The first two books in the heart-stopping Birthright trilogy by Gabrielle Zevin, All These Things I've Done and Because it is My Blood introduced us to timeless heroine Anya Balanchine, a plucky sixteen-year-old having to deal with the problems and responsibilities of a grown woman. Losing her mafia boss father, her mother and then her grandmother, and being responsible for her sister and brother - not to mention a prison stay for a crime she didn't commit - have taught Anya a lot about life.
Now eighteen, Anya finds that against all odds the night club that she opened with her old nemesis, Charles Delacroix, is a huge success. She is on her way to shedding the constraints of her family's criminal past and is finding a way to legalise the supplying of chocolate. But as a result of her partnership with his father, Anya has lost her relationship with Win, the love of her life.
In typical fashion Anya fights on her puts the loss of Win behind her, instead focusing on expanding her business. But soon a terrible misjudgement leaves Anya fighting for her life and for the first time she is forced to let people help her.
In the Age of Love and Chocolate showcases the best of Gabrielle Zevin's writing. Full of all the heart of Elsewhere, this is a perfect end to a brilliant romantic dystopian trilogy.