DNF at 50% - so take my rating with a grain of salt.
This is possibly it's not the book, it's me type of situation.
It has all the ingredients for a fun, lighthearted romcom but I just couldn't connect to the characters at all. Melanie is the typical not like other girls kinda gal, quirky and fun, whereas our sexy German love interest is the lonesome playboy in the castle. I don't mind clichés, especially in this genre but it just wasn't working for me here.
I do believe that is due to the writing style itself more than anything. It often felt forced and overdone, the wording awkward. No one talks like that! The flow was just not there and as a result, the chemistry between our main characters suffered.

1. Chocolates galore ☑️⠀
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2. Small European village ☑️⠀
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3. A broody, mysterious and sexy ⠀
chocolatier ☑️⠀
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4. A journalist who is determined to ⠀
get the story about the ⠀
chocolatier recluse and what ⠀
makes him, I mean his chocolate, ⠀
so alluring ☑️⠀
⠀
A cute, funny and steamy read laced with a rom-com type mystery. Oh and of course, lots and lots of chocolate 🍫⠀

It was a cute read and really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters.⠀
⠀

I get glued to the story at first and read it throughout the night. It's a romantic and intriguing story. Learned so many new words from the book where I seldom saw it from other books that I have read. The transition of the story was very engaging. I love it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun story and Melanie was a great protagonist. The combination of chocolate and romance in my opinion should always be a winning combination, but pairing it with a strong willed, funky protagonist, a mysterious love interest and a idyllic setting lifted the story from romance, to intriguing romance and a page turner.

The concept of the lust list is also a really fun one and I think that it will carry well across a series with a variety of different characters. And I look forward to reading more in this series.

*2.5 stars*

This premise sounded so promising. We get to know the characters and I crave massive amounts of chocolate all of a sudden. The chocolate melts between my fingertips, the sexual tension between Melanie and Maksim is palpable. Then it gets weird, awkward and completely out of context and the piece of chocolate gets stuck in my throat.

The research for this German fictitious village was simply non-existent. The name Maksim is not even remotely a German name; then the story about this kid having cancer and Maks donating in this jar because they don't have insurance which infuriated me as people in Germany do have health insurance no matter their income. It just was a way to show how kind and generous Maksim was, but unfortunately the incorrectness overshadowed that.

There was no hot and steamy lemons anywhere to be found, only awkward scenes that felt forced and not like Melanie was in pursuit of claiming her sexuality rather than impressing Maksim.

Then the book took a turning point and I felt bombarded by plot points that didn't seem to have much to do with the romance part or any other part of the story other than to be shoved into these last fifty pages because the author wanted to add it whether it fit the story or not.

I did like how intimacy and the lack of orgasms on Melanie's side was portrayed and how it is important that both partners are able to tell the other their needs and at the end be satisfied.

Overall it was a quick and fun read about chocolate, small town charme and good sexual tension. But at the end the story didn't do it enough for me.

This a quirky story. She's a chocoholic and he's a chocolate maker. She wants to taste his chocolate but there's a year long waiting list. Honestly there's a lot of mini stories in the book. This book feels as though it will be a series and the author wants to fill in the background in a way with other characters. I do wish they would expand more on the grandmother aspect since it looks like there may be a funny story there. Jeeves is a stereotype in a good way. I enjoyed the humor and the romance . Its a quick read. I give this book a 3.5.


******************I received an ARC for my honest opinion through NetGalley.com****************************

I was so excited to pick up The Chocoholic’s Guide to Getting It On as it sounded like the perfect summer rom-com, unfortunately, it let me down in both plot and writing. The premise of the story itself was strong but the execution of the plot and the writing style is something I could not get on board with. I found that the characters had the potential to have lots of dynamics but felt flat and the chemistry between them felt too instantaneous for any tension to rise between the characters. The characters desperately needed to be more fleshed out and the relationship between our Maksim and Melanie needs more than just lust and ‘issues’. I also had a hard time enjoying the author’s writing style, but that comes down to personal preference, unfortunately, I would suggest that you give this book a miss as there are so many other rom-com’s on the market that do it right.

Reading The Chocoholic's Guide To Getting It On is the closest thing you can get to a chocolate orgasm, because the description of Maks’ bonbons will make you moan more than any romantic scene.
Melanie, journalist for Sexology and chocolate specialist, decides to go and discover why people are raving about Sommer Chocolates, and especially the famous S Chocolate. Little did she know that she would end up meeting the sexy chocolatier in person and be invited into his castle…
This story is super sweet, even sweeter than chocolate, and the idea behind the book is so well thought of. I have adored every scene about chocolate and Melanie’s article. The only downside would be the romantic aspect, I thought the romance between the two main characters was a bit rushed and cliché, but the end was really cute.

Melanie is a woman on a mission, and that mission leads her to meet the elusive Maksim von Sommer. I have to say that there are a lot of things going on in this story; a determined woman, an interview, a trip, characters with an intriguing side, witty banter, some steamy scenes, and to my surprise, a lot of new knowledge about chocolate, who would say it...

I honestly didn't expect this book to sustain my interest that much, but now I want the next one! "The Chocoholic's Guide To Getting It On" is the perfect light and fun romantic read for these quarantine times.

Michelle is on a mission to write a lust worthy article on Sommer Chocolates. The only problem is there is a year long wait list to purchase the chocolate. After failing to secure a taste at the chocolate shop, Melanie decides to go straight to the source- Maksim con Summer. Make has a lot going on in his life and the last thing he needs is a journalist snooping around. Melanie is persistent and they start to spend time together.

It was had for me to get drawn into the story at first. However, I was hooked after Melanie met Maks. There were a lot of secrets unraveled throughout the story, and with each one you understood the characters a little better. I loved their story and how much they cared for each other, even though they both tried to convince themselves it was nothing more than a fling. The ending was great- all challenges were solved and there were no loose ends. I attached to the characters and would love to see what is next to them. My fingers are crossed for a sequel.

This book had ALOT going on: a beautiful quaint village in Germany, a reclusive chocolatier, a sex blog, a quirky journalist, steamy sex scenes, drive by shootings to name a few and let me say that 100% of it worked for me!

Melanie traveled to Germany to write a story for the Lust List and goes to all lengths to interview the mysterious Maks, Heir to the Sommer chocolate dynasty. Melanie also has a side mission for her Grandma. The story that ensues is salacious, dramatic, and full of witty banter between the two main characters.

I honestly didnt expect to get as wrapped up in this story as I did. ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 from me!

I chose this book based on the cover, and the description had me interested. The premise of this book is so different from anything I've ever read. It was also cool learning some chocolate facts. As I kept reading I just felt like one thing after the other was thrown at me as a reader. How much does Maks have going on? Melanie's reason for her grandma just seemed to not be worth it, and to me made no sense. I enjoyed that we got to hear from both Maks and Melanie. There was not too much character development before these two started basically seeing each other and that threw me off. Ultimately this was a cute book and pretty fast read, lots of surprises but was felt feeling "thats all"

Melanie Peters is a food journalist and chocoholic who has been sent on the ultimate mission: identifying why Sommer Chocolates is as lust-worthy as it is, to have a limited supply and a waiting list of more than a year. The answer to that? Maksim von Sommer.

This book was everything I wanted and more-- A light read, with a good touch of romance, an intriguing backstory from both of the characters, and the ultimate detailed description of chocolate.

**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this up based on the cover! It’s a cute romance story center around chocolate, what’s not to like?
Thanks to NetGalley, Swell Cat Press, and Michele Renae for an ebook copy. This is my honest review.

I saw this book on bookstagram and knew I wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it. It drew me in and I didn't want to take a break. Definitely did not disappoint!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

It's a sweet (pun intended) story. The cover did catch my attention and it's so cute, just like the characters. Also loved the German cenario, a bit different from a lot of love stories that I read. In the end, an amazing and fun book.

I really did not enjoy reading this. The writing was weak, the motivations of the characters didn't make sense, characters changed their minds mid-paragraph and there was no chemistry between the main two characters. None of the characters felt real or fleshed out. It was book I forced myself to read but I had to put down often because I really wasn't enjoying reading it. The plot was serviceable enough but the writing and characterisation really made this a difficult book to finish. I probably wouldn't have finished it if it weren't for the fact that I was reviewing it.

The chocoholic's guide to getting it is on is as fun as it's title sounds. It's a romance novel that is centered around chocolate. There's really nothing to not love about this book, it is fun and fluffy and oozed with descriptions of delicious chocolate. The characters are super heartwarming and quirky especially Melanie. I loved the sarcastic conversation Maks has with Melanie and how the writer could potray the chemistry between them with the weird conversations that they have. If I had to pick a favourite character I did choose Jeeves, Maks butler, his loyalty towards the Sommer family and especially Maks was really lovely.
The book is really light and really easy to read. It was pretty nice to see the author concentrating on the details of the chocolate and how she didn't let the chocolate overpower the book and created a perfect blend between the story and chocolate.

Chocolates that are better than sex. Chocolates you have to order a year in advance? Melanie Peters is a food writer with Sexology magazine and she wants to know more about the Sommer chocolates and their elusive creator Maksim von Sommer for an article she’s writing.

Being a ‘bean to bar’ connoisseur, Melanie knows her stuff and being determined, she meets Maksim. He is a man who has lost his ‘chocolate focus’ but has secrets, big commitments and a mysterious butler called Jeeves.

Will their connection through confectionery go further?

It’s a good light read, with plenty of action and some entertaining moments. The characters are engaging and keep you interested.

3.5⭐️

This book just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t get past how much I disliked the characters, and how forced their scenes were.

First of all, for me, having the heroine think of kissing the guy, is not permission for the guy to jump and kiss her! Now, when the guy does do this, and when she does not immediately respond, it’s definitely an issue. Please write some body-language cues that justify these actions.

This part is where I checked out. The book got progressively stranger and more ridiculous. It was definitely funny at times, but those scenes were not enough to make up for the things I disliked.

There was also a lot of repetition on the chocolate stuff - while I know the book is centered around it, having them talk bean to bar and bonbons without sharing any new information really put me off.

I struggled to keep focus past 30% of the book. I think it might have honestly been more enjoyable in the latter stages, however, the initial interactions really stopped me from enjoying their story! I wanted to like this book…and I might actually give it some time, and reread it later to see if I change my mind. But for now, some of the issues I had were not easily surmountable.

The thing I LOVED was the setting. I loved the description of the small whimsical village in Germany - it was beautiful and I wanted to visit so bad! I liked the author’s writing style as well, I just wish the story was stronger, and the characters better developed!