Sweet Misfortune

April 19, 2010
Milne (The Nine Lessons
) slightly dials down his trademark oversentimentality in this serviceable novel of uplift. Chocolatier Sophie Jones carries around much guilt about her parents' accidental death when she was nine, so when her fiancé, Garrett Black, dumps her, she gets to feeling very, very sad. But in a lemons/lemonade moment, she channels her disappointment into a signature cookie: the Misfortune Cookie, which becomes a hit with her customers. She's eventually somewhat content, but then Garrett begs her to take him back, and she presents him with a challenge: prove that true happiness exists. The challenge, while silly, predictably leads them down a path they never expected. While this packs all the warm fuzzies Milne's readers would expect, a flood of too-serendipitous developments strain credibility, even for a cute, disposable confection. For readers willing to do some serious suspending of disbelief, there'll be some smiles.

May 1, 2010
For someone who owns a chocolate shop, Sophie Jones is not very sweet. Her life is full of tragedy, starting with her parents death in a car crash on her ninth birthday, up to her fianc' Garrett mysteriously breaking up with her and moving away mere days before their wedding. Always a realist and a cynic, Sophie knows that nothing lasts forever and disappointment is always around the corner, and is dismayed when Garrett comes back into her life. Garrett has had a change of heart and wants another chance to make her happy. She says that true happiness is fleeting, while Garrett contends that there is no limit. They make an agreement: Garrett will put an ad in the local paper seeking long-term happiness, and if he gets 100 responses that meet Sophies exacting standards, she will go out on one last date and hear why he left her. Fans of Nicholas Sparks will enjoy this uplifting novel about second chances, circumstance, coincidence, and, of course, happiness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)