bookperson
Written on Nov 7, 2019
The last person Griffin Shipley expects to find stuck in a ditch on his Vermont country road is his ex-hookup. Five years ago they’d shared a couple of steamy nights together. But that was a lifetime ago.
At twenty-seven, Griff is now the accidental patriarch of his family farm. Even his enormous shoulders feel the strain of supporting his mother, three siblings and a dotty grandfather. He doesn’t have time for the sorority girl who’s shown up expecting to buy his harvest at half price.
Vermont was never in Audrey Kidder’s travel plans. Neither was Griff Shipley. But she needs a second chance with the restaurant conglomerate employing her. Okay—a fifth chance. And no self-righteous lumbersexual farmer will stand in her way.
They’re adversaries. They want entirely different things from life. Too bad their sexual chemistry is as hot as Audrey’s top secret enchilada sauce, and then some.
- ISBN10 1942444168
- ISBN13 9781942444169
- Publish Date 12 June 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Tuxbury Publishing LLC
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 348
- Language English
Reviews
reveriesociety_
Written on Nov 5, 2019
Amanda
Written on Dec 26, 2017
Linda
Written on Aug 1, 2017
Angie
Written on Jan 8, 2017
Bittersweet was actually very sweet. Audrey not only reconnects with Griffin as he shows her around the orchards and introduces her to other local farmers. She connects with his family, which is something she never had as her mother is not exactly a warm person. Audrey finally also winds up in a kitchen, although it's just helping Griff's mom whip up meals for the family and farmhands. Everyone is just so open and welcoming to Audrey, even when the business deals go to crap. I loved how focused on their goals both of them were, and I was worried for a bit about one of them giving up their dreams for the relationship, but that doesn't happen! I loved how things turned out!
Bittersweet is a really great Romance, and there's no stupid, forced break up. Not to say that things go smoothly for Audrey and Griff, but they talk things out, and Griff has his family there to talk some sense into him. I also really enjoyed getting to know Jude a little bit, since he'll be the focus of the next book.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Sam@WLABB
Written on Oct 28, 2016
I guess you could say this is a second chance romance, as the MCs had a brief tryst when they were in college. Fast forward 5 years, Griff is running the family farm, and Audrey is just starting to find her niche. When she is sent to Vermont to woo the farmers and win their produce, she crosses paths with Griffin again.
"Never expected you to run a car into the ditch beside my road," he said. "But I'm sure glad you did. Most fun I had in a really long time."
I loved so many things!
1. The setting. I fell in love with Vermont. I visited VT once, briefly, but did not see anything but the ski lodge. Bowen did such a wonderful job illustrating the beauty of this state. Her VT pride is obvious, and she made me want to make a proper visit to the state.
2. The Shipleys. I fell in love with this family. They had such a great dynamic, and the love was apparent.
3. All that cooking and farming talk. I actually found it all really enlightening. My aunt and uncle raised pigs, briefly, and that's as close as this Brooklyn girl came to a farm. It was just something new to add to my knowledge base, and I love learning new things.
4. Audrey and Griffin. Seriously, the way these two played off each other made me smile for miles. The banter, the lust, the love -- I just couldn't help, but love these two together.
5. The set up. Bowen gently introduced her next two heroes, Jude and Zach. I liked getting to know them a little before I read their books, and it was not forced. They were integrated seamlessly into Griff's book.
I Love you, princess. You're the sweet that balances out my natural tannins.
Like I said. I knew I would like this book, but I didn't expect to absolutely love it. Cheers to Sarina Bowen for delivering such an awesome and different romance.
whisperingchapters
Written on Oct 24, 2016
Bittersweet is the first book I read from Sarina Bowen and I don't know why it took me so long to get into her books! I was missing out on a lot! Sarina's writing transported me to Vermont and I could see myself being at the farm with all of the characters.
The familial feeling the story has had my heart melting. Besides them being coworkers at the farm, they are really close to each other and it shows. I love when a story gives that sense of closeness among the characters because they have someone to count on no matter what, even if they aren't blood-related. Also, the scenery was spectacular! I definitely need to take a trip to Vermont.
The organic farming details and the cooking recipes! I loved learning the process that goes into organic farming and how complex and time consuming it really is. I wish there was an organic farm near me. I would visit it all the time for sure! Another thing I loved were Audrey's recipes or at least the details of each ingredient. The way the author conveyed Audrey's enthusiasm for cooking and her recipes shows that Sarina did her homework. Not only that, I was savoring all the flavors! My mouth would water every time cooking talk would happen.
I loved Audrey and Griff! Their tension started immediately when they met, but the thing is, they had "known" each other already—they had an encounter at a party a few years ago. Seeing them battle their emotions and trying to stay away was really entertaining. Griffin is kind of this tough guy, not wanting to let anyone close. For Audrey, she feels like she's just a fling to Griff, and neither sees how they could possibly make things work between them since she lives in Boston and Griff has his responsibilities at the farm in Vermont.
Overall, Bittersweet was a great read for me. I loved the characters and the farming aspect to it.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
stacey_is_sassy
Written on Aug 13, 2016
****Changing it up to 4.5 Stars****
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I actually enjoyed the audio more than reading it myself. This doesn't happen very often, but Saskia Maarleveld and Tod Branson really brought Bittersweet to life for me. Audrey's frustrations and defeats were well portrayed and I felt her anguish and disappointment. With Griffin, his gruff personality made him more lovable and I couldn't help but laugh at his sookie-la-la tanties. I guess you can't be responsible and mature 24/7.
Maybe I've matured since the first time reading Bittersweet and that's why I enjoyed it more? There's a little part of me that recognised the everyday struggles it takes to balance your burdens and try and get ahead too.
Maybe, it's because I know all of the True North gang now and the start of this series reminds me of how it all started.
I really enjoyed listening to Bittersweet and I look forward to listening to more True North in the future.
**********
The bitter…and the sweet side of family commitments.
It’s amazing what you’ll do for your family. Some of us accept the bitter with the sweet side of family commitments, knowing that we’re better off with...than without. Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t know what you’re missing until you don’t have it or it’s taken away. In Bittersweet both the main characters have family and commitments that can be bitter but can also be sweet.
Griffin had plans for his future until Griffin’s father died from a heart attack at age 49 (way too young) and has to return to his family's farm and takes over the running of it. He loves his family and doesn’t resent returning but he does feel the burden and responsibility of funding his brother and sisters education. He wants them to have the same opportunity and choices he was given…even though he had to put his dreams to the side.
The farm does OK but there’s always room for improvement and always the worry that a crop can be hit by a disaster. Griffin hopes to move more into the cider making business but the outlay and risks have him worried. His life is busy from sunup to sundown and there definitely isn’t room in his life for a relationship. Imagine his surprise when a hook-up from his past gets stuck in the ditch on his property.
Aubrey doesn’t seem to be having much luck. All her life she’s been told that she doesn’t have what it takes to make a success of her life…by her mother. Nice…. Mummy dearest is a workaholic, man-hating, corporate, businesswoman who can’t understand how she created a daughter who wants to …COOK!! THE HORROR!!
Aubrey and Griffin meet again when Aubrey is sent with an abysmal offer to buy produce from Griffin. The more time Griffin and Aubrey spend together the more they realise that the chemistry that sizzled in College is still there. Griffin wants Aubrey and would love her to be part of his life but he knows that Aubrey has dreams of opening her own restaurant and he doesn’t want to hold her back. Aubrey is falling for Griffin but self-doubts hold her back.
The steamy times were plenty and the connection between Griffin and Aubrey jumped off the pages. Griffin can be quite grumpy but the more time he spends around Aubrey, the more he seems to relax and smile.
At times I did feel it dragged a little and I wanted both Griffin and Aubrey to just get to it already. Luckily, it would pick back up and I’d have another chuckle at either Aubrey’s mistakes or Griffin’s cranky behaviour.
I will definitely be reading more of the series in the future.
Rowena
Written on Jun 17, 2016
Griffin Shipley hasn’t seen Audrey Kidder in five years, not since she disappeared after they hooked up a couple of times. He’s not all that wild about seeing her now with her car stuck in his road and a bunch of ridiculous prices on him and his neighbors crops she wants to buy for her big shot bosses back in Boston. The quicker he turns her down and fixes her car, the quicker she’ll be out of his hair again. He’s got enough to worry about to last him a lifetime. He does not need Audrey poking her nose around in his life.
Audrey Kidder needs to find some local Vermont produce at some decent prices if she’s going to save her job. She needs this dumb ass job to keep her in the running for winning the prize of a lifetime, her lifetime anyway, backing to open her own restaurant. She’s paying her dues and even if she’s miserable at this job, she’s going to keep plugging along because more than anything, she wants to run her own restaurant. The one thing standing in her way? A blast from the past farmer, Griffin Shipley.
The romance between Griff and Audrey was too freaking cute. I adored the both of them on their own, but I loved them even more together. I loved the way that Griff mellowed out whenever Audrey was around and I loved the way that Griffin was on Audrey’s side when she needed someone to tell her she wasn’t crazy for wanting the things that she wanted. The more I read this book, the more I fell in love with every single character.
From Griff’s family to Jude and Zack, even Zara and Griff’s cousins, they were all charming additions that fleshed the story out more and more.
I loved Griffin. I think he was my favorite part of the book. The glue to his family. The heart of Audrey’s life. The lifeline that Jude and Zack needed. I adored seeing him try to save each and every single person close to him. I loved seeing him worry about the farm’s finances, fall in love with Audrey and just be an all-around great guy. He was the strong presence his family needed after his father died and he was the shoulder Audrey needed after her life turned itself upside down. There wasn’t a thing about him that I didn’t like and I’m very much looking forward to seeing more of him in the other books in this series.
Audrey was great too. She was the sunshine that Griff needed and the helping hand that Griff’s mother needed. She brought joy to those around her and it was a bummer that it took her Mom so long to realize that. She had a great deal to be proud of and I’m glad that things worked out for her in the end.
This was a wonderfully sweet romance about two people who had a brief history in college who found each other again in the funniest and yet charming way. I can’t say enough good things about this book. If you haven’t already picked this up, do it. Find out why so many readers out there love this book. It’s a damn good story.
Jude, I’m so ready for you. July 12th needs to get here already.
Grade: 4.75 out of 5
thebookdisciple
Written on Jun 9, 2016