Ava Miles, author of the #1 National Bestseller The Chocolate Garden, brings you another uplifting page-turner about hope, the will to start over, and the power of friendship. In this first Friends & Neighbors novel, meet a woman determined to realize her dreams and revitalize a beloved neighborhood with two things she believes most in: hope and chocolate.From the time she was a little girl … girl with a chocolate stand instead of lemonade, Alice Bailey dreamt of opening a chocolate shop. After all, chocolate heals everything, from heartache to woes.If Alice has learned anything recently, it’s that life is precious. It’s now or never-carpe diem time. She’s ready to put down roots and live her dreams.Only opening up a chocolate shop in this close-knit community proves harder than she imagined, especially when other neighborhood businesses are experiencing hard times. She’s not only an outsider, but resentment over her circumstances breeds distrust among some of the other business owners.But Alice believes in one absolute: chocolate can heal anything and it’s a great way to make new friends. And as she struggles to heal and rebuild, she shows her new friends and neighbors that life offers more richness than they realize.
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Ava Miles equals Love and Hope!
House of Hope & Chocolate reminded me why Ava Miles is on my “Favorite Authors” shelf along with Tess Thompson, Maggie Shayne and of course Nora Roberts. Every word that Ava writes oozes love and happily ever after. Her characters are relatable whether she is writing about the rich and famous billionaires, country western singers, poker players or down home, small town shop owners as she does in this new series of friends and neighbors. Ava is a master at creating worlds, that can transport you from a snowy, -4 degree day in Southwest Missouri to a place like Orion, N.Y in the House of Hope & Chocolate. I must warn you though if you are new to Ava Miles, or like me are reading several of her series simultaneously (I admit based solely on the deals I can get on her books), The House of Hope &Chocolate is part of her Friends and Neighbor spin-off series. While a stand alone novel with no cliffhangers, you will encounter people from her other series, The Merriams. It might be best to finish the Merriams first. Though I have read enough of Ava Miles to totally understand where all these characters come from. I have always loved Arthur and Clara Hale , as well as Clifton, but confess I had a moment where I felt I had missed an important transition to from New York city, and Europe to small town Orion. In true Ava Miles style, she catches you up on the background story but aggain, I think you would enjoy this book more if you finish her other series first. I plan to do that as soon as I finish this review! Of course there was never any doubt that I would eventually finish The Merriams series. I have just shifted the timeline.
I must also admit I had my doubts about about how Ava could pull off her signature hope, love and happily ever after, while writing about small town businesses during the Pandemic we are still in the throes of. I read to escape reality and COVID and the plight of small town businesses seemed a little to close to home. Especially so ,as I drive through main street small town, Missouri and see rundown buildings and For Sale signs on so many businesses. But in true Ava Miles style, the story of a community that despite years of differences,and competition, comes together to save their town from becoming a ghost town, is as heartwarming as a Hallmark Christmas movie! I was enchanted from beginning to end. And I also came away with some very good ideas about possible solutions to my own hometowns troubles.
Another aspect of Ava Miles Romance Novels is the accurate portrayal of love, even romantic, sexual love, at all ages. Whether her characters are in their twenties, thirties or eighties, she writes love scenes, that will have you melting like a wonderful piece of dark chocolate melts deliciously in your mouth. She makes you believe in fated love, soul-mates and loving relationships until the day you die, all over again!
Again a well-done, feel good novel that you really shouldn’t miss. It will instill in you a feeling of love, joy, peace and Hope at a time when you need all the hope you can get!
This is the first book in a new series by Ava Miles where you will also get to revisit some previous characters from other books. The story revolves around two people opening a chocolate shop in the time of covid. The friendships and relationships are always so real in Ava’s books, and this one is no different. This is a very promising and great start to what I know will be another heartwarming series!
Finding love during a pandemic. There are so many wonderful characters in this story. We met Alice and Clifton in a previous series and the immediately clicked. They loved cooking together and making chocolate. They decided to open a chocolate shop together. Alice is like Clifton’s granddaughter. He didn’t have any other family and now he has her. They went to a small town in New York where Alice has a friend. Things were going well in spite of the pandemic, until Alice’s friend dies of COVID. Despite being beyond sad, Alice and Clifton go along with the shop opening. When Alice had visited her friend the year before, she met Hank and they reconnected when she came back to live in town. Hank’s bar is in financial trouble and Clifton isn’t sure he likes where the direction of the shop is going. The rest of the town is going under too and some resent Alice and Clifton for opening a shop in the middle of a pandemic. Alice has an idea for a festival but how can they do that during a pandemic? Can they make it all work?