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Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb
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Publisher: Kensington (5/1/2007) ISBN: 0758214626 Paperback: 400 pages Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches Average Customer Review: based on 30 reviews.
"I left my wedding dress hanging in a tree somewhere in North Dakota. I don't know why that particular tree appealed to me. Perhaps it was because it looked as if it had given up and died years ago and was still standing because it didn't know what else to do..." In her deliciously funny, heartfelt, and moving debut, Cathy Lamb introduces some of the most wonderfully eccentric women since The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and The Secret Life of Bees, as she explores the many ways we find the road home. From the moment Julia Bennett leaves her abusive Boston fianc� at the altar and her ugly wedding dress hanging from a tree in South Dakota, she knows she's driving away from the old Julia, but what she's driving toward is as messy and undefined as her own wounded soul. The old Julia dug her way out of a tortured, trailer park childhood with a monster of a mother. The new Julia will be found at her Aunt Lydia's rambling, hundred-year-old farmhouse outside Golden, Oregon. There, among uppity chickens and toilet bowl planters, Julia is welcomed by an eccentric, warm, and often wise clan of women, including a psychic, a minister's unhappy wife, an abused mother of four, and Aunt Lydia herself--a woman who is as fierce and independent as they come. Meeting once a week for drinks and the baring of souls, it becomes clear that every woman holds secrets that keep her from happiness. But what will it take for them to brave becoming their true selves? For Julia, it's chocolate. All her life, baking has been her therapy and her refuge, a way to heal wounds and make friends. Nobody anywhere makes chocolates as good as Julia's, and now, chocolate just might change her life--and bring her love when she least expects it. But it can't keep her safe. As Julia gradually opens her heart to new life, new friendships, and a new man, the past is catching up to her. And this time, she will not be able to run but will have to face it head on. Filled with warmth, love, and truth, Julia's Chocolates is an unforgettable novel of hope and healing that explores the hurts we keep deep in our hearts, the love that liberates us, the courage that defines us, and the chocolate that just might take us there.

Customer Reviews
Julia's Chocolate--Review by Book Lovers: Get Your English On! We reviewed this book on our blog, Book Lovers: Get Your English On! (http://book-lovers-get-your-english-on.blogspot.com/2008/04/julias-chocolates-review-by-carole.html). I've also posted the review below. Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb has a quirky cast of characters whose interactions, comments, and situations made me alternately laugh out loud and shake my head. Lamb combines truly tragic circumstances with strong characters to shows us how people can find the best in themselves and in each other. And when I say tragic, I'm talking about physically abusive relationships involving women and children, drug and alcohol addiction, shamefully neglectful parents, and cruelty to animals. When you read the name and see the cover, you think that maybe you are in for a light romp of a read, but Lamb deals with some heavy stuff. Granted, her approach may be too light handed for those who really like to dwell in dark places, but as my sister-in-law pointed out, "In books, I like the bad guys to be really bad, and I like my good guys to be really good." Lamb achieves this in Julia's Chocolates. There is no doubt who the bad folks are, and you know who you are rooting for from the very beginning. Julia flees to her Aunt Lydia's house after running out on her abusive fianc�. She is broken in many senses of the word. Her aunt represents all that she knows of stability in a life that has seen more neglect than affection. Aunt Lydia is a force of nature who pushes and pulls those around her to get them to do what she thinks is best for them and all others concerned. She holds weekly get togethers for a group of women friends who are all troubled in one way or another--When Julia joins the group for the first time, her face still sports the technicolor bruise her fiance gave her just before the wedding. She joins the groups for Breast Power Psychic Night. When I got to this part of the book, I thought, "Oh, boy, here we go. Another book from an ardent feminist's point of view, making characters act in ways that real women never would." (Annie G Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral is a classic example of the worst of this genre.) In this case, though, the characters do not want to be in these situations--they simply fall under Aunt Lydia's power of personality and do what she tells them to for their own good. The results are often hilarious. To give you some insight into Aunt Lydia, I pulled this from the book: "'Breasts have a lot to say, Julia, you simply have to listen to them,' says Aunt Lydia, lover of giant ceramic pigs, poker, chickens, and pink houses with black doors to ward off evil spirits and seedy men." During Getting to Know Your Vagina Night, Aunt Lydia says to one of the women, "Katie, let's start with you." To which Katie replies, "Oh, please God, no!" I think I would respond in much the same way. In conjunction with the evening's theme, Aunt Lydia serves tacos and strawberry daiquiris, and I may never look at either of these things the same again. Suffice it so say, that, while a funny element in the book, I was glad my sister-in-law didn't serve these when she hosted book club! For those looking for gritty realism, you might find some of what you are looking for here, but I think you would ultimately be disappointed. Instead, you'll find a world where the good people in a town band together against the people who would do harm to those who cannot protect themselves. It's the way we want to believe our communities would pitch in to help neighbors in true need. I know that I like a little dose of this message now and again. So, if you do too, indulge in some chocolate while you read this satisfying novel and let me know what you think.

What am I missisng? When a book is so highly rated, it puzzles me as to why I don't feel the same way. This was a "canned" romance. I am not a chick lit reader unless the book gets great reviews as did this. The story was fine but so predictible. I really expected more based on other reviews.

Corny, Corny, Corny I so wanted to like this book, and it really had a great beginning. But the characters are so stereotyped, so unreal, that I groaned all the way through. The plot is absolutely predictable - you know exactly where its going - there are no surprises. There are very good people and very bad people here, no nuances, all is black and white. I agree that it is a sweet fairy tale, but ye gads, - how bout a little reality!!

Quirky, unique, ultimately powerful read I picked this book up as an uncorrected proof from a small used bookstore's outdoor $1 rack last fall, since Julia is my niece's name and chocolate is always an interesting topic as a metaphor in fiction. Opening the book at random to determine whether there was a dollar's worth of good reading inside, I caught glimpse of a number of swear words, lots of references to women's sexual organs, and food. How bad could it be? It certainly didn't seem dull. I bought it. Sadly, the first thirty pages or so were dull. It took me a while to get used to the curious writing style of vivid imagery mixed with very flat prose, and the sad, cryptic and rather dreary early pages did not seem to promise a whole lot. However, once I finally got a little further into it, and got to know the very real and very dynamic characters, it took on a life of its own. Most women will probably find something or someone to identify with in this book, but that isn't why I found it interesting. I liked how communal it was...how female friendships, small towns, churches and common interests create groups that exist as communities, even in spite of themselves; and how we all wind up engaged in other people's lives, even if we don't mean to. Characters range from stock drunk to reclusive psychic, and if you let yourself into the libertine mindset of Aunt Lydia, one of the main characters, and the one who speaks the most sense, if you ask me, you don't find them too predictable. Lsmb's in-your-face style mitigates some of the triteness of the storyline, and saves the whole thing from being just a romance with a lot of chocolatemaking in it. Giving yourself over to Vagina Appreciation Night, as the core group of characters do, isn't a bad thing, and might lead to some interesting developments, and so I give the book 4 stars, mainly because I think more people need to appreciate their vaginas with the same gusto as these ladies.

Definitely a good read At first, I thought the story became ridiculous, and I had to suspend my disbelief because Julia's aunt was a little "out there". But I was interested in Julia and kept reading. If you stick with it, the book does draw you in and it becomes very enjoyable. Different from other things I read in this genre, so that was nice.