Love Requires Chocolate is an enchanting young adult love story set against the picturesque backdrop of Paris. Ravynn K. Stringfield's vivid descriptions of the city make the reader feel as though they are strolling through the charming streets of Paris, even if they've never been there.

The story follows Whitney Curry, a determined and organized young woman who has meticulously planned her semester abroad in Paris. However, her plans quickly unravel when she struggles to adapt to her new environment. Enter Thierry Magnon, her grumpy yet alluring French tutor, who opens Whitney's eyes to the true beauty of Paris beyond her to-do lists.

Stringfield excels at crafting an endearing narrative with likable characters and a slow-burn romance that keeps readers hooked. Whitney and her friends' growth is portrayed authentically, with conflicts that feel genuine and not overly dramatized. The minor plot points are well-paced, adding depth to the overall story.

One of the book's highlights is how the author manages to transport readers to Paris with rich and detailed descriptions. Those who have visited the City of Lights will feel nostalgic, while those who haven't will feel as if they have been whisked away to this magical place.

Overall, Love Requires Chocolate is a delightful read that combines the allure of Paris with a heartfelt love story. I recommend it to anyone looking for a charming and immersive young adult romance.

This was cute. I absolutely loved picturing Thierry speaking in a French accent. 😍 I also really appreciated the frank discussions about being Black in France.

Thanks to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for the ARC!

thank you to netgalley for this arc!

one of my favorite things in life is a solid YA romance, because there is just something about reading a book that is built on passion and love that makes my soul feel so light and fuzzy.

this book was a sweet journey of whitney trying to navigate her time in paris one list at a time and thierry who was ready to make her forget every list and just fall in love with the city and him.

i adored this book from start to finish and am highly anticipating its release so i can add this one to my shelf!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! This was a very cute YA romance. Whitney is a student on a study abroad semester in Paris who is trying to soak up the city and complete a project on Josephine Baker. I have to admit, all the info about her idol had me hitting the internet to find out more about her, and I really enjoy reading about a young Black woman falling in love with Paris while in Paris. I can’t say that, growing up and reading YA, I ever read a book with a Black young woman as the main character. Even as an adult, I haven’t read many YA books like that. I am so happy to see visibility and representation becoming more popular and hopefully the norm. I can’t imagine never seeing yourself in a novel. Even as a white adult female, I enjoyed the book and found the story sweet and found the characters likable. I believe teens of all races will enjoy it, too. Although I can’t say the ending was really realistic or that all the characters and reactions/interactions were believable, those weren’t deal breakers for me. Having been to Paris, I also enjoyed reading about some of the places and think young people will be able to picture them well. Overall, clean, sweet, and a story teens will enjoy.

Love Requires Chocolate is a feel good, coming of age romance representing the love in friendship and community, Black culture, and an iconic city.

When Whitney travels from Washington D.C. to Paris, France for a study abroad program, she is bound to her never ending to do lists in an effort to research, write, and star in her one woman show, an ode to Josephine Baker. The first impressions she makes with the school administrator, language tutor, and her roommates were far from what she wrote on her to do list but Whitney soon comes to learn that the only way to do Paris is not by list, but by love.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! I just cannot say how much I loved this book. I have never been to Paris, but it is on my bucket list and now I have added more things to the list!! Although truth be told, I don't make lists. Or if I do, I forget where I put them!! I had to fall down a rabbit hole and learn more about Josephine Baker, not a bad thing either!! And now I want chocolate!!

This book really was as sweet as chocolate.

Whitney Curry is over the top in all the best ways. A high school senior, she travels to Paris to study abroad and create a one-woman play about her idol Josephine Baker. What she doesn’t expect is to fall for her grumpy French tutor Thierry.

Love Requires Chocolate was an easy, light hearted read and perfect for my life right now. I would put this in the lower YA category. The storyline itself was fun, but I would have loved more than the small tidbits we got about Josephine Baker. Whitney and Thierry’s romance was well paced and made sense. They were really adorable. The side characters were developed just enough that they didn’t take away from the main storyline, but I almost wanted more of them as well.

I can see this book getting a sequel and I would definitely read it!

This book is perfect for fans of the show, "Emily in Paris." And the title resonated with me right away, because DUH LOVE REQUIRES CHOCOLATE. (Just kidding, kind of...) I think this book will be a fan favorite when it comes out and I can see it being popular at my library.

I was instantly excited to read this book when I discovered it was set in Paris! I'm obsessed with all things French, and reading this story felt like I was transported there myself. It was so fun to live vicariously through Whitney as she explored the city and set out to achieve her goals of checking off her to-do list and creating a tribute theater project for Josephine Baker. The romance was very cute, and I enjoyed seeing their friendship progress as well!

This was overall a charming read that I'd recommend to anyone who loves Paris as much as I do. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Reviewed for SLJ:

Verdict: Love Requires Chocolate is this generation’s Anna and the French Kiss. Whitney and Thierry have a whirlwind romance where they spill secrets, their hopes, and their dreams. Texts and lists (about places to visit, to-do lists, and lists about Thierry) break up the story. Whitey’s excitement for fashion, drama, and chocolate shines through and elevates the book. Give this to fans of Emily in Paris.

Ravynn K. Stringfield’s Love Requires Chocolate is a fantastic addition to the world of adorably fun romcom books. It combines the popular Grumpy/Sunshine trope, the long romanticized Paris love, and, of course, chocolate (which was the first indication that this book would not disappoint).

The main character, Whitney, provides the genre with beautifully written Black representation. Her character is well thought out and you can tell the author took great care in crafting, not only Whitney’s story and personality, but all of the other characters as well. It was impossible not to fall in love with all of them.

The writing overall was detailed and immersive. Springfield is talented in showing, not telling, the feelings and vibes of what is happening, allowing the reader to fully engage in the story. The author was also sure to use some French language throughout the book, but even as someone who took beginners French several years ago, I was able to understand what was being said even if it was only by context clues. The inclusion of French did not distract from the story at all, but added to the authenticity of it.

I think that the end of the story felt a bit rushed, but I cannot hold this against Love Requires Chocolate because I tend to feel this way about most books within this genre.

I can’t wait to read more by this author.

*Many thanks to Ravynn K. Stringfield, Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced e-copy of Love Requires Chocolate in exchange for honest review.*

A young adult romance set in Paris? Absolutely!

A cute boy that plays football and makes chocolate meets a list making drama queen girl that has a check list of everything she needs to accomplish. They are thrown together for French lessons and end up exploring the city with a sweet little love story thrown into the mix. This is a cute one.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this fun read!

Whitney a High School theatre student from DC gets the opportunity to study abroad in Paris for a semester. She knows exactly how she is going to spend it, tackling everything on her lists. She organized and ready to go. She also has to write her one woman show on her idol Josephine Baker a Black American artist triple threat - singer, actress and dancer who move to Paris and thrived. She wants to visit all the places her idol had been in the city as research for her show about Madame Baker. She didn’t know though that her research and semester get a bump in the road right from the start, when she meets her French tutor Thierry. Thierry is handsome and smells like butter and sugar; which she finds out is because his family owns a chocolate shop.

Whitney goes on many adventures throughout her semester in Paris and the more I read the more I felt this was a Y&A Hallmark movie. Ravynn did an amazing job with this book. My only qualm of giving this book five stars is that there is quite a bit of French, some I could figure out and the rest I was happy I was reading it on my Kindle so I could use the translation feature.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children - Joy Revolution Publishing for this eARC for my honest review. I really enjoyed this one.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into this story. I found it very difficult to connect with the characters and it fell a little flat for me.

A ya book about friendship, love, and being true to yourself. The book follows our Mc as she spends a semester abroad in Paris. She learns to navigate a new language, new friends, and a grumpy tudor while working one woman show for her final. The Mc is a dedicated and driven girl with a heart of gold. This is a great book for ya readers.

This was a super adorable, sweet romance set in Paris. How can you go wrong with love and chocolate?

This was a great romance. It was like reading my own personal Hallmark movie. The setting is lively and the characters are so much fun to follow during their journey and growing relationship. Stringfield writes and amazing love story that had me on the edge of my seat and kicking my feet wanting to see what will happen next between the characters.

Love requires Chocolate reminds me a lot of Emily In Paris from Netflix.

This one the fmc has a semester abroad to work on her craft. She needs a tutor for French and like most hallmark movies go, her tutor just happens to be a handsome soccer player named Thierry.

The love/hate relationship blossoms without either of them really knowing.

This book is an adorable walk through Paris and a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to fall in love with a city, a culture, yourself, and someone else.

I just reviewed Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn K. Stringfield. #LoveRequiresChocolate #NetGalley

I have been waiting for this book and I am so excited for the rest of the world to read Stringfield's debut.

This story follows Whitney during her study abroad semester in Paris where she meets and falls for her broody Parisian tutor.

I’m sorry to say, but this one was not a hit for me. I decided not to finish at around 35% - my first ARC DNF ever (like is this even okay?). I just couldn’t connect with the story or characters in any way. However, I did appreciate the emphasis on Black lives and what it’s like living life as a person of color. It’s a fast-paced, easy to read book and I didn’t overall hate it but I’m rating low because I still chose to not finish.