The Chocolate Lovers’ Club and The Chocolate Lovers’ Diet – Carole Matthews

Lucy Lombard loves chocolate and is the founding member of The Chocolate Lovers’ Club. Fellow members include Autumn, Nadia and Chantal and they all agree that chocolate can cure anything from illness to a broken heart. They get together regularly at their little haven, a café called Chocolate Heaven which is base and almost a second home for them. They even have a code for calling crisis meetings – whenever a text message reading “Chocolate Crisis” goes out, they drop everything and head to Chocolate Heaven to find out what’s happening.

Lucy’s long-time boyfriend, Marcus, has trouble staying faithful to her and as hard as she tries she cannot seem to break it off with him permanently. Her boss also has a bit of a thing for Lucy and flirts with her constantly, “Crush” (as he has been titled by the girls) is very handsome and Lucy does not mind the attention, at all. Autumn is trying to save the world, one drug addict at a time, through a craft programme she teaches. Unfortunately, her brother, Richard is also fond of drugs and regularly brings trouble to her door. Nadia’s husband is addicted to online gambling and he pushes her to the limit by landing them in serious debt whilst trying to land the big win. Chantal is stuck in a loveless marriage and although she cares for her husband, he is cold and distant and sometimes she cannot help looking elsewhere for comfort. Add all these ladies together, mix in some divine chocolate recipes and what comes out is adventure and entertainment.

I loved the Chocolate Lovers’ Club when I first read it a year or so ago and had meant to pick up the sequel, The Chocolate Lovers’ Diet, but just hadn’t come across it. Then the lovely Carole Matthews offered a giveaway of a signed copy of each book, plus a tea cup carrying the slogan “Go away I’m reading” and a pair of chocolate shoes! (see photo above) I just couldn’t resist entering and was beside myself with joy when Lovely Kev (Carole’s other half) drew out my name as recipient. The first thing I did when I received the parcel was make a cup of tea using my new mug, begin to re-read The Chocolate Lovers' Club and then I feasted on The Chocolate Lovers’ Diet for the first time, all within the space of a week! I had a lovely time.

I have read and enjoyed a lot of Carole Matthews’ books, she has published over 20 so far and these two did not disappoint. I love the way the girls get themselves into shocking fixes and have to depend on each other to get out of them. Both books are laugh out loud funny, and I especially love Lucy’s disastrous escapades during her company’s team building exercises. Even though the stories and events are humourous, underneath it all they are about women with big problems who look to their friendship (and chocolate) for the strength and support to get them through. Carole Mathews handles some serious issues with humour and charm and I know I will read both books again for the sheer entertainment value they provide.

You can sign up for Carole Matthews newsletter on her website here at http://www.carolematthews.com and follow her on facebook here at https://www.facebook.com/CaroleMatthewsBooks. Carole is funny, friendly and takes time out to listen and interact with her readers and fb friends. I have enjoyed every one of her books I have read and hope she will carry on writing and long continue to keep us entertained with her work.