Review: Chocolate Kisses
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 9, 2012
This tasty novella has been reissued and will deserve a new readership.  Well-off Ned Wyatt almost collides with a minivan while cycling on Valentine's Day. The van is driven by party caterer Claudia Mulcahey, and due to her skidding on ice, the stock of food she was carrying is ruined. Ned offers assistance, since Claudia is a one-person operation. At first she demurs, angry and believing he is too wealthy to help cater, but he persuades her not to be so judgemental.The Wyatt mansion in Connecticut is about to host a cotillion which I take it is like a debs dance, and Claudia has to cope with the demands of Ned's imperious sister Melanie, as well as the jealousy of elderly staff member Edie who resents her intrusion. Resolutely Claudia prepares another batch of her famous chocolate kisses, adding brandy, cinnamon and cloves to the chocolate as it melts.  Ned, like many men not normally a fan of sweet food, can't get enough of the kisses and frosted cakes, and begins to have designs on Claudia's kisses too.  I did think that if a man I'd just met pestered me around the kitchen while I was opening ovens, he would get his hands burned 'accidentally' to teach him to keep them to himself. As an investment consultant specialising in business start-ups, Ned can see that the catering firm is in demand and could prove profitable if expanded. His determinedly vague elderly mother, who has caused Melanie concern by choosing to live in a convenient townhouse instead of a draughty mansion, is herself the daughter of a union leader and turns out to be all in favour of a nice young lady who knows how to do a good day's work.A sweet romance featuring a strong independent woman and a practical but wealthy young man, this is rich in characters and contrasts. Enjoy!