Laura Florand's THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH

Author Laura Florand was a new author for me, but after reading THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH, I'll be shopping for her backlist. My review for THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH is below. Check it out, and then read on to see the giveaway to celebrate the release of this book.

My review:
Jaime Corey has come to Paris to heal, physically and emotionally, after being savagely attacked on the Ivory Coast while securing labor practices at cocoa farming facilities. Jaime's family owns a multi-million dollar cocoa production business that provides cocoa for some of the world's finest chocolatiers. When she frequents Dominique Richard's chocolate shop daily, she finds herself unusually comforted. Her fragile femininity catches his eye and he finds himself powerfully intrigued, wanting to nurture her, body and soul, with his unique chocolates. He doesn't know who Jaime is, but he anticipates her daily stops. The two eventually begin something that feels like a relationship although they've never actually acknowledged it to be so. Jaime's brother-in-law is also a well-known chocolatier and he and Jaime's sister are quite protective of her; just one of the reasons she chooses to keep her budding relationship with Dom to herself.
Dominique Richard appears to be a brute of a man. He's a big man, rarely without a black leather jacket or a menacing stare. Dom has a dark past and the reputation to go along with it. He dragged himself up from a tender age and while he's not particularly concerned with what others think of him, he's extremely proud of the success he's made of his chocolate shop.
This story is unique and Ms. Florand clearly knows her way around Paris and fine chocolates. Readers are pulled into each and every scene with the characters and at times I swear I could smell the chocolate and taste their exquisitely intense flavors melting on my tongue. My only criticisms would be that the amount of time it took for Jaime and Dom to declare their love seemed a little too short to be realistic. Also, there are several comments made between characters in French. It would be helpful to those of us who don't speak French if translations could be made in parenthesis. 
THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH should be read by every romance reader. I truly didn't want to come to the end of this book, savoring its deliciousness. 
A heartfelt thank you goes out to Ms. Florand for allowing me to read and review this book for her.

Now the giveaway! I'll give one reader here a Kindle or Nook copy of THE CHOCOLATE THIEF (it precedes THE CHOCOLATE TOUCH). Leave a comment telling what you've done this summer. I'll draw the winner from the comments on Wednesday. Tell your friends and have them mention you in their comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each mention.

Laurie