At seventeen Marissa Eden Wells was at the prime of her life, teasing the boys , delving into gangs and doing a lot of experimenting. Her father’s job is shrouded in mystery and she had cousins heading up the gang in her neighborhood, which translated to Marissa being untouchable. Though an unwritten code states that Marissa was protected, she was gang raped and left for dead. Traumatized, she orchestrated a revenge, which backfired and left a loved one dead. Marissa high tails it out of the state she grew up in. She begins a new life were she meets her match and the love of her life, Tristan Dion Corbet. He battles to convince Marissa that age and race transcends love and goes as far as abandoning his family after their disproval of their marriage. A miracle cements their relationship but a looming doom encroaches as Marissa’s past catches up and threatens to derail their future and the lives they are now responsible for.

Bittersweet Chocolate spans through the life of Marissa, from graduating high school and losing her virginity to her late thirties, when she is married, and where she gets the whole nine yards of happily ever after. It showcased and transported me on Marissa’s pain, helplessness, revenge, triumphs, sorrows, regrets and love. I loved it. It had drama, suspense, disappointments, relief, surprises and some very tense moments. I have not read a really good romance novel for a while but this ranks as a must have in anybody’s collections. It showed the strength of women and the alpha male who has learned to love an alpha female, simply brilliant.