Chocolate Kisses

Eureka in Love, Book 1

By: River Ford

Narrated by: Kathleen Miranti

Kerri Manning returns home with only one semester of college left. She's in pain and trying to figure out what to do with a diagnosis that will change her future. It's hard to dream of happiness, but the new guy in town manages to make her laugh. Can she take a chance he'll stick around?

Eric Hunt is an up-and-coming sculptor who has grown tired of his fake friends in New York City. He finds himself in the small town of Eureka Springs looking for the passion he used to have for his art. Could Kerri be the inspiration he needs?

©2017 Charity Bradford (P)2017 Charity Bradford

Be my muse

I loved this book!!! The characters were endearing and grabbed my heart!
The narration was good, there was not a lot of distinct difference between characters though.
I am excited for the Eurika in love series

Sweet Romance

This is the first book in the Eureka in Love Series, a Small Town Romance. I love River Ford's writing. Kerri and Eric's story is clean, emotional, romantic, and beautifully written. The characters are amazing. Kathleen Miranti did a great job with the narration. I enjoyed it.

Enjoyable romance

I read this book a year ago and really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d enjoy the audiobook. I like that this book has a heroine with a realistic problem - she suffers from a chronic debilitating disease. I like River Ford’s writing, but I wish a different narrator had been chosen for this book.

Quick contemporary romance

Chocolate Kisses is a quick contemporary romance read by River Ford. Kerri just found out she has rheumatoid arthritis. She likes Eric, the new sculpture in town, when she meets him. An old relationship leaves her heart hurt, and her trust lacking. Can she overcome her fears and give this relationship a chance? Eric is inspired by Kerri. He is willing to hang in there until she is ready. The book was great to listen to. I’ll definitely listen to the next book in the series soon!

Delightful!

This story started out so well with a sculptor trying to enjoy creating art again, and a young woman suffering the effects of her diagnosis and progression of RA. Eric had been hurt by a girlfriend who wanted to use him for status and money, and friends who were fake and shallow. He had no intention of entering into any sort of a new relationship, but Kerri was different somehow, and he enjoyed spending time with her. Eric discovers that she is his muse and that his passion for sculpting has returned. Kerri is trying so hard to cover her pain because she doesn't want anybody to feel sorry for her and she's somewhat embarrassed that she's becoming "such a burden." An offhand remark by one of her friends sends Eric into a panic, thinking that Kerri is no different than the woman who dumped him when he makes an assumption that Kerri's hoping that he will pay her medical bills. Then, all of a sudden it all went south.... Not giving Kerri a chance to affirm or deny his accusations, Eric turned cold and spewed angry and hurtful words at her. He totally withdrew from her and continued to speak harshly, completely confusing and wounding her. I was so shocked that I had to stop listening for a moment! Over the next couple of days, Eric ruminated and obsessed over the "fact" that she was using him and I seriously wanted to crawl through the audiobook and slap him up! It took him too long to realize that he was wrong and, by the end of the story, he had only begun to redeem himself. There wasn't any time before the slightly rushed ending for them to have a HEA, but their HFN is very sweet. 
Kathleen Miranti does a wonderful job with the narration. Her clear voice, with excellent intonation and dynamic delivery, gives each character a unique personality and attitude as they come to life. 

So sweet

I absolutely loved this sweet love story. For someone to love another person with a disability was so refreshing and reminder that love can conquer all. This was a true to life story. Love is not always perfect. I listen to the audio version of the book and the narrator was so good. It was a heartfelt feel good novel with so much depth. I have to say my favorite part of the whole story was at the yoga studio scene. Hilarious! That’s when I felt Eric realized how he felt about Kerri. River Ford did such a good job with Chocolate Kisses I highly recommend.

Clean romance

I like a small town setting and appreciated that the story was clean. There were some possible turns the story could easily have taken (think things like Hallmark movie plots where the ex shows up wanting a relationship) but it didn't and I was glad. It was however, very much like a Hallmark movie. Some of the dialog was too cheesy for me. And I didn't find the argument between Eric and Kerri believable. He turned with such venom and up to that point had been such a gentleman that I just didn't think he would be so horrible in a matter of moments. I expected him to misunderstand and maybe be angry but not to spew meanness. I get that he was supposed to be reacting based on his prior experience but it was just too much. The Eric I pictured wouldn't have turned like that and it made me not like him. But I did love his explanation of what the sculpture meant.
I thought the author using a condition like RA for the heroine was a unique choice. I haven't seen that before. I felt bad for Kerri. Chronic pain is no fun.

Sex: no
Language: one Deity I think
Violence: no
*I received a complimentary audiobook and voluntarily chose to review it.

ANOTHER REALLY GREAT STORY

STORYLINE IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW. NARRATOR IS ALSO GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

I LOVE THE STORY. IT'S HEART FELT AND THOUGHT PROVOKING IN WAY THAT MAKES YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF IN A DIFFERENT WAY AND HOW YOU SHOULD SEE OTHERS.

So nice to see a main character with a disability

What I loved about this book was having a character with a diagnosis of Rheumatoid arthritis that has put her in a tailspin.

Will she ever have a love life with someone who can accept her fully and be able with the devastating effects she's sure she'll end up with?

I also love a story about a creative, as Eric Hunt is. The premise was well thought out.

I felt like the author could have made Kerri a stronger character.

Sweet romance

In book 1 of the Eureka in Love series, Kerri Manning is returning home from college to lick her wounds after receiving a terrible health diagnosis. Though her family is supportive, she’s angry and feels lost.
Eric Hunt leaves NYC for the comfort of small-town living. He’s tired of fake people and wants something genuine in his life to revive his love of art. He’s a sculptor and needs a new muse—whom he unexpectedly finds in Kerri. But can he reach past her pain and suffering with the secrets between them?
Kerri and Eric were wonderful together. They became friends first and were on their way to something more when a misunderstanding drew them apart. That stated, I wasn’t too fond of Kerri’s friends, Gia and Brynn. Anyway, the H/h’s biggest obstacle to romance was Kerri’s self-esteem issues. She has the beginning stages of rheumatoid arthritis, and the outlook is bleak. Understandably, she isn’t looking for romance. Her pain, both emotional and physical, made me tear up a few times. Seeing her learn to trust and open up with Eric was great. The story ends with a HFN, but I believe there’s a second book, a Christmas romance, that finally delivers the HEA. However, this story stands well on its own feet. No cliffhangers.
I listened to the audiobook. Kathleen Miranti did a decent job with the narration, but her voices for the different characters, both the men and women, often sounded so similar that I didn’t know who was speaking. Sometimes, the voice didn’t match the emotion of the scene.
Chocolate Kisses is a sweet, clean romance with only mild kissing, so if that’s your thing, you might enjoy this book.
4 Stars