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The Chocolate Maker's Wife

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( 2,145 ratings, 330 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks is a historical thriller set in the vibrant world of 17th century London. The story follows Rosamund, a young woman unexpectedly wed to a mysterious chocolate maker, as she navigates the complexities of her new life. Amid the backdrop of dark secrets, intrigue, and betrayal, Rosamund must uncover hidden truths and find her place in a society filled with danger and decadence.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are drawn to historical dramas filled with intrigue, suspense, and richly detailed settings. Set against the fascinating backdrop of 17th century London, it weaves a story of ambition, betrayal, and the delicious allure of chocolate, combining both mystery and romance. If you appreciate a tale where a determined woman navigates a world of danger and deceit, this book may be a delightful read for you.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A tale of cruelty, revenge, redemption, love and hope, and the sweet, sinister temptation of chocolate.

Damnation has never been so sweet...

When Rosamund Tomkins enters the world she is so different, with her darkling eyes and strange laughter, that the midwives are afraid, believing her a changeling. But Rosamund's life is set to be anything but enchanted.

Born into poverty, brutalised and ignored by her family, it is only when she is married off to a nobleman that her life undergoes a wondrous transformation. Clever, quick and irrepressible, Rosamund soon becomes the darling of the haut ton, and presides over her luxurious chocolate house where the rich go to be seen and indulge in their favourite pastime, drinking the sweet and heady drink to which they've become oddly addicted.

But in the shadows, a web of conspiracy is spinning. The return of a man from the past brings Rosamund into mortal peril and up to the brink of destruction. As she fights for her life and those she loves through the ravages of the Plague and London's Great Fire, Rosamund begins to realise she will be forced to make a choice: walk away from all she knows and has grown to love with her soul intact, or make a deal with the devil...

Australian author Karen Brooks rewrites women back into history with this sweeping, breathtakingly researched tale of 17th century London, set against the backdrop of Restoration London, the plague and the Great Fire.

PRAISE

'Historian and novelist Brooks shows her research and imaginative chops in a luscious and astonishingly affecting chronicle of family scandal, political unrest, and redemptive hope in 1660s London.' - Publishers Weekly

'Brooks masterfully deploys surprising plot twists, deftly pacing the opening of closets to reveal hidden diaries and family skeletons... A charming and smart historical novel from a master storyteller.' - Kirkus Reviews

'Sensual, seductive, bold... A rich indulgence.' - Booklist

'The latest from Australian author Brooks is an excellent option for reading groups that enjoy multigenerational tales and historical fiction... Your late middle English vocabulary will be sumptuously rewarded.' - Library Journal

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks is praised for its vivid historical detail and engaging storyline set in the 17th century. Reviewers appreciate the blend of crime, intrigue, and romance, alongside the strong character development and well-researched setting. The mix of history with a thrilling plot captivates readers, making it a notable entry in the genre.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781489295149

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 January 2020

Country: Australia

Imprint: HQ Fiction

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 37.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 445g

Pages: 608

About the Author

Karen Brooks is the author of fourteen books - historical fiction, historical fantasy, YA fantasy, and one non-fiction. She was an academic for over 20 years, a newspaper columnist and social commentator. She has a Ph.D. in English/Cultural Studies and has published internationally on all things popular culture, education and social psychology. An award-winning teacher, she's taught throughout Australia and in The Netherlands and keynoted at many education conferences. Nowadays, she finds greatest contentment studying history and writing, and helping her husband in his Brewstillery, Captain Bligh's. She shares a beautiful stone house in Hobart, Tasmania, built in 1868, with her husband, adorable dogs and cats, and shelves brimming with books.

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