Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell

• Title:  Dreaming in Chocolate
• Author:  Susan Bishop Crispell
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction; Magical Realism
• Pages:  288
• Published:  February 2018 – St. Martin’s Griffin
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  With an endless supply of magical gifts and recipes from the hot chocolate café Penelope Dalton runs alongside her mother, she is able to give her daughter almost everything she wants. The one sticking point is Ella’s latest request: get a dad. And not just any dad. Ella has her sights set on Noah Gregory, her biological father who’s back in town for a few months – and as charming as ever.

Noah broke Penelope’s heart years ago, but now part of her wonders if she made the right decision to keep the truth of their daughter from him. The other, more practical part, is determined to protect Ella from the same heartbreak. Now Penelope must give in to her fate or face a future of regrets.

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell is a heartwarming story of love, hot chocolate, and one little girl’s wish for her mother.  (publisher)

My take:  This was a sweet story about Ella, a little girl who has good reason to cross things off her list of things to do. One of those items is to meet her dad, someone she’s never met. Her mother never revealed his identity so there’s no one else for Ella to ask. When her friend’s uncle comes to town to help his family Ella takes an immediate liking to him. Ella sees possibilities. Could her mother as well?

Dreaming in Chocolate is a story of love, hope and the possibility of second chances. The magical part is very light and, even though I’m a fan of that sub-genre, I was okay with that. It’s the second book I’ve read by Susan Bishop Crispell and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

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Praise for Dreaming in Chocolate:

A Redbook.com most anticipated book of 2018

“Readers looking for a feel-good story with a little bit of enchantment sprinkled in will eat this one up. A pleasantly sweet tale about true love, fate, and family.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Crispell’s (The Secret Ingredients of Wishes, 2016) sweet tale offers a nice mix of magic and romance … the characters are likable, and the family’s attempts to make Ella’s last days happy are touching and uplifting – Booklist.com

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