Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Henry Dawson lives a quiet life of perfect order and routine. His job as a cross-checker at a Chicago-based risk assessment firm means there’s no detail unmissed, no error unfixed and no room in his world for curve balls. That is until the day he loses his job, finds out his apartment building has been condemned, and receives an inheritance from an uncle he never even knew he had.

Now with no job, no home and no hope for the future, Henry suddenly finds himself in the tiny dead-end town of Los Encantados in the middle of the New Mexico desert, ready to sell the small roadside diner bequeathed to him by the uncle he never met. Given the circumstances, what choice does he have but to offload the diner—operated by waffle-loving Doris Day fan, Gracie Garcia—in an effort to try and fund his way back to his old life in Chicago?

But Henry was never planning on the arrival of wild, passionate and incredibly sexy Levi Jones. Nor was he ready for Levi’s crazy plan to turn Gracie’s Diner into the greatest Chocolate Works the world has ever known. For Levi claims to be the country’s finest chocolatier… or is he?

Before he knows it, Henry is pulled into Levi’s plan to create the most delicious, irresistible, mouth-watering, knee-buckling chocolates the world has ever imagined. At the same time Henry finds himself falling head over heels for the reckless, romantic allure of a man who is the complete opposite of everything Henry holds sacred.

Will Henry succumb to the charms of a handsome stranger despite every instinct warning him that Levi is nothing but a snake oil salesman? Will the secrets of Levi’s past destroy Henry’s hopes of ever finding true romance?

Or is Levi destined to melt Henry’s heart as he discovers that chocolate truly is the food of love?


The Chocolate Works is a mouth-watering 85K-word standalone opposites-attract gay romantic comedy. Warning: Reading this book WILL make you crave your absolute favorite chocolates and demand you indulge in them while you read… one delicious, delectable, discipline-crushing mouthful at a time.

Book Review

‘The Chocolate Works’ is everything the warning at the end of the blurb promises: mouthwatering, full of chocolaty goodness, and it will make your normal chocolate cravings (if there is such a thing) go through the roof. But what is even better is that the characters who live on the pages of this book are a great combination of interesting, sweet, aggravating, mysterious, and much in need of personal growth. The story is funny, takes a few unexpected turns, and usually had me wondering what surprise I would find when I turned a page. Nothing goes as expected for Henry, a routine-loving risk assessor kicked out of his comfortable existence into utter mayhem (what the rest of us call normal life). Then there is Levi, his pretty much exact opposite, for whom everything seems to be easy – until you get to know his story. The two of them are wrangling with their feelings for each other, while they and the rest of the cast attempt to survive in Los Encantado, New Mexico, a dying small town that refuses to go the way of the Dodo.

Henry tells the story in first person. He is a stickler for detail, the master of an organized life, and maybe best characterized by the following quote: “My spice rack was based on an algorithm so complex and precise it would take the ghost of Stephen Hawking and a team of Russian hackers to crack that code.” He leaves nothing to chance and anything disrupting his much-loved orderly routine is unimaginable for him. So when disaster strikes, he is not just totally unprepared but almost refuses to accept what Fate is trying to tell him. I admit that Henry’s cut-and-dry attitude and relentless lack of imagination got on my nerves more than once – but luckily he does manage to (slowly) dig himself out of his self-imposed hole and soon begins to redeem himself. But it’s a very slow process – one step forward, two steps back most of the time.

Levi is the man Henry meets on the bus on his way to Los Encantado, and he couldn’t be more different than what Henry would expect in a travel companion, never mind a friend or a lover. Levi is carefree, has never met a stranger, and ends up having a lot to say about what happens to the diner Henry inherited. Levi is full of ideas for the future and a masterful creator of the most fascinating chocolates you could possibly imagine. I could feel Levi’s desperate need to fulfill his dream; he works so hard when he is motivated that his otherwise happy-go-lucky attitude is all but forgotten. What an amazing guy!

And no, Henry does not get along with Levi in the least. It takes him almost the entire book to get over himself and see how much Levi and he belong together. Levi is more than mysterious and I couldn’t wait to find out his story!

If you like your romances with a touch of mystery and lots of humor, if you’re a fan of small towns and their issues, and if you’re looking to find out more about all kinds of chocolate inventions that will make you gain weight just from reading this book, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I think it’s a fantastic read and very entertaining!

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 202 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	10-July-2020
Price	$5.05 ebook, $14.99 pperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Works-Geoffrey-Knight-ebook/dp/B087J9Z2D6