The Chocolate Maker’s Wife by Karen Brooks (TLC Book Tour Review and Giveaway!)

Are you a fan of historical fiction and epic novels?  I have a new favorite novel for you, The Chocolate Maker’s Wife by Karen Brooks.  I started reading this book last week and it’s the kind of book that I carried everywhere with me to try to sneak in more reading time.  I was intrigued by the story and couldn’t stop reading it.  Set in England, in the seventeenth century, The Chocolate Maker’s Wife is the story of Rosamund.  Born on the wrong side of the blanket, Rosamund is living with her uncaring mother and abusive stepfather at an inn, trying to remain unnoticed.  While avoiding her stepbrothers, she is involved in an accident that puts her in the path of a gentleman.  Sir Everard Blithman decides he must have her and her mother quickly agrees to the match.  Rosamund is spirited away to London where she now becomes Lady Rosamund Blithman and the Chocolate Maker’s wife.  Sir Everard has started a chocolate house to serve the elite hot chocolate.  Rosamund uses her skills from working at the inn and the new chocolate making skills she is taught to become successful in her new role.  What secrets is Sir Everard hiding?  Why is he seeking vengeance against Matthew Lovelace?

I love that this novel was set during Restoration England with King Charles II on the throne. The plot includes the Great London fire of 1666 as well as the plague.  I loved that Rosamund had a fire in her that helped her to make her way in the world while also helping those around her.  This novel reminded me of two of my other favorite books with a strong heroine in a similar time period – Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor and Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen.  If you are fan of those books or meaty historical fiction in general, you will love this novel.

While I was engrossed with the intrigue, I’ll admit that I guessed the dark mysteries early on.  I was more interested in how Rosamund would react to the new information and how it would affect her love story. 

Karen Brooks wrote a great author’s note at the end of the novel that included a lot of great information about the history of chocolate making as well as the fact that some of the side characters in the novel were actual historical figures.  I had no idea while reading the book and really enjoyed that tidbit at the end.

Favorite Quotes:

“After all what’s the point of a chocolate house, or a coffee one for that matter, if not to exchange news?”

“What were buildings but the work of man?  And what were buildings if there were no men, women or children to fill them?  To make the walls echo with conversation, arguments, joy, grief, laughter, tears, and above all, love?”

“I was just thinking what a wasted emotion revenge is.  It fills the soul with nothing but darkness.”

Overall, The Chocolate Maker’s wife is a fascinating historical fiction novel with a strong intriguing heroine set during an enthralling period of history.

Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow for being on the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you!  For more stops on this tour, check out this link.

About The Chocolate Maker's Wife

• Paperback: 608 pages • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (August 20, 2019)

 Australian bestselling novelist Karen Brooks rewrites women back into history with this breathtaking novel set in 17th century London—a lush, fascinating story of the beautiful woman who is drawn into a world of riches, power, intrigue…and chocolate.  

Damnation has never been so sweet...

Rosamund Tomkins, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, spends most of her young life in drudgery at a country inn. To her, the Restoration under Charles II, is but a distant threat as she works under the watchful eye of her brutal, abusive stepfather . . . until the day she is nearly run over by the coach of Sir Everard Blithman.

Sir Everard, a canny merchant, offers Rosamund an “opportunity like no other," allowing her to escape into a very different life, becoming the linchpin that will drive the success of his fledgling business: a luxurious London chocolate house where wealthy and well-connected men come to see and be seen, to gossip and plot, while indulging in the sweet and heady drink.

Rosamund adapts and thrives in her new surroundings, quickly becoming the most talked-about woman in society, desired and respected in equal measure.

But Sir Everard's plans for Rosamund and the chocolate house involve family secrets that span the Atlantic Ocean, and which have already brought death and dishonor to the Blithman name. Rosamund knows nothing of the mortal peril that comes with her new title, nor of the forces spinning a web of conspiracy buried in the past, until she meets a man whose return tightens their grip upon her, threatening to destroy everything she loves and damn her to a dire fate.

 As she fights for her life and those she loves through the ravages of the Plague and London's Great Fire, Rosamund's breathtaking tale is one marked by cruelty and revenge; passion and redemption—and the sinfully sweet temptation of chocolate. 

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Photo by Stephen Brooks

About Karen Brooks

Karen Brooks is the author of twelve books, an academic of more than twenty years' experience, a newspaper columnist and social commentator, and has appeared regularly on national TV and radio. Before turning to academia, she was an army officer for five years, and prior to that dabbled in acting. She lives in Hobart, Tasmania, in a beautiful stone house with its own marvellous history. When she's not writing, she's helping her husband Stephen in his brewery, Captain Bligh's Ale and Cider, or cooking for family and friends, travelling, cuddling and walking her dogs, stroking her cats, or curled up with a great book and dreaming of more stories. Find out more about Karen at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY

 
I was accidentally mailed two Advance Reader Edition's of The Chocolate Maker's Wife so I am going to give one of them away! If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book.  Have you ever read a book about chocolate or the Restoration?  If so, which one, and what did you enjoy about it?
 

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday September 13th!

Please make sure to check the week of September 16th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!

Winner of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen

Thank-you to all who entered the giveaway for Karleen Koen's great new novel, Before Versailles.  The one lucky winner is LunaRaven from the blog Bird Talk.  Congrats!!  I have notified LunaRaven via email and she has one week to respond with her mailing address before I draw a new winner.  LunaRaven was selected using random.org.

Thank-you again to Karleen Koen for the great interview and fantastic book.  Check out my right side bar for other giveaways.  One is currently ongoing and I will be posting another one today, and yet another one later this week (the one later this week will be another great historical fiction novel).

Interview with Karleen Koen (author of Before Versailles) and Giveaway!

I am honored today to have author Karleen Koen on my blog.  Koen is one of my favorite historical fiction novelists.  She writes with vivid historical detail and accuracy, and wonderful characters that bring history to life.  I have enjoyed all of her novels:  Through a Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels.  Her latest novel, Before Versailles, was published last year (my review is located here) and is currently being published in paperback by Sourcebooks with a beautiful new cover.

Without further ado . . . an interview with Karleen Koen.

LAG: I love your wonderful, descriptive historical fiction novels. What first drew you to writing in general and writing historical fiction specifically?


KK: My invalid grandfather was a reader of historical fiction: specifically Frank Yerby, Frank Slaughter, and Zane Gray, and I started reading them when I was a little girl. I never questioned or did any market research when I decided to write. I knew it would be historical fiction. I started writing fiction to see if I could, to fill some time once I'd left a job I had. I have quit fiction before, between the novels Now Face to Face and Dark Angels. The solitude and the living through rough drafts are difficult for me.

LAG:  You write fantastic characters in your novels, is that was first drew you to the story of Louis XIV and his many loves?

KK:  Actually, Louis doesn't have as many lovers as other kings. I particularly contrast him to Charles II, who was his cousin and contemporary. And the intricacy of his lovers, often friends with one another, is interesting to me. Court is like a small town, where everyone knows everyone and is likely distantly related. I didn't know I was going to write a story about him. I thought I was going to write about Princess Henriette or Louise de la Valliere. That's one of the very intriguing things about fiction.....that it has its own destiny, and you, the writer, have to stay open to discover it.

LAG:   Louis and Henrietta . . . what do you think family relations were like after Louis fell for his sister-in-law?

KK:  Well, since he fell for her, but then fell for someone else, not great....right? His brother had to be furious but somehow placated, and so did she. Interestingly enough, Louise and Henriette became dear and deep friends afterwards, which says something interesting about both of them. The one who bore the brunt of ill feeling was Louise. Henriette hated her and plotted against her with Olympe de Soissons for a long time. But, before Henriette died so tragically, she and Louise were friends.
LAG:  Did you visit Fontainebleau while you were researching this novel?

KK: I did. I went with a French translator and had a interview with some of the folks who run the museum. It's a charming and lovely palace about an hour's train ride from Paris.

LAG:  What do you think first drew Louis to Louise?

KK:  What did I use in Before Versailles......her innocence, her lack of ambition, her crush on him, and I'll bet she was very pretty. I think he needed someone he could protect. I think he was very much a fairy tale prince when he was 22.......yummy.

LAG:  Will you ever revisit the characters from the Through the Glass Darkly series?

KK:  I plan to when i finish two more novels involving Alice, the Duchess of Tamworth and Barbara's grandmother.

LAG:  What are you currently writing?

KK: A novel about Alice and Richard and Louis XIV, set in 1673.

Thank-you for the interview Karleen Koen!

More about Before Versailles (from Goodreads): 
Louis XIV is one of the best-known monarchs ever to grace the French throne. But what was he like as a young man—the man before Versailles?


After the death of his prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, twenty-two-year-old Louis steps into governing France. He’s still a young man, but one who, as king, willfully takes everything he can get—including his brother’s wife. As the love affair between Louis and Princess Henriette burns, it sets the kingdom on the road toward unmistakable scandal and conflict with the Vatican. Every woman wants him. He must face what he is willing to sacrifice for love.

But there are other problems lurking outside the chateau of Fontainebleau: a boy in an iron mask has been seen in the woods, and the king’s finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, has proven to be more powerful than Louis ever thought—a man who could make a great ally or become a dangerous foe . . .

Meticulously researched and vividly brought to life by the gorgeous prose of Karleen Koen, Before Versailles dares to explore the forces that shaped an iconic king and determined the fate of an empire.

Giveaway Details


Sourcebooks has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen.

If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the this book or this interview.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday September 21, 2012.

Please make sure to check the last week of September to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner but lately I have been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: 2011 Wrap-up & 2012 Sign-up

In January 2011, I joined the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge for the first time.  I love many genres of fiction, but my ultimate favorite genre is historical fiction.  I joined this challenge with the goal of reading 20 historical fiction novels in 2011.  I reached my goal by reading a total of 24 historical fiction novels this past year.  The novels I read were as follows:

1.  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
2.  Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth
3.  I am the Chosen King by Helen Hollick
4.  Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower
5. To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick
6.  Legacy by Jeanette Baker
7.  A Race to Splendor by Ciji Ware
8.  A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer
9.  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Conner McNees
10.  When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg

11.  Mary of Carisbrooke by Margaret Campbell Barnes

12.  The King's Witch by Cecelia Holland
13.  Queen of the Summer Stars by Persia Woolley
14.  Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
15.  Sea Witch by Helen Hollick
16.  Before Versaille by Karleen Koen
17.  Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Grey
18.  Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer
19.  Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick
20.  The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maud Hart Lovelace
21.  Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
22.  A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (audio)
23.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett (audio)
24.  My Love, My Enemy by Jan Cox Speas

I read many excellent historical fiction novels this year, there is not a bad one in this bunch!  Which ones were my favorite?  Stay tuned the next week or so for my top ten books from 2011.  More than one book from this list is on my top ten for the year!

Twenty-two of these books were old-fashioned paper novels, while two were audiobooks.  The two audiobooks were books I had read in the past that were chosen for one of my book clubs this year.  I chose to explore them in a new format this time around.  Five of the twenty-four books were re-reads for me including Water for Elephants, Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, A Reliable Wife, and The Help.  It's safe to say these are some of my favorite books of all time.

I read a few children's historical fiction novels this year including Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie to my children and The Betsy-Tacy Treasury for me. The Little House series is how I started my love for historical fiction.  I'm now hoping to foster the love in my children.

It's no secret that I love to read historical fiction novels related to kings and queens, but I also enjoy historical fiction novels set in America (Little House, Betsy-Tacy, My Love, My Enemy, A Fierce Radiance, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, The Help, A Reliable Wife, and Water for Elephants).  My Love, My Enemy was the most surprising book for me this year.  The cover screamed trashy romance, but the inside was a quite good historical fiction novel set during the American war of 1812.  I would love read more novels by Jan Cox Speas and I hope they find a more suitable cover.

I very much enjoyed this challenge and I'm signing up for the Historical Fiction Challenge 2012 also hosted by Historical Tapestry.  This year I'm aiming for  level 3, Struggling the Addiction: 10 books.  I'm going to focus on the Victorian Challenge this year so I'll hopefully be reading more classics and straight non-fiction history this year. 

I'm hoping that I'll be reading more of one of my favorite sub-genres, the historical fiction thriller this year.  It is a favorite of my Kewaunee Library Book Club.  Now that the club is back on track after a 1.5 year hiatus, I can hope that we get back to some great books!

Winner of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen

The lucky winner of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen is Allison of Musings of a Book Junkie. Allison was chosen using random.org and has been notified by email. She has one week to respond with her mailing address. If I don't hear from her by then, I will chose a new winner.

Thank-you to Karleen Koen for the great interview and wonderful book. Thank-you to Random House for allowing me to host the giveaway and to TLC Book Tours for including me on the tour.

I still have one giveaway currently going . . . and a new one will be posted shortly so stay tuned!

Interview with Karleen Koen, author of Before Versailles

Karleen Koen has been one of my favorite authors for years. Therefore, I was more than a little bit excited to be able to review her new book, Before Versailles, for the TLC Book Tours and to interview her. Being able to email back and forth with one of your favorite authors . . . very cool!

For my review of the wonderful book, Before Versailles, and a chance to win a copy of the novel please check out this link. I'm still thinking about the book and how I loved all of the characters. Also for an additional chance to win, leave a comment (with your email) on this blog post with what interests you most about this interview.

LAG: I have loved all of your previous novels. I noticed this novel follows a different format. What was your inspiration for writing about Louis XIV rather than a fictional character in a historical setting?

KK: To write about Louis XIV has been on my mind since my second book, Now Face to Face. I was trying to write about him when I brought young Alice and Richard in as minor characters, and they marched off with what became Dark Angels. I broke off a piece of my Louis XIV story for Dark Angels. When Dark Angels was finished, I realized I had the key to writing a Louis XIV story. I was trying to write too big an amount. The story could be broken into pieces. Before Versailles is the second piece, or the first piece, if you want linear timing. Dark Angels is the sequel written before the actual story!

It is harder, I think, to write about an actual figure in history, particularly as a main character. You want to be true to historians and yet the story must take wing and fly. I didn't know if I could get this story--Before Versailles--up, but I did, and I am very pleased with it.

LAG: Was it different for you writing from the perspective of a man rather than of a woman?

KK: Yes and no. I didn't know for a long time that Louis was going to be the main character. I thought the main character was going to be either Henriette or Louise. But when I was in Louis's head, I was so intrigued by what he had to face ( a true power struggle and a true falling in love) that I really liked being there. And before I knew it, the book was his. He's at a special time in his life, young, still tender, ardent, gallant, and determined. He seduced me in the best possible way.....

LAG: What role did Louis’s mother play in his life?

KK: She was a huge influence. She taught him wonderful manners and courtesy, a kind of Spanish pride mixed in with French fun. She provided security for him. Once he was born, once his father died, she was a tiger fighting for her son's right to be king. There was an evil uncle who wanted the throne and several civil wars. She and Cardinal Mazarin (a brilliant minister) made Louis the center of their concern. And Mazarin introduced politics to Louis in the best way....not too much, but enough, allowing Louis to find his wings.

LAG: Truth is stranger than fiction . . . Was it a new discovery for you in your research that Louis had an affair with his sister-in-law, Princess Henriette?

KK: No, I knew about their love for a long time. That's why I kept trying to write a Louis XIV novel....because his interactions with women and their relationships to one another were so interesting.

LAG: How did you research this novel? Did you discover any interesting tidbits that were not used in the novel? What was the most surprising discovery that you did use in the novel?

KK: I already knew a lot because I was interested in Louis XIV. As always, I went to original sources when I could and considered all the historians' points of view, making my own decisions when historians' differ....and they often differ. I used every yummy detail I found in the novel. That's fun for me, to eye dropper history into a story in a way that doesn't stop the plot. The most surprising discovery I used in the plot is one historian's premise that Mazarin may have been Louis's actual father.

And it was great fun to play with the man in the iron mask.

LAG: Will you write any more novels with any of the characters from your previous novels?
KK: In my thoughts, about 3 to 4 more novels exist with the dear Tamworths, those characters from my previous books.

LAG: What are you currently working on?

KK: I'm not really working right now, and I feel it. But in August, I'm going to begin a young Alice and Richard story. It will be yet another piece of the big Louis XIV story. I have no idea how large Louis will loom in it. And I think I need to resolve action around the awful Henri Ange from Dark Angels. Everything is very wispy and unformed right now....

LAG: What are your favorite authors/novels?

KK: Too many to list. But for comfort I always turn to the regencies of Georgette Heyer. I love her wit. And I reread two historicals by the great Dapne Du Maurier. And I love the first 5 to 6 books of Winston Graham's Poldark Saga.

Thank-you Karleen Koen for the great interview and for writing another fabulous book! The growth of Louis XIV in the pivotal few months depicted in Before Versailles is amazing. I look forward to your next novel!

Before Versailles by Karleen Koen Review and Giveaway!

Karleen Koen is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. Her first novel, Through a Glass Darkly is on my list of all-time favorite historical fiction novels, and I also loved the sequel, Now Face to Face, and prequel, Dark Angels. Her writing makes history come alive through descriptions of wonderful characters and settings, and narratives that provide all types of mystery and surprises. I was more than a little excited to be able to be a stop on the TLC book tour for Karleen Koen’s new novel, Before Versailles.



Koen does not disappoint in Before Versailles. Louis XIV is the young king of France in 1661 just coming into his own. He has recently married the Spanish Infanta, Maria Theresa, but finds himself entranced with his sister-in-law Henrietta (sister to England’s King Charles II). Although every woman in the court wants the handsome young King, he wants the one woman most forbidden to him. Their love affair starts a scandal that engulfs the court.



At the same time, Louis XIV is learning to rule without his minister Cardinal Mazarin. Jean-Baptiste Colbert is helping him to learn about the finances of his government. As the King learns more, he learns the deep corruption that is going on in his court with money flowing directly to the minister of finance’s pocket rather than the King’s coffers. Louis XIV is also receiving mysterious threatening letters.



Louise de la Baume le Blanc is an innocent maid of honor to Madam (Henriette) who finds herself caught up in the intrigue. When Louise sees a mysterious boy in an iron mask in the woods on the day of the death of Cardinal Mazarin, she starts a hunt of her own through the woods to discover the whereabouts and secret behind the boy in the iron mask. Her actions find her threatened by a strange musketeer and fearing for her life. When Louise attracts the attentions of her King, her life is about to change forever.



There are many characters in Before Versailles that are intriguing including (but definitely not limited to) Henriette, the Queen Dowager Anne, and Charles d’Artagnan. I was intrigued when I first read of d’Artagnan as being the lieutenant of Louis XIV’s musketeers in this novel and had to look it up on my friend Wikipedia. I thought d’Artagnan was only a fictional character in Dumas Three Musketeers and other novels, but it turns out he was a real historical character. Intriguing! Louis was surrounded by a lot of powerful women in his time including his mother and his sister-in-law. While his wife was shy and retiring, Henriette had a fiery personality and was trend setter in the court. Every man wanted her and every woman wanted to be her. It was only natural that the king would also find himself in love with her. Queen Anne was mourning the loss of the Cardinal, but finds her way back to court after unsavory rumors about Henriette and Louis reach her ears. She tries to use what power she still has to set things to right.



I love Koen’s writing in this novel. Her descriptions of the characters, setting, and time period are unparalled. I felt like I was at Fontainebleau. The romance between different characters is very sensual and sparks definitely fly. Even more than this, I really enjoyed the conspiracy. I wanted to find out who the boy in the iron mask was and who was writing the letters. Throughout it all, it was a great character study of the growth of Louis XIV from a boy king to an all-powerful King ruling on his own terms. I greatly enjoyed the journey.



Overall, Before Versailles is a riveting historical fiction novel full of unforgettable characters, great prose, and intrigue that is not to be missed. I highly recommend it.



I read this book as part of the TLC book tour. To read more about Before Versailles, please check out any of these other stops on the tour (links are provided on the TLC Tour Site).

Tuesday, July 5th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Wednesday, July 6th: Broken Teepee
Thursday, July 7th: The Bookworm
Friday, July 8th: Historical-Fiction.com
Monday, July 11th: In the Hammock
Tuesday, July 12th: Living Outside the Stacks
Wednesday, July 13th: The Maiden’s Court
Thursday, July 14th: Royal Reviews
Monday, July 18th: Unabridged Chick
Tuesday, July 19th: Enchanted by Josephine
Wednesday, July 20th: Laura’s Reviews
Thursday, July 21st: Historical Tapestry AND Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Friday, July 22nd: Books Like Breathing
Monday, July 25th: Stiletto Storytime
Tuesday, July 26th: Hist-Fic Chick
Wednesday, July 27th: Life in Review
Thursday, July 28th: Reading, Reading & Life



Before Versailles is my sixteenth book in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011.



Book Source: Review Copy from Random House. Thank-you!

Giveaway Details
Random House is going to send one lucky winner a copy of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen.

If you would like to win a copy of Before Versailles by Karleen Koen please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the novel.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

For another additional entry, leave a comment (along with your email address) on my interview with Karleen Koen at this link.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight, Friday August 5th.

Good luck!