Secrets of the Chocolate House

Secrets of the Chocolate House picks up a few months after Book 1 where Xanthe is trying to forget Samuel and live in her present. But a chocolate pot has something to say about that. Xanthe learns about Samuel's imprisonment and goes back to save him. A powerful man, Benedict Fairfax, is responsible for Samuel's current situation since he is on the warpath for Catholics in the name of King James I. But Fairfax wants to utilize Xanthe's time-travelling abilities for his own benefit.

While fighting to save Samuel and herself from the grips of Fairfax, Xanthe learns more about her time-travelling ability and her sensitivity to the singing of certain antiques. It is quite enlightening, but there is still so much we don't know.

I do have issues with the time-travelling logic (I go into detail about this on my blog.) Some of it makes sense in that Xanthe sees the effect of something in her present and discovers the cause when she travels back to 1605. But other parts of the time-travel doesn't make sense from what I've seen in other stories. But then again, time-travel itself is quite confusing. Additionally, I noticed a few inconsistences/typos.

Xanthe characters develops and we see that she has learned from her previous time-travel adventure. She goes in this time with a plan, however, she continues to lie to her mother about where she really is. I don't find the logic behind Xanthe's lying makes sense (just as I said in my reviews of Book 1) given that Flora accepted her daughter's ability to hear antiques sing when she was younger. How is hearing singing antiques and knowing their stories any crazier than time-travelling?

But overall, the story was gripping and magical just like the first book. We see some progress in the story, as well as more development with the other characters in Marlborough and we are left with a cliffhanger for Book 3!

For more of my reviews, check out my blog and more: linktr.ee/smurphytheredwolf