Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

When a nobleman unexpectedly asks for her hand in marriage, beautiful Rosamund sees an escape from her life as a barmaid in her abusive stepfather's inn. But what seems like a stroke of luck will soon spiral into a complex web of intrigue.With a fine mind for business and the patience to listen to any customer tell his tale, Rosamund should be invaluable to her stepfather. But his brutal treatment encourages even his sons to manhandle her, and it's in fleeing their salacious advances that she runs right into the carriage of Sir Everard Blithman. Taken by this lovely woman in dirty clothes, the widowed Everard marries her, and Rosamund is suddenly the mistress of not only his estate, but also his chocolate house, the fashionable place for gentlemen to be seen in Restoration London. Although her much older husband releases her from her conjugal duties, Rosamund is eager to prove herself a good wife by learning the chocolate trade and aligning herself against Everard's sworn enemy: Matthew Lovelace, the man whose unfortunate marriage to Everard's daughter drove her to the Colonies, precipitating her deathand the death of their childon the high seas. Everard's sudden death leaves Rosamund at loose ends, and as she navigates life as a wealthy widow, possible villains lurk nearby. Brooks (The Locksmith's Daughter, 2018, etc.) masterfully deploys surprising plot twists, deftly pacing the opening of closets to reveal hidden diaries and family skeletons. With her bright, indefatigable heroine, Brooks has produced a sparkling addition to the recent spate of "wife" and "daughter" novels; in her hands, it's Rosamund who plucks herself out of trouble, who openly enjoys life's pleasures, who even laughs in the midst of catastrophe, earning the admiration of men and women alike.A charming and smart historical novel from a master storyteller. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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Born in 17th-century England to a nobleman father and a mother who is not married to him, Rosamund Tomkins grows up with her father and grandmother until their deaths. Her mother, Tilly, returns to take her to Gravesend, where she suffers abuse by her stepfather. When trying to escape the torments of her stepbrothers, she is struck by a carriage belonging to Sir Everard Blithman, who is fascinated and brings her back to his home in London after he and Rosamund marry in Gravesend at Tilly's insistence. Her new husband is opening a chocolate house, a new and profitable innovation sparked by the burgeoning cocoa trade, and wants Rosamund, now Lady Blithman, to learn about the business. All is not well, however, as Sir Everard is bent on avenging the death of daughter Helene and her child. He blames his son-in-law, Matthew Lovelace, for their deaths. VERDICT The latest from Australian author Brooks (The Locksmith's Daughter) is an excellent option for reading groups that enjoy multigenerational tales and historical fiction. If the language of Restoration England is less than familiar, having a good dictionary nearby is recommended; your late middle English vocabulary will be sumptuously rewarded.—Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Sensual, seductive, bold. The properties of drinking chocolate, which had begun taking London by storm in the seventeenth century, could equally apply to Lady Rosamund Blithman, the unlikely proprietor of a new chocolate house. Recently married to a knight who pulled her out of the abusive, impoverished household where she had lived since she was a girl, Rosamund is initially amazed by her swift change in circumstances. But it soon becomes apparent that her husband had malicious reasons to bring her into his world, and she risks becoming a pawn in a high-stakes game of revenge. She must unravel the mystery at the heart of his plot, using only her wits and the loyal band of friends she gathers, including a dashing correspondent who makes her heart beat faster. A sweeping tale brimming with historical details and figures, including diarist Samuel Pepys, this sumptuous novel covers five eventful years that include a dreadful plague and the Great Fire of London. At the center is the charming, courageous Rosamund, whose spirit makes this novel a rich indulgence.--Bridget Thoreson Copyright 2019 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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Historian and novelist Brooks (The Locksmith's Daughter) shows her research and imaginative chops in a luscious and astonishingly affecting chronicle of family scandal, political unrest, and redemptive hope in 1660s London, through the Black Plague and the Great Fire. When Rosamund Tomkins's mother sells her as a wife to Sir Everard Blithman, who has recently invested in an establishment serving drinking chocolate to the wealthy and fashionable, Rosamund is glad to escape from her abusive father and brothers. She tries to be an enchanting and savvy proprietress for the chocolate house even after she realizes that Blithman chose her largely for her uncanny resemblance to his deceased daughter, Helena-and specifically to be bait for Helena's widower, poet and spy Matthew Lovelace, who is Blithman's sworn enemy. Some of the tenderest moments in the story come from Rosamund's friendships with Bianca and Jacopo, two of the household's black slaves, and with the chocolate house staff; Brooks acknowledges the connection between the early chocolate trade and the slave trade while enhancing the contemporary reader's impression of Rosamund's goodness as she disregards race and class lines in favor of human caring. Brooks also casts real-world eccentric Samuel Pepys as Blithman's cousin and uses details from his published diaries in the story. Readers will be pulled into the highs and lows of this novel's personal drama and the sweep of its historical backdrop. Agent: James Frenkel, James Frenkel Assoc. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.