Sweet Misfortune by Kevin Alan Milne

The first book I ever reviewed for a publisher was The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne. It was a wonderfully sweet story that I greatly enjoyed, so I was thrilled to be asked to review his most recent novel, Sweet Misfortune, the story of chocolatier Sofie Jones.

The trauma of losing her parents at the age of nine has followed Sophie into adulthood, where she has extreme difficulty trusting people, preferring to be alone rather than be hurt if someone leaves her. She spends most of her time with her best friend, Evalynn, with whom she was raised by their foster mother Ellen. But things begin to look up as Sophie opens her heart to Garrett, and the two plan a life together. When Garrett calls off their marriage just days before the wedding, Sophie retreats again into her solitary world, pouring all of her time and effort into Chocolat' du Soph, inventing wonderful confections, including the wildly popular Misfortune Cookies, a beautiful, bitter chocolate cookie filled with a handwritten misfortune such as, “You will soon fall in love. Caution: when people fall, something usually breaks.”
When Garrett walks into Chocolat' du Soph a year later wanting to talk to Sophie, she puts him off by setting him the task of finding 100 people who can describe true happiness. If he is successful she will meet with him and listen to what he has to say. A local news station hears about Garrett's ad in the Seattle Times, and letters start pouring in, but few meet Sophie's standard of true happiness. However, one letter in particular touches her, and sets Sophie off on a quest to find the sender, which opens many doors in her heart, as well as to information about the tragic accident that took her parents and grandmother.
Sweet Misfortune attempts to answer the question, "Are coincidences really fate in disguise?" as Sofie finds many connections to the tragedy of her ninth birthday, and comes to realize that an accident is just that, accidental, a series of unfortunate actions which, when put together, bring about a horrible outcome for all involved. I definitely recommend Sweet Misfortune to everyone who enjoys a story of hope and redemption, with a nice serving of chocolate on the side!
FTC Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review, other than an uncorrected Advance Reader Copy of the book.