The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop was such a delightful read, everything about this book was just beautiful, my mouth was watering all the way through and ended up eating a full galaxy bar of chocolate, the setting in the story sounded so beautiful and perfect, I would definitely recommend this book.

Another enjoyable read from Caroline Roberts. Perfect cosy Christmas read.

I like the way the book starts during the Christmas run-up, then takes us through the whole of the following year, ending at Christmas. The author describes the festive season very well - very atmospheric. She does an equally good job of bringing alive the village where the story is set. I'd like to take a walk round there and go on the beach, just like Emma does with her lovely dog, Alfie. The whole business of making chocolate is a nice addition and as for the characters, I liked Emma, whose story the book is about. I felt her struggle with moving on to be realistic. I liked Max, Emma's love interest too. I would have given five stars for this book, but felt the romance could have been given more time, whereas Emma's struggle with her business seems to be given more emphasis. I enjoyed it though - one of my favourite Christmas reads this year.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a real feel good book and I read this in one sitting, absolutely loved the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

This book was such a lovely easy read and perfect for the run up to Christmas and if you love chocolate it's even better.

Set in a typical English seaside village this book is based around a chocolate shop and its chocolatier, Emma who opened the chocolate shop having turned her back on teaching when it became a too painful link to her ex-fiancé Luke.

Now living alone with her cute dog she is not looking for any sort of relationship.... but who is the handsome stranger she met on the beach and will she ever see him again?

The reason I only rated it 4 stars is because I did start to get a little frustrated with Emma’s character, mainly because we didn’t find out until quite a way into the book what actually happened between her and Luke so there seemed to be a lot of 'what ifs' or 'what would he think of me now? from Emma which started to get a bit tedious. Once I knew the background of why she was like this then I really enjoyed the book again and then started to warm to her.

This is the first book that I have read by Caroline Roberts but I will definitely be looking out for others.

Thank you to Harper Impulse for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I’ve read both of The Cosy Teashop in the Castle book and I loved them so I knew I had to read this one. To be honest I was sold the minute I saw chocolate! The book also has a very festive pretty cover which is always a win in my book.

Emma owns a chocolate shop and loves nothing more than creating new flavours and seeing her customers smile. Emma has suffered heart break in the past which has closed her off to love. She doesn’t see the point in going through it all again only to be left alone, again. That is until Emma meets a stranger on the beach on Boxing Day. Can this man break down Emma’s walls and open her heart to love again?

I love Emma’s assistant Holly. She is so bright and bubbly she is perfect for working in the shop.

This is a wonderful story that is excellently written. Caroline does an excellent job of creating these cosy locations. This story made me want to grab some chocolates and a warm drink and snuggle down. This is the perfect book for this season.

I was looking for a light festive read and with a title that not only involves Christmas but also chocolate too, The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop by Caroline Roberts caught my eye.

Our main character is the lovely Emma and she will warm your heart from the get go. When Emma is left heartbroken she decides to make a new start in a new town and pour her heart into a new business venture by opening up her own chocolate shop. With the help from her assistant Holly her business is beginning to thrive. With things looking up for Emma is there a chance that she could let another man in to repair her broken heart?

This was such an addictive read. The characters were all so likeable in this book, I loved the relationship between Emma and her assistant Holly. Emma was very passionate about her trade and I enjoyed finding out which concoctions she was going to come up with next I was drooling at each new flavour she created.

I love how the storyline weaves a slow burning romance around an ambitious business venture. I enjoyed watching Emma transform her business and work so hard to make her own way. It touches on how small businesses need local support to survive and that there are always hefty financial worries around every corner. The author also shows how heartbreak can come in more ways than one and that this can effect everyone differently some taking years to repair that broken heart. Emma was such a hard working and caring character that I was just so desperate for her to put herself first and not worry about everyone else, I just wanted her to find her happy ending.

My only slight negative was I found the storyline was slightly drawn out and could have been around 50 pages shorter as I was beginning to find my interest wavering in the last few chapters compared to how desperate I was to turn the page throughout the rest of the book.

I found this such a light and uplifting read that will make a perfect addition in someone's Christmas stocking this year. I look forward to discovering more cosy books by this author.

I have long been an admirer of Caroline Roberts’ books and so when I was asked if I would like to take part in the blog tour for ‘The Chocolate Shop By The Sea’, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I even did a little happy dance which wasn’t pretty and left me in pain. I never learn……. Anyway I digress so back to the review.

I took to Emma’s character from the start and in many ways I really felt for her. She is a woman who is nursing a broken heart. Not so long ago, her boyfriend was killed in an accident. Emma was naturally devastated as they had made all sorts of plans for their future together and all of a sudden it was taken away from her. To heal her broken heart and try to move on she moved to Warkton and opened a chocolate shop. I did wonder if Emma was running away. Rather than confronting her grief and dealing with it, she flees to another place and builds a life for herself, where nobody knew her boyfriend. Emma starts to have feelings for the adorable sounding Max. I totally understood how conflicted she felt. On the one hand she thinks that if she gets with Max, she will be betraying her boyfriend Luke’s memory but on the other hand, she knows that Luke has gone and as much as she wants him to come back to life, it just ain’t going to happen so she needs to move on with her life. She also thinks that Luke’s parents are going to be upset with her if she has another boyfriend. As to whether or not she gets with Max or shows him the door you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves as I am not going to tell you. Emma is one strong woman, who is easy to get along with and she is quick to make friends with others. She is also determined to make the chocolate shop a success because she has sunk all of her money into it. Emma is certainly a hard working and ambitious lady. I have to say that I loved all of the characters and I especially loved the game old ladies, who despite their advancing years were rather explicit about what they would do with Max if they got hold of him. That part of the book actually had me laughing out loud and led to me spluttering my cup of tea everywhere. The only character that I didn’t take to was that of the slippery landlord, who tries to force Emma out by hiking up the rent as he thinks that she won’t be able to afford it. I could quite cheerfully have slapped him around the chops with a wet fish, followed by a wet flip flop, followed by a tea towel and then I would gladly poke his eyes out with a sharp stick.

I have to say that this book is superbly written. The author clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the quality of her writing. Caroline perfectly describes the feelings of somebody, who has lost a loved one suddenly and I found that I identified and empathised with some of what Emma was going through. The characters were so realistically written that I found that I started to consider most of them to be friends and I actually began to wish that I lived in Warkton-By-The-Sea. I felt as though I was an invisible villager so to speak. The author also perfectly captures the spirit of a north eastern village and what can be achieved when the village pulls together as one. I live in the North East of England and I love it when I come across a book set up here. There are places mentioned within the book that I am familiar with and have special meaning for me so that was nice to discover.

I found that I became seriously addicted to reading ‘The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop’ and the book came everywhere with me. I found that I just couldn’t put it down and I just had to read on to see if Emma got her happy ever after. The pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves and before I knew it I had finished the book, which I was so disappointed about because I was enjoying the writing style and the story that much that I just wanted the book to continue. This book made me laugh, made me want to cry, made me argue with it and on occasion I even began to shout at the book. I know it is a work of fiction but if I find I am enjoying a book, I become totally wrapped up in it and it almost seems real to me. I have a vivid imagination too so I can almost visualise the action as it is happening. I even began to think of who would be perfect to play the characters if the book was adapted for television. I really felt as though I had been through the emotional wringer after I had finished the book. My only complaint about the book is that chocolate was mentioned so many times (well the book is about a chocolate shop- d’oh) that I almost started drooling and fantasising about chocolate in its various forms. Not good for someone supposedly on a health kick. Lol. Never mind I am going to go and treat myself to some posh chocolates and a delicious hot chocolate with cream, marshmallows and a lovely flake stuck in there but don’t tell anybody. Sshhhhhhh.

In short I totally, utterly and flipping well LOVED reading ‘The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop’ and I would recommend it to anybody. I can’t wait to read what comes next from Caroline Roberts and I just know that I am going to enjoy the next book just as much as this one. I award this book an easy 5* out of 5* but I would award it more stars if I could because I enjoyed the book that much.

I absolutely ate this book up I loved the story line the characters and especially the Christmas backdrops.
A cosy heartwarming story x

A beautiful book to read in the run up to Christmas. A lovely story about how Emma tries to keep her chocolate shop going with the help of friends. After the heartbreaking loss of her fiancé Luke is Emma ready to fall in love again? A lovely way to escape from the world for a few hours.

This is a lovely feel good book. Coffee,chocolate,company and a love interest. All with a happy ending!

I wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t happen.
First I was sadly disappointed because it was listed under Netgalley as a romance book, but it’s not. In order for a book to be romance the romance has to be the main focus of a story and in this story you don’t even get to know the hero name until after chapter 20 and you still never get his background other then what he did for a living, his little detail of an x-girlfriend a few other likes and dislikes. One could say well, he was there is over 20 so that would even it out right? Not really because even after she meets Max, he still wasn’t the main focus, her business was first and far most Max was second and you can see that with the on again off again and her mindset still on her business. Also, keep note when she was off with him the story of her business just kept going so he really wasn’t there that much.

My other big disappointment was after Emma finally got with max they were on again and off again several times. They would go out one night and she would just decide this wasn’t for her and didn’t want to see him anymore, got rather annoying after a couple of times
The main focus of this story is Emma, her chocolate shop ups and downs and her assistant. I was very impressed with the detail of the chocolate making and ownership of the shop, the author must have done a lot of research for the story.

This is a sweet romance so no sexual rating for this one. I want to also note the majority of the story is in first person and it’s Emma POV unlike the majority of romance stories being third persons.

I was going to rate this book a three star because it got rather good after she meets Max, but her on again and off again relationship just put me off and it seems to just drag the story out way too much for my taste. The main focus of the story was not romance and to tell you the truth it didn’t have much Christmas to the story and that is what I look for when Christmas is in the title so I settled for 2 stars.

For you, America readers beware this book is by a British author so, you’ll find some words spelled differently, mention of British holidays that you may not know and there is no reference to help readers that don’t know about the holiday she is talking about. I’m lucky I have an English gamer friend, so I could easily understand the holiday and spellings, but if it wasn’t for him I would have had no clue what some of it was. I want to mention this because I see so many readers get upset because of things like this when they really shouldn't.

If you're looking for a great heartfelt sorry about a struggling lady trying to keep her candy shop and a touch of romance, please give this story a try. The authors writing style is great, but for a romance reader, I have to have the romance as the main focus.

I almost forgot to make mention there are a couple of truffles recipes in the back of the book, Festive chocolate-orange truffles, and Emma's Boozy truffles.

I'll admit while reading this delectable Chocolate Shop book I had to eat some chocolates and drink some tea. I'll also admit they weren't fancy chocolates like the shop sells in this book but while eating my chocolate I wasn't complaining! This is a delightfully fun romantic light comedy . Emma is the proud owner of The Chocolate Shop by the Sea. It's in the heart of heart of the cosy seaside village. She had moved there after a tragedy happened during her last romance. The town's people have taken her to their bosom and she is now one of them. I loved reading about all the different types of chocolate delights in her shop and how she made them. Reading about the new recipe's she labored over with love in her heart to delight her customers was fun. It started out being Christmas time in the candy shop and goes through the seasons,Easter,Valentines Day,etc and comes full circle back to Christmas. Lots of late nights and early mornings are required for the business to run and Emma still is having financial troubles and the landlord is a knocking! Read what she does to get the shop back on track. A cute dog and a handsome man add to the delight of the story. With the shops fairy lights,chocolate reindeer,fancy drinks,luscious flavors and an atmosphere that you'll want to revisit this is one warm and cosy holiday read.
Pub Date 02 Nov 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperImpulse for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have enjoyed every page of this heart warming christmas book!

Loved this book. I was right there with the characters all the way thru. The fact it took place over several holidays(years) didn't make it seem too long either. What a great Christmas read about second chances and taking the risk.

I spent the whole time reading this book craving chocolate! Definitely my kind of book.
I absolutely loved this book from start to finish, a perfect fluffy Christmas story featuring Emma a grieving thirty something with drive and ambition. After meeting ‘the one’ the previous Christmas we watch as they meet again and set out to work out their relationship.
Also loved that this book came with recipes, I will definitely be giving them a whirl in time for Christmas

Sweet chocolate, festivities, learning to love again and small village life - this book has many lovely themes that make it a cosy, relaxing read. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of delicious chocolate creations and the slow growth of love between the main character and the mysterious stranger who kisses her on a beach and then gradually manages to help her forget the tragic loss of her fiancé. Full of warm, loving feelings and friendship, perfect to start your Christmas reading off in style.

Another fantastic book from Caroline Roberts. Caroline writes with such passion it really beams off every page. This story had me drooling and craving chocolate. I especially loved the recipes at the end.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Christmas is a time that polarises peoples'feelings you either love it or hate it. I love it, though when my father died very close to the festive season it was the most painful of times, watching people around me enjoying the celebrations when I was so sad. So  I completely understand how Emma feels at Christmas time at the beginning of this story.

The instant connection I felt with the heroine made me empathic to her circumstances and had me on 'Team Emma' from the start. The setting is picture postcard, a small harbour town in Northumberland, It was beautifully described and the vivid imagery enhanced the story for me.

Emma has an unexpected encounter on Boxing day, which makes her revisit her pain and wonder whether there is more to life than her chocolate shop and lovable Spaniel.

This is a slow-paced, realistic life story, which highlights the importance of friendship and community. This is especially apparent when Emma's home and livelihood are threatened by an unscrupulous entrepreneur.

The romance is slow in coming and Emma is full of trepidation that she will give her heart and be hurt again but by the time Christmas revisits the little harbour village fate takes a hand and makes her realise she has to take a risk and live for the moment. The ending is hopeful and paves the way for another story set in this charming little village.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.