Discovering Secrets of the Chocolate House: A Book Review

 

I jumped back into the Found Things series. Like Xanthe and her singing antiques, Book 2: Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston has been sitting on a pile of books, calling my name for a few months now. It was so nice getting back into it. I listened to Adrian von Ziegler's "Resting by the Fire" as I had done when reading Book 1: The Little Shop of Found Things and it was like returning home! The writing has the same magic. 

You Should Read Secrets of the Chocolate House if...

• You love antiques. 
• You enjoy meeting old friends again for a new adventure.
• You want to be spirited away through time.
• You are intrigued by the paranormal.
• You want to know more about Xanthe's power.

Want a short and spoiler-free version? Check out my review on Reedsy Discovery. 

-- SPOILERS AHEAD --

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Summary 

Xanthe and her mother, Flora, are still working on drumming up business and antiques for their new shop in Marlborough. It has been a few months since the last book. Now, the smell of snow is on the November air. But after a trip to Laybrook for an exclusive look at an estate's antiques, Xanthe once again hears the singing of an antique that needs her to know its story... and make sure history unfolds as it should. When she returns home and investigates the copper chocolate pot, holding it in front of the blind house, (the portal that facilitates her time-travelling) Xanthe has a vision of her beloved Samuel in the blind house and is determined to help him out of whatever trouble he is in. While Xanthe orchestrates her time-travelling a little better this time round and discovers more about her special abilities, she also finds out that there are others like her, but not all of them use their powers for good. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend, Marcus, unexpectedly shows up and makes himself a thorn in her side, claiming Xanthe and he should get back together and form their band again. 

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Characters

• Xanthe Westlake: Xanthe has come to settle in Marlborough and enjoys her small town life with mother, her new friends and the running the shop. But the chocolate pot that calls her to save Samuel interrupts her life. Despite her immense guilt for lying to her mother about her whereabouts, Xanthe is able to manage her time-travelling a little better by going in with a plan. However, with the help of Mistress Flyte and learning more about her abilities, Xanthe is able to help Fairfax and outwit him to save Samuel from an early death. 

• Flora Westlake: Flora continues to manage her crippling arthritis, and while running the antique shop and fixing some antiques, Flora discovers a love for bell-ringing at the local church. She is somewhat hurt that Xanthe doesn't tell her that Marcus is in town and trying to get back together with her. 

• Liam: Liam and Xanthe are still good friends and learn a little more about each other. Xanthe is ever conscious of his feelings for her, but once she has resolved Samuel's problem with Fairfax, Xanthe realizes that she has accepted that Samuel and she cannot be together. She finds herself drawn to Liam, who is also ready to protect her from Marcus. Liam is thrilled to have her become part of his band.

• Harley: He is still the barman and owner of The Feathers pub with his wife, Annie. He still has Xanthe and Liam's band play at his pub on some nights. Harley is over the moon when Xanthe confides in him about her time-travel abilities and being a Spinner. He is eager to help her. And he helps her deal with Marcus whenever he's at the pub and bothering her.

• Gerri: She is a mother of two young children and runs a tearoom. She seems to always be perfectly put together and wears lovely dresses. Gerri is almost always baking delicious treats for customers and neighbors. Xanthe is always on the look-out for china to barter with Gerri. While she was in the first book, her role was minor. But here, readers see a little more of her when she agrees to help Xanthe with her idea of having the shopkeepers on their street host a "historical Saturday event" to increase sales.

• Samuel Appleby: Samuel still cares for Xanthe, but since she is from another time and he didn't think he'd ever see her again, Samuel has an arranged marriage set. But Fairfax has him locked up for being a Catholic and he will perish in a matter of weeks. 

• Benedict Fairfax: He is like Xanthe, a Spinner of time, but not as adept as she. His power differs from hers, in that he uses only one object to time-travel (an astrolabe) and can move to the past and the future. Having lost his astrolabe after time-travelling to avoid his imminent death for being a Catholic during the reign of James I, Fairfax finds himself back in the past to relive his life. However, he changes his life so that he is loyal to the King and forsakes his friends to save his own skin while significantly improving his status. He is calculating and a self-serving man, but it's unclear how far he will go to manipulate history and time for himself.

• Louisa Flyte (aka Mistress Flyte): She is a kind, but grounded proprietor of a chocolate house where advanced thinkers of the time gather and indulge their sweet tooth. Mistress is a retired Spinner who helps Xanthe in learning more about her time-travelling ability, but she has her own enemies to worry about as well. She makes for a good guide to Xanthe, but still has many secrets.

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What I Liked

I clicked "Resting by the Fire" on and started reading the first page. It was like I never left. Like I was returning home, which I have only ever felt in reading and watching Harry Potter books and movies. Brackston's tone and pacing haven't altered from the first book. Pure magic for me.

Recaping

Brackston adds an even amount of refreshers for readers as the story progresses. It's in small amounts, so I wasn't annoyed. I had forgotten details, especially Xanthe having seen an unknown man in the distance when she met Alice at the blind house in Book 1. It was so vague that I never thought of it as being important.  

Lesson Learned

Xanthe does research in chocolate pots as soon as she brings it home since it's singing and she may have to time-travel again. I was happy to see that she learned her lesson from Book 1. I didn't know that chocolate houses existed and predated coffeehouses or that it was a gathering place for thinkers who weren't mainstream. Chocolate houses weren't a place for genteel ladies. At this point, I wondered how the chocolate pot ended up with Esther Harris and why she collected them, but that is never covered.

When time-travels for the first time, Mistress Flyte has her be a sort of waitress for her and shows her how to make the chocolate just right without overboiling the milk. I liked that because then, Xanthe would be able to inform customers at her shop about the subtle art when she sold the chocolate pot or other versions.

Lesson Not Learned

I still can't understand why Xanthe thinks she has to lie to her mother. As I said in my review on The Little Bookshop, Flora accepted Xanthe's ability to hear certain antique and know their story. Flora doens't understand it, but accepts it. That is no crazier than Xanthe's time-travelling and now that Xanthe understands it more with the help of Mistress Flyte and the Spinners book, why not confess to her mother? I understand that it adds conflict and tension, but I just find it unnecessary. If Xanthe had no special ability until she time-travelled, okay, her lying makes sense since she has no idea how Flora will react. 

More with Gerri

We had such short intervals with Gerri in the first book that I was happy to see a little more of her towards the end of the book. I thought that Gerri would supply Xanthe with information on the chocolate given that she runs a tea room, but she doesn't.

Gerri comes back towards the end of the story to bring Xanthe's idea of having a Historic Saturday for shopkeepers to life. 

The Ex-Boyfriend

Marcus turning up was quite a surprise and I liked that he was a possible problem that could arise whenever Xanthe returned to her time. 

The scene where Liam and Marcus fight reminded me of when Samuel and Fairfax fight. It was interesting to see history repeating itself! I'm still wondering if someone in Xanthe's time isn't a relative of Samuel or someone else she has come to know in the 1600s. I had thought that Samuel and Liam were related, but maybe Harley is related to someone in the past? Maybe even someone we have yet to meet! 

Effect and Cause

When Xanthe sees the chocolate pot for the first time at the Harris estate, she notes its dents. When she is in the past at Mistress Flyte's chocolate house, she notices the undented pot. Because she was so busy helping the Mistress and her other employee, Xanthe accidentally drops the pot, denting it the exact same way as when she first saw it. I can't tell you how much I love that type of situation. It's just like in The Prisoner of Azkaban where we see the effects, unknowing that you yourself caused them. It's scary, but thrilling.

Witchcraft

I was happy to see Xanthe point out that people in the 1600s were fast to accuse others of being witches. That may be why Fairfax was still being executed the second time around. Instead of being a Catholic, maybe someone discovered his observatory and reported it. Xanthe wasn't able to hear the new charges, but it's possible.

"To Put Right What Once Went Wrong"

Xanthe realizes the purpose of Spinners after reading and analyzing the book and it sound so similar to the Quantum Leap quote. It made me smile. 

Love Not at First Sight

As I think I mentioned in my review of Book 1, I was happy to see that there was no instant love attraction between Xanthe and Liam because he's the only guy who shows her special attention and is in her present. I'm glad that it was gradual, although I was surprised that Xanthe's feelings changed towards Samuel. I thought they would come up with some sort of solution, but I guess not. Liam does seem like a good match for her, but his characger isn't as developed as Samuel's, so I look forward to seeing mroe of him in Book 3.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

What I Didn't Like

There were a few inconsistencies:

• Chapter 7: Mistress Flyte is called "Mistress Fairfax" in one instant.
• Chapter 15 and 17: When Xanthe gets the silver coin from her shop to slip into Fairfax's pocket on their time-travel journey together, it is said to be gold at one time, but every other time, it is silver. I wonder what the significance of the color is. Was it originally going to be a gold coin, but was changed or was it just a confusion of color? Is silver better for time-travel and why?
• Chapter 13 and 21: Xanthe needs to go to a fair in Ditton, but her taxi cab won't start. She goes to Liam, who promises to find the replacements parts. By chapter 21, Xanthe gets into her car and has no issues. Nothing is ever said about Liam finding the parts, fixing the car and informing Xanthe of his accomplishment.

Too Much Information

When Xanthe is having dinner with Fairfax, she decides to tell him about herself, but she says that she knows not to give too much away, but even the information she gives is too much and I was so frustrated with her for that! In Chapter 17, she says that she is out of Fairfax's reach since he time-travel to 1606, but I knew better! She had told Fairfax the town she lives in, the year, and even that she runs an antique shop, so I knew he'd showed up again for possibly revenge since he can travel to the future. Xanthe really didn't think things through. 

A Decent Guy?

After attacking Fairfax and escaping from his manor, Xanthe finds herself walking on the long road to Marlborough from Laybrook. It's winter and she doesn't have warm clothing, so she is relieved to see Joshua (and company) when they stop to help her and give her a ride to the Apply home. 

While I understand relief at getting help in this situation, I was not happy to see Joshua show up because he made inappropriate advances toward Xanthe in the previous book and I was left with a bad impression of him. Xanthe says in her narration that apart form that one time, Joshua was a decent guy. Again, that's not how I saw it. He seemed dangerous and untrustworthy. I don't recall him ever apologizing to her, but maybe my memory of Book 1 is fuzzy in regards to his character.

How Convenient

Not long after Fairfax is tended to by a physician, because Xanthe cut him with a piece of glass in self-defence, Fairfax receives a message to see the King in London at once. In his absence, Samuel helps Xanthe look for her locket in Fairfax's observatory since it's her way home. But they are caught by Fairfax just as she finds it. Fairfax mentions how lucky he is to have met another messenger from the King who basically said Fairfax wasn't needed anymore. I found that to a flimsy excuse to have Fairfax return so soon. I know that kind of thing happens in real life, but messengers takes days to delivery a single message in those days. Did that sort of thing happen? 

Photo by RODRIGO GONZALEZ on Unsplash

Time-Travel Logic 

Note: Time-travel is confusing, so I may confuse myself here. If you want to discuss different time-travel theories, please leave a comment!

As I mention above, the scene where Xanthe damages the chocolate pot and realizes that she is responsible for its dented state in the future is very much an Effect and Cause situation. We see this type of time-travel logic in The Prisoner of Azkaban. This is different from the logic in the Back to the Future trilogy, (spoilers ahead) such as when Marty McFly travels to 1955 at the beginning of the first movie. When Marty is in the parking lot with Doc, Doc mentions that Twin Pines mall was a farm in the 50s. We later see that Marty runs over one of the pines on the farm after time-travelling, so when he returns to his present at the end of the movie, the mall name has changed to Lone Pine Mall. This scene shows Cause and Effect in comparison to the Harry Potter movie and this one scene with Xanthe.

Effect and Cause is also demonstrated when Xanthe goes to the Laybrook cemetery to see Samuel's grave as verification that he was executed because of Fairfax. This scene reminded me of the cemetery scene in Back to the Future III where Doc's tombstone motivates Marty to travel to 1855 and save his present-day Doc from being killed by Mad Dog Tannen. But here, the time-travel logics are not the same as mentioned above.

On the other hand, I don't understand the time-travel logic behind Fairfax's way of time-travel according to other movies I have seen. His situation consists of his execution in 1610 for being a Catholic, but at the last minute, his astrolabe activates, transporting him back to 1604: 
"I came back to my own life." And yet, there are not two versions of Fairfax, like in Back to the Future and The Prisoner of Azkaban, when there should be. It's not like in Quantum Leap where Sam Beckett is switching bodies while time-traveling. Fairfax physically time-travels, so how is it that there aren't two of him in 1604? Unless there aren't two of Fairfax because of events that are to occur in Books 3 and 4?

Since we the readers, Fairfax and Xanthe are still unsure about their varying time-travel methods, which seem to be unique to the person, I'm not going to talk about the astrolabe being able to time-travel with Fairfax while Xanthes' remain in her present. There are too many unknowns at this time. I did wonder where the astrolabe was in 1604 once Fairfax goes back because there should have been a 1604 version, right? I don't know.

Conclusion

I received Book 3 in the mail recently and with the ending in mind and Book 3's cover, my theory is that Fairfax is going to want Xanthe to help him save his fiancée. We shall see!

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