Thursday, August 9, 2012

Book Review & Giveaway: Chocolate Aftertaste by Liz Grace Davis


Chocolate Aftertaste by Liz Grace Davis
Publisher: Createspace
Publish Date: May 10, 2012
Paperback, 346 pages
Fiction, Women's Fiction, Romance
 ISBN: 9781475184037


My Review:
I enjoyed this novel.  It's one of those interesting stories of hte woman who tries to please everyone and loses herself and then finally decides she is important and embarks on her own to find herself and find what makes her happy.  Of course there are bumps in the road and things aren't perfect, but it would be a boring read if it was.

I'll start with things I really enjoyed.  I enjoyed the set-up of this novel.  How Nora was and  how she was trying to please her father.  I liked how the novel then switched gears to a point where Nora tried to find herself.  I liked this Nora.  I also liked the characters around Nora in Dreara.  They were a varied bunch and a lot of fun.  From Maeve the hairdresser yet true friend to Ethan the hunky neighbor and all the others in-between, I fell in love with the inhabitants of Dreara.  I also loved the setting of Dreara.  A new fun place for me, a small town with small town inhabitants and small town gossip was a great setting.  Another great thing was the twists and turns. Just when you think things are going great for Nora, something pops up to throw a monkey wrench into her plans, but she deals with it with help from her friends.  All of this made me keep reading the book to find out what would happen next and how Nora would handle things and how things would end.

However I did find a few things that bothered me about the book, but they weren't anything that made me stop reading, just things that made my rating a little lower.  The first is how wishy washy Nora was in the beginning.  I know she had to start there to prove that she was growing through the book, but I don't do well with the type of woman she was in the beginning, but I kept reading.  If she had stayed that way much longer I would have given up, but thankfully Ms. Davis proves her point and moves on and Nora starts to change.  And my other problem was things felt just a little jumpy after Nora moves to Dreara.  I would feel like a few weeks would have passed only to find a few days or vice versa.  I always felt a little confused time-wise.  This is minor, but I almost always felt a little lost in this section of the book.  It seemed to improve as the book went along so I think the author fell into a groove (I often do that with my reviews) and the book improved.  Again it was nothing to make me stop reading, just something that made me take note.

Those were my main complaints, otherwise, I really enjoyed the relationships set out in the book.  I especially enjoyed watching Nora grow too.  And I think that was the main point of the book.  I think Ms. Davis picked a wonderful backdrop to set her novel against to keep the reader engaged with the book and she also created characters that readers can relate to.  I think Chocolate Aftertaste is an enjoyable book for lovers of Women's Fiction.


My Rating: 3.5/5.0


About the Book:

At her pre-wedding dinner, Nora Darkin, the daughter of a
wealthy entrepreneur, discovers her fiancé is not the man she
thought he was. As her father hoists his glass to toast them,
she makes an announcement: there will be no wedding to her
father's right-hand man.

Due to the fresh rift driven between her and her father, Nora
escapes to the quaint town of Dreara. Determined to live her
life her own way, she makes new friends and pursues her
lifelong desire of becoming a chef. Ethan Danes, a neighbour
with his own broken heart, helps soothe hers.

Just as Nora discovers what it means to be happy, and she
begins to fall in love with Ethan, a woman from his past re-
enters his life…

Buy Link: Amazon

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Liz Grace Davis grew up in Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Germany. She now lives with her husband in Vienna, Austria.

Growing up, Liz spent most her days in libraries, diving into the world of books. In her spare time she reads a lot, travels, creates jewelry and designs digital scrapbooks. That's of course when she's not weaving stories. She's in her element whenever she is doing anything that requires creativity.

Liz is the author of a young adult fantasy novel, Tangi's Teardrops, and a romantic women's fiction novel, Chocolate Aftertaste.

Website / Facebook / Book Trailer


Giveaway
I have one copy of Chocolate Aftertaste in ebook format to give away to a lucky reader.  Open international, ends 8/16. Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



FTC Information: I received this book Sizzling PR for an honest review.  I received no compensation for my review beyond a copy of the book.