Dreaming in Chocolate: A Novel

by Susan Bishop Crispell Narrated by Brittany Pressley

Overview

“Come for the life-changing chocolates and opinionated apothecary table, stay for the enchanting eight-year old and complicated secrets." -Amy Reichert, author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

From Susan Bishop Crispell comes an audiobook as sweet as it is touching.

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 audiobook about love, hot chocolate, and one little girl's wish for her mother.

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2018 - AudioFile

In the small town of Malarkey, North Carolina, young single mom Penelope Dalton runs a chocolate shop with her mother. Narrator Brittany Pressley portrays Penelope’s capable independence as she nurtures her daughter, who is terminally ill. Pressley also depicts the precocious Ella with an adolescent pitch that isn’t too screechy. The chocolate shop boasts a supernatural apothecary table that delivers magical ingredients, but none that has cured Ella of her brain tumor. Ella’s fondest wish is for her mother to open her heart to her old flame, Noah. Pressley reads Noah’s dialogue with a hint of the charming ladies’ man who got Penelope pregnant in the first place—and who doesn’t know that Ella is his daughter. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

Come for the life-changing chocolates and opinionated apothecary table, stay for the enchanting eight-year old and complicated secrets. After reading Susan Bishop Crispell’s charming Dreaming in Chocolate, you’ll want to take up residence in Malarkey, sip magical hot cocoa, and change your own fate!" —Amy Reichert, author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

"Dreaming in Chocolate is an endearing and beautifully spun tale of three generations of women and the enchanted chocolate shop that they share. A story of broken hearts, missed opportunities and the sometimes excruciating realities of motherhood, Susan Bishop Crispell teaches us that, even in a life surrounded by the mystical and inexplicable, sometimes, finding true love is the real magic." —Kristy Woodson Harvey, author of Slightly South of Simple

“In a world where people too often lose faith in second chances, happy endings, heart’s desires and homemade miracles, Susan Bishop Crispell’s Dreaming in Chocolate makes me a believer again. This tender story about unthinkable loss and the strength of a family’s love to bring them together as they face a future that is uncertain, is a reminder that the most powerful magic any of us possesses is hope.” —Kimberly Brock, award winning author of The River Witch

"Set in the world where salty caramels inspire truth telling and bittersweet truffles conjure happiness, the real magic of this warm and enchanting romance is found in the love the characters have for each other. A sweet treat for fans of Joanne Harris and Alice Hoffman." —Louise Miller, author of The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

"Like a good piece of chocolate, Crispell's latest is sweet, without being cloying, and utterly satisfying. Perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen, this is a real treat of a novel." — Colleen Oakley, author of Close Enough to Touch

APRIL 2018 - AudioFile

In the small town of Malarkey, North Carolina, young single mom Penelope Dalton runs a chocolate shop with her mother. Narrator Brittany Pressley portrays Penelope’s capable independence as she nurtures her daughter, who is terminally ill. Pressley also depicts the precocious Ella with an adolescent pitch that isn’t too screechy. The chocolate shop boasts a supernatural apothecary table that delivers magical ingredients, but none that has cured Ella of her brain tumor. Ella’s fondest wish is for her mother to open her heart to her old flame, Noah. Pressley reads Noah’s dialogue with a hint of the charming ladies’ man who got Penelope pregnant in the first place—and who doesn’t know that Ella is his daughter. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2017-11-14
A woman runs a magical chocolate shop in this heartwarming story from Crispell (The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, 2016).Penelope Dalton and her mother, Sabina, run the Chocolate Cottage. They sell plenty of "regular" chocolate, but their most popular offerings include a little something extra: magic. Their special wares can make people dream about their futures and become temporarily happy or lucky. The magic comes from a mysterious cabinet that provides them with recipes for what they really need, like truffles that can mend a broken heart. But even though Penelope makes these chocolates, she doesn't trust them. For all the magic her chocolate can produce, it can't cure her daughter, Ella, who has an inoperable brain tumor. Ella doesn't have long to live, so Penelope spends most of her time helping her check items off her bucket list—things like eating cake for breakfast and dyeing her hair purple. But a big distraction comes to town in the form of Noah Gregory, Penelope's high school sweetheart—and, unbeknownst to him and everyone else, Ella's dad. Under the hot chocolate's spell, Penelope once dreamed that Noah was her true love—but when she told him so and he left town, she assumed the magic was wrong. Now that he's back, Penelope has to juggle her feelings for him, her cynicism about the magic, and the desire to tell him the truth about Ella. All of this takes place in the charmingly named town of Malarkey, home to many quirky residents who love festivals and hold town meetings to mediate disputes—sort of like a fantastical version of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. How the cabinet came to produce magical recipes is never really explained in detail, and most townspeople seem to accept the magic a little too readily. That's forgivable, though, since the focus here is more on the fraught relationships between characters instead of the mechanics behind the magic. 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.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171953911
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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