Providence Byrd has a violent past, but when her mother goes missing from her hometown, she is forced to abandon the life she has made for herself to come back, face the ghosts of her past and try to reconnect with her sisters.

This was a simple concept executed very well. The only thing I do wish the author had done differently was to perhaps flesh out the characters a little more. It seemed that we only got two seconds with some of the characters that had the potential to become fully independent people in their own right rather than a vehicle for a plot device. That being said, I loved Sara's character, I loathed the father, and I loved the queer representation in this book.

All in all, a success!

I think this book had big aspirations, but it ultimately fell short. It had strong, descriptive prose, and a well built small town setting with intriguing politics and atmosphere. It had complex characters and relationships. However, I could not stand any of those characters. They were deeply flawed and unlikable, even the main character that I was supposed to be rooting for. I mostly read for character, so this was a bit of a deal breaker for me. In order for me to have enjoyed the book anyway, it would have needed a very strong and engaging plot. Unfortunately, I felt this book had very little by way of the plot. The mystery element was quickly abandoned, the revenge plot half formed, and many elements were predictable. I believe it was supposed to be an emotional journey more than anything, but I just could not engage with the emotions. There was so much pain and trauma it was overwhelming. I did like the ending, which was more hopeful. So overall while this book had a strong concept I did not enjoy the execution.

Providence has returned home to search for her missing mother, the same mother she ran over with a car 13 years earlier. To say that mother and daughter had a fractious relationship would be putting it mildly. Still having survived her tumultuous childhood and the incarceration following her accident with her mother, Providence feels she owes it to herself to uncover the truth.

Every Sweet Thing is Bitter’s content mimics its title. It’s a story of ‘both sides’, exploring the complexities of trauma, family, and the place we were raised – places we haunt like ghosts.

The protagonist is one of three sisters, returning to her hometown to help in the efforts to investigate her mother’s disappearance, after years away. She encounters many ghosts of her own past, ones that persist, as she tries to piece together what happened to her mother, and what role her abusive father has had in both her life and that of her sisters.

Throughout the story I felt profoundly sad, because much of the book depicts the pain and sorrow of abusers continuing to live their lives, sometimes protected by the community, while their victims are left with scars of all kinds. Towards the end, though, there were small mercies, which I feel was a needed ending - hope in the dark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this eARC!

Every sweet thing is bitter is a story of resilience as a trauma survivor navigates a home she left in hopes of trying to break that generational trauma. We follow Providence Byrd as she heads home in search of her missing mother who 13 years earlier she ran over with her car. Her mother survived and Providence became a teen felon with a life she’d never be able to repair. The circumstances under which her mother went missing seem odd, but Providence knows she’s needed there. In her homecoming she searches her small town for any closure she can get. She yearns for relationships with her two younger sisters Harmony and Grace still stuck under their father’s abusive thumb. She’s also convinced wherever her mother is, it’s Tom Byrds fault. As she searches her home town she is haunted by old memories and ghosts from her past. Trying her best to shield her sisters from the past knowing they’re both also irreparably damaged from Providence’s sin.

Crewson has this fantastic ability to transform a hideous topic with such raw vulnerability and delicate hands. We watch the impact trauma has on survivors bodies and minds. The things our nervous system is willing to put up with in order to keep us going. As well as what we’ll endure to protect those we love. It’s a meditation on found family and the grief you suffer once you finally realize blood doesn’t have to tie you together. The role religious trauma on top of her familial trauma plays within these pages are bone chillingly spot on. Housing bible verses within your body you have no idea how or why you still know them, not coming out to an abusive parent in fear of them harming you even further.

My biggest critique is that a few of the side characters diversity felt a bit forced to me. I do appreciate Crewson’s ability to create a diversity baseline within her novel, just wishing a few of them had a more organic introduction. With that being said, it is a bold debut novel that is going to skyrocket Crewson’s career as a writer.

I recommend this book to readers who love Gillian Flynn, Chelsea Bieker, anyone who came out late in life, and any survivors of religious trauma.

Thank you netgalley and crooked lane books for this copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, Crooked Lane Books for the copy of Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter by Samantha Crewson. The author’s trigger warnings were helpful but I still found this a tough read. Providence’s childhood was a nightmare and as an adult she couldn’t catch a break. Providence was a great main character and I liked how the other characters were three-dimensional too. I can’t say too much so I don’t want to give anything away, but I loved the unexpected reveals! 4 stars

Providence is one of my best main characters I have come across in a very long time. Yes, she was flawed. Yes, she may be morally grey. Yes, she may not be perfect, but holy hell did she feel REAL. She was so well developed that I feel like I know her personally. As for the story itself, heartbreaking. These poor girls. I loved how the story unraveled. Sisterhood and family takes many forms and that is shown in this novel. As upsetting as it may be, I’d love a prequel that explored the eldest daughters’ childhood and the accident more. Essentially I am just not ready to let go of these characters, if I’m being honest with myself. I CANNOT wait to read whatever this author writes next.

This is a really gripping novel about resilience, coping mechanisms and patriarchal abuse. How families can make you, destroy you and shape your path beyond your control. The cycle of abuse repeats itself unless drastic action is taken, but such action, taken with fear and misguided loyalties, is never straight forward.

The Byrd family has been destroyed by the actions of their father, a man so brutal that even onlookers with seemingly the best intentions, are too scared to intervene. Until one day, Providence, the eldest but only a teen herself attempts to stop him and unfortunately her mother takes the brunt, changing their path and family dynamics forever. Circumstances lead Providence back to her tainted family to try and help when their mother goes missing, but it’s hard to mend relationships when all concerned are so overwhelmingly damaged. Navigating priorities, even in the most functional of families and friendship groups, is hard.

I didn't know exactly what to expect from Crewson's debut, but I was completely absorbed in her narrative of redemption and overcoming trauma. While the central plot is driven by the mystery of Providence's mother's disappearance, I found myself caring more about the characters and their interactions. I went in hoping for a suspense thriller but fell in love with the dark, moody, emotionally-charged family drama this turned out to be.

Every Sweet Thing is Bitter introduces us to Providence Byrd, a lesbian returning to her hometown after 13 years, a few of which were spent in prison for running over her mother, who is now missing.

While this is classified as a thriller, I invite you to read this book with an open mind. Not every murder mystery fits into the standard “whodunnit” narrative, and this book is an excellent example of how to maintain a mystery while also inviting you to dig deeper into its characters and make yourself question “how exactly did we get here?”.

I loved the exploration of love, relationships and different family dynamics. This book is heavy on “blood doesn’t make family” and I very much enjoyed learning about Providence through her relationships with her siblings, father, friends, lovers and other folks who had a hand in who she has become.

ESTIB is one of those quiet novels that makes you uncomfortable. I can’t even count the number of moments where I felt like someone was holding my stomach in a tight fist, igniting feelings of unease and ick – the kind that help you fully immerse yourself into a story.

This story is messy, dark and depressing, yet still left me with feelings of hope.

This is a knockout of a debut from Samantha Crewson, and I can honestly say that I can’t wait to see what comes next.

digital arc was provided by Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books<

Tbh, it was hard to rate this book appropriately to me, but I settled with 4 stars after thinking about it for some hours.

Synopsis
Providence, fresh out of jail from almost running over her mother when she was 17, visited her old place. She struggled to see that her Mom was missing, her sisters, Harmony and Grace, hated her, and her father, the one she intended to run over back then and the one who abused her family, still alive and kicking. Providence tried to make amends, to rebuild her life, and find her mother.

What I like
The premise of Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter is actually quite 'simple', but the writing got me like nothing else. I could feel the desperation, the indifference, the emotions that these people felt because Crewson took her sweet time to build them one by one. Especially Providence.
My sweet child Providence, who kept telling herself that she's lovable but didn't receive much care from everyone around her; and when someone did care, they couldn't do much to challenge her father's iron grip.
The family dynamic was also interesting to notice because I couldn't t just hate them as much as I wanted too because they too suffer in their own way. And it sucked the life out of me.
The tone of the book was similar to True Detective, slow, quiet, small-town vibe, not much of action, but it's still there.

What I don't like
Since it reminds me a lot to TD, I must say that I wasn't fond of the slow pace. For, maybe, first half of the book I wondered (and screamed) for Providence to go look for her mother if she valued her so much. But, like, nothing really happened.

Final thoughts
Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter is a heavy book on familial piety, close-knit community, betrayal, and finding your own life. There are some unanswered things, but on the grand scheme of thing, I don't think it matters.

This is one of the hardest reads I’ve had in a while. It reminded me so much of the community I grew up in and how so many get stuck in the cycle of a horrible life just passing it on from generation to generation.

It’s not a happy read but there is hope in it. I was grateful for that hope and held on to it as I read.

Not sure it’s a book I will ever revisit but I am so glad I had the chance to read it. It is a story worth telling and a story I think can help people in similar circumstances.

This book discusses alot of sensitive topics. I wasnt sure if it was going to be a book for me. Im glad I perserved . I thought this book was outstanding.

This was a very impactful read that I will remember for a long time and thus if you want a read that is profound this is the book for you.

The life Providence and her sisters lived so unbearable to read about. I have read a lot of books with kids suffering in the foster system but this even worse, their biological dad a monster and they get no real support from anyone since everyone so afraid of him. The life detailed in the book so horrific and the way Providence is self-harming herself to cope is next level gruesome.

Despite all this once I started reading I was so invested in the story and just prayed for things to get better. Thus, I highly recommend this book!

A beautifully written, tragic, haunting debut about the complexity of family and what it takes to return home--in every opposing and related sense of the word. With deeply believable characters and a taut plot that carries you along at a steady clip, EVERY SWEET THING IS BITTER tackles difficult topics with grace and strength. Crewson is an author to watch for sure.

I felt this book on a visceral level, like it was painful. Growing up with an addict as a parent is so hard and this one brought some feelings up for me. It feels like this subject matter came from a place of knowledge and not sensationalizing. I feel like Crewson has seen some things...

Providence hasn't been home in thirteen years. Not after she backed the family car straight into her mother, sending her to prison. Even after her release, she never came back, knowing there was no love there for her. But, what really happened that day? Now, she must return because her estranged mother has gone missing. She needs to go back for a few reasons, but secretly she has a vendetta. Her father has some major things he needs to answer for.

Providence has no relationship with her two younger sisters, haven't spoken to them in over a decade. It is clear to her that they are struggling... the same way that she struggled growing up in that house, with those parents. She deals with a lot of pent up emotions from her upbringing and it was devastating to see!! The depictions, even the nuanced ones, I could feel in my gut!

Ultimately, this is a dark and gritty thriller about confronting the past and stopping the continuation of torment. The guilt that Olivia feels in abandoning her sisters in a house full of pain, with parents that didn't always have their best interest at heart, was intense. Also, the path to uncovering the truth about her mother's disappearance was really comprehensive. I was fully invested in this book!!

Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter is a gripping debut suspense novel about Providence Byrd, a woman seeking redemption after a violent past. Thirteen years ago, in a reckless act of anger, Providence ran over her mother with the family car, a moment that forever altered her life. Now, years later, her mother has gone missing, and Providence returns home not only to search for answers but also to confront the abusive father she holds responsible for her mother's disappearance.
As she navigates the complex relationships with her sisters, each scarred by the past, Providence must choose between vengeance and healing, revenge and redemption. A sharp, poignant exploration of family, trauma, and the struggle to move forward. I really enjoyed this one and will read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this rad book. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, and this really shook it right out of me. Incredible character development, intense plot that really brought out a lot of emotion, couldn’t put this one down. 4 stars because I saw a couple of twists from a mile away, but I think this was such a fantastic novel from start to finish.

What do I say about this one other than PERFECTION?!

More to come as I continue to digest my thoughts!!!

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC

Strong Content Warnings: Self harm, Domestic abuse, Child abuse

It's odd to say I enjoyed this book, given the subject matter is so dark and the protagonist is in such a bad place mentally. Providence is one of three sisters who escaped from her controlling and abusive father's household by running over her mother with a car and then serving time for it and then making a life for herself completely cut off from her family. With the news of her mother's disappearance, she's back to a town that triggers her in every respect, trying to find out what happened to her mother and attempting to reconnect with her younger sisters (Harmony and Grace) while avoiding her abusive father.

This book does a fantastic job of depicting the raw emotions of a traumatized abuse survivor who sees other people either ignoring the well-known abuse this family went through or sneering at them for being "trash" or both. Providence slowly reconnects with her sisters, both of whom are strangers to her, various people in the town that she knew, and confronts her own sense of failure as a sister who escapes the situation and leaves her mother and sisters to face worse and the people who turn the other way instead of helping. The anger that this inspires in her for the adults who failed a child who was regularly abused at home because they are afraid of her father (sheriff included) is scathing and feels very organic, as does the love she tries to convince herself she is worthy of.

The most engaging to me is the character of Providence's mother, who we don't see a lot of because she is missing in present-day and mostly the target for abuse or passively complicit in flashbacks but she haunts Providence's narrative and life by her absence, like a black hole. We see Providence wrestle with her own complicated feelings about the trauma she inflicted on her mother, leading to an addiction to painkillers and the effect this had on her sisters' relationships with this woman when she was gone. Providence herself wrestles with the complicated feelings that children have for their parents and the resentfulness and anger that comes after, and possibly even some regret and it's a nuanced and artful part of this story.

If you go into this book expecting a bit of a mystery about a missing woman and her daughter's complicated thoughts about her, you'll get that as well. There are interesting layers to uncover about the disappearance and even a dash of hope that she might have just left an abusive situation and the payoff is worth the wait. The really interesting thing is the author's commentary on the performative nature of crime. Everyone in this small town ignored the severe abuse they all knew was happening to this woman and her daughters but they turned up en masse for a search party, expressing hope for her being found alive and fondly remembering her.

In summation, this is a solid mystery with nuanced and engaging family dynamics and representation of what generational abuse looks like and how different people deal with it in different ways. The twists in the mystery are interesting and I didn't see them coming, but the real meat of this book is Providence's journey towards reconciliation with her sisters, working through complicated feelings about her mother, and showdown as an adult with her abusive father