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    Bittersweet
    Bittersweet
    Bittersweet
    Audiobook13 hours

    Bittersweet

    Written by Cathy Marie Hake

    Narrated by Stina Nielsen

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Inspirational Readers Choice winner Cathy Marie Hake has written dozens of compelling novels, including Letter Perfect. Although Laney's been sweet on Galen for a while, he's always considered her his best friend's tag-along sister. But when Galen finally sees Laney as the wife of his dreams, a vile lie shatters his hopes and a leveled shotgun repays his kindness-on the very day he plans to pop the question. ". the right mix . to keep readers on the edge of their seats ."-Library Journal
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 18, 2008
    ISBN9781436111737
    Bittersweet
    Author

    Cathy Marie Hake

    Cathy Marie Hake is a registered nurse who worked for many years in an oncology unit before shifting her focus to perinatal care. The author of over twenty novels, she lives with her husband and two children in Anaheim, California.

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    Reviews for Bittersweet

    3.5/5

    115 ratings10 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      CMH added a new element of depth to the story- the characters had to come to complete acceptance and even a measure of happiness in the situation they were in before the story turns toward a good ending that you really weren’t sure if it was actually going to happen! Well done there! It wasn’t as predictable as most books in this genre are- as in the ending. Her characters were well done- if a bit ideal. But I’m an escapist reader, so I don’t want too much reality anyways lol. I appreciated the effort put into understanding how God truly wants us to be submitted to His will, and then He blesses us incredibly. Keep it up!
    • 4/5
      This review is of an ARC version of the book "Bittersweet" of the California Historical Series, book #2 by Cathy Marie Hake. After finishing book #1, "Letter Perfect", I could not help but be intrigued and eager to read the second installation of the lives I had come to care for and love in Folsom and the Broken P. Receiving this book put me in a bit of a mood, because I ordered it from a swapping website and an ARC copy arrived. A few conversations and corrections later, the sender was extremely nice and apologetic and seemed thoroughly confused about it being an Advanced Reader Copy. Although I am even further confused how you cannot know that by the mostly white cover and the print "Advanced Reader Copy Not for sale" typed at the top and bottom of each page, but oh well, I got over it. Kinda. *wink* Then, reading the synopsis on the back cover I was even a little more hesitant about reading this book. I just knew that I would not like it. The plot just lined up in a manner that I knew would make me angry. Well. It took me a while to get through the first book. I read this one in two days. I could not put it down. I was right, I was angry. I was near to spitting nails and completely infuriated with the stupidity and arrogance and self centered... *rant rant rant* I was very upset with the way things turned out and were continuing to turn out. But then, that is the point is it not? Things will happen in our lives that we do not always agree with. We want to dictate to God what we want and how we want it to be. Even when he has something better in mind for the big picture, the stages of getting there are painful and not at all what we want to deal with. Having finished this book, and in an attempt not to give anything away... I like the ending. It satisfied me. However, on one individual I still think they should have "fixed" a situation that was in their control once they had the power, but they did not and it had to be brought to a solution another way. It is true that it could definitely occur this way. And for these characters lives it did. That does not mean I have to like it. :) I do recommend this read. I highly recommend that you read book #1 first, because then you will really understand the characters on a deeper level. But I encourage you to read it and share it. Now.. I need more from Cathy Marie Hake.
    • 5/5
      Wow! I was not expecting this story to develop the way it did. I went through so many emotions while reading this, from joy to tears, to sorrow and a lot of anger and frustration at times with people I was learning to appreciate and like!! The title is very well picked, as this story truly showed that the journey to love can be truly 'bittersweet'.Laney McCain has loved Galen O'Sullivan for years. But Galen can only see her as his best friend's little sister. Against the advice of many, she just can't focus on any other man. (But when Galen suddenly starts to see Laney as a woman he can love, it is a great section of the book).Ishmael and Ivy Grubb, along with their good-for-nothing dad become squatters on the O'sullivan land. They are uneducated and crass, but Galen and his family, and Laney reach out to help these two in exchange for their help around the farm. Without spoiling anything, let's just say this decision will later cause a huge problem and was what kept me up late into the night reading. As one other person posted, you will ned kleenex. I must say though the author ended this well and showed how our plans aren't necessarily always God's plan, but if we give all our desires to God, He will work things out for our good.Although you could read this as a stand alone, I highly encourage you to read "Letter Perfect" first as you will get to know these characters and their history so much better. A story I won't easily or quickly forget. Well done Cathy Marie Hake. And I loved the cover picture as it brought back enjoyable scenes from the book.
    • 4/5
      Love this book so much. And I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, too. I highly recommend it.
    • 2/5
      Not well written. I was going to say that it wasn't badly written, either, although that isn't exactly true - but it's written in such a way that I can go for several pages at a time without seeing a piece of writing that I would have done differently.

      Similarly, I didn't really like either of the main characters, but I didn't dislike them, either. I didn't care about them a whole lot one way or the other.

      The pacing of the book also seemed weird and disconnected to me. It ended very suddenly. The storyline went on for a long time and covered a long period (despite being only ~360 pages) but a lot of scenes seemed like they could be taken out without having any effect whatsoever on the overall story.

      On the other hand, it had some nice descriptions - and I haven't really read Western-type novels before, so maybe part of what I didn't like was the genre itself. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars overall.
    • 4/5
      Whew. I can’t say I enjoyed this novel, exactly. Although I don’t regret reading it either. But I do feel as if I've been put through the ringer a bit.Mystery writer Nevada Barr’s foray into historical fiction is so convincing in its depiction of the hardships of the Old West, I could practically feel my skin leathering in the relentless desert sun and taste the dust rising off the stagecoach trail. It tells the story of Imogene Grelznik, a "spinster" schoolteacher forced by a scandal [involving a female student] to leave her lifelong home in Philadelphia and move to the untamed West in order to start over anonymously. Like many contemporary LGBT novelists, Barr has a bit of an axe to grind with modern society and the weakest aspect of the story is when she attempts to force Twentieth Century stereotypes onto people of the Nineteenth Century. For example, the autocratic father who insists on keeping a thoroughbred horse that costs the family money they don’t have, even though he hardly ever rides it. The passage is a thinly veiled version of the modern day redneck with his beloved vintage muscle car. Or the promiscuous best friend of Sarah, Imogene’s star pupil, gloating while her bohunk boyfriend gets to second base on a very public hayride. These episodes, among others, simply don't ring true and detract from the authentic atmosphere the author has otherwise successfully conjured.But that all comes to an abrupt halt in the third and final section of the story. When yet another scandal forces Imogene and young Sarah to move to a remote stage coach stop in the Nevada desert, the book really comes to life. Every aspect of the hardscrabble life they live - from the parched, silty landscape and sulphuric taste of the drinking water to the subterfuge necessary for two women running a business without a man, is brought startingly to life. Barr spares the reader nothing. And if you think two lesbians had it bad in the Old West, wait until you see what the animals had to endure. I’ll grant, this book is only for the stout of heart. If you’re looking for a classic love story with a neat little happy ending, give this one a wide berth. Each time the reader thinks Imogene has settled into a comfortable, workaday existence, something catastrophic happens forcing her to remake her life from scratch. This character is nothing if not resourceful. So, for any open-mind readers with an interest in the Old West, fans of historical LGBT fiction or maybe even folks who enjoyed "Albert Nobbs," this might be the one for you.
    • 5/5
      I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to read this. There are oh so many things that can go wrong near the end of books where there are women who love other women.Still, it wasn't the happiest of novels either. It was very much like Jane Eyre, and other books from that era. There's an older guiding character and a young innocent here they just happen to both be women.It was Barr's first novel and in places you can tell that. The end kinda drops off a cliff, the reader is chugging along and. Done. Also, sometimes the transitions between the parts are a bit rocky. But, the characters, both the main ones and the supporting cast are for the most part very good. (Though here and there some of them aren't always written totally consistently).But it was a great book, especially for a first novel, and it's sort of sad that she went from th is to her mystery series and hasn't gone back, but, at least the world has Bittersweet.As an aside, it's sort of freaky how alike the Imogene/Sarah story is to the Xena/Gabrielle story from Xena: Warrior Princess, considering that Bittersweet was first, by a lotta years. (A whole lotta years).
    • 3/5
      Stays with you. Makes one think about how many women have gone underground throughout history. The characters are memorable.
    • 2/5
      To be fair, this is Barr's first novel. The premise is interesting - two women become romantically involved in 19th century Nevada - but the execution is poor. The plot is outlandish and too much happens at a breakneck pace. I never got inside these women's heads, and I felt nothing about their relationship. I don't want to reveal a spoiler, but the way the women choose to solve a real estate problem just about ruined the book for me. Their decision could have made the book interesting indeed, but the author just looks at things on the surface, as a neutral observer, and you learn very little about how the women feel about what they chose.
    • 4/5
      A refreshing change of pace from Barr's mystery novels. Definitely not as polished and there were annoying typos throughout, but Barr never let the story faulter and kept the reader hooked until the very end. Barr's raw talent shines through foreshadowing her successful career. Interesting plot and very tastefully done. No voyeuristic sex scenes here (or any sex scenes at all) - the subject of lesbianism is handled with integrity and the kind of restraint suited for a novel about rural America in the 1800s.