A young widow. A husband she thought she knew. On the picturesque Italian coast of Amalfi lies a chocolatier's destiny...
San Francisco, 1953: Heartbroken over the mysterious death of her husband, Celina Savoia, a second-generation chocolatire, resolves to take their young son to Italy's shimmering Amalfi coast to introduce him to his father's family. Just as she embarks on a magical, romantic life of making chocolate by the sea surrounded by a loving family, she begins to suspect that her husband had a dark secret-forged in the final days of WWII-that could destroy the relationships she's come to cherish.
While a second chance at love is tempting, the mystery of her husband's true identity thwarts her efforts. Challenged to pursue the truth or lose the life she's come to love, Celina and her late husband's brother, Lauro, must trace the past to a remote, Peruvian cocoa region to face the deceit that threatens to shatter their lives-or lose the life and those she has come to love.
In The Chocolatier, Jan Moran, USA Today bestselling women's fiction author of the contemporary Summer Beach series, and the historical family sagas, Hepburn's Necklace, The Winemakers, and The Perfumer, offers a testament to the resilience of love, along with insights into the fascinating world of chocolate-making.
A solid pick for fans of historical romances combined with a heartbreaking mystery." - Library Journal
"A novel that gives fans of romantic sagas a compelling voice to follow." - Booklist
"Jan Moran is the new queen of the epic romance." - USA Today Bestselling Author Rebecca Forster
Excerpt:
One chocolate truffle had changed her destiny. Indeed, it was one of Celina's best-a silky cocoa powder-dusted truffle filled with raspberry-infused, dark chocolate ganache and enrobed with a couverture, a layer of rich chocolate that melted optimally with the warmth of the body.
After she had offered one to a weary, dark-haired soldier who had just returned from the European front, he introduced himself as Tony Savoia, an Italian immigrant whose family had owned and operated Cioccolata Savoia before war rationing had made sugar difficult to obtain.
And so the saga begins...give yourself the gift of The Chocolatier now.