Once Upon a Chocolate Kiss

When candy shop owner Samantha Hampton nursed an injured stranger and invited him into her home, she thought she was being a Good Samaritan - after all, it was the least she could do after breaking his foot. Richard Moore's charm put her at ease and made her heart pound. But Samantha didn't know that she was aiding the enemy! Richard Moore had no more control over his attraction to Samantha than he did the fact that his family's confectionary chain would put Samantha's small shop out of business. Despite being her competition, Richard had no intention of breaking her heart. Would Samantha forgive him when she learned the truth of his identity? Samantha Hampton was running late and collided on the icy steps of the church with Richard Moore, who was in town to oversee the opening of his family's newest chain store. They both lost their footing and tumbled to the sidewalk, Richard breaking his foot. This is where this light hearted story begins. Samantha runs The Candy Shoppe, which has been her family's bread and butter for years. She took the shop over after the death of her parents and lives in one of the apartments upstairs with her Grandmother, who is wheelchair bound and unable to speak. Her best friend, Angela, rents a second apartment and, upon hearing about poor Richard's demise, convinces Samantha to let him move into the vacant third apartment rather than renting a hotel room during his stay. What none of them realize is that he's in town to open up a chain confectionary store that will ultimately drive what's left of the business that the little candy store has away. This is an enjoyable story, from the grandmother that recognizes Richard right off, but is unable to tell anyone, to Richard's friend and colleague, Dillon's arrival in town and his interest in Angela. As time passes and Samantha and Richard get to know each other more, the attraction builds, as does Richard's guilt over not only duping Samantha as to his real reason for being in town, but over the possible failure of the tiny shop that is her pride and joy. When Samantha discovers Richard's secret, will he find a way to fix not only her broken heart but save her business as well? Readers will delight in finding the answers to these questions. Ms. Wolverton is a talented writer who brings us another charming story with very real, likeable characters. I thought it was a very pleasant read and would recommend it.

Chocolate... what could be better? It's still in the unread stack but only because it's a big stack. I truly want to read this book. It's sounds awesome.

Samantha and Richard meet in a unusual way. On New Years Eve Samantha was running out of church to get her purse when she ran into Richard as he was entering the church. Both of them lost their balance, and fell down the steps. When Richard went to the doctor they told him that he broke his foot. Samantha owns a candy shop, and had a room for rent, and Richard needed a place to stay. Samantha rented her room to Richard and they became good friends. Samantha's biseness was in danger. She knew that there was a new mall going in down the street, but she did not know that Richard was the owner of it. Will Samantha and Richard's friendship be reined by the mall?

I read this book in one sitting. Ms. Wolverton breathed such life into her characters and settings that I wanted to go to both the stores when I finished the book! Her characterization was so convincing, I could hear the hero and heroine speaking in my mind as I read. Thanks for such a wonderful, feel good story. Great job!

This was the first book I read in the shipment recently received. The cover and title just struck my fancy...Samantha owns a small local candy store. She loves to make the candies, but, as she is first to point out, she doesn't have a business head. The business was run by her Grandmother (who raised her) until 5 years ago when Grandma had a stroke. Now Sam cares for her grandma and tries to keep the store afloat.Richard comes to town. His family's international candy company will be opening up a store in, you guessed it, Samantha's town.This is a delightful book, a fun read. The characters each have their problems. Richard messes up, hides his candy store identity from Sam while his attraction towards her grows. Richard is also on a spiritual journey. He is using this time to get back into a good relationship with God, something he's lost in the past few years of corporate stress. Samantha has her own things to deal with, notably concerning forgiveness. She has to deal with her feeling towards her Dad before she can begin to forgive Richard.Oh, the ending was fun! How Richard woos Samantha once he sets his mind on it is every woman's dream.Recommended for a light fun read.