Random thoughts

Hot Chocolate: Book Review and Giveaway (closed)

82 Comments

If you don’t like book reviews, I apologize.  Like I said previously, I absolutely LOVE reading and my new blog project is to do a bunch of book reviews and giveaways.  Check back soon if you are BORED—I’ll be posting about something different, like food, running, my cat, or you know, my favorite subject, ME!

Quick plug: please look at my previous blog entry about my sister Carrie’s kickstarter project!

Attention book lovers: Today’s is a particular favorite of mine.  Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down!  I may have mentioned I’m a fast reader?  I think I finished this one in about 3 or 4 hours.  It’s a page turner…or whatever it’s called when you hit that “forward” button on your kindle 😉

“Hot Chocolate” by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

Hot Chocolate is the story of the wealthy Alcott family.  They live in Houston and have a chocolate empire.  The three middle-aged sisters are the main characters:  Lila Mae, Madge, and Dorothea.

As the book begins the sisters are deciding whether or not to move their 92 year old father Bernie into a home as he has become too much to handle.  They ultimately decide it is for the best but they are worried about how to deal with letting go of his full-time nurse Bambi (her actual name!).  As they expect, her husband Jimmy Ray ends up suing the family for wrongful termination even though Bambi was given a generous severance package.

Luckily and unsurprisingly, the Alcotts have a great lawyer and he is able to get the lawsuit dismissed, much to the chagrin of Jimmy Ray and his lawyer.

Then things take an even worse turn for Jimmy Ray and he ends up being murdered in his own bowling alley!  That’s where the mystery really begins–who killed Jimmy Ray?  Why? And you won’t believe what the murder weapon is!

I obviously don’t want to give anything more away.  The rest of the story is a fun read—there are great twists and turns, lots of great detail in the writing, wonderful character development, and of course, lots of chocolate and other recipes.

The author admits to being inspired by Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series (which I really enjoy) and her writing made me think of some of my favorite food mystery writers like Joanne Fluke and Dianne Mott Davidson.  If you like those authors, you’ll probably love this book as well.  The author assured me that all the recipes she included are tried, true, and dear to her!

The book, Hot Chocolate, is only $3.99 for Kindle, so even if you don’t win the giveaway, it’s VERY affordable.

Oh, and the sequel, “Bitter Chocolate” will be coming out in mid to late Springtime.  I personally can’t wait to read it.

One lucky reader can win a copy of the book, “Hot Chocolate” in digital OR paperback form (US and Canada only for paperback form), plus the author will autograph and mail a postcard to the winner.  US or Canada residents only for the paperback, but anyone can win the postcard and book in digital format!  Contest runs until 10 pm CST Tuesday, December 18. (contest is now closed, winner will be notified by email shortly!)

This is going to be one of those contests with multiple ways to enter—you can get up to five entries, and please leave a separate comment below for each one.  As usual, I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner, who will be notified by email (so make sure the email address you use is valid!)

1.  Leave a comment on this post: write something about chocolate!

2.  Follow the author, Dawn Ireland, on twitter.

3.  Follow the author on Facebook

4.  Like “Hannahviolin” on Facebook.

5.  Like the book “Hot Chocolate” on Amazon.com

I was not compensated for my review other than the free book.  All opinions are my own.

 

82 thoughts on “Hot Chocolate: Book Review and Giveaway (closed)”

  1. This looks like something I’d enjoy. Something about chocolate…hmm…this time of year it’s nice to mix a little hot chocolate with a little coffee to make your own mocha> 🙂

  14. I too,love chocolate,any type–the dark the better–there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that someone in this house is eating at least a piece of chocolate.

  24. I still love the original Hershey’s Chocolate Bars with the cute little rectangles of chocolate to break off and eat!

  30. I would have a Mocha Frappuccino while reading! Sounds like a fun read! I LOVE page turners!
    Thank You!

  51. Sounds like a great book! I’d probably read it with a cup of hot cocoa by my side, haha. 🙂

  52. I love Hot Chocolate with mini marshmallows and whipped cream….especially when it is cold outside!!! This book sounds very interesing:)

  56. I am about to make some Chocolate cookies for a cookie swap. Would love to read this book.

  61. Chocolate: I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate, but I do like hot chocolate made with steamed milk. It’s the real reason we bought an espresso maker.

  75. It’s always fun at Christmas to get homemade chocolate walnut fudge. LOVE IT!

Comments are closed.