what the blurb says. . . 'I didn't mean to, honest to goodness I didn't. It just happened.'
Amber Salpone doesn't mean to keep ending up in bed with her friend Greg Walterson, but she can't help herself. And every time it 'just happens' their secret affair moves closer to being a real relationship, which is a big problem when he's a womanizer and she's a commitment-phobe.
While Amber struggles to accept her new feelings for Greg, she also realises that her closeness to Jen, her best friend, is slipping away and the two of them are becoming virtual strangers. Slowly but surely, as the stark truths of all their lives are revealed, Amber has to confront the fact that chocolate can't cure everything and sometimes running away isn't an option . . .
what the blurb means. . . The Chocolate Run is very different from my first novel, The Cupid Effect. With it, I wanted to create a character who is essentially a good, big-hearted person but has real problems with intimacy and trust, which makes her keep everyone - be they friends, family or lovers - at a distance.
Amber's the kind of woman who'd readily choose an evening in with a good film, a bar of chocolate and a few glasses of wine over a night trying to pull in a nightclub. But a one-night stand with someone unsuitable forces her to examine the very fabric of who she is and how she lives her life. . .
Although Amber and I both love the same favourite chocolate and both watch a lot of films - we're not the same person. . . Amber leads a far more exciting life than I do - and she gets off with good looking men!
what the press say about the chocolate run
Amber Salpone is our kind of heroine. She's a chocolate-lovin', straight-talkin' gal who knows better than to go for men on the basis of their eye-candy qualities because that's just asking for aggro. She's also good mates with Greg Walterson - and he's Trouble with a capital T. Greg's a man who could single-handedly keep Durex in business and makes Orlando Bloom look like Ian Beale's ugly younger brother. So when Amber has a drunken one-night stand with said womaniser and said womaniser renounces his playboy lifestyle quicker than Johnny Depp did after meeting a certain Ms Paradis, Amber is naturally confused. See, Ms Salpone's got a deep-rooted fear of commitment, and when the heat gets too much, she a) tries to run away, and b) finds comfort by, er, sniffing chocolate.. No, she hasn't got a weird sexual fetish - she just likes the brown stuff. A lot. What makes The Chocolate Run such a winning read is that Koomson's characters develop in a believable way. The constant comparing of people to various chocolate bars - A is a Chocolate Orange; B is a Fruit & Nut - does get a bit tiresome, but with characters this colourful and writing this witty, who's complaining? Heat magazine, 17-23 April 2004
What would you do if a womanising pal suddenly declared undying love for you? A smart funny read. Heat magazine, 24-30 April 2004
Amber's mate Greg is a complete tart. But when she finds herself another notch on Greg's bedpost, he unexpectedly reveals he wants a serious relationship. A fantastic blend of love, friendship and laughs. Company magazine, May 2004
Dorothy Koomson's The Chocolate Run (Piatkus, �6.99) is perfect if you want to have a good weep. Amber Salpone ends up having a one-night stand with close friend and voracious bed-hopper Greg. When he declares she is the love of his life, emotional pandemonium ensues. Great stuff, although you might find yourself involuntarily yelling 'bastard' at passing blokes. The London Metro/www.thisistravel.co.uk
Hot and sweet
Amber is in terrible trouble. She spent Friday night making passionate love with a gorgeous man. . . only it's not any man, it's her second-best-friend- all-round tart and serial womaniser, Greg. It's enough to make any self-respecting woman bury herself in a bucket of Maltesers.
Amber definitely prefers chocolate to romance: a woman knows where she stands with chocolate. Chocolate never leaves you waiting for its call, doesn't lose your remote control or want nights out with the boys. With Greg, however, Amber is on much shakier ground. He's declaring that she's The One, but his dodgy past romantic record, and her own family history makes her wary. It'll take some drastic events, and the emergence of some awful secrets for Amber to stop running for chocolate. . .
Dorothy Koomson delighted us all with her quirky debut, The Cupid Effect, and she's come up with another full-cream, nuts-and-toffee filled delight. Grab a bar of Cadbury's finest, snuggle down on the sofa and indulge yourself. Mango books, April 2004
Mmm. . . Now if you had the choice, which would you rather feast on? A bar of your favourite chocolate or an equally tasty slab of red-hot stud? It's a toughie, ain't it? Well poor old Amber is left wondering whether to date her womanising best pal or chow down on some choccy in this side-splitting new novel from the bubbly broad who wrote the equally hilarious The Cupid Effect! Star magazine, 17-23 April 2004
We've been reading. . .
Amber Salpone is a chocoholic who cherishes chocolate more than relationships. But when she has a one-night stand with Greg, he proclaims her the love of his life and suddenly chocolate isn't the centre of Amber's world. OK's Hot Stars, 1-7 May 2004
When Amber has a fling with her friend Greg, he announces that she's the love of his life and wants to tell everyone about them, too. Because Amber has a phobia about commitment, they decide to start dating in secret, until Greg meets her family and her work colleagues and they guess. When it all comes to a head, Amber runs away from it all. You'll have to find out for yourself if they find their happy ending. Best, Reader book reviews, 27 April 2004
The life of Amber Salpone, a self-confessed chocolate addict who lives, sleeps and breathes chocolate - she even judges the people she meets by deciding what kind of chocolate they would be. Koomson has cleverly interwoven this unpromising premise with a compelling story of romance, friendship and family ties. Lancashire Evening Post, 24 April 2004
Read this - Amber's your typical girl, a choccy-lovin' straight-talker who's pretty sorted. Until her womanising pal declares undying love for her. South Wales Echo, 20 April 2004
Must Read - City Woman has written a couple of paragraphs about this book and will head for the chocolate machine after the next few words. She'd be a right size if she read the whole book, nipping out at the end of each chapter to make a fatty purchase. If you think you can resist, the book costs £6.99 and is published by Piatkus Books. Reading Evening Post, 19 April 2004
what the blurb says. . .