This was a very enjoyable book for me to read. Lately I have been having a stale feeling to most of the books I have been reading. Not that those books were bad in any way, they just seemed to pretty much the same story with different people and in different places. This book had a whole new story and has refreshed me. I think Cindy Lynn Speer has done a great job with this book. I like how she gave great descriptions but did not babble on. You got enough to understand where the story was taking place, or enough to figure out the person's reasoning, and things like that but there wasn't 3 pages over nonsense that had nothing to do with the story.  The book was not over romanced either, actually there really was very little romance since where these characters live Love does not really come into the emotional play like in our world. 

In the kingdom of Berengeny when children are born they are taken to the Wise Woman who casts a spell to choose the child's future spouse. One of the main characters William was taken to the Wise Woman and no face appeared to her. He was taken back each year with no results until his 7th birthday, when finally the face appeared. The Wise Woman then holds a brass plumb-bob over a map to see where the spouse lives. To his families dismay she lived in the North part of the Kingdom. The North and South parts of the Kingdom have been fighting for over 500 years. 

William does not take this badly and sends a letter to his intended Tasmin Bey. She is still a baby at this time. William continues to send letters and gifts over the years to Tasmin. They become friends through these letters and are actually excited about finally meeting each other face to face. Even though both sets of parents do not wish for this marriage to ever take place. 

Finally Tasmin turns 18 and is sure William will send for her. But he does not. He has been a sea captain and decided it was time to return home open a Chocolate shop and send for Tasmin as soon has his business is making a decent profit.  But then he is accused of murder. He is arrested for killing the local Bishop with poisoned chocolates from his shop. 

William writes tasmin to let her know she is off the ook to marry him an accused murderer and that he is innocent. Tasmin goes to William to try and help clear his name. you will have to read the book to find out what happens next. 

Kitty opens a pop-up bakery shop in Edinburgh. She hopes to sell her traditional cakes, delicious chocolate sponges and baking throughout December. The pop-up shop is hers until the beginning of January, so she has one month to make it work.

She moved to Edinburgh from the coastal town of Prestwick. After opening her shop, she becomes friends with knitting shop owner Agnes, and Matt who owns the mountaineering clothing shop. Jeff the knitwear photographer is also a new acquaintance.

Then there is the sexy and handsome chocolatier, Caelan Broadie, who owns the chocolatier shop and tearoom.

Set in Edinburgh, there's romance, chocolate, cakes, friendship and rivalry in the heart of the beautiful Scottish city.

Will Kitty find romance? Is Matt the man for her? Or Jeff? Can she resist the sweet temptation of the chocolatier's luxurious chocolates? And will she resist the temptation of the gorgeous chocolatier?

Review

I am sort of dead even on this book. I loved the setting of Edinburgh. I loved some of the quirkiness of the heroine who was a baker and a knitwear model. I love food reading.

The romance was good enough.

The side characters were largely irritating like a tag in the back of shirt. The ladies in the other shops make fun of a perfectly nice guy's boxy butt. Not endearing.

There is a jump to conclusions misunderstanding that grates.

However, I will try this writer again for the stuff I did like.

This was fantastic. My husband kept checking on me to see what I was laughing so hard about, I'd read a page to him, he'd start laughing, and then I'd yell at him to go away so I could keep reading...and laughing. Warning: everyone in this book has a potty mouth, which was exactly what I needed after a stressful week. When other people cuss when I'm mad, I stop feeling like I need to cuss. The child in this book was such a typical little boy, half the scenes with him felt like they were lifted straight from my own days of trying to raise a small barbarian psycho (aka four year old) into a civilized adult. We're still working on that one. The second book in this series is going on my "really really want to read" shelf.