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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Historical fiction meets romance, meets mystery, meets female empowerment.
1920’s Tasmania and Cadbury’s is setting up their factory on the banks of the Derwent River. We follow the story of two women, Dorothy a recent war widow, immigrating from the UK, who has worked her way up the ranks of the Firm. Maisie, a Tasmanian girl who needs to find work to support her ailing mother and hopes to keep her bright sister from leaving school.
Both woman are at Cadbury’s to better their life, but little did they know that they soon will be targeted as everyone wants the illusive dairy milk recipe.
This beautiful novel is so much more than a book about making chocolate. The wonderful descriptions easily put you right in Claremont, where you can almost hear the cockatoo’s flying past and smell the eucalyptus mixed with cocoa.
You are quickly invested in the lives of these woman and when threats start creeping in, want to protect them immediately.
Stephen’s has created a great depiction of the changing lives and roles of woman in the post great war era, where there are newly discovered freedoms but still very much restrictions from social expectations and glass ceilings. There is also realistic depictions of the realities of war and the mental health consequences of such brutal events.
I did find Dorothy’s romance to be more bordering on obsession which did make me uncomfortable at the beginning but as the story continued it made more sense and came together beautifully.
A wonderful novel for historic fiction lovers, but make sure you have chocolate on hand when reading as it’s all you will think about.
Thanks you HQ fiction and Mary-Lou Stephen’s for a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.
1920’s Tasmania and Cadbury’s is setting up their factory on the banks of the Derwent River. We follow the story of two women, Dorothy a recent war widow, immigrating from the UK, who has worked her way up the ranks of the Firm. Maisie, a Tasmanian girl who needs to find work to support her ailing mother and hopes to keep her bright sister from leaving school.
Both woman are at Cadbury’s to better their life, but little did they know that they soon will be targeted as everyone wants the illusive dairy milk recipe.
This beautiful novel is so much more than a book about making chocolate. The wonderful descriptions easily put you right in Claremont, where you can almost hear the cockatoo’s flying past and smell the eucalyptus mixed with cocoa.
You are quickly invested in the lives of these woman and when threats start creeping in, want to protect them immediately.
Stephen’s has created a great depiction of the changing lives and roles of woman in the post great war era, where there are newly discovered freedoms but still very much restrictions from social expectations and glass ceilings. There is also realistic depictions of the realities of war and the mental health consequences of such brutal events.
I did find Dorothy’s romance to be more bordering on obsession which did make me uncomfortable at the beginning but as the story continued it made more sense and came together beautifully.
A wonderful novel for historic fiction lovers, but make sure you have chocolate on hand when reading as it’s all you will think about.
Thanks you HQ fiction and Mary-Lou Stephen’s for a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
‘During the war I took on positions at Cadbury’s that wouldn’t normally be available to women, including operating and maintaining machinery.’
In 1921, after years of working for Cadbury’s at Bournville, Dorothy Adwell travels to Hobart to help establish the new Cadbury-Fry-Pascall factory at Claremont. The Great War brought Dorothy both opportunity and tragedy: a shortage of labour has enabled her to undertake jobs usually unavailable to women, while sadly her beloved husband Freddie was killed. During the sea voyage, Dorothy meets Thomas Moreland, a man damaged by his experience of war. They are both travelling to Hobart.
Ms Stephens brings together a diverse cast of characters. There are several workers who, like Dorothy, have travelled from the UK. Once in Hobart, Dorothy makes friends with Sarah Harris another Cadbury’s employee. In Tasmania, we meet Maisie Greenwood, the eldest daughter of a war widow, who applies for a position at Cadbury’s to help family finances and to try to ensure that her younger sister Lily can remain at school. Maisie becomes friendly with Frank Sutton, but then a man named Percy Bates enters the scene.
Establishing a new factory is not all smooth sailing for Cadbury-Fry-Pascall. Competitors circle, and some would do anything to try to obtain the recipe for Dairy Milk, the most popular chocolate in the world. Both Maisie and Dorothy become caught in the scheme to steal the recipe.
I enjoyed this novel. With the history of Cadbury’s in Bournville and the Great War as the backdrop, Ms Stephens brings both her characters and the challenges of establishing the new factory at Claremont to life. While the stories of Dorothy and Maisie were central, other characters are important (especially Thomas, Frank, Sarah, and Gertie) in the story that unfolds.
If you enjoy well-written historical fiction with well-developed characters, I can recommend ‘The Chocolate Factory’.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me so much more than I was expecting. Firstly, I enjoyed the fact that it was set in a part of Australia that I have never been to and there is always talk about visiting the Cadbury factory when we eventually go there. Secondly, the characters I fell in love with. Even those characters that had smaller parts and not a main role. They were all well suited. Gertie, Maisie and Dot were my favourite females. Frank by far was my favourite and I could picture him in my head. Bringing together the war and chocolate was a great read. I loved how the book was written in chapters with a different character and the story flowed perfectly. I also loved the fact that it ended with closure! With each page I turned at the end I was hoping it wasn't the actual finish because I needed to know some things, but the author finished it so well.