feel like I was in France, experiencing the culture, seeing the sites, feeling the magic of the city of Paris, but I just didn't feel it. Nor could I envision it.
Unfortunately, I had a really hard time connecting with an of the characters in this book. Whitney Curry came across to me as a little bit too worried about how she looked to be honest. I did love the idea of her exploring a person of color, especially a lady, who leant much to the entertainment community. But there was so much focus on what Whitney, or anyone else around her, was wearing. I just didn't understand the point of that. I really wanted to see Whitney grow and change but she remained consistent throughout with her personality. Kind of flighty, and a little self-absorbed. Don't get me wrong, I know teens can be like this, but I needed her to grow during the story while she learned about things in Paris and I just didn't see it happen.
As for the romantic love interest, I didn't feel the chemistry there at all. It just never grew and developed to feel real. I enjoy a good enemy to lovers story, which this sort of started out as. Or maybe a close proximity story line where the characters find things in common as they get to know each other and an attraction ensues. But that's not what was presented here. We went from Thierry, the male main character, being annoyed at having to teach Whitney French, to him wanting to spend all his time with her. There was no in-between. Speaking of learning French, when did that happen? Whitney mentions it but we never really see it happening. The two are always just out and about exploring Paris. I thought she was there for school? When did he go to school? It just seemed like this story would have been better suited to happen during the Summer at a program rather than during the school year.
And, while the plot revolves around her play she's creating to showcase the entertainer, you don't really see much of that happening. You do see her lists and what she wants to experience while in Paris. I am a sucker for a list, but they were parsed throughout the book with long bullet pointed sentences I only ended up scanning because after a while, I was bored with reading list.
Finally, her relationship with her roommates. I didn't see it. They never bonded. Did she try? Maybe a bit. But she was more focused on her lists, on Thierry, and on her play than to worry about cultivating relationships with the two girls with whom she shared a space. Having lived with two roommates my first year of college, I can tell you those were the most important relationships I had for the first few months while I was finding my bearings. But she doesn't seem to care enough to truly put herself out there to get to know them citing she feels like they possibly don't like her.
The pacing for me was a bit slow. And I didn't truly feel like I needed to know what happened. Mostly I just wanted to be done with it. And when it did end, it was very anticlimactic. There was no intensity drawing me to the end.
Was the story cute? Sure. Will young teens enjoy it? Possibly. I just think it's missing too many elements to make for the story it was meant to be. I don't see other books by this author so it seems it's her first and maybe in the future her stories will grow. The bones are there, but the execution was lacking.

Thank you to Random House and PRH Audio for the ARC.

Love Requires Chocolate was a pretty low stakes read that made me wish I’d been able to attend a study abroad.

Whitney and Thierry are pretty adorable together, and I enjoyed their progression from annoyed tutor and student to friends to more than friends. Whitney can sometimes be immature..but she’s a senior in high school on her own for the first time. And you can see her personal growth throughout the book (mostly…).

Listening to this as an audio was wonderful, though. I loved hearing both the French dialogue and the French accents.

Love Requires Chocolate was adorable and lighthearted and an easy listen.

So. Stinking. Cute. I dug into this fun YA romance during the Paris Olympic Games and it gave me all the Parisian swoon a girl could want. I found myself giggling and kicking my feet up all along the way. The main character, Whitney, was lovable and I could totally see myself being her friend. The author’s writing style was fun and sucked me right in. I have a love for lists just like Whitney and I tend to over plan my trips so I related to Whitney right off the bat. Can’t wait to recommend this adorable read to my friends and followers.

A cute YA romance featuring an American in Paris studying abroad who falls for a local. This was good on audio and PERFECT for fans of the show, Emily in Paris. Not a super standout read but it was still entertaining and sure to delight young tweenage readers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. I'm excited to see what happens next in this new series!

book review

I absolutely loved loved loved this story. My goodness Whitney and Thierry are just so adorable and fun and loveable. Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this e-ARC.

This quick book follows Whitney as she studies abroad in Paris. Whitney is a Doing Too Much queen, theatre kid, multiple lists toting, fashionista, while Thierry is a little grumpy, Handsome & French young man who is tutoring her. Both characters were adorable and fun. I wish that I could read even more about them and their lives. I also felt like Stringfield does a great job of having robust characters in a story, that all make sense in terms of the story and plot. Not only are the romance aspects of this story beautifully done, there's also a love a travel and friendship themes that carry throughout.

In the spirit of Whitney, here are the ten things I loved the most about Love Requires Chocolate -

1. The Chocolate Shop Scene
2. Parisian French Young Man to Fall in Love with
3. A Doing Too Much, Fashionista Queen
4. Natural Hair & Braiding scene - chef's kiss
5. Lots, and Lots, and Lots, of Lists
6. An inspirational grandma
7. Josephine Baker Stans
8. An Ode to Theatre Kids
9. Grumpy-ish X Sunshine
10. Loveable characters that make sense!

There was nothing I did not like about this book. I wish i could insert it into my veins - it was perfect. i wish I could live with Whitney and Thierry foreverrrrrrr.

Love the plot line and character development. Amazing storyline . Will definitely recommend to friends and family

First off, I want to thank NetGalley and Joy Revolution for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Oh, I adored this book! As someone who loved the idea of traveling to Paris as a teen and even took French in high school (forgot most of it by now), I felt like I could relate to Whitney Curry, who has such a romanticized idea of Paris once she arrived. However, she begins to see so many parts of Paris, even the parts that tourists don’t see, and she falls in love with it even more. All the descriptions made me want to go to Paris one day even more (and go eat some chocolate)!

Whitney is such a theater kid, and she’s someone that’s so confident and so endearing! But she also has moments where she feels like she can be a lot and longs to find a place where she belongs. I really liked her as a character, and you could see how passionate she was about her art and Josephine Baker, her idol. I knew about Josephine Baker, but I learned so much more that I didn’t know. Reading about her love for Josephine Baker led to me putting on her music while reading, which definitely set the vibes!

The romance was so sweet! Thierry is the grumpy to Whitney’s sunshine, but not even he can hold back a smile when it comes to Whitney. While they get off on the wrong foot, they end up becoming friends and develop a sweet connection with each other. There were so many adorable scenes between these two! Whitney was so determined to not get distracted and to solely focus on her project and learning as much as she could to create the best show of her life. Falling in love wasn’t in her plans, and as a list girly, she likes having everything planned. Loved seeing her learn that allowing more love into your life can be beautiful and that sometimes the best things in life are the ones you didn't plan for.

Overall, definitely a very cute read that I recommend! I would absolutely love to see this adapted as a movie and think it would make such an adorable rom-com. I know that my younger self would’ve especially loved reading this book!

4.5/5 stars!

"Love Requires Chocolate" by Ravynn K. Stringfield is a delightful romance that combines sweetness and depth with a touch of culinary charm. The novel follows the journey of its protagonist as she navigates love, life, and the comforting world of chocolate. Stringfield’s writing is warm and engaging, weaving together romance and personal growth with a focus on the joy of chocolate-making. The well-developed characters and heartfelt moments make this a satisfying read for anyone who enjoys a blend of romance and culinary indulgence.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

I got this book from NetGalley before I realized I knew the author. We used to write for the same online magazine and it was such a joy to see her dream of being published coming true. This book was so fun to read and the characters were rich and complex without losing the magic inherent in a story set in Paris. I also read this while the Olympics were happening in Paris and that made the story all the richer! This story is full of heart and swooning and adventure, and I'm so proud of Ravynn and can't wait to read more of her books!

Whitney Curry is primed to have an epic semester abroad. She’s created the perfect itinerary and many, many to-do lists after collecting every detail possible about Paris, France. Thus, she anticipates a grand adventure filled with vintage boutiques, her idol Josephine Baker’s old stomping grounds, and endless plays sure to inspire the ones she writes and—ahem—directs!
But all is not as she imagined when she’s dropped off at her prestigious new Parisian lycée. A fish out of water, Whitney struggles to juggle schoolwork, homesickness, and mastering the French language. Luckily, she lives for the drama. Literally.
Cue French tutor Thierry Magnon, a grumpy yet très handsome soccer star, who’s determined to show Whitney the real Paris. Is this type-A theater nerd ready to see how lessons on the City of Lights can turn into lessons on love?

After reading the synopsis of this story, I was excited to read it. A summer abroad in Paris sounded like a great, fun read. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me and I struggled to get through it. I found the female lead to be a bit annoying . I loved the male lead, but there was just no chemistry between them at all. I did love reading about the sites all around Paris. That was the best part of the book for me.

This one was not a winner for me, unfortunately.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony has you dreaming of reads with Parisian vibes, I’ve got a new release for you. Love Requires Chocolate, by Ravynn K. Stringfield, is a coming-of-age story with a soupçon of romance (it has a happy ending but the romance takes a back seat to the coming-of-age). It releases on August 20 and I loved it.

(Full disclosure: Dr. Stringfield was my instructor for a workshop on creative non-fiction writing for academics. We have since bonded over our shared loves of comics and YA fiction, as well as our shared experiences navigating PhD programs and life after them. We’re Internet friends.)

Here’s the publisher’s description:

Whitney Curry is primed to have an epic semester abroad. She’s created the perfect itinerary and many, many to-do lists after collecting every detail possible about Paris, France. Thus, she anticipates a grand adventure filled with vintage boutiques, her idol Josephine Baker’s old stomping grounds, and endless plays sure to inspire the ones she writes and—ahem—directs!

But all is not as she imagined when she’s dropped off at her prestigious new Parisian lycée. A fish out of water, Whitney struggles to juggle schoolwork, homesickness, and mastering the French language. Luckily, she lives for the drama. Literally.

Cue French tutor Thierry Magnon, a grumpy yet très handsome soccer star, who’s determined to show Whitney the real Paris. Is this type-A theater nerd ready to see how lessons on the City of Lights can turn into lessons on love?

What I Loved

I mean, everything? But specifically? Whitney is a list girlie. I love a list girlie. She has Plans. Her fashion is always on point. (Check out Ravynn’s WhitneyCurryCore reel on Instagram.) Her love of theater is palpable. Her knowledge about Josephine Baker is impressive but her commitment to learning more is even more impressive. Whitney’s mixture of confidence and insecurity resonates so hard for this type A- former theater teen.

Whitney herself is enough to make this book awesome. But Stringfield layers in an incredible sense of place. Yes, she gives you plenty of looks at tourist destinations, but it’s the more quotidian Parisian moments that make this feel lived-in. Whitney gets lost in Montmartre. She has a dinner party at Thierry’s family’s home. She explores the streets of Paris. She sings “J’ai deux amours” swinging from a street lamp. (And have you seen a Parisian street lamp? They’re gorgeous.) Oh look, here I am trying to talk about Paris and ending up still telling you how much I love Whitney Curry. Whoops. Well, just trust that this book is full of awesome Parisian places, because Stringfield was a flâneuse herself when she studied abroad.

I love Whitney’s growth, her passion, and her outlook.

I love the romantic elements here, too. Thierry is wonderful. I mean a grouchy footballer whose family owns a chocolate shop? Come on. I mean. (This brought to you partly by my new obsession with retired footballer Zizou and partly by my old obsession with Roy Kent.)

Something that I think is worth pointing out is that Whitney is a Black American looking for the history and culture of Black Americans in Paris as well as Black Parisians of any descent. The importance of this piece of Whitney’s identity adds another layer to the Bildungsroman vibes. As a white woman I don’t feel equipped to discuss all the work Stringfield has done here at length, but I really appreciate her highlighting how important this is to Whitney, the conflicting feelings Whitney experiences about Josephine Baker’s recognition as an artist of Paris coming about after her death, and the contrast between Whitney’s image of how Black people experience Paris and the reality Thierry, whose grandmother came to Paris from Mali to escape trouble caused by French colonialism, shares with her.
What I wanted more of

The adventures of Whitney Curry? This is the first in a series but it’s an anthology series, so the other books will be by other authors and about other characters. Guess I better start writing some Love Requires Chocolate fanfiction.
What I need to warn you about

Not much. There is, as you might have guessed from what I said earlier, discussion of racism.
Who should read this

People who love Paris or think they might love Paris. Theater nerds. Football (i.e., soccer) fans. People who enjoy YA romance. People who like chocolate.

Book: Love Requires Chocolate
Author: Ravynn K. Stringfield
Publisher: Joy Revolution
Publication Date: August 20, 2024
Pages: 288
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: ARC via NetGalley (but I loved it so much I pre-ordered it too)

Thanks to @netgalley and Random House Childrens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one has so much potential but just missed the mark for me. I had to keep reminding myself it’s a YA book and the characters were roughly high school age (I think?) since studying by abroad is very “college” in my mind. So the characters felt very young and immature but that was me constantly forgetting how young they were supposed to be.

So many interesting themes got brought up it then completely dropped. Racism, specifically how it presents in other countries in contrast to America; the complicated relationships with divorced parents or step parents; big character points like Thierry’s anger explosions or Whitney’s problems with getting lost. Things that were all brought up and felt they could be important and then just weren’t. I also felt like the buildup of the roommates being unreliable and maybe even having ulterior motives was huge and then the other show just never dropped. And then on a personal level, I could never really like or care about Whitney or Thierry, just nothing developed in either of their personalities for me to connect with.

A cute book with promise but just flight result in any of the emotional off I was hoping for.

A cute young adult story about a study abroad in France. If you liked Emily in Paris and want more Americans abroad + romance, then I would certainly recommend this book for you.

💕Oh la la!! Love Requires Chocolate burst from my dreams came true from the pen to page form by this amazing author!

🥐 Whitney is the absolute sweetest character! Her heart has been drawn to Paris for a long time and now the City of Lights welcomes this dreamer soul! We follow Whitney as she travels to Paris. She finally experiences all this nostalgic city has to offer! From amazing food! Walking the historical streets, and above all paying homage to her Idol and mine for that matter Josephine Baker!

🎬 From each scene I read and each chapter I entered I felt as if I was behind the movie camera! I can see her smile and her determination fall in love with the culture and good times Paris has to offer! I specially love the description of all the food! I am big dessert lover! If the food could have popped out of the book I would have had a Harry Potter moment lol

🧁 Our sweetheart of this book has a list! I am a very big fan of lists I have a handicap and writing list helps me to feel more connected throughout my day to get things done. I definitely identified with Whitney on many levels. Her list includes experiencing everything Paris has to offer. Audrey Hepburn would be proud!

🎨 Enter Thierry!! Every book needs a grumpy French Soccer Star to be tour guide and tutor and boy was I wish you for one of my own LOL it's always the grumpy boys that have the biggest hearts! When things don't go well for Whitney and her list and her determination start to wane this gentleman steps in.

🍰 this book truly had my heart in every way! The romance was absolutely perfect! People need magic these days and this book was everything magical and delicious! I love how the romance was like a delicious chocolate covered croissant!

💌 I will be buying more books from this gorgeous author!

Love Requires Chocolate is vibes, but it's great vibes. This isn't a complicated romance, and there isn't much to get in the way of our two protagonists other than their own hang-ups, but it doesn't matter because the ambiance is top notch. LRC is Paris, France through the eyes of an enthusiastic American student, Whitney Curry, who has it in her to shamelessly be the most touristy tourist she can possibly be. An exchange student with dreams of putting on the best one-woman show her art school has ever seen, she meets a handsome but infuriating young man (is there any other kind on romance books?) who is to be her French tutor. Thierry Magnon winds up being her tour guide as well, showing her parts of Paris not found in tourist guides. In exchange, she agrees to write him a stellar review as a tutor so he can re-join his soccer team following an unfair suspension. From there blooms a little conflict, some great banter and an exquisitely cute love story. The author, Ravynn K. Stringfield, treats Paris as a third protagonist, making it the perfect holiday in Europe read. (4.5 stars)

Official rating 2.5

How fitting to pick up this ARC based in Paris while watching the 2024 Olympics?? That was fun. However, the book just missed the mark for me. Overall, the storyline was interesting and I think had a lot of potential but something was just missing. I couldn’t fully connect to the characters and the relationships. I was able to feel more for Thierry and Whitney towards the end.

Whitney was a very quirky high school girl studying abroad and working on a one woman show about an African American icon that she looks up to. That quickly took a back burner when she met Thierry, her grumpy French tutor. She relies on list for 90% of anything she does (relatable honestly) and he pushes her to see life outside of those lists. I liked her but had to keep reminding myself that she was a high schooler so she’s supposed to be immature. 😅 Her friendship with her roommates was also hard to believe as it felt like I couldn’t trust them the whole time and was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Thierry didn’t feel like he had much depth to him. This made it hard to connect to his and Whitney’s relationship. The way they left it felt like, eh this can’t last. But that could just be skeptical me peaking out LOL

Overall, it was a good book but just wasn’t the book for me. But I agree with the title, love does require chocolate… actually, life requires it 😅