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Violet Duke

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Love, Chocolate, and Beer: Luke & Dani (Cactus Creek Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Violet Duke (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 6,495 ratings

Part of: Cactus Creek (4 books)

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* * * A USA TODAY best-seller * * *
Chocolatier and town newcomer Luke Bradford loves his shop's new home. Mostly because it means he gets to do his new favorite thing every day, which is to lock horns with the feisty beer-brewing beauty next door, both business-wise and otherwise.

But to be fair, in his defense --

Just kidding. He has no defense.

Brewmaster and town sweetheart Dani Dobson is declaring war against her hot, maddening new menace of a neighbor. And his shop. He absolutely started it. She's just picking up the chocolate-covered gauntlet he unintentionally threw down.

The terms? Her business versus his in the arena of romance.

The stakes? Very likely, her heart.

"Violet Duke always writes such compelling, delightful characters who manage to pull you in and make you feel a part of their lives." -- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy

♥ AUTHOR NOTE ♥
Be forewarned, this book is definitely sweeter (and longer) than my other books (but there is still some on-page steam, as well as a few curse words--no f-bombs though, per usual). A book about a brewmaster and chocolatier battling over Valentine's Day supremacy? Yep, it was a given I was going to go all-out on the feel-good romance for this one. :) So if you're in the mood for a light and fun love story (with some of my token laugh-and-cry Violet Duke-ness, of course) between two stubbornly romantic characters who work hard for their happily ever after, this is the book for you! xoxo ♥ V

THE CACTUS CREEK SERIES
Love, Chocolate, and Beer [Luke & Dani]
Love, Diamonds, and Spades [Rylan & Quinn]
Love, Tussles, and Takedowns [Hudson & Lia]
Love, Exes, and Ohs [Isaac & Xoey]

All the Cactus Creek books are standalone novels with feel-good HEAs. :) Enjoy!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A new must-read series from Violet Duke. Not only will you fall in love with the characters, you'll fall in love with romance."
--NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Kathleen Brooks
"Holy cow, Luke is one of those heroes you can't help but fall in love with. [And] there is a remarkable ensemble cast. That's what makes this book so incredible."
--Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

"Fun, quirky, and romantic...I would marry [Luke] on the spot. [Luke and Dani] were the epitome of adorable."--Love Between the Sheets

"A small town romance with a great cast of secondary characters. They have chemistry, and the writing is great."--The Barnes & Noble Review

"Like nothing I've ever read before...all around striking. It wasn't just the beautiful romance between the couple that caught and kept my attention but it was the overall uniqueness and inventiveness of the story."--Liezel's Book Blog

"Violet Duke has outdone herself...again! There is something pure and beautiful with her writing, it's phenomenal. This is an absolutely fun book about love and friendships. I was laughing and crying throughout the whole book."--The Lovely Books Book Blog

"This is going down as one of my top favorite books."--Livzletlivz Book Review Blog

"Another amazing book from Violet Duke. I fell in love with the twists and turns...a must read."--Tabby's Tantalizing Reviews

"Sweet, sassy, sexy and full moments that made me swoon. Violet has the uncanny ability to pull at your heart strings whilst also causing the biggest of grins at the sweetness of her stories. Overall a brilliant story."--Can't Beat A Good Book

From the Author

OTHER BOOKS BY VIOLET DUKE

the CAN'T RESIST series The acclaimed NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series, a Top 10 Bestseller across Amazon, B&N, and iTunes.

RESISTING (Sullivan Brothers Trilogy, Book 1)*
FALLING (Sullivan Brothers Trilogy, Book 2)*
CHOOSING (Sullivan Brothers Trilogy, Book 3)*
FINDING (Book 4, Sullivan Brothers Spin-Off Standalone Novel)

* Trilogy also available as a bundled box set
the CACTUS CREEK series The fun & sweet USA TODAY bestselling series with strong heroines, memorably romantic heroes, and a quirky town full of lovably meddling neighbors.

LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER
LOVE, DIAMONDS, AND SPADES
LOVE, TUSSLES, AND TAKEDOWNS
LOVE, EXES, AND OHS
More books coming in 2020 & 2021 -- please see note above on medical leave

the UNFINISHED LOVE seriesThe emotional USA Today bestselling 4-duet series about four brothers, each fighting for their second first chance at love. Years be damned.

BEFORE THAT NIGHT (Caine & Addison, Book 1 of 2)
EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT YOU (Caine & Addison, Book 2 of 2)
BEFORE THAT PROMISE (Drew & Skylar, Book 1 of 2)
More books coming in 2020 & 2021 -- please see note above on medical leave

the FOURTH DOWN series (Penguin Random House)The sexy USA Today bestselling sports romance series about three hot, unapologetically incorrigible football guys and the badass women they fall for. Published by Random House Books. (Note: this publisher imprint closed its doors so I'm working on getting my rights back so I can self-pub these books. Rights reversal is a very slow process. Fingers crossed!).

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00I4KRGPA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (January 30, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 30, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2645 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 428 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #8,673 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #212 in Contemporary Women's Fiction
- #382 in Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)
- #1,456 in Contemporary Romance (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 6,495 ratings

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Violet Duke

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NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former university professor who loves being on the other side of the page now writing emotion-rich stories with fun, everyday characters and sweet, sexy match-ups. With over a million books sold since her debut in 2013, Violet's wonderful readers have put all four of her feel-good, laugh & cry series on U.S. bestseller lists, as well as the Amazon Top 10, Apple iBooks Top 5, and Barnes & Noble Top 5 charts.

When she isn't feeding her book-a-day addiction, Violet enjoys doing far too many things without checking the directions first (often with outrageous power tools she has no business operating), and cooking impossible-to-replicate 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. She lives in Hawai'i with her kids (Violet & Duke) and Mr. Violet Duke (their ringleader), with a PJs-and-rubber-slippers work dress code she takes very seriously.

♥ For fan info & epic giveaways, visit: www.facebook.com/VioletDukeBooks

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4.3 out of 5

6,495 global ratings

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Midnight Rainbow

Love it!

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2014

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This was my first ever experience reading Violet Duke and I'm so glad I indulged. What a fantastic storyteller! Laughs. Tears - of both joy and pain. Wonderful introduction to characters, especially as this is an ongoing series. I can't wait for the next one! Violet Duke is now on my must-read list of authors.

Firstly, I was impressed at the length of this book and it's prequel. It was nice to read a book over a number of nights instead of breezing through it in a few hours.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the introduction of the characters and how they meet (you can't read Love, Chocolate and Beer without the prequel, you'll do yourself an injustice if you try!) The characters growth throughout the book and their ups and downs make the journey so worthwhile. I also really like how Violet makes them work for their HEA too. There's a beautiful sense of humour in this book too which you just can't help but chuckle at as you read. And have tissues handy please, there are some tear-up moments and not just from sad stuff. There're some seriously sweet and awesome gestures within that will make the water works leak. Be prepared though, there are some sad moments where I seriously couldn't see my tablet screen and had to keep dabbing at my eyes just to read the next line ... which made me weep more. Sob, dab, repeat.

The details in the processes of making the beer and the chocolate had me completely baffled, but didn't stop the flow of the story. In fact, I'm now rather intrigued as to the whole chocolate making/creating process and would love to see it in action. I might have to pay the local chocolate shop a visit and see if I can peek at what they do there and how they create their yummy morsels. I think I'd have to travel further for a brewpub though and my last encounter with a brewery tour ended sourly when the tour guide took us through a freshly cleansed room which reeked of ammonia and quite literally stole my breathe away. Perhaps one day I'll have to opportunity to see something smaller scale than C.U.B. in Melbourne and enjoy the process!! That aside, the research that must have gone into those parts of the book must have been extensive unless Ms Duke actually has first hand working knowledge of both industries, in which case, I'm jealous! The art to create such delicacies and flavours as described in Love, Chocolate and Beer leave the palate wanting and the mouth watering, wondering just how great all those foods and drinks would taste.

Violet introduces all the characters who will be making appearances in their own Cactus Creek books this year, which is part of why it's as long as it is. It was a lovely journey meeting everyone and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and all the novellas in between. Job well done to Violet Duke!

5 people found this helpful

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Brienne Dubh - Escapology Reviews

Both good fun but the prequel set a bar the follow up didn't reach

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

After downloading Love, Chocolate and Beer to my beloved kindle I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a two for one deal that included the prequel novella, A Little Combustible Chemistry. It also came with a note from the author that it was highly recommended to be read first. After reading both I couldn't agree more.

Straight away we are introduced to the smart and bold female brewmaster Dani Dobson and I must say I took to her right from the start. Running the family brewpub ‘Ocotillos’ she is a straight talking business women and the type of boss who was so cool and respectful that I found myself wanting to physically get into the story and get a job at her pub. Her good friend and second in command Xoey, is the sexy free spirit who comes in to give Dani a bit of a pep talk and us insight to her lack of love life , that’s when Mr tall, sweet and sexy walks in.

Luke Bradford, the newest resident in Cactus creek is a chocolatier and all out romantic and with his business Desert Confections, next door to Ocotillos, he’s Dani’s new neighbor too. After seeing each other around town a few times they finally meet and there’s definitely more than a little chemistry between them. The banter and humor between them during their first meeting is great and give you high expectations for what’s to come between them.

Luke and Dani are good believable characters and easy to like with their sexy, flirty wordplay. Which is why I felt a little cheated when it came to their sexting. This is the fun part of the relationship where the two are getting to know each other and through their interactions, how we are supposed to get to know them. But instead of writing the messages between the two we get how they felt after reading the ‘sext’ from each other, which I thought was a shame and a waste of a good opportunity for chemistry building. We were told about this heat between them rather than shown it. I don’t need the messages to be explicit but sexting could have been sexy without being graphic, just a bit more would have been nice. That said, there is still a plenty attraction between the two.

We are also introduced to Quinn who is Lukes business partner and another strong female character that you can’t help but like. We are given a tiny bit of her history and it’s obvious that there is a lot more to come from her. I enjoyed the interactions between Dani and Quinn and it was good to read something where smart women were talking to each other without the bitchiness and jealousy you get in some books.

Luke and Dani continue to get to know each other and after a couple of misunderstandings, some miscommunication, a bit of baiting and a lot more flirting a bet is made between the two regarding their respective businesses. Danni reacts rashly to something and it’s obvious this is going to cause problems further down the road for this couple.

As the line between business and pleasure quickly blur Luke, a hopeful romantic, is amused to discover that Dani thinks beer is more romantic than chocolate. After trying to school each other in their own brand of romance they decide to each work on a campaign leading up to Valentine's day to out romance the other and having the town bet on which is more romantic. And so the bet is on. It’s Ocotillos vs Desert confections & Beer vs Chocolate.
It’s a fun fast start to the series with likable characters and leaves you with a lot to look forward to.

**********
Love Chocolate & Beer picks up three week later with the friendly brewpub vs chocolate shop feud in full swing. Dani and Luke are now ‘sexting’ dating in private, while trying to get one over each others business in public using every social media outlet available to them.

I really enjoyed most of this book and I think it’s because its not what I expected. Instead of gushing about feelings there are intelligent conversations about love after a death, love after a betrayal, love the second time around and the love between parents. Then there was the obvious love for the chocolate and beer. They were obviously written about by someone who has an appreciation for both. The brewing methods, the ingredients, designs details and overall creative process for both beer and chocolate was impressive.

Having read the prequel I was excited getting into this book and when I did I enjoyed reading the clever tactics Dani & Luke came up with along with the after effect once each one upped the stakes. Though Dani’s actions did confused me a little. Yes she reacted hastily to something in the prequel but her actions festered like an abscess throughout this entire book and left me with a bad taste. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t resolved earlier. It felt as though it was pushed to the back just to make a big deal out of later in the story. In real life it would have been resolved much earlier. And as much as I like Dani (and I really do) I feel as though the initial straight forward, honest character we met in the prequel, disappeared halfway through this book. I think that’s the reason the pace of this one felt slower and it took me much longer to get through.

For me the story got a little too bogged down by all the secrets being kept by the main characters. There were too many things being hidden to keep track of and considering the story took place over several months they should have been resolved sooner. All the characters were likable, even the bad ones you are not meant to like and this is not necessarily a good thing.

But without a doubt my favorite parts of this book were the details when it came to the chocolate and beer brewing recipes. By the time I’d finished I reading I wanted to find out if their products were real and where I could get some. It was refreshing to read characters who not just enjoyed but loved with a passion what they did for a living.

There was a lot more of Quinn in this one but still not enough for my liking as she was a great character. With everything that had happened and continued to happen to her she managed not to turn into a bitter women. There was a bit of a side romance going on for her but the book didn’t really get into much of that.

Even though I really enjoyed this book I was happy when I got to the end. The prequel ‘A Little Combustible Chemistry’ set a bar that the follow up just didn’t reach but I do have hopes for the other follow up books and I would recommend this one to a friend.

3 people found this helpful

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Kayla

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

With 115 5 Star reviews and only 1 - 1 star review on Amazon; the crowd has the right idea about this novel. I know i have already raved on about the prequel but this first book of the series was also equally tasty. The intimate scenes aren't raunchy but have enough spice to make it interesting. The only thing I was skeptical about was, because I am a cynic, the pure devotion and absolutely patience that came from Luke. I mean wowza! A little unrealistic for me and its simply because I believe in human flaws and not everyone would be as forgiving or understanding as dearest Luke. However, the rest of the novel was pure indulgence. For $2.99 you get a few hours of delicious competition and languid overpowering love. I love the other stories wrapped around Dani and Luke as well. You get to hear about what happens with Quinn throughout and at the end of the book Ms. Violet Duke leaves the book perfectly open for the next installment. I am giddy with delight and just cannot wait to read it. The end of the story wonderfully and yet tragically wraps up in a neat package why Dani is as un-trusting as she is and you can understand but the author allows you to find a way to forgive and move on. Its simply wonderful! Please pick up a copy of the kindle copy at amazon at the link above and share in the playful fight that brought a town closer together and entwined two stubborn hearts for eternity.

ORiginal Post At: http://babygotstacks.com/2014/03/19/love-chocolate-and-beer/

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Sandra S

It's worth fighting for true love

Reviewed in Germany on June 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

This story of the beginning and growing of Luke and Dani's relationship while overcoming their own fears, hurts and trustissues as well as their businessproblems is quite emotional.

I was crying so hard when all seemed lost and really just wanted the two of them find their HEA.

Simmi Gupta

Good product

Reviewed in India on September 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

Good product

cindyc

What is not to fall in love with? This book is by far

Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

What is not to fall in love with? This book is by far, one of the most romantic books I have had the absolute pleasure of reading in a long time. The author has given us an unlikely couple that, not only fall in love, but make it fun for everyone along the way. Both of the main characters are somewhat broken in their own ways, but together, they find that love and each other, with a challenge or two thrown in, can not only put them back together, but heal the hurts as well. When Lukes' assistant finds herself on the other side of the road, in front of a small brewery/pub, interviewing potential customers, never in a million years could she have imagined the wrath she would discover. But discover it she does, when Dani, the owner of the brewery, takes it as an insult to her business, blowing up in front of the wrong people. And, never in a million years, would either Luke or Dani have imagined that they would become such "enemies" before even having the chance to get to know each other more after their first encounter, the night before. Can a simple throwdown bring two people together, let alone mend some hearts along the way?
A great story that is worth reading every page! Not only will you be entranced, but you will fall in love all over again.

2 people found this helpful

R. M. Ryan

Hidden egg

Reviewed in Australia on June 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

I found this book while reading Melanie Shawn (she calls it a hidden egg) and I was really glad I did. I laughed, cried and had a truly wonderful emotional reaction.

Cécile

Cute

Reviewed in France on September 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

Nothing exceptional here, but a cute romance set in a small town, Cactus Creek. Nice interactions between friends, neighbours, family...
Pleasant to read.

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Love, Chocolate, and Beer: Luke & Dani (Cactus Creek Book 1) Kindle Edition

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