SOMERSIZE CHOCOLATE: 30 Delicious, Guilt-Free Desserts for the Carb-Conscious Chocolate Lover

Somers's latest is little more than a pamphlet of 30-odd recipes, many of which readers can find in other books. But it's bound to please its target readers—women who love chocolate and want to lose weight—because it's everything they need it to be: it gives instructions for making easy, quick desserts that are low in carbohydrates (though not always low in calories). Somers designs her book around the chocolate version of her own sweetener, SomerSweet, which is available for sale on her Web site. The book is therefore practically useless if readers don't purchase SomerSweet Chocolate Baking Bars (although Somers does give measurements for making the desserts with sugar and sugared chocolate, those results won't please carb-counters). Quibbles aside, there's no arguing with the decadence of such treats as Molten Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Lava, Mini Coconut Baked Alaska, or Caramel Chocolate Brownie Sundaes. Somers's relentlessly upbeat tone runs through the book ("I have always loved pound cake. Now that it's chocolate, there's even more reason to love it!"), and she gives the level of difficulty for each recipe (oddly, though, no recipe is tougher than "level two"). 30 color photos. (Nov.)

Forecast: Somers seems to have the golden touch, whether she's talking about hormone replacement, mastering the art of obtaining slim thighs, or selling her wares on the Home Shopping Network. Ads in Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal will bump holiday sales for this book.