This was a gentle, heart warming story and if you like to believe in magic, you should read it! The story was well written and the relationships between characters so special. I adored the characters!

I had really enjoyed Ms. Crispell's debut, The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, last year so naturally when I heard about her sophomore book I knew I had to read it. Dreaming in Chocolate is a heartbreakingly honest read.

I'm not a fan of magical realism but Dreaming in Chocolate presented the magical aspect in a simple way. The thought of magic working in real life took some getting used to but I loved how the magic of the chocolates were portrayed as a possibility only. One had to want it for it come true.

Penelope's faith in her chocolates' magic was near nonexistent knowing her daughter was dying despite everyone's wishes for Ella to get better. Given her previous heartache (Noah) it was easy to understand why Penelope was so guarded. However she does not let her crushing reality defeat her as she puts all of herself into making her daughter happy.

"Sometimes reality is too much to bear."

"...happiness was a choice..." (eARC, Loc 2760-2764).

I'm a big fan of second chance romances and this one was full of purpose. The story doesn't go too much into Penelope and Noah's past choosing to focus on the present happenings. When Noah, the guy who broke her heart who also happens to be the father of her child, returned to town, Penelope was determined to keep him at a distance. Resistance proved to be futile as he was as charming as ever. In addition, Noah made a most admirable effort to show Penelope he wanted a place by her and Ella's side.

All across the story there was that anticipation of Noah finding out his relations to Ella. I waited with bated breath. When the reveal finally came, it fell flat. Maybe it's my fault for letting my drama meter go wild but I was hoping for more reaction from all the characters. In the grand scheme of things, the reveal let down was small compared to Noah's heartfelt willingness to accept the truth.

I was a tinsy bit stunned by the ending but it was by no means a bad one. Dreaming in Chocolate is a hopeful tale of love and family and most importantly in the power of believing. A magical read indeed.

Penelope owns a chocolate shop with an apothecary table. The table produces chocolate recipes that have magical cures - to fix a broken heart, to make someone tell the truth, to make someone fall in love. Penelope has turned cynical with regards to the table because she feels it did not make her one wish come true. Will she get her wish in the end?

What a delightful story. Who couldn't help but fall in love with Penelope's daughter Ella. She firmly believes in the magic of the table and refuses to give up hope for hew Mom. This story had fun characters and was as much about the power of believing as it was about magic.

From St. Martin's Press via Netgalley.

3.5/5.0

Romance, a magical table that produces recipes for magical chocolate ... what better story to read than for Valentine's Day (or any time of year)!

I started reading Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell just a few days before the holiday and found I couldn't put the book down. This delightful story is charming, intriguing, emotionally moving and a wonderful book. I loved the characters - flawed, emotional yet redeeming. The plot was extremely well written and kept me on my toes the whole time. Of course, I also loved the magical chocolate store that created life changing magical chocolates and the romance too!

If you love chocolate, romance, reading emotionally moving stories .... Dreaming in Chocolate is one you don't want to miss!

I loved Ella. She was such a bright and fiery girl never afraid to take on the task at hand and never one to back down even when she is in over her head. Her mother Penelope has her hands full balancing all that take charge energy. When you mix Ella's determination with a bit of magical chocolate hilarity ensures but the story is full of chocolate and magic. A great read for valentines day and all year.

Penelope was determined in the last month not to let any minutes that had a taste of pure happiness pass her by. Today Penelope had been making a snowman while her daughter Ella went on about her day at school. Ella was in third grade but she wasn’t your usual third grader as Ella had an inoperative tumor deep in her brain and only had six months to a year if they were lucky to live . On a good day it caused nausea and migraines that sent Ella home from school. On a bad day Ella suffered from localized seizures and prolonged hospital stays. Making Ella smile and hearing her laugh with delight is what mattered. Penelope and her mother Sabina owned a chocolate cafe called the Chocolate Cottage. Recipes and ingredients mysteriously appear in the drawers of the antique apothecary table at the cafe and came at their own accord. With one piece of their chocolates people dreamed of their future and reveled in bouts of happiness and luck to get through the rough times. But the magic had been totally useless in curing Ella. When Sabina had originally opened the cafe it had been like Christmas every day. Now it was a daily disappointment. Since Ella’s first seizure two years ago Penelope had tried everything to make her daughter better. Ella wrote a list of things she wanted to do before she died but her list was of necessity not just daydreaming.Tucker- Noah- who is Ella's father and doesn't know it- brother had gotten into a motorcycle accident and Noah was coming back to help with the bar until Tucker was healed enough to work again. Penelope cringed at the thought of Noah coming back to town after nine years and walking out on her for good and breaking her heart. Noah never got over penelope and soon he found himself loving Ella. His big regret was walking away from Penelope. Noah wanted to try to work his way back into Penelope’s life and get her trust back.
I loved this book except for one thing I didn’t care for the ending it was kind of a cliffhanger yet the ending was in a dream that had already been shown but I would have loved to see it played out in this book. I loved how Penelope tried to help Ella get everything on her bucket list. I also loved how Ella just naturally took to Noah. I was a little surprised Noah didn’t add things up and realize he was Ella’s dad. But I guess in a way it would have taken away from the story. But all was so perfect but the ending. But there was the dream this was still a four. I would put a four in a half if I could have. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

This was such a cute story that simultaneously broke my heart and made me smile.... little miss Ella is quite the character! My only complaint would be the ending was terrible, but I'm hoping that it is set up for another book to follow!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this magical book! Will one need to suspend some disbelief while reading this book? You betcha! Does Chocolate have healing properties? I would like to believe yes!

This is a feel-good book! But wait! How so? The daughter has an inoperable brain tumor and has 6 months to live. How can this be a feel-good book? That is where the magic of this book happens. Penelope is a single mother raising her eight-year-old daughter, Ella, on her own. Penelope owns a Chocolate Cafe with her Mother and the town loves their magical chocolate concoctions. You see, their baking table/desk/apothecary has compartments which provides them with recipes to mend a broken heart, to learn the identity of your true love, to show you your dreams, to make a wish upon, etc. The one thing these chocolates can't seem to do is cure her daughter's cancer.

Penelope and Ella have been working on Ella’s' bucket list. Ella wants one thing more than anything else - to have a Dad. Noah Gregory has returned to town to help his brother while he is recovering from an injury. He broke Penelope's heart when they were teenagers and she is not too happy to see him. Noah and Penelope circle around each other. Noah makes it clear that he wants a second chance, but Penelope is apprehensive as he broke her heart and she has been keeping a HUGE secret from him. She is drawn to him but wants to keep him at arm’s length even though her daughter is his biggest fan and wants to have him in their life. Will she tell Noah and Ella the truth? Will they figure it out on their own? Will someone else figure it out?

This book is about love, second chances, chocolate, magic and family. Will Ella get her biggest wish? Will Noah get his second chance will Penelope? Will Chocolate save the day?

Again, the reader will need to suspend some disbelief. No one in this small town seems phased that the Chocolate has magical abilities. I also thought that Ella seemed a little too healthy for a child with 6 months to live. I will admit, I don't have any knowledge on brain tumors, but Ella seemed to have a lot of energy and was active. I wonder what readers with a medical background will think of this aspect of the book. This is also where I choose to suspend some belief.

I gave this book 4.5 stars due to it being charming and a completely enjoyable read. Perfect for curing up in your favorite chair/couch/sofa, etc. It is a charming tale and I appreciated that it did not go overboard on the use of magic, romance or Ella's prognosis. It had the perfect blend of everything. It was a sweet tale about having love, losing love, finding love, being a family and coming home.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the magic of chocolate was focused on too much. The whole town dependence on kinds of chocolate to help them with issues was silly. I wanted more of the Noah and Penelope story.

There was so much I enjoyed about this novel: the town of Malarkey, NC, the magical apothecary table, Kismet hot chocolate that tells you who your true love is, Noah. I loved how the author explored the concepts of fate and free will. I loved watching Penelope figure out whether she could give Noah a second chance, whether he was worth the risk.

It was an easy book to read and I think many people will enjoy reading it. There was just one problem.

As a reminder, a 3 star review means I liked it. I really did. The reason I didn't rate it higher falls under the "it's me, not you" category. Here's what it boils down to: Penelope's 8 year old daughter Ella has an inoperable brain tumor.

I used to be a pediatric oncology/hematology social worker specializing in brain tumors. You can see where this is headed.

We're not told the specific kind of brain tumor but we are told Ella has a prognosis of six months or less.

Due to the prognosis, they've stopped treatment. However, there's no palliative care or hospice involvement. Before I worked at the Children's Hospital, I was a hospice social worker so I have big feelings about a terminal prognosis that does not involve hospice.

On good days, we're told Ella has nausea and migraines that send her home from school. On bad days, she has seizures and prolonged hospital stays. However, while Penelope expresses concern about Ella declining, we don't see the decline. Ella goes to school almost every day. There is one instance where she gets sick but it's a 24 hour or less deal and does not involve hospitalization.

It's not an accurate depiction of a child with a terminal brain tumor. And it really bothered me and messed with my ability to enjoy the story more.

Now part of the story involves magic and so I kept wondering whether the magic had healed Ella and that's why we didn't see her acting like a child with a brain tumor. But one of the major parts of the plot is the town believing Ella is healed because they all wished that Ella would be healed at the last Festival Of Fate, whereas Penelope has decided not to tell everyone Ella is dying. Then once people find out Ella wasn't healed, they still believe they can change her fate at the next Festival.

It's compelling stuff- of course we wish there was magical hot chocolate that could heal our loved ones- but it also made me uncomfortable due to medical reality. I couldn't suspend disbelief, which rarely happens when I read books involving magic.

Truly a case of me, not you.

I really enjoyed watching Penelope and Noah circle around each other and figure out whether and how to give each other another chance and I think most people will be able to lose themselves in their story.

I adored Crispell's first novel The Secret Ingredient Of Wishes and while this one didn't quite land with me, I look forward to seeing what comes next from her.

Set in a small North Carolina town, the story focuses on a chocolate café, The Chocolate Cottage, the magic it conjures with the help of an ancient apothecary cabinet and the bucket list of an eight year old girl. Penelope and her mother Sabina have mixed and dispensed the magical chocolate as well as other ‘normal’ confections for years: providing clarity, courage, hope and showing true love to their customers, and culminating in a Winter Solstice festival where their “Kismet” hot cocoa is available, a boost to fate and self-determination. But last year’s festival didn’t change Penelope’s fate – Ella is still ill and indications are that she’ll be gone soon. Uncertain about the ‘magic’, angry at the fates and scared about just how she’ll survive without Ella; having been the focus of her life and happiness since she was born. Penelope is sure the magic has either tricked her or let her down, again, just as it had when she was a teenager in love with a man who left.

Adding to her worries, her mother Sabina is using the magical chocolates to retreat into a time when she was happy: before Penelope’s father died, and the cabinet keeps giving her recipes and ingredients for magical confections that she doesn’t want. Perhaps if the ‘one who got away’ hadn’t returned to town to help out his brother, and his niece wasn’t Ella’s newest (and most special) friend, she’d be able to survive the alternating hits of laughter and terror that come when she thinks of Ella. While Noah ran off years ago in search of “more”, he’s never forgotten Penelope, and he’s wanting to explore what may be there – once he can prove to her that he’s changed. But he may never get the chance.

Add in the moments from Ella’s bucket list and the mixed emotions of joy in Ella’s excitement when another check is added to the realization that only a few more items exist, the story has a poignancy that grabs you by the throat, not entirely ever letting go. When Ella’s sights (and list) turn to Noah with the help of a new “pendant’ that the apothecary table granted her, and her determination to throw her mother and Noah together at every opportunity, Penelope’s skepticism about the magic and the table’s ability to provide what is needed at the right time is waning, the upcoming festival, her sharing a heretofore untold truth about the state of Ella’s health with the town, and the meddling of two eight year olds and some specially crafted cocoa bring the story to a close in ways unexpected and wholly welcome.

As with her first story I read, The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, Crispell puts the magic and the changes brought by the hope of its recipients at the forefront: using the questions and doubts as a counterpoint: allowing the wonder and the ‘what if’ to capture the reader’s imagination. Easy to lose yourself in with the sense of family, community and emotions, it’s a book to hide away with while the winter rages outside.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9Bw/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I truly enjoyed this book. It is well written and the relationships between the characters are loving. One of the things I love most about Susan's books is that the magic is right out in the open. The chocolate shop is a fantastic setting and the apothecary table is like another character. Seeing the characters interact with the table was one of the best parts.

I've always loved the Magical Realism genre (except for the first one: One Hundred Years of Solitude)! I think it goes back to my adolescence when I wished for the ability to change things about my life. I discovered contemporary Magical Realism with Sarah Addison Allen and have read many other authors and their interpretation of the genre. Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell was an enjoyable read, and made me really hungry at the same time! In her novel there is a magical apothecary table in a bakery in a small town ("Malarkey" - what a name!) that provides recipes for various needs of the community. Hot chocolate to see the future, chocolates to dream of your soul mate, etc. The main character, Penelope, has given up believing in magic because as a teen the "soul mate" she saw in her dream turned her down, and because her daughter, Ella, is dying from a neurological ailment. She vows to give her daughter the best few months that she has left. When the soul mate she saw at 18 (and ended up pregnant by) returns to town, not knowing he has a daughter, Penelope tries to close her heart the best she can. But the magic isn't done with her yet. The book has a lot going for it, and is heartwarming in a way that covers all the bases for domestic fiction. If you like your romance a little magical, this book is for you!

Woman (Penelope) owns a magical chocolate shop, yet can't cure her own daughter's (Ella) inoperable brain tumor.

I very much enjoyed this story about Penelope, a mom who has tried everything to save her sick daughter, Ella, from an inoperable brain tumor. And hello, who can resist plain chocolate, let alone magical chocolate?!? Penelope owns the Chocolate Cottage which sells...

"Espresso truffles that gave a jolt of energy. Jasmine tea caramels that calmed frenzied nerves. Spicy hot chocolate that sparked dreams of true love."

... but why can't the magic apothecary table provide a cure for her daughter's tumor?

Meanwhile, Ella's biological father, Noah, is back in town and even though she has no idea who he really is, she is inexplicably drawn to him. Penelope is, too, but fights her feelings for him. Is the magical chocolate at work again? Will they really have a future together this time as the magical chocolate predicted all those years ago? Find out in this sweet and hopeful love story.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

This was a great read. I don't normally read a lot of romance, but I was drawn to the realistic complexities of the characters in this book. I think many are put off by magical realism, in that it can be confused with fantasy and science-fiction. The role of the magic of the chocolate is so delicate, and so warm that you feel like you have this comforting layer of symbolism. SO good!

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc!

This book was fun - I loved all the chocolate and the fun, festival, family-friendly atmosphere! My heart broke for Sabina, Penelope's mom, as she continued to grieve for her husband. I'm not quite sure why Penelope was so hard on Noah. Not telling him that they had a child together, and then highly doubting he was going to stick around in town. I loved the scene toward the end where Noah babysits Ella and they bake cookies together. The ending, to me, ended abruptly, very open-ended, but with Noah and Penelope's dreams you can guess what happens. A very sweet story at its core!

DREAMING IN CHOCOLATE by Susan Bishop Crispell made me crave chocolate and want to hug my daughter close. I have been on a historical fiction roll so far this year and I wanted something a little different. I really enjoyed Susan's other novel so I had high hopes and I was not disappointed. In this story, we follow Penelope as she tries to come to terms with her daughter's diagnosis and also tries to juggle her feelings for the town heartthrob that has come back into town. As a mom, I was afraid this would be a hard one to read but it was joyful and magical. Ella, the daughter, is just charming and there is so much hope in this novel and in this town. We all need a little magic in our lives and this one delivers.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

An adorable story of love, hope and magic. Appropriate for young teens and adults, alike!

I was unable to finish this book. I wish everyone much success upon publication.

Susan Bishop Crispell’s Dreaming in Chocolate will encourage you to give your kids a hug, no, change that to a lot of hugs, look for a magical moment each day, believe in miracles and take a chance on love. With the tenacity of a bulldog, Penelope does just that as she faces her eight-year-old daughter’s sickness head-on and her daughter’s father, too. I loved the characters, the Appalachian Mountains setting, the magical chocolate recipes, the festival and the hope that is encased in the story.

If ever there was a magical second chance at love story, this is it; not just romantic love but the love of a parent too. Dreaming in Chocolate is the first book I have read by Susan Bishop Crispell but it has put her books on my TBR list now.