Have you seen the movie Chocolat? I love it. I needed a food themed book for semi-charmed so I picked this one up at the library. To my (pleasant) surprise, this book is quite a bit different than the movie! It follows a young bohemian woman named Vianne and her daughter Anouk, as they move to a new town in France. She decides to open a chocolatrie right as lent begins. The corrupt priest in town does everything he can to try to get her to quit and move on to another town, but Vianne sticks it out making friends with the locals. In particular, her landlord Armande (played by Judi Dench in the movie) becomes a close friend. Vianne has the mysterious ability to discern what is going on in her customer's lives... some even think she's a witch. When a caravan of gypsies arrive on the river, the town is torn in two; those who welcome them, and those who deny them entrance into their businesses.

Overall I found this book very interesting. I liked Vianne's character, she is so passionate and eclectic. There are some passages of the book that are just so interesting to read, filled with little folk stories, mixes of Catholicism and Paganism... it's just really really interesting. There are also some lovely pieces of description related to the cooking, the chocolate making, the settings... you get really immersed in this small provincial French town. If you love food, and aren't offended by pagan sort of themes I would definitely recommend this one! This doesn't end on a super tense cliffhanger, but there are more books. I think I would be interested in picking them up sometime, but I'm not in any rush!