BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE is a super sweet story by one of my favorite authors, Sheila Roberts.  A book about chocolate? How could you possibly go wrong with a book about chocolate?  The Sterling family has owned Sweet Dreams, a chocolate company for many generations.  The chocolate recipes came to Samantha's great grandmother, Rose in her dreams.  The factory is in a small town called, Icicle Falls, Washington.  The company has always done well, but due to some unfortunate episodes, the bank has come calling and wants the note paid in full!! This just can't be happening!   It seems her step father has run the company into the ground! Could things get any worse? Read this book and you shall see!

Samantha Sterling is the new head of the company and along with her sisters and mother they must come up with enough money to hold the bank off.   The bank is being represented by Blake Preston, the new bank manager.   He is of no help to them and simply cannot bend the rules and give them more time to come up with the money.  The Sterlings are crushed of course. Not only do they lose their business but what about all the employees who work there and depend on their jobs? Something must be done!

Together with most of the townsfolk, the women come up a super idea. A Chocolate Festival to be held on the weekend before Valentines Day! Along with many bumps in the road, things are progressing and it looks like the festival is finally going to happen.  But will it be enough? No one knows for sure.  Time is running out but they are determined to save their family business.  

I craved chocolate the whole time I was reading this book! BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE was a sweet read that I devoured  in just two days.  Sheila has a way of just pulling you into the story and getting you all involved in everyone's business.  I love how romance was found along the way  with their troubles but it did not over power the story. I hope you will be like I was,  cheering for these women and the chocolate company as you keep flipping the pages until you reach the very last one!  Now I must find some chocolate!

Book Summary

Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, ever since Great-Grandma Rose literally dreamed up her first fabulous recipe. But now it looks like they're about to lose Sweet Dreams to the bank- and that would be a disaster, not only for the family but for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the oldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it?

After some brainstorming with her mother and sisters, inspiration strikes. They'll have a chocolate festival! Time's running out, but the Sterling women are determined and the town's behind them, so everything's bound to go smoothly....

Or not. Events seem to be conspiring against Samantha, and her mother's attempts to help aren't helping. To make matters worse, the fate of her company is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It's enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake's also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there's something even better than chocolate.

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