Dreaming in Chocolate ~ Susan Bishop Crispell

Crispell, Susan Bishop. 2018. Dreaming in Chocolate. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, and imprint of Macmillan Publishers. ISBN: 978-1250089076. $15.99 USD.

I've always loved the Magical Realism genre (except for the first one: One Hundred Years of Solitude, I'm ashamed to admit)!  I think it goes back to my adolescence when I wished for the ability to change things about my life. I discovered contemporary Magical Realism with Sarah Addison Allen and have read many other authors and their interpretation of the genre, with pleasure.

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell was an enjoyable read, and made me really hungry at the same time!  Penelope Dalton runs a hot chocolate cafe with her mother in a small town named Malarkey (what a name)!  In the cafe there is an apothecary table that magically provides recipes for various needs of the community.  Hot chocolate to see the future, chocolates to dream of your soul mate, and more. Penelope has given up believing in magic because the "soul mate" she saw in her dream at 18 turned her down and left her pregnant.  In addition, her daughter Ella is dying from a neurological ailment that no amount of wishes will cure. So, she vows to give her daughter the best few months that she has left, not knowing that her daughter is attempting some magic of her own.  When Penelope's soul mate returns to town, not knowing he has a daughter, Penelope tries to close her heart the best she can. But the magic isn't done with her yet.

The book has a lot going for it, and is heartwarming in a way that covers all the bases for domestic fiction.  If you like your romance a little magical, this book is for you!

Happy Reading!

P.S. This author's 2016 debut, The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, was also a great read!