This was an incredible novel. It really put a spotlight on imbalance of power in relationships, and how someone can be victimized without realizing it. It had incredible mental health rep, and it showed the struggles of being in your early twenties. Charlie was an amazing character, she had her flaws, and that made her feel so real.

I think this book could be polarizing for a lot of people, because while no one likes when there's cheating in real life, there are many who won't read a book with a cheating storyline (this is not a spoiler, it's in the first sentence of the synopsis). That's not the case for me. While reading about it can certainly make me uncomfortable, I also realize this is part of real life and something that unfortunately happens all too often.

I'm not completely sure where I stand on this book, however. I really liked it, but I didn't love it. There was a dichotomy in the fact that a lot of the writing was beautiful, but it also had a stream-of-consciousness feel to it that I don't always love. We are very much inside the main character's head for the entire book, and while I am glad we got to see and feel things from her perspective, at times it felt like it bogged down the story a bit. It could be dry at times, as well. And while it didn't bother me too much while reading the book, looking back I can say that the story got a bit redundant at times. Week after week, the same situations, actions, and reactions took place. I don't know that we needed a week-by-week breakdown when so many weeks were very similar. Yet while I was reading it, I didn't really pick up on this. 

I also kept waiting for something big to happen. Something to make this different than a classic "older man with power and influence preys on younger woman" story. There were little plot points and details that made it different, but it's definitely not a "new" story that you've never read before.

That all being said, I did actually enjoy reading this book. I realize my review sounds negative up to this point, but my experience reading the book didn't feel negative. With the exception of the slow pacing, I was fully invested in the story, eager to see where it would lead. There was one little twist that I guessed very early on, but it didn't negatively impact the reading experience at all. I also think that while the general storyline was not a new one, there were aspects to the main character (and to the relationship between her and the MMC) that differed from anything I've read before. I also felt a lot of empathy for the FMC and her losses early in life, and the way those experiences made her vulnerable to this man. There was a lot of nuance to the story and the main character's perspective and experiences that led her to this point in life were of great interest to me. It was easy to see how someone with her life experiences could end up in the situation that she did. Even while she was making bad choices, you wanted to root for her and for her to find the happiness she was seeking.

I also think the author did a great job with writing the whole cast of characters. They all had depth and played an important role in the story. I believed in the relationships, the conversations, motivations, and experiences they all had. I really enjoyed the fact that the book took place in the publishing world, as I think any avid reader would.

I will note that I was happy to be reading this on an e-reader, because I often forget how many British terms don't exist in American English. Every time I highlighted a word to see its meaning, it was a British term. Most of the time I could have gleaned enough from the context to figure out what it was supposed to be, but I personally enjoyed having the ease of just using my e-reader to quickly look up those words.

I'm still not totally settled on my rating of this book, but it's hovering between 3.5 and 4 stars, and will likely land at 3.5.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Bitter Sweet introduces Charlie, a 23-year-old publicity assistant at a London indie publisher, who idolizes celebrated author Richard Aveling, 56. When she’s assigned to promote his new book, admiration spirals into a clandestine, all-consuming affair. Soon he starts taking her advice on literary decisions and she becomes even more obsessed. She starts ignoring her friends and family, believing that love conquers all and the only thing improtant in her life is her relationship with Charlie. Charlie didn't have a great childhood, and I felt that she was using Richard to fill the gap in relationships she never had with her parents.

As the relationship intensifies, Charlie confronts her deep grief and a power imbalance she can't easily escape. Charlie's character is very well developed and you feel her every emotion, even as she makes bad decision after bad decision. You just know this cannot end well as Richard weilds his power to a greater and greater degree.

This was an amazing debut for a new author. Well written, and a deep exploration of power dynamics, narcissistic personality disorder, and unrequited love. Difficult to read at times, but you become invested in Charlie's fate.

Bitter Sweet, the debut novel by Hattie Williams, is a sensitively written coming-of-age book about Charlie, a young woman in her early twenties having landed her dream job in publishing in London. Charlie becomes involved with an author who is 30 years older and someone she has always greatly admired. So the power unbalance is immediately apparent, although not so much to Charlie. Charlie does know that the relationship is bound to end badly yet continues to make choices that hurt herself and her friendships.

As we learn more about Charlie’s upbringing and adolescence, we understand why she makes some of these choices. And of course, she is a young woman with not a lot of life experience. I really liked the characters of her best friends, Ophelia and Eddy, who were consistently doing their very best for her. The novel is well written, although a little repetitive at times, and sheds some light into the publishing world. I think this book will resonate with readers in their 20s and 30s but is also a worthwhile read for those who are older. I look forward to Ms. Williams next novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Bitter Sweet is sharp, seductive, and quietly devastating. Charlie’s dream job in publishing turns intoxicating when Richard enters her orbit, but beneath the allure lies a slow unravelling.

Sadly, a tale as old as time. Charlie is 23 and she's over the moon about her new job and her new life and then along comes Richard. He's a 50 something married novelist who love bombs her. Well, maybe not love bombs but romances her in a way that she's too young to recognize because she's starstruck. Williams has built a strong character in Charlie, a woman who makes decisions she doesn't realize are bad and who wants more. I liked her friend group (she's lucky to have them) but not, no surprise, Richard. This captures an imbalanced relationship from its beginning to inevitable end in a way that's both cringey and unapologetically realistic. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Wow what an incredible debut! Charlie felt so real to me, one of the most realistic depictions of what it’s like living as a 20 something girl. She was incredibly insightful about herself and her depression/grief and the way she viewed her relationship with Richard and her friends. Like she knew what she was getting into when she met Richard, she knew it would destroy her but she did it anyways. I think having a relationship with an older man when you’re in your 20s is so common and it was refreshing to see that complexity in this book.

I also loved Charlie’s friends and the London publishing setting, the Paris vacation… again such a good debut!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The types of books I read can be broken in categories: Sisters. Cults. Missing persons. Girls making dumb decisions.

Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams is in the girls making dumb decisions. Charlie was a frustrating character, but one that I have seen repeatedly, sometimes when looking in the mirror. When youth allows the belief that love will cure all, and that sacrifice is worth it in the end.

A manipulative man, a young woman and their secrets. It's a common story. It's been written about for decades, if not centuries. Charlie's family by choice added warmth and humor to the story, and helped provide a bit of something less self-involved than Charlie's attempts at love.

Bitter Sweet is the perfect title because growing up and maturing IS bittersweet. It's part of life, and this is Charlie's experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I simply love a story that takes a girl in her early- to mid-twenties seriously. This book is everything I've been yearning for in the New Adult genre (a.k.a. contemporary literary fiction centering women my age). As much as I love a romance novel, sometimes I'm yearning to be SEEN not just looked at. So thank you, Hattie Williams, and congratulations on a fabulous debut!

23-year-old Charlie works at a publishing company in London where she meets and enters into a clandestine relationship with a revered author more than 25 years her senior. Williams expertly explores this dynamic which, tbh, feels over-represented in an under-saturated market. What sets this story apart from others with similar themes (i.e. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue) is the ever-present sense of purpose underlying every point of Charlie's misguided journey. I tend to dislike themes of affairs and infidelity especially as a central plot point; however, I related so deeply to Charlie despite her making decisions I could never make.
Charlie feels like a breath of fresh air, even as she tempts readers to rip their hair out in frustration. Charlie is witty, observant, introspective, and real. I loved getting to experience her shifts in perspective throughout the novel. Charlie felt like a friend from the very beginning of the novel and, by the end, she felt like me. I'm not sure I can say more without giving too much away, and I am firmly anti-spoiler. So you'll just have to read it for yourself if you're feeling intrigued:)

Be sure to check trigger warnings xx

Thank you so much to Ballantine and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you for the ARC!

A gorgeously written book about how it’s to make so many bad decisions while trying to do your best as a young adult. Charlie is 23 and is trying to make it out there in her new job in a publishing company. She meets her literary hero and everything changes. Taking place in 2010, before the #metoo era, Charlie’s journey as a millennial was both relatable and agonizing.

I loved Hattie Williams’ writing, this is such a great debut. All the music shoutouts (Bon Iver, the National) also added to my enjoyment.

In Hattie Williams’ debut novel Bitter Sweet, Charlie is a young publicity assistant at a publishing house, beginning work on her literary idol Richard Aveling’s latest novel. She soon falls into an affair with him over the course of the year, a relationship with a 30-year-gap and immense power imbalance that sets Charlie’s life - especially her mental health - off course as it becomes all-consuming and triggers traumatic memories.

Williams’ depiction of the publishing industry rang true, from the everyday work details and personalities to the class dynamics and interpersonal issues. The power dynamics with a famous and creative person, in and out of the workplace, were well done as well alongside the way Richard pulls Charlie into a secret but addicting relationship. Charlie is quite a frustrating character to read at times but you do really feel for her, and it is such a relief to see her get the help she needs.

That said, the affair drags on almost the entire book, with its inevitable consequences coming so close to the end that I spent a large section of the book just waiting to get to that and then being disappointed by how quickly Williams gets through the fallout and Charlie’s recovery, which could have been both better developed and very interesting to explore. The later I got in the book, the more I felt like the book was missing opportunities to dive deeper and especially like Williams was just telling us everything, to the degree that it felt flat at times.

I can't believe this is Hattie Williams' debut novel—it reads like the work of a confident writer with an incredibly strong voice. Charlie is a brilliantly crafted protagonist: intelligent yet vulnerable, shaped by unprocessed grief and desperate for love and approval at twenty-three. What makes this so effective is Williams' choice to tell the story retrospectively, as if Charlie has had years of therapy and can look back with hard-won wisdom. The frequent "If you told me then... I wouldn't believe you" creates distance that makes her growth feel authentic.
Bitter Sweet excels in exploring power dynamics in the publishing world. Richard Aveling is so masterfully manipulative, and mixed with the thirty-year age gap, his marriage, and their professional hierarchy create a perfect storm of toxicity that Williams handles with unflinching honesty. The supporting characters—especially Charlie's friends while they are on vacation in France—provide beautiful contrast, showing what healthy relationships actually look like when they're not wrapped in control and silence.
While this is undeniably an uncomfortable read, it's raw and powerful. Williams doesn't shy away from the messiness of idolization, mental health struggles, and workplace toxicity, but handles these themes with remarkable tenderness. I found myself unable to stop thinking about it, wanting to simultaneously hug Charlie and shake some sense into her. The ending provides genuine catharsis—depressing and hopeful in equal measure. Bitter Sweet won't be for everyone, but for readers drawn to literary fiction exploring mental health and complicated power dynamics, this offers a deeply rewarding experience. Hattie Williams is definitely an author to watch.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh Charlotte... you represent so much of what lies in so many women... that need that want that desire to be loved and to be given attention and to have it at almost any cost. And it must be said that Charlotte needs Jesus. I definitely needed Jesus before I embarked on an affair all those years ago. But I digress.

Charlie Turner is our main character who works in publishing and has a favorite author. (time out: do you have a favorite author that you just crush on incredibly? I don't but I can see the draw to them)
So Charlie is actually assigned as an assistant to the woman who works for Richard Aveling who is like the biggest most notable writer of the time, a literary giant like I don't know, maybe Wally Lamb or maybe Hemingway or Steinbeck (if they were contemporary) and when Richard and Charlie meet accidentally in an elevator something happens: a look, a very short exchange of banal information and Charlie is just smitten. And then they meet again and basically it's all over for Charlie, she's both feet deep into this, whatever this is, because the guy is married and has been for 30 years! Did I forget to mention that he is several decades older than our early 20's heroine? There is so much to judge about and yet....and yet... you keep reading because Charlie is just so darn likable and flawed and she has amazing friends who basically can't know what's going on because they would tell her DO NOT PROCEED!!! None of this spoils anything as it happens all very fast in the first couple chapters.

But Charlie does what she can't stop herself from doing. And we watch her break her own heart as she knows she's breaking her own heart.

I just couldn't put this awful train wreck of a novel (train wreck in the best of ways mind you) and when it comes out on Tuesday you should pick it up and not put it down either.

Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams is a gripping and emotionally charged debut novel that explores a complicated workplace affair between a young publicist and her much older literary idol. Williams handles this power imbalance with nuance, creating characters who feel raw and deeply human—with a prose style that’s both intimate and unsettling .

Young, sad women working in publishing... what more could I ask for?
Not only was this story interesting, the writing was exquisite. I can't wait to read more from Hattie Williams.
I'll be posting a couple of posts promoting this book on my instagram @stressiereads.
Thank you for the copy!

"Bitter Sweet" by Hattie Williams is a raw exploration of toxic love, grief, and self-worth. Charlie, a young assistant at a publishing house, embarks on a destructive affair with her much older literary idol, Richard, which leads her into a spiral of depression. Williams’s lyrical writing captures the emotional weight of Charlie’s journey with powerful clarity.

The supporting characters, especially Charlie's boss Cecile and her friends Ophelia and Eddy, provide much-needed emotional grounding as Charlie grapples with her struggles. Their unwavering support contrasts with the toxicity of her relationship, adding depth to the narrative.

Though the book occasionally feels repetitive in the early chapters, "Bitter Sweet" is a must-read for fans of literary fiction that tackles messy, real emotions. Williams has created a poignant and beautifully written story about love, power, and personal growth.

Finishing a book feels so damn good while being in a reading slump.
This book was a little heartbreaking to read, because I felt so close with the main character due to the writing style.
The ending drew everything together just how it should have, and it didn’t feel like it just gave a fairy tale ending.. rather it mimicked a real life scenario.

So, I highly recommend this book to everyone, and hope you get it on publishing day. 💕

#NetGalley #booksonaburger #bookstagram #Bittersweet #booksbooksbooks #hattiewilliams

4.5 stars. Not an easy book to review.. it’s a somewhat love story, but is a dark one with me wishing Charlie would leave her situation.. asap.. this minute. The rationalizations Charlie told herself for staying put in a relationship with Richard were difficult to read and I just wanted to scream at Charlie. Bitter Sweet shows how past trauma can affect our future selves and is why someone such as Charlie would find herself in her current situation. The title “Bitter Sweet” perfectly fits the story. Do recommend. Pub. 7/8/25

It felt really draggy honestly throughout the whole thing and then in the end once there was resolution I was intrigued.

Scandalous and interesting, I could not put this down. I love books about the publishing world and the relationship at the heart of the story was so captivating.