After waking up to find her mother, Ruth, had somehow escaped her assisted living facility and is standing in her bedroom, Tamar's childhood traumas come back to threaten her. Tamar had left her childhood home when she was eighteen, following her mother physically attacking her after years of mental and emotional abuse, and without Lovey, the 'favorite' child around, Ruth is falling back into her old habits... but who would believe that an old dementia patient is harming her middle-aged daughter?

'Bitter Is The Heart' is a book with a strong premise, an incredible ending, a great exploration of Judaism and generational abuse... all marred by its abysmal pacing. The opening scene is a great hook, and the last fifty pages make it hard to put down, but there's a lot of dawdling in the middle. The abuse that Ruth inflicts on Tamar is horrific, particularly due to Ruth being manipulative and sneaky, but Tamar continuously not suspecting her mother's interference makes some revelations more frustrating than scary. For example, early on in the book, Ruth takes Tamar's phone and blocks her sister's number. Tamar finds this out and unblocks her. About halfway through the book, Tamar is frustrated that she's not getting any messages from her sister, her childhood boyfriend, or other assisted living facilities that she reached out to... but she doesn't check her phone's block list until her ex-boyfriend gets a new phone number and asks about it. It seems weird for this to happen twice, and for Tamar to not suspect anything, even with her substance abuse issues.

I'm not Jewish, so I can't speak for the depictions of Judaism here, but it's cool to have a possession story where Christianity is ineffective. While I was a little disappointed that the twist was supernatural, it never tried to erase or excuse Ruth's abuse, which I appreciated. Tamar's feelings for her are complicated, understandably so, and the themes of Jewish Forgiveness make the ending incredibly compelling. There aren't nearly enough books with middle-aged women as protagonists either, and I'm always happy to read one about a woman who doesn't want children.

My final rating is 3.5, so I'm going to split the difference on websites and give it a 4* on NetGalley and a 3* on GoodReads.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Bitter is the Heart by Mina Hardy. This book is a slow and steady burn that is uncomfortable. It will resonate with anyone who has a complicated relationship with their mother. I liked how the author combined a ghost story with toxic parenting and family dynamics. I also liked how she incorporated her Jewish religion into the story and the characters.

Tamar’s mother is supposed to be in an assisted living facility when she shows up uninvited inside Tamar’s home. Tamar is estranged from her mother and her sister Lovey is the golden child. Since Lovey has moved away, Tamar is tasked with taking care of her mother. Strange things start to happen and Tamar also has to face her childhood and her relationship with her mother.

This story follows a chilling and disturbing relationship between a mother and daughter. Tamar left home at eighteen after suffering years of abuse from her mother. She has now returned and has found herself in a situation where she is left to care for her mother, now frail and elderly. However, creepy things start to happen...

This book was very slow begin with and took a long time to build. Personally I found it a little too slow and was left wanting a little more horror, as it was quite reserved. This book was more based around generational abuse and the relationship between mother and daughter, with a bit of horror thrown in at the end. Although I was left wanting a little more, I really enjoyed the storyline and the last 50 pages were brilliant and really kept me engaged! However, as for the rest of the book it was a little to slow paced for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

What a ride!! This book was creepy and unsettling - a tale of mother and daughters and possession, It made me uneasy in places but I had to keep reading! Great book Mina Hardy - I will definitely be reading your other books!.

Less scary, and more of a deeply sad look at child abuse and how it affects adults.

Just not my thing.

This was so disturbing and creepy. I wanted to look away and simultaneously didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book was completely unsettling. I kept reading it hoping to understand what was going on. There is generational trauma, abuse and demons. Addiction and sleepwalking. I’m glad to be finished with this one.

“Bitter is the Heart” was horrific, disturbing, and hard to put down. Be warned, the sensitive subject of childhood abuse by a mother and the resulting trauma could be triggering for some readers. Proceed with caution.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review "Bitter is the Heart" before its publication date.

Phenomenal story. Excellent characters and the dynamics and complexities of their relationship felt genuine, dramatic, traumatic. This story weaved seamlessly through twists and turns, emotion and creepiness. Loved it!

The darkness surrounding the generational trauma and mother - daughter relationship came together to make a thrilling read.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC of Bitter is the Heart by Mina Hardy.

This story evolves around main character Tamar Glass. Tamar left home as soon as she turned 18 in order to escape from her abusive, childhood home. As luck (or lack of luck) would have it, decades later, she’s back in her home state and thrust into taking in the very person she’d run away from - her mother. Her mother is elderly at this point, and her health is declining.

As Tamar grapples with her suppressed childhood trauma, strange things start to occur in both Tamar’s life and home.

I really, really enjoyed this read! this is the first book that I’ve ready by Mina Hardy, but I will definitely need to check out some more of her books after this wild ride!

As with any book, I think it would be a good idea for readers to check Trigger Warnings before diving in!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This started off so strong. A chilling novel about a woman with a troubled childhood who lets her elderly and unwell mother move in with her…and a lot of creepy shit ensues! Lots of very visceral horror that made me honestly feel a little sick while reading…which is the sign of a good horror writer. However, the turn the plot took in the last quarter of the book felt honestly quite silly and it kind of lost me :( 3 stars.

I love scary stories but finding one that is well-written through the end? It's hard. This book grabbed me at the beginning and never let go. I didn't read it at night, it totally spooked me. Which makes this one of my FAVORITE horror stories ever. Loved it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC!!!


This book definitely gave me the heebie jeebies. I love the idea of generational trauma for the main theme of the book. Was quite surprised by the twist with the mom. Would have given this book a higher rating if the end didn’t feel so rushed or incomplete. Overall good read!

This is A slow burner which takes a while to get going but when it did it took you at 100mph. Whilst I’m not normally keen on horror I enjoyed how different this was to my normal reads and struggled to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This one was hard to put down. I kept wanting to see what happened next with Tamar and Ruth. I would have felt like I was loosing my mind if I had been a character in this well written book.
It’s a slow burner but it gets you hooked right from the beginning.
Really great read.

Wow what a ride that was.
Bitter is the Heart by M. Hardy, published by Crooked Lane Books is a horror that creeps on you and the moment when you least expect it, it throws full power on the reader.
Tamar is a woman who grew up rough. She left home at 18 and is estranged from her mother for decades.
Now she has to go back to care for the frail woman when starnge things start to happen that become stranger and stranger, cresting in the great finale.
A slow burn that had me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down. It was like a car crash on the other lane, you don't want to but you just can't look away. A fantastic read.

A well-paced tale that follows a mother-daughter relationship; what is expected of them, their reality, and the generational trauma that can accompany them. I found the main character Tamar interesting and loved the slow decline into horror.

Tamar Glass was abused by her mother when she was a child and she got out of the home as quickly as she could, leaving at eighteen. She and her mother have been somewhat estranged for decades, then, one night, Tamar wakes to find her mother, disoriented and standing over Tamar while Tamar is asleep in bed. Tamar has a massive heart attack, dies and that’s the end.

Well, no. That’s what would have happened to me.

Tamar lives on. Then her mother is ejected from her assisted living facility and no other place will take her, so Tamar reluctantly lets her move in. Then strange things start to happen. The house is unbearably hot, cabinets open and shut in their own and Tamar is sleepwalking. Plus Tamar’s childhood traumas come rushing back. What is happening? Who is Tamar’s mother? Or is Tamar the problem?

I’ve got three words for Tamar and those three words are “state mental hospital.” I would have dropped that woman off with a garbage full of whatever, then I would have taken off to Mexico. Tamar, you owe that woman NOTHING, my friend.

So, this was a nice slow burn of a book. I didn’t really know what to expect, so I couldn’t have predicted anything. The Jewish religion was tied in very well. I enjoyed this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC of Bitter Is the Heart.

This is my second Mina Hardy book (one thriller and one horror) and unfortunately I do not think she is an author for me. This was probably the least scary horror book I've ever read, it was more just...sad and kind of a downer of a story. If I hadn't been provided a copy for review, I would have DNF at 50%.

Sadly, I can't recommend. 2 stars.