Score: 4.5/5 Bookmarks

Please note: I was provided with a free Digital Review Copy of this book, by NetGalley, but all opinions are my own. 

If you’re an Outlander fan then you should definitely read Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston! It has time-travel, tension, a love interest, and all the challenges that come with being a modern woman in the seventeenth century!

I haven’t read the author’s first book in this series The Little Shop of Found Things, and while there are references to it in this book the story was easy to follow from this point.

Our heroine Xanthe is torn between two worlds, her life in the present-day and helping friends from the past. She’s also discovering her talent for ‘spinning time’ and trying to learn how to control and use her new-found abilities.

The characters in the book (both present-day and from the past) are interesting and compelling and make you want to know more about them. I’m definitely hoping there will be more in this series, because I for one can’t wait to read what happens to Xanthe next!

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things was called “a page-turner that will no doubt leave readers eager for future series installments” (Publishers Weekly). Now, Brackston returns to the Found Things series with its sequel, Secrets of the Chocolate House.

After her adventures in the seventeenth century, Xanthe does her best to settle back into the rhythm of life in Marlborough. She tells herself she must forget about Samuel and leave him in the past where he belongs. With the help of her new friends, she does her best to move on, focusing instead on the success of her and Flora’s antique shop.

But there are still things waiting to be found, still injustices needing to be put right, still voices whispering to Xanthe from long ago about secrets wanting to be shared.

While looking for new stock for the shop, Xanthe hears the song of a copper chocolate pot. Soon after, she has an upsetting vision of Samuel in great danger, compelling her to make another journey to the past.

This time she'll meet her most dangerous adversary. This time her ability to travel to the past will be tested. This time she will discover her true destiny. Will that destiny allow her to return home? And will she be able to save Samuel when his own fate seems to be sealed?