Title: Sweet Dreams, Baby
Author: C.J. Carmichael
Series: Love at the Chocolate Shop #12
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Short novel
Available: 7th Sept
Three weeks ago, Portia Bishop mailed a letter to the father of her baby, Saddle Bronc rider Austin Bradshaw. It’s a letter she should have written a long time ago—like when she first found out she was pregnant, shortly after she ended things with Austin, dropped out of college, and went running to her family in Marietta, Montana.
Austin has loved Portia since he first laid his eyes on her in college. A year ago, he convinced her to do something impulsive and very romantic. Now, as he opens her letter, Austin has two reasons to return to Marietta–win back the heart of the woman he still loves and convince her he’s a good bet for a forever man and father.
Source: ARC from Tule Publishing via NetGalley
After a year and eleven other books, the Love at the Chocolate Shop series comes to an end by clearing up the long-running Portia mystery – who’s the daddy of her baby? Why did she run away? What’s really going on with her? And while I liked Austin and it was great to have the series wrap up in sweet, chocolately style, Portia really got on my nerves.
I tried to sympathise, I truly did, but with each new revelation about her relationship with Austin and why she ran away, I lost a little more patience. She’s so immature and she just won’t talk about any of it. Yes, okay, her parents’ divorce clearly weighs on her, especially considering the behaviour of her ratbag father (see the Carrigans of Circle C series if you want to know the whole story), but she’s not a child. She’s not even a teenager. She needed to grow up and take responsibility for all of her actions, not just caring for Xavy (who is the perfect baby. Seriously, he really is too good to be true).
Austin was a lot better, but also a touch too perfect. He has a business degree and an excellent job lined up, he’s also a rising rodeo star despite being a city boy, yet he would have given it all up for Portia – if only she’d said something. But she didn’t, and he backed off, and although he’s angry at her for keeping Xavy a secret, he’s also really understanding and sweet and… maybe a bit over the top in the wonderful stakes. Still, I liked him a lot more than Portia and often wondered why he even wanted her back in the first place.
But this book isn’t just about these two (probably for the best), it’s also about Marietta and the lack of Copper Mountain Rodeo this year, thanks to a fire, and working out a way to rebuild what was lost. It’s also about the chocolate shop and Sage’s plans to expand – and the possible pitfalls in her way. There is a lot going on, with all this, the romance and catching up with all the other couples from the rest of the series (briefly in most cases), and there were times when things felt a bit rushed or crammed in to round it all off.
So, all things considered, it wasn’t perfect and won’t go down as a favourite from this series, but it does manage to tie everything up in a pretty neat bow, while giving the whole year a nice send off. Overall it was a sweet end to a fun series in one of my favourite fictional towns. Here’s hoping we’ll get Wren’s tale soon… especially if it involves a certain cowboy.
Sweet Dreams, Baby is out September 7th.
Visit C.J. Carmichael for more details.
