February was the
month of love and chocolate (How many of you are still burning off those
calories?). I’m addicted to chocolate, and my review partners know this. When
we encountered this book I wondered how anyone could give up both men and
chocolate. Living a life without chocolate can't make for a mentally stable individual in my opinion.
Remember to
stop by Cathrina Constantine and Empi Baryeh’s blogs to catch their reviews.
The Blurb
Maddie Carson
has taken a sacred vow to give up chocolate and dating. A comfort eater who
turns to brownies every time her twin brother is deployed with the army, Maddie
has twenty pounds to lose before she can once again date like it's an Olympic
sport. She and her best friend are on a mission to open an equine assisted
therapy center and Maddie is desperate to work through her body image issues in
order to be the best therapist she can be. When the fitness buff at the gym -
known as Hot Shirtless Guy - not only teaches her proper technique on the
rowing machine but also asks her to dinner, Maddie finds herself struggling to
stay on the wagon. To complicate matters Darren Brown (yes, his name is the
root word in "brownie") is trying to buy the same horse as Maddie and
offers to buy in on a partnership to open the therapy center. Maddie fell in
love the mare because of her name and gentle demeanor, but Darren's tragic
relationship with Chocolate has Maddie questioning her own motives. When
partnering with Darren becomes a financial necessity, Maddie will discover that
by giving her heart, she can achieve all her dreams.
My Review
This book had me chuckling from beginning to end. Maddie had
a wonderful sense of humor which flowed throughout the book. The attraction
between her and Darren (I wouldn’t mind working out with a guy like him) once
they had their first conversation set the book off just right. The sparks
between them continued to grow until it culminated in a set of fireworks.
What I enjoyed about this book the most was my ability to
relate to the heroine on so many levels. Comfort eating, chocolate addiction,
suffering through weight loss and doing what she had to do to get her life well
situated again. My only issue was that she took everything to such an extreme
that it unbalanced her life.
Darren also lived a realistic life after going through a
tragedy which had changed and redefined him. He was the kind of guy I’d like to
fall in love with. Hot, attentive, kind, and not afraid to go after what he
wanted, which was Maddie.
I give this book five out of five chocolate brownies instead
of chocolate bars.
I purchased this book from Amazon.
Oh, this sounds like such a fun book! Humorous characters like that never fail to be a joy to read. And Darren definitely sounds like an easy characters to fall for!
ReplyDeleteAlso...LOL, you'll probably be horrified to learn that it's been years since I've last eaten chocolate. I've never claimed to be mentally stable, though! :P
You have truly shocked me with your chocolate confession.
ReplyDeleteHeather hasn't eaten chocolate in years??!!!! Is she human?!!! I'm just joking of course.
ReplyDeleteGreat review Nana. And between all of us, I think we agree on this one!!!
LOL, I guess it should be noted that I have disorder that makes everything taste metallic half the time, which doesn't mix well with sweets. Not being human would be a much more fun excuse, though!
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your condition, Heather. I hope there's one type of sweet you can eat that actually tastes good.
DeleteAs I read the story, I thought you'd either really like Maddie or really dislike her, but I was leaning more toward like. I don't have much of a sweet tooth by your standards. It's tiger nuts I can't resist (when it's around). This was a fun read and very likable characters. A good choice, I think.
ReplyDeleteGood to know about the tiger nuts. They're all natural so you're still on the good side of healthy. I could relate to Maddie and her snarkiness. She was one funny woman.
Delete