Chocolate Aftertaste
Liz Grace Davis
At her pre-wedding dinner, Nora Darkin, the daughter of a
wealthy entrepreneur, discovers her fiancé is not the man she thought he was.
As her father hoists his glass to toast them, she makes an announcement: there will
be no wedding to her father's right-hand man.
Due to the fresh rift driven between her and her father,
Nora escapes to the quaint town of Dreara. Determined to live her life her own
way, she makes new friends and pursues her lifelong desire of becoming a chef.
Ethan Danes, a neighbour with his own broken heart, helps soothe hers.
Just as Nora discovers what it means to be happy, and she
begins to fall in love with Ethan, a woman from his past re-enters his life…
Review:
The part I love most about this novel is the fact that it was written to be very realistic. Liz Grace didn't try to make it a fairy tale like love story. Instead she included real life relationship problems and made the characters strong enough to overcome them. I enjoyed all the unexpected plot twists as well as the fact that the novel was very well written.
Excerpt:
Nora turned her attention back to the reality in front of
her. She hated arguments; sometimes she wished she could hide somewhere, just
wait them out. Unfortunately, life was not like that.
She lifted her eyes to meet Liam’s. The ice in his eyes had
not melted. She dropped her gaze.
Instead of flirting with her appetite, the large marinated
tiger prawns made her stomach queasy, and the oriental noodles looked like
neglected yarn left out in the rain. From the way he dissected his steak,
Liam’s appetite was just fine. She gritted her teeth as his knife scraped the
porcelain plate.
Unable to bear the silence between them, she leaned forward
and whispered, “I hate it when you ignore me.”
“What do you want me to say?” He chewed the last of his food
and waved for the waiter. “We’re done.”
The waiter nodded and scuttled over to remove their plates.
When the waiter was out of earshot, Nora hissed through
clenched teeth, “I wasn’t done.”
Liam took a swig of water, probably wishing it were
something stronger. “You didn’t look like you were hungry.”
“Stop treating me like a child,” she snapped.
“Stop acting like one.”
Nora’s cheeks heated. She contained her anger with
difficulty. “That’s really insensitive.”
“What do you want from me, Nora?” A vein pulsed in his neck.
“What exactly do you want me to say?”
“Say you want me to be happy.” Her eyes brimmed. “Don’t ask
me to get rid of my best friend.”
He loosened his tie—and then slammed his fist on the table,
knocking over Nora’s glass of water. The silver stream raced straight for her
lap.
The waiter appeared as if from nowhere to replace the white
tablecloth with a new one. Nora forced a smile and whispered an apology. The
waiter nodded, and a minute later he left.
Ignoring the curious looks they got from the other diners,
she dabbed at the moisture on her black jeans. “You can’t always explode every
time I refuse to do what you want.”
Liam ignored her. “Ask to pay. I want to leave.”
Nora flinched, but abided. Paying wasn’t so bad—so long as
it was fair. On their first and second date, he paid. On their third and a few
more after that, they went Dutch. After one year, he asked her to pay for an
occasional meal until it became an unspoken arrangement between them. The only
thing Liam had paid for himself in three years was her engagement ring.
About the Author:
Liz Grace Davis grew up in Angola, Namibia, South Africa and
Germany. She now lives with her husband in Vienna, Austria.
Growing up, Liz spent most her days in libraries, diving
into the world of books. In her spare time she reads a lot, travels, creates jewelry
and designs digital scrapbooks. That's of course when she's not weaving
stories. She's in her element whenever she is doing anything that requires
creativity.
Liz is the author of a young adult fantasy novel, Tangi's
Teardrops, and a romantic women's fiction novel, Chocolate Aftertaste.
