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dotts's review
2.0
I DNF this one. I tried it specifically because of the French and chocolate elements, but more so the apparent D/s dynamic between the MCs. I got what I wanted, hence the second star.
I however also got a lot more angst than I was hoping for, courtesy of the childhood trauma the MCs both had. And although I did enjoy Patrick's "soft dom" character, I felt like he was manipulative rather than honest. I can understand why he felt he had to behave that way, but I didn't like it. I also didn't enjoy Sarah's brand of extreme submissiveness. It's not like she was simply into him that much, okay. She HAD numerous objections to many things Patrick did; she simply didn't voice them. That made me uncomfortable for her on almost every page. Quite draining.
One surprise was that Chef Luc's personality caught my attention. I shall be checking out his book to see if it's worth the read. Fingers crossed it's more enjoyable than I found this one.
Ooops... Upon closer inspection of the reviews, I've decided against this one. "Tedious", "missing the mark", "difficult heroine", "least enjoyable in series"... nah, I'll skip it.
I however also got a lot more angst than I was hoping for, courtesy of the childhood trauma the MCs both had. And although I did enjoy Patrick's "soft dom" character, I felt like he was manipulative rather than honest. I can understand why he felt he had to behave that way, but I didn't like it. I also didn't enjoy Sarah's brand of extreme submissiveness. It's not like she was simply into him that much, okay. She HAD numerous objections to many things Patrick did; she simply didn't voice them. That made me uncomfortable for her on almost every page. Quite draining.
One surprise was that Chef Luc's personality caught my attention. I shall be checking out his book to see if it's worth the read. Fingers crossed it's more enjoyable than I found this one.
Ooops... Upon closer inspection of the reviews, I've decided against this one. "Tedious", "missing the mark", "difficult heroine", "least enjoyable in series"... nah, I'll skip it.
jackiehorne's review
4.0
I still love Florand's writing, but her stories are starting to feel all the same to me. Or perhaps it's her male protagonists who are feeling all the same--successful, driven men who for some reason do not see themselves as worthy immediately fall in crazy-in-love with a woman, but cannot believe that said woman could love them back. The twist here is that Patrick is Sarah's boss, the second-in-command in the pastry kitchen where Sarah is working as an intern, adding the theme of sexual harassment to the mix. Or at least, Patrick denigrating himself because he believes his actions toward his intern are no better than sexual harassment. Sarah, though, thinks Patrick is just "being French":
"Just—gallant, and a little flirtatious, and a little protective. Wouldn't you treat any woman who worked under you that way? I thought you would."
....
"We don't have a lot of women who ever even reach our kitchens, Sarah. It's a very brutal career path, and most top kitchens are very sexist places. But I haven't flirted with any of them, no. That would be"—his mouth twisted—"quite execrable behavior on the part of the second-in-command, don't you think?"
"You've been sexually harassing me!" she realized, startled. Like—really. All those times she had imagined he was flirting with her, only to have him go on his merry way and pretend to flirt with Luc next, and... she hadn't been imagining it. He had been making her think she had imagined it.
"But very discreetly," he pointed out, dark but wry. "Since you thought I was just being French." (132-33).
Issues of power and gender are at play here in very interesting ways (Cinderella references abound), as this passage demonstrates. Is Patrick's behavior execrable? Would we have thought so if we only saw the story through Sarah's eyes, and not also Patrick's? Is his flirting/harassment acceptable, because Sarah wants it, and Patrick recognizes that she's attracted to him? Would Patrick have acted differently if Sarah hadn't shown signs of her attraction? If her "hatred" of him was real, rather than a defense mechanism against her own attraction to him?
Love it that Florand's books give me so much pleasure, but also make me think in really interesting ways...
"Just—gallant, and a little flirtatious, and a little protective. Wouldn't you treat any woman who worked under you that way? I thought you would."
....
"We don't have a lot of women who ever even reach our kitchens, Sarah. It's a very brutal career path, and most top kitchens are very sexist places. But I haven't flirted with any of them, no. That would be"—his mouth twisted—"quite execrable behavior on the part of the second-in-command, don't you think?"
"You've been sexually harassing me!" she realized, startled. Like—really. All those times she had imagined he was flirting with her, only to have him go on his merry way and pretend to flirt with Luc next, and... she hadn't been imagining it. He had been making her think she had imagined it.
"But very discreetly," he pointed out, dark but wry. "Since you thought I was just being French." (132-33).
Issues of power and gender are at play here in very interesting ways (Cinderella references abound), as this passage demonstrates. Is Patrick's behavior execrable? Would we have thought so if we only saw the story through Sarah's eyes, and not also Patrick's? Is his flirting/harassment acceptable, because Sarah wants it, and Patrick recognizes that she's attracted to him? Would Patrick have acted differently if Sarah hadn't shown signs of her attraction? If her "hatred" of him was real, rather than a defense mechanism against her own attraction to him?
Love it that Florand's books give me so much pleasure, but also make me think in really interesting ways...
heidenkind's review
4.0
I stayed up until 5:30 in the morning reading it, so I DID really love it. But holy mother this book was way too long.
ETA after reread: While I still agree that the book's way too long, the drawn-out ending didn't bother me as much this time around.
ETA after reread: While I still agree that the book's way too long, the drawn-out ending didn't bother me as much this time around.
nyctarian's review
3.0
I had mixed feelings about this book but I ended up finding the romance to get to a very sweet place. I liked that towards the end it was about building up the strength of the relationship. However the book ending with them literally getting engaged at the eiffel tower on valentines day was just too cheesy for me. I also think for a book about s relationship that had as many initial bumps as this one to end in a proposal the relationship should last longer than a few weeks. I did stay up until 1am reading it. Ultimately it is a rounded down 3.5 stars.
brandypainter's review
4.0
Laura Florand just keeps writing these stories oh so perfectly. This one has the couple dynamic I love the most too-an outwardly lazy, always joking, light bearded man who is using his humor and charm to disguise a super-driven serious heart and a perfectionist introverted girl who takes herself a little too seriously. The dynamic between Patrick and Sarah is wonderful and I enjoyed how their relationship developed, and how they handled it despite their working relationship. And as is typical of Florand's works, there's a fairy tale inside it.
jen286's review
3.0
While I loved most of the books in this series, I had a hard time reading The Chocolate Temptation. I got half way through and had to put it down as I was like I wish something would just happen all ready. Would you two just talk to each other already? Patrick and Sarah both really like the other but they both are so insecure and try to hide it that they don't think the other likes them. At times Patrick was a bit to much for me. He came off as a little creepy with all of his wanting everything she has or does is because of him thing. The way he thought it was a little creepy, but the sentiment I understood.
Patrick did not have the best home life. His mom always took everything he loved away from him. If he showed how much he liked something she took it away. Because of this he got really good at pretending nothing matter, especially the things he cared about most. Because at first Sarah doesn't know this it causes a lot of issues. Patrick, for most of the book, is all I can't let her have control of anything. I can't give her that power to choose because she could take it away. He thinks he manipulates everyone and everything to get what he wants. It is really quite sad, but was written in such a sappy drawn out way I eventually got tired of reading it and just wanted a resolution already. The second half of the book was better than I expected. The resolution and how everything happened actually seemed to make sense, when I didn't think it would without lots of therapy.
Sarah is an Asian American girl who has always had to try and be perfect. Her mom is from North Korea and was in the US illegally so she made her kids try to be absolutely perfect from a very young age. She made them practice writing letters until they looked like print, they were perfect. That need to have everything perfect carried over into her daily life and she is really hard on herself. Because she doesn't get much praise at work she thinks she is just not good. In reality the head chef and Patrick both think she is doing a great job. She is so passive at first, not even talking to Patrick about what she wants, what she likes, it was a bit disconcerting to me. She is just....it is like she is not even there. I get Patrick being more dominant in the bedroom, and her passive, but it really extends to everything at first. She just does whatever he wants. He dresses her and walks her around and it was just like wake up! Do something, anything already. I didn't like it. She does become more vocal though once they start actually talking to each other. Man their story would be so much shorter if they both just learned to communicate sooner. By the end I liked them well enough, and the story was well written, but I don't think it will be in the re-read pile for me. That's fine, I have Dom to read over and over and over again...
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
Patrick did not have the best home life. His mom always took everything he loved away from him. If he showed how much he liked something she took it away. Because of this he got really good at pretending nothing matter, especially the things he cared about most. Because at first Sarah doesn't know this it causes a lot of issues. Patrick, for most of the book, is all I can't let her have control of anything. I can't give her that power to choose because she could take it away. He thinks he manipulates everyone and everything to get what he wants. It is really quite sad, but was written in such a sappy drawn out way I eventually got tired of reading it and just wanted a resolution already. The second half of the book was better than I expected. The resolution and how everything happened actually seemed to make sense, when I didn't think it would without lots of therapy.
Sarah is an Asian American girl who has always had to try and be perfect. Her mom is from North Korea and was in the US illegally so she made her kids try to be absolutely perfect from a very young age. She made them practice writing letters until they looked like print, they were perfect. That need to have everything perfect carried over into her daily life and she is really hard on herself. Because she doesn't get much praise at work she thinks she is just not good. In reality the head chef and Patrick both think she is doing a great job. She is so passive at first, not even talking to Patrick about what she wants, what she likes, it was a bit disconcerting to me. She is just....it is like she is not even there. I get Patrick being more dominant in the bedroom, and her passive, but it really extends to everything at first. She just does whatever he wants. He dresses her and walks her around and it was just like wake up! Do something, anything already. I didn't like it. She does become more vocal though once they start actually talking to each other. Man their story would be so much shorter if they both just learned to communicate sooner. By the end I liked them well enough, and the story was well written, but I don't think it will be in the re-read pile for me. That's fine, I have Dom to read over and over and over again...
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
bianca89279's review
4.0
A very enjoyable read! Well written, not dirty, but sexy, without the over-the-top drama, but with plausible, real life situations. Of course, the Parisian set-up and the restaurant world were very enticing. And I loved that it was written in the third person. Refreshing!
joyousreads132's review
4.0
Have you ever met one of those perpetually flirty guys? You know the type: one who can’t resist a wink, a nudge, and an innuendo with every word that comes out of his mouth?
Meet Patrick. Sous chef to Luc Leroi and a pathological flirt. Very few could resist his charms. Heck, very few would even dare to! Except maybe for Sarah Lin – his apprentice. Hand picked by Patrick himself, to shadow a couple of well-known names in the annals of the lavish Parisian food industry. But Sarah hates him. Hates him for making sure that all her cuts, burns, and bruises from working in a fast-paced environment are taken care of; hates him for making sure that she eats; hates him for making sure she gets home safely after a long, gruelling day of working in a three-star kitchen; hates him for making sure that she doesn’t take all of Luc Leroi’s cutting words to heart; hates him because he flirts with everything that moves. Most of all, she hates him because she can’t help but feel a giddy happiness every single time he does something thoughtful.
There was an underlying seriousness in all Patrick’s playfulness. He hides behind the facade of the easy-going, smiling face. Both Patrick and Sarah are afraid. Sarah is afraid to fail; because failing means she’d tuck tail and go back to California, where she’d once again disappoint her mother. Patrick, for his part, is afraid of stepping outside the shadow of his foster brother, Luc. Because for all his brilliance in the kitchen, it is not his dream. All his life, He’d been complacent to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.
Sarah’s story is heartbreaking. Her mother is a North Korean refugee who suffered the horrors of fleeing a country known for tight-fisted rule over its people. Her mother had to make a series of incredibly difficult choices that had left her scarred, and consequently, the reason why she expected a lot from Sarah.
In the end, they’d have to make some choices themselves. Least of all is to try let the other inside. They also needed to take their careers into some heavy consideration. I love that Sarah is willing to temporarily postpone hers in behalf of Patrick’s. This doesn’t make her weak or subversive. Sometimes, giving up something important shows their incredible strength and courage. And Sarah was willing to do exactly that.
This is probably my second favourite book from this series. Florand flexed her writing muscle by telling a story that’s equally funny and heart-wrenching.
Meet Patrick. Sous chef to Luc Leroi and a pathological flirt. Very few could resist his charms. Heck, very few would even dare to! Except maybe for Sarah Lin – his apprentice. Hand picked by Patrick himself, to shadow a couple of well-known names in the annals of the lavish Parisian food industry. But Sarah hates him. Hates him for making sure that all her cuts, burns, and bruises from working in a fast-paced environment are taken care of; hates him for making sure that she eats; hates him for making sure she gets home safely after a long, gruelling day of working in a three-star kitchen; hates him for making sure that she doesn’t take all of Luc Leroi’s cutting words to heart; hates him because he flirts with everything that moves. Most of all, she hates him because she can’t help but feel a giddy happiness every single time he does something thoughtful.
There was an underlying seriousness in all Patrick’s playfulness. He hides behind the facade of the easy-going, smiling face. Both Patrick and Sarah are afraid. Sarah is afraid to fail; because failing means she’d tuck tail and go back to California, where she’d once again disappoint her mother. Patrick, for his part, is afraid of stepping outside the shadow of his foster brother, Luc. Because for all his brilliance in the kitchen, it is not his dream. All his life, He’d been complacent to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.
Sarah’s story is heartbreaking. Her mother is a North Korean refugee who suffered the horrors of fleeing a country known for tight-fisted rule over its people. Her mother had to make a series of incredibly difficult choices that had left her scarred, and consequently, the reason why she expected a lot from Sarah.
In the end, they’d have to make some choices themselves. Least of all is to try let the other inside. They also needed to take their careers into some heavy consideration. I love that Sarah is willing to temporarily postpone hers in behalf of Patrick’s. This doesn’t make her weak or subversive. Sometimes, giving up something important shows their incredible strength and courage. And Sarah was willing to do exactly that.
This is probably my second favourite book from this series. Florand flexed her writing muscle by telling a story that’s equally funny and heart-wrenching.
samjunipero's review
5.0
THIS BOOK HAS RUINED ME! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF NOW.
Sarah and Patrick were so hot together. The way their relationship developed and grew was so lovely. I felt for them so much. I must read the rest of Laura Florand's books.
Sarah and Patrick were so hot together. The way their relationship developed and grew was so lovely. I felt for them so much. I must read the rest of Laura Florand's books.