Dipped in Chocolate

Renee Luke

Publisher:
NAL Trade

Release Date:
February 6, 2007

Genres:
Contemporary Romance
Anthology

ISBN:
Print
9780451220318
Kindle
No ISBN

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
June 2008

~GIMME SOME SUGAR~

Is it Wedding-Day jitters when the wedding is still weeks off?  How about when you never accepted the proposal in the first place, but you still find your name on invitations with the wrong man, realizing you are hopelessly in love with another?

That’s the position Lexi finds herself in.  Her whole family has planned for this wedding, and no one seems to notice she never actually said ‘Yes’.  But it seems to mean so much to her Momma and Nana, Lexi has resolved to go through with it, even if the only man she will ever feel passion with is her best friend and not her groom-to-be.

Jackson has long enjoyed the Candy Kisses game he and Lexi play, but now that the stakes are high and she is about to wed another, he realizes he wants her Candy Kisses all to himself for the rest of their lives…

I have to say that Lexi and Jackson’s Candy Kisses game was probably my favorite of all three stories!  Lexi’s habit of sucking on fruity hard candies long ago developed into a game in which Jackson steals a quick kiss and then guesses the flavor of her candy.  Having taken their Candy Kisses for granted all of these years, the pair begins to understand their true meaning when Lexi becomes engaged to another man.

Jackson proved himself more than a romantic lead time and time again.  He was truly Lexi’s best friend – there for her every time she needed him, no matter what, no matter how his heart was breaking.  There wasn’t anything this man would not do for the woman he loved more than anyone else – even give her up if that is what she wanted.

Lexi was torn between her perceived responsibility to her family and her love for Jackson.  Afraid to disappoint her family, she denies the truth of what she needs to do – let her fiancée go – until it is almost too late.  Thank heaven she makes the right decision before circumstances force her hand.
 

~4 U SWEETHEART~

Toni could just die.  Roped into a night of speed-dating by her well-meaning friends who have determined she needs to find a man ASAP, she finds herself sitting across from one dweeb after another – at least until the last ‘date’ of the evening.  In just three minutes, Isaac and his Conversation Hearts candy charm her more than any man has been able to in quite a while…

Isaac was only at the speed-dating gig to support his newly divorced brother, but he doesn’t mind one little bit when he finds himself sitting across from the beautiful Toni!  And once he gets to know her a little better, he knows he wants more than a few nights with the lovely photographer.

I have never ever had any interest in speed dating, but this story makes me wonder ‘what if???’  LOL!  I mean, if it worked out so well for Toni, then maybe it could for me as well?  OK, so it probably is not very likely that I would meet a man as wonderful as Isaac if I were to find a speed dating event in my town, but it doesn’t make me enjoy this story any less.

Isaac is the kind of man one would never expect to meet at speed dating, as he isn’t the sort to have trouble finding dates.  But fate has intervened, and places him across the table from the lovely Toni, who is merely trying to get through the night her so-called friends foisted on her.  When she opens her eyes to find Isaac in the last round of speed dating, she is more than pleased.  When he hands her an intriguing message in the form of a candy conversation heart, she is galvanized into action, determined to not let the opportunity slip through her hands…

Isaac continues to woo Toni over the next few weeks, using every ounce of charm he has coupled with an impressive stock of candy hearts.  To bind her to him forever, it will take only one candy heart with just the right message…
 

~DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE~

The last thing Jayla needs tonight is another customer, particularly one as insistent and distracting as Nathan.  Having barged into her store after closing, he won’t take no for an answer when she tells him she can’t take his order that night.  Striking a bargain that guarantees him she’ll take his order after he helps her fill her rush order of chocolate-dipped fruits, they set about the evening’s work together.  As the night wears on, Jayla finds herself more and more attracted to this undeniably sexy man, but romance is the last thing she has time for right now.  Regardless, Nathan’s presence melts Jayla’s resistance as easily as her stoves melt her chocolate.  And when he coaxes her into testing the chocolate body sauce he orders from her, her defenses crumble completely…

The title story is as decadent as its name promises!  Jayla runs a business in which she sells hand-dipped chocolate covered treats – the perfect setting for some chocolate-flavored sexy fun…  Jayla has been burned by a bad marriage and isn’t looking for a relationship of any kind.  She especially isn’t looking for a man in Nathan’s line of work, of all things!

Nathan isn’t sure why Jayla is so reluctant to spend time with him, but his determination to change her mind proves more than effective on the reluctantly smitten Jayla, and he charms both her and the reader simultaneously with his obvious, yet sexy ploys.  Any woman would be more than flattered by his attention, and proves as susceptible as the rest of us.

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

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