For fans of dark and emotional fiction! Set in London, Charlie (short for Charlotte) is a young literary publicist who gets into an intense affair with the much older and married Richard Aveling, who is her literary idol and her company's biggest author. We get to know Charlie and her past, and why this relationship takes such a hold of her life and almost costs her everything. If you enjoyed The Rachel Incident or My Dark Vanessa, this is for you! I will say that the first 30% or so of this book was on the slower side, as it was setting up Charlie's work life, the death of her mother and relationship with her friends which are all very important to the rest of the book, but it took a while to get through it. It might have been a me problem! But the last 70% of the book I couldn't put down, and this was an easy A+.

close enough welcome back norman fucking rockwell .... girls putting themselves through hell to feel loved, seen and connected, to be able to fill a void inside them, i will love you always charlie my girl :(

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC.

Strong writing in regard to Charlie’s grief journey after the loss of her mother and how that shaped her teenage years and young adulthood.

The interest I had in this book in the beginning, was lost halfway through when Charlie kept making repetitive questionable decisions that prioritized the relationship she believed she had with Richard.

She had both her 2 best friends and I stressed.

Things worked out well in the end for her, especially with her career, but the plot felt rushed when compared to most of the book being about the toxic obsession and impact on her mental health from it.

Bitter Sweet” left me with complicated feelings—I was constantly oscillating between being absorbed in the enticing literary world of these characters and being so bored and put off by the pretentiousness of it all. I of course knew the plot was around a young PR assistance falling in love with the much-older star author whom our main character, Charlie, has been infatuated with her whole life, but I didn’t realize that was really the <i>only</i> plot.

The book is straightforward in the way that the readers, and Charlie, know this affair is wrong and she’s foolish for thinking it could be anything more than it is, but there are times where you’re rooting for her success and amazed at her naivety. I wished to see a bit more growth and complexity in Charlie’s personality and the affair itself, especially given that the affair felt so sudden and almost forced initially.

The writing was solid and the supporting characters have more nuance than I might have anticipated, but the over-glamorization of publishing and romanization of authors was too overbearing for me to actually relate to these characters, and it felt a little off putting, so much so that I wasn’t enjoying the book as much as I wanted.

This was a hard-hitting read especially in the context of all the recent n*il ga*min information coming out over the last year. Literary fiction books land well for me when I feel like they could easily be true: though Charlie's story is unfortunately not unique (see previous) it feels like an authentic perspective at how insecure, egotistical men wield power in the publishing industry. Charlie's struggles with depression and isolation are similarly portrayed with a keen, occasionally painful truthfulness, balancing the hard & ugly aspects of the illness with genuinely good advice on seeking a path to recovery.

Still, I felt so deeply neutral about Richard and Charlie's relationship (and Richard generally) that it was difficult to stay emotionally engaged throughout the story. I found the superior dynamics to be those between Charlie and her two best friends and Charlie and her father (+ his new family). I especially adored Charlie & Ophelia's relationship: it is rare to find a depiction of a truly supportive, excellent friendship in literary fiction. Too often books involving extramarital affairs focus on punishing the protagonists' behavior by showing how their infatuation loses them friends and loved ones. Without giving spoilers, Charlie goes on a refreshing, opposite journey that emphasizes the power of radical love & acceptance of friends and family in helping a person heal through and away from a toxic relationship.

charlie, young and emotionally vulnerable, falls hard for richard, a famous author who is significantly older and significantly more powerful. his work impacted her many years before their initial meeting and richard was something of an idol to charlie before she knew him. this sets up the readers to witness their relationship dynamics from a high-level view. it wasn’t always pleasant and it certainly wasn’t always respectful. charlie makes some poor choices and we follow along as she learns the repercussions. at her lowest point, charlie’s pain is palpable.
i don’t think i expected this to be a light read but it felt a lot darker and more frustrating than i was expecting. thank god for charlie’s friends who had a million and one reasons to eliminate her from their lives but who chose to remain dedicated and trustworthy. they carried her through time and time again.

thank you to random house publishing group - ballentine books - for providing this book for review consideration via netgalley. all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

To be honest I was expecting to feel more from this book, but I ultimately didn't and that's okay. I believe that the inner monologue of the main character drained me and it wasn't thought provoking or interesting. However, when breaking down one's own sadness, pitfalls, and struggles it can feel draining and I think that was the intention there. I don't mind depression or sadness but it felt like this was on the spotlight for majority of the book. Nevertheless, I thought the book was descriptive (yet a sort of rushed pacing in some moments), a bit engaging, but otherwise just a bit on the dull side. I did like the ending which I felt tied into the title of the book and ultimately the whole relationship.

I'd recommend this book if you love reading about relationships and complex situations. Bitter Sweet will be published July 8th 2025.

Thank you, #Partner @ballantinebooks, @randomhouse, and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 7/8/25.

This was a slower character driven novel, but very addicting. The FMC really made me feel all the emotions she was going through and I wanted to hug her and scream at her at the same time. I thought the author did an amazing job portraying mental health and depression 👏👏. I loved that this book was set in the publishing world, and it was awesome to get a sneak peak behind the scenes of working at a publishing house.

Charlie landed her dream job as an assistant at a London publishing house. She is most excited about working with and helping out on publishing Richard Aveling's next book. Richard is a famous author and the world has been waiting on his next book. Charlie grew up reading Richard's books with her late mom, so this is very special for her. When Charlie and Richard meet for their first time, they both feel a connection, but Richard is married.....

The prose in this was exquisite and flawless. Every sentence was crafted beautifully and I always felt invested. I also really loved the insights into working in the publishing industry. One thing I did not expect, and that I feel the title and cover don’t adequately prepare readers for, is how incredibly sad this book is. It is heavy throughout the entire read and does not let up. Lots of bitter, not much sweet. So much so that I had to take a break and read something lighter halfway through. But I do think it will deeply resonate with readers who have lost a parent at a young age.

This book is nothing if not readable—so much so that I found myself pulled deep into its world, even as it drained me. The writing is lush, evocative, and often deeply immersive. The author captures the complexities of mental health, love, and literary ambition. But that’s also where the emotional toll kicks in. Reading this felt, at times, like reliving a relationship that many of us would rather forget, or at least not stretch over 300 pages.
At the heart of it is a relationship between a young woman and her literary idol. The dynamic is magnetic but deeply unhealthy—romanticized in a way that feels convincing at first but eventually becomes repetitive and frustrating. We know how this ends, and yet the protagonist continues searching for something romantic in a situation that clearly isn’t. There’s an excess of alcohol throughout, and I couldn’t help but feel that much of what happens in the book simply wouldn’t have, if everyone weren’t constantly drinking.
Mental health is explored with honesty and sensitivity, though not without risk. For someone going through a similar experience, this might feel validating, but it could also be triggering. It walks that fine line—does it help you understand yourself, or just reopen wounds?
The depiction of the publishing world is both fascinating and disheartening, filled with powerful, “magnetic” men who seem to drain the life out of everything.
I was hoping for a more dramatic arc of empowerment, a spark of female rage to break through the fog of depression.
By the end, I was less enchanted and more exasperated. Still, the “bitter” and the “sweet” both show up—and together they leave a taste that’s hard to forget.

Thank you Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

I was really looking forward to reading this. The cover and title really drew me in from the get-go, and then the description caught my attention as well. I'd also read a few reviews on Goodreads that indicated I would quickly fall in love with the prose. However, upon downloading and reading it, I found that the narrative moved more slowly than what I typically enjoy. I found it hard to connect with the main character; she didn't seem to have that sense of "want" that often sparks immediate interest in the reader. I found that I never really wanted to pick the book up and would opt for something else over it, even though I'd been eager to read it at the start. In the end, I think this just wasn't the right fit, despite it hitting several points that I usually really connect with. I would still recommend it, because the prose was strong and the story is compelling. I'm going to chalk it up to an issue with my own taste, or maybe this wasn't the best time of year for me to read this one in particular.

so happy i requested this because my god!!! the overall plot was so solid i was surprised especially for a debut novel. super character driven,

This book is captivating as it strings readers along a relationship that will most likely fail. So why? Charlie is young, successful and beautiful and the attraction to Richard who is 30 years older and married makes no sense. And yet, it happens all the time for the excitement, risk and desire.

It’s rare for me to read a book in a day but I couldn’t put it down out of curiosity for the outcome. I didn’t think too highly of Charlie and Richard but my annoyance worked for the story. It’s why so many are lured toward scandals and whispers in the back office. It gets our attention.

The story was highly imaginative with Charlie and her two roommates working long hours in the London publishing industry. Best-selling novelists were awarded with an attentive staff creating top news articles and dinner events. It was also a place where news and secrets traveled quickly. The story had relatively short chapters and was a page turner.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of July 8, 2025.

4.5 rounded up to 5

I loved this book & I found myself trying to hurry through my to-do list so I could get back into it. I love literary fiction about terrible relationships and girls who you’d love to just shake. This was beautifully written and kept me hooked the entire time. I kept picturing Richard as “fancy man” from New Girl (I’d be hooked too, let’s be honest) and I felt like this was written from relatable perspective in the sense that you’ll read this and think, “been there done that” OR know someone who has lived a very similar life.

I wish the ending had either ended before the tidying up of Charlie’s life or had left us hanging on whether things with Richard sort themselves out or not (hey, if Charlie can propose a new ending to Richard’s books then so can I?) and the way it ended felt a *little* bit too neat.

Overall, loved the pace, the characters, the story, the mental drama, the publishing world, the actual drama. Thank you to Netgally, Hattie Williams, and the publisher for this ARC.

Bitter Sweet is the story of a damaged young girl during a year of bad choices that includes an illicit affair that will change her life forever. It is somber and bleak and hard to look away from, but ultimately a story many might see themselves in in some way or another. It is a very human story about growing up and showing up.

Charlie's mother died unexpectedly when Charlie was a teenager, leaving her primary guardian her step-father, a man she's not even related to. This trauma informs a lot of the way Charlie thinks of herself, leaving her with low-self-esteem and a deep sense of not belonging. During the hard years she found refuge in the novels of Richard Aveling, and when she meets him as part of her job in publishing, they share a special moment. A moment turns to an evening, then into a clandestine affair that swallows her whole.

Charlie's story teaches us about friendship and obsession and the stories we tell ourselves and how they shape our actions. It's about betrayal and depression and being chased by a nameless darkness. It's about all the hard parts of growing up and realizing we're responsible for the choices we make. It's a sad story, but an important one.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was not for me. The premise of the story felt very promising but just fell short for me.

I couldn’t connect with the main character and at times just felt so frustrated with their lack of growth.
At times the description would just go and on when it could’ve been shortened and still relay the feelings and nuances that the author wanted to portray.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC.

Unfortunately, Bitter Sweet just wasn’t for me. I went into it really wanting to like the story, especially given the interesting premise and strong writing, but I found it difficult to stay engaged. The main character felt so unlikeable throughout, and I struggled with the lack of growth in her arc. It made it hard for me to connect with her or care much about her journey.

The romantic connection between the two main characters also didn’t land for me—I never quite understood the attraction or felt the chemistry, and as a result, I wasn’t invested in the outcome of their relationship. While the book is undoubtedly well-written, I found the grief surrounding the character’s late mother to be particularly heavy and, at times, unnecessarily dramatic. I typically try to avoid books that center around that kind of loss, and I wish it had been mentioned more clearly in the description so I could have made a more informed choice.

That said, I know some readers will appreciate the emotional weight and complexity that this story offers—it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Thank you for the arc!

Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams is a nuanced, emotionally sharp debut that I kind of liked—it’s messy in a believable way, with a flawed main character and a complicated relationship at its center. While some parts felt a bit familiar, the raw honesty and thoughtful exploration of power dynamics and early adulthood made it stick with me.

I can’t believe this was a debut novel! Bittersweet follows 23-year-old Charlie, a publishing assistant who lands her dream job and finds herself entangled in an affair with a (married) author she’s idolized her entire life. I connected with Charlie instantly—she felt like a younger version of myself, even as she stumbled through some truly questionable decisions. What really stood out to me were her relationships outside the romance: her bond with her friends and her boss, Cecile, beautifully captured the idea of creating your own chosen family. Bittersweet is exactly what its title promises: bittersweet. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A tumultuous relationship between a literary assistsnt and a famous author forces Charlie, the assistant, to question her choices, her friendships, and her self all while keeping her relationship a secret from everyone around her. A story of ups and downs, growth, changing, and life as a 20-something is the literary world of London.