'The Master Chocolatier' by Benedicte Gourdon and Eric Corbeyran with art by Chetville is a graphic novel about a talented young man and a business proposal.

Alex Carret makes chocolate in Brussels. He works for a boss who takes all the credit. When the friend of a friend offers him the chance to strike out on his own, can he overcome the weird feeling he has about this shady person?

It's a part 1 and it felt a bit slow to me. The art is good, and I did like the chocolate business parts.

This is the 3rd book in a series where the story revisited the small town of Branson, Alabama in 1939. The story alternates between Milton and Yvonne Hamilton, and Odell and Joyce Watson, neighbors to one another. Everyone has secrets.

Mary Monroe referenced several things relating to the time period in which the story takes place. One thing I learned about was what “spoonbread” is; a moist cornmeal-based dish prevalent in parts of the Southern United States. It became popular around the turn of the 20th century and has been a mainstay in Virginia and Kentucky kitchens ever since. Although named a "bread", spoonbread is closer in consistency and taste to many savory puddings. This was a fascinating fact for a northerner like me.

This novel was very repetitive in order to refresh the characters and the scenarios in play from the first two novels in the series. The story became very interesting and climatic to me around chapter 37. I was surprised with the outcome and conclusion. otherwise, this was a great end to the series!

I never thought a comic about making chocolate would be interesting, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. Alex is a young chocolate maker working for one of the major chocolatiers in Brussels. Even though he makes the chocolate and runs the back of the shop, he gets little credit. Eventually he gets fed up and strikes out on his own with some pushing from his best friend and a new pushy, brash business partner with a shady past. The art is quite good, with a traditional European comic look to it.

Translated before we've even got the sequel on the shelves, this European drama starts a series about the whole world of chocolate making. Exactly. But this is actually quite good fun, if some of it tastes more of cheese than cocoa. Our hero is too good to be shat on by his current boss at the gourmet chocolate factory-come-shop, so it only takes one small impetus for him to go it alone. Together with his old graphic designer friend, and their will-they-won't-they relationship, and her friend, they set up store together with him in charge. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, he can't stop snogging the staff, and her friend is up to his neck in the criminal underworld, who have actually bankrolled the shop… So it's a little bit clunky, and a little bit too obvious, but it's not too bad at all. The theme is certainly a new background on which to put some familiar tropes, and however broadly drawn the characters, the likeable ones are just that. Shame we only get a sample here and not the full box, but if and when the whole thing is in English it should be well worth a read. Tasty.

I love the idea of the battles between art vs. commerce; colleague vs. friend; father vs. son; chocolate (mass produced) vs. chocolate (artisinal) that this first volume sets up. But overall the plot beats were fairly standard and unsurprising and the characters and their problems, while likable, weren't interesting enough to make me want to read more.

This is going to be a really good series because it involves chocolate and intrigue!

What could possibly be better?

Alex Carret is a chocolatier who goes into business with a friend of a friend. Alex decides to take a gamble because he needs a new direction for his life and an outlet for his amazing talents. What he doesn't know is that the 'friend of a friend' has other friends who aren't particularly friendly.

Ben is the 'friend of a friend' and Alex's new business partner. Unfortunately Ben's friends are heavy weight local mafia types. Ben owes these people money because he has taken a huge lone from them and invested it in the new chocolate shop.

So we don't know what is going to happen but we do know that it is going to be full of drama, tension and thrills all wrapped up in exquisite tasting chocolate.

I really liked this first volume because there is a frisson of impeding danger in the story. The interesting thing is that the danger might not come from where we think it will come from because Alex has other people who are jealous of his talent and they do not have his best interest at heart.

This intriguing story is conveyed through first class artwork and beautiful coloring. It has great promise and I am looking forward to the next volume.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review"

Alex has a way with chocolate and, for someone so socially awkward that it sometimes hurts, he also has a way with women. He is the kind of stand-up gentleman you'd come to expect of a sensitive, chocolatier, who values the emotions elicited from tastes and textures over style. I admire the diversity from deaf characters who are not defined by their disability to African women in powerful media positions who do not shy from the things that make them different. The supporting cast is sometimes stronger than the main character, but any time you have such a "pure" main character, that usually happens. I would read further parts of the series to see how much more dangerous things can actually get.

This is a graphic novel all about chocolate.

Honestly I was confused while reading this for a majority of the novel. Once I got to the end I realized that the illustrator wanted to give a basis for the novels to come. There is lots and lots of chocolate, failed romance, and new beginnings in this novel. I will read the next novel just because this novel left off on a cliff hanger.

A lovely story that made me feel hungry all the way through reading. I enjoyed the story line so far, but do think a little more could have been squeezed in to create more interest in the next volume. Personally I am excited for the next volume and can't wait to see where this goes.

This graphic novel is bae! like how it follows a chocolatier in the Europe setting is everything. I loved how the graphics were so detailed as though i was in Brussels. I loved how there were so many different type of characters in the book like manon was deaf and he was well developed in this novel which is very rare to find it in graphic novels just saying.

Love how the artist drew this as the flow of the story was very easy to read and i adore that! Just saying if you are a chocolate fan you should read this because there is loads of info on chocolate making which i lived for.

This seems to be a good story, with beautiful panels and very good characters. Unfortunately, this is not a complete story, and I hate it when there's no ending. If there is a need for a series, there should be a second story with a conclusion in every book.

An interesting and romantic read, filled with chocolate and the magic of friendship. I loved reading it but it isn't the sort of book I would read twice, though I did enjoy it!

Insightful storyline with good link to historical information that is not widely known really. Graphic/drawings easy on the eye. Look forward to reading the next instalments. Thanks. Chocs away!

I thought the premise of this graphic novel - following a chocolatier in Brussels would be a fun read, and it was. A lot of the plot was predictable for me, but it was still enjoyable. I liked some of the diversity of characters, such as Manon who is deaf and like the overall individual characters that were created. The art style is very classic and realistic, so it was easy to follow and had great detail.

You can pretty easily see a few ways the following volumes could progress as people's roles and possible plot points were defined, but there were still enough things that were left up in the air. All in all I would say it's a good first installment to a contemporary graphic novel series with great information about chocolate and chocolate making.

Alex is a young, talented chocolatier working for the man in Brussels, Belgium. He gets little recognition for his work and instead his boss receives all the accolades. Alex yearns for something more or to at the very least receive recognition for his work. His wealthy parents want him to quit and go work for his dad. Alex's school friend and crush Clemence encourages Alex to do his own thing in the world of chocolate. Clemence introduces Alex to her (shady) friend Benjamin who tries to talk Alex into going into business with him.

This graphic novel was a quick read and an interesting behind the scenes look at the world of chocolatiers. The drawing style reminded me of super hero comics or old school detective comics. The story was easy to follow and Alex was an appealing protagonist. It looks like there will be a follow-up book so I will need to check that out. And now, I want to go eat all.of.the.chocolate!

Every so often, I like to try something new and this was definitely a good choice. The Master Chocolatier doesn't fit easily in one genre. It's a well drawn graphic novel about Alex Carret, a chocolate artisan, who is frustrated working for a company where he is unhappy and taken for granted. Story has elements of a mystery and a romance with a garnish of information about chocolate. It's a quick read and lots of fun. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A business/social drama featuring an up-and-coming chocolatier in Brussels. The story is solid, although with any other business at its core it would feel a little more generic, and the writing and dialogue is better than it needs to be (and is well-translated). But it's Denis Chetville's art that absolutely makes the book. The close-ups of faces and the wide panels of the Grand-Place are equally beautifully rendered. The illusion of motion when drawing one character's hands as she signs is one of the best portrayals of a sign language I've seen in comics. And the colour choices are perfect at adding to the natural feeling of the settings - and especially of the chocolate.

A wonderful first volume.

<b> 3.5 – Enjoyable cozy chocolatier comic </b>

The Master Chocolatier is about when Chocolatier Alexis, who is underappreciated and unrecognized at his current job. meets business savvy Ben through his friend/crush Clemence.

I’ve never read a mystery comic, so I was pretty surprised with how much this reminded me of a cozy mystery. I really enjoyed how well this 1st issue sets up the characters and plot. I also enjoy the knowledge about chocolate making that was included. I wasn’t sure if I liked the art style from the cover, but I really think it did a good job of setting the mood.

I will say that the plot so fair is pretty standard. This is not a bad thing necessarily, but this isn’t for people who wants something ground-breaking. I am glad there is disabled representation in deaf Manon but I hope she becomes more independent as the series goes on.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes mystery/thrillers and has an interest in food/chocolate.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

Unfortunately the direction this took didn't work for me and I won't be continuing it, but there's a lot to like here: gorgeous illustrations and a wonderful concept.