Customer Reviews

Chocolate Beach

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As soon as I picked up this book, I felt whisked away to the sunny coast of California. Julie Carobini's debut novel will warm you to your toes with quirky dialogue and characters you want for your new best friends.

Married for 14 years to a handsome, rising-star attorney, Brianna begins to suspect that her flip-flops and microwaved cuisine are no longer capturing the heart of her husband. He's starting to work longer hours and travel extensively, leaving Bri alone to raise their surfer-dude teenage son. Still deeply in love, Brianna sets out to reinvent herself.

Readers who love extreme makeover TV will get a kick out of the interior design drama and Bri's new wardrobe and glamorous hairstyle. But will it work?

Encouraged by her longtime friend, Gaby, Bri learns to trust God with the details. The rich enjoyment of chocolate bonds their friendship throughout, making Carobini's first book pure delight to read.


--Christian Women Online Book Buzz

This book is a fresh breath of air in the mom-lit genre. It starts with a classic chick-lit scene. Guy meets girl, who is a crazy barista. They fall in love even though they are extreme opposites. Fast forward about fifteen years to the first chapter.

That young man is now an attorney who rarely makes it home, and Bri wonders if it's her. Have their differences finally reached the point where they've driven them apart? Maybe the pressures of being the parents of a teenager are too much for them? Could there be someone else coming between them? The rest of the book frolics through her attempts to change and recapture her husband's attention. Some of her attempts are more successful than others, which left me groaning even as I knew I'd try the same things. Throughout it's a fun read.

This is the author's first book, and it has a light, fun voice. I don't read a lot of mom-lit, I guess I'd call it, but I loved the voice! Bri is a fun character and someone that I imagine I'd love as a best friend. The whackiness in her life is fairly true to life but just enough away from mine to make it fun to read.

I really did enjoy Chocolate Beach and loved Brianna's character. This book made me laugh out loud several times and Bri's character hasn't left my consciousness in the sense that several days after I read the book I was still thinking about what Bri would think and do in certain situations. The plot isn't huge by any means but this is a perfect, beach (or when you wish you were at the beach which for me is all the time!) read.

Brianna is a beach loving tour guide who is also a happily married mother. She doesn't always see eye to eye with her mother in law, but being with her chocolate loving best friend Gaby makes up for that. Bri thinks she's been living a pretty good life and thinks that her husband would agree with her. But then she starts to worry about her husband being away constantly from his home because of his job, sees him with his young coworker, and finds an email about selling the house. Dealing with her new boss and with a friend who keeps putting her down starts to put a strain on Bri. She decides a complete change is needed and puts both the house and her own self in extreme makeover mode. However she realizes that if this is what is needed to keep her husband, she'll soon lose herself in the process.

I really had a great time reading this book. Bri was such a great character to get to know, and she was very likable and you can easily relate to her. You can understand why she does what she does and why she felt like she had to change. I loved that she's a chocoholic and I enjoyed the bit about the chocolate class, the chocolate chili sounds really good. The setting of the book was great as I too am a beach lover. I could hear the ocean and see the sun reflecting off the sand as I read the book. Reading this book took me away from the yucky cold here and into the warm beach surroundings. I also was glad that while Bri's mother-in-law could be annoying and pushy at times, she wasn't evil. Other books have portrayed the daughter in law losing every single battle and never being good enough for her husband's mom. While Mona was difficult to please at times, she and Bri could stand to be in a room without killing each other. The Kate issue, however, I felt seemed a little forced at times and I felt she was really rude even though she eventually made up with Bri. Gaby would be such a great friend to have and I hope that there will be another book involving her story. This is Julie Carobini's first novel and I have definitely become a fan. Chocolate Beach in running for one of the best books of 2007 for me. (And I love that cover!) I'm looking forward towards her next book!

Brianna Stone is worried. She's worried about her marriage, her job and her very single best friend. Is her husband bored with their life? Can she reinvent herself? And how will she fend off her nosy mother-in-law? Bri loves the carefree beach life, but will she have to give it up to save her marriage?

Carobini takes readers on a journey through Bri's insecurities & assumptions. As Brianna finds her place in God's eyes she's able to find peace. Carobini's stream of conscience writing style gives readers the chance to experience life through Bri's eyes.

Strong writing and character depth keeps the reader interested. Numerable mentions of brownies will make you the reader long for chocolate. Maybe the perfect way to relax is to have both. :)

Review by:
Jill Hart, CWAHM.com

There's an elephant in the room which I need to address. If you took a look at the Publishers Weekly review, you know what I mean. Quite the coup for a first-time novelist from a Christian publishing house to receive such notice. Except for the part of the review that delivers some tough criticism. Here's probably the harshest line: "the series of misunderstandings that she [the protagonist] substitutes for actual problems give the novel a contrived feel"

Don't get me wrong--I respect PW and know that their approval (which they end up giving Chocolate Beach in small doses) can mean a lot to the success of a novel. However, they are not infallible. In this instance, they got it wrong. Not totally. But still wrong.

Yes, protagonist Brianna Stone does seem to have an ideal life. I thought it sounded about perfect and sort of smiled when she found her day at her beach home with her one son and lawyer husband so exhausting she needed to take a nap. But Bri's worries are not based on misunderstandings, as PW suggests. Nor does the one comment from her friend send her off doing drastic things to her lifestyle.

Instead, a sequence of events, one after the other, expose a problem at her core--a problem she handles badly. All of these circumstances taken together work powerfully to teach Bri what change she really needs to make. Which is the way I see God so often working in my life.

Strengths. There are many. For one, I agree with PW that Carobini's "descriptions of characters and events are often witty and engaging." The book was fun, humorous, yes, witty.

Carobini also has such a strong, fresh voice and has the knack of making each of her characters unique and interesting. Bri, of course, is the strongest. She is a likable protagonist, convincing--someone I found myself caring for, worrying with. Her jaunty tone contrasted with several of the uptight women in her life, setting her apart in a positive way.

The story is delightful--the unexpected and worrisome mixed with the humorous. Carobini sprinkles the story liberally with pop-culture allusions that add an interesting dimension. Plus, I found the events believable, especially as backstory was layered in.
No, some of the deep hurts of Bri's past do not become the focus of the story, nor should they in a mom-lit story. What does happen is the realization of a new way to handle hurts.
Which brings me to the theme of the story. * * * SPOILER ALERT * * * If I had to spell it out, I'd use lines straight from the book--not because Carobini preached, but because her character discovered what she needed to know: "Not that I don't believe there's power in transformation. Oh, I do, I do! I think, though, that it should start with the mind and the heart, not rumors and fears."

It seems to me the PW reviewer missed this point in stating that the story was built upon misunderstandings. It was not. It was built on Bri's doubts and fears, all well established throughout the story, but not belabored. After all, this is mom-lit. * * * End SPOILER ALERT * * *

Weakness. As I've already mentioned, in the beginning I had a little bit of a desire to head-slap Bri for not drinking in her perfect life. Of course, that was because as I first viewed her life, it looked quite appealing, something I wouldn't mind too much if I were forced to take her place.

But as I began to see her life as she saw it, to understand that she had good reasons for her concerns, my empathy for her grew and my belief in the rightness of her reactions cancelled out those early inclinations.

Recommendation. I enjoyed this book immensely, even though it is not my genre of choice. It was fun to read and the character stayed on my mind for days after. I was sorry I didn't have some way of checking in on Bri to see how she is doing now. I highly recommend this entertaining, light book for all fans of mo

If you are looking for a light, breezy read, I highly recommend CHOCOLATE BEACH. Julie Carobini has created realistic characters which spriing to life in this story told told from the view of Bri Stone. I loved it and can't wait until her next book releases.

Bri Stone's blissful fourteen-year marriage to Mr. Incredibly Handsome Douglas has suddenly drifted into murky waters. Friends are dropping hints that Douglas is looking rather "too single" lately while zipping around Ventura in his new sports car. Bri longs to ignore her friends' concerns, but Douglas HAS been missing their dinner dates and keeping unusually long work hours at the law office. To further muddy the marital waters, Bri has found evidence that Douglas is shopping for a new home, without discussing the matter with her.

Is Douglas becoming bored with Bri's carefree ways and with their beach-kitsch-deco oceanside home? When Bri is unable to confront Douglas about the state of their marriage, due to schedule conflicts and illness, she decides to polish her casual image and her beloved house to regain her husband's interest.

As friends, relatives, and a new boss advise, patronize, and sympathize with her efforts, Bri frequently consoles herself by eating delectably described brownies on the beach--leaving this winter-bound reader happily soaking up the sunny descriptions, while being tempted to wake the family by baking brownies at midnight. Bri, where is the recipe?

Author Julie Carobini's characters are lovingly described and the well-paced plot balances humor, lessons in faith, and some gently explored sorrows, making Chocolate Beach a delightful read. Enjoy!

When a laid-back beach girl sets out to keep her way-too-overly-busy lawyer husband from all she fears could be the reason, there's bound to be trouble. Throw in an intrusive mother-in-law, a teenaged son, a flirty new boss, a friend with romantic woes, and a fax that indicates her husband might be bored. His continual absence is enough to launch a complete makeover--head to toe, home to house. Filled with entertaining plot twists, this novel is smart, funny, and engaging. The first person heroine is sassy, fun to watch and second guess. Her internal monologue is well-paced, not intrusive. You suspect she's making judgment errors, but aren't quite sure her reality isn't truly happening. Something's not accurate, but the suspicious knots don't unravel until the end. The ensemble cast is well drawn and quirky. This book is highly recommended for women eager for a pleasant, light read.

Two delicious words combine to form the title of this well-crafted first novel by Julie Carobini. While there is no specific place in the story called Chocolate Beach, the setting is a southern California beach town, Ventura. Plus, at one point, Brianna Stone, the central character, takes a Chocolate Cooking Class by the Sea.

In the opening pages readers learn that Bri, a tour bus host, and attorney Douglas Stone have been married for 14 years and live in a beach bungalow with their teenage son, Nathan, who loves to surf. Nathan is concerned about the spiritual condition of his friend, Gibson, and gives him a Bible.

Initially, Bri's biggest inconvenience is hearing about best friend Gaby's failed romantic escapades. Bri wants Gaby to find the right man and settle down to the kind of lifestyle that Bri has attained. However, Bri's problems begin to mount when she does the laundry and finds a fax in the back pocket of Douglas's pants. It's from Bri's meddling mother-in-law, Mona Stone, marked "For Douglas Only." Mona is a local realtor who wants Douglas and his family to move into a property that would be much more in line with her expectations for her attorney son.

Life spirals out of control when the owner of Coastal Tours, Rita Holland, retires and turns her business over to her son, Ty, who seems determined to put a different spin on the tour bus business. For example, Ty includes a vague promise about how the tours will see celebrities, and a busload of Asian tourists throw some different expectations for Bri.

Meanwhile, Douglas is consumed with a complex trial where he is working all day and night. Upon its completion, he flies to Atlanta for a series of meetings. This intense schedule permits zero time for Bri to communicate with him. Eventually, she learns that Douglas is spending many hours with his female associate, Kendall, and begins to worry that her marriage is in trouble.

Readers will be delighted by the author's use of snappy dialogue and fast-moving scenes. Her characters leap off the pages and are modeled after people who you probably know (and even if you don't, they still are incredibly believable). CHOCOLATE BEACH is an excellent book that I highly recommend. Let's hope we won't need to wait too long for Carobini's sophomore effort to be released.

--- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin