📚Every Sweet Thing is Bitter by Samantha Crewson

⚠️CWs for self-harm, homophobia, incarceration, sexual assault, rape, incest, alcoholism, substance abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, car accident, dementia, and more

Story: 3/5
Audiobook: 3/5 (narrated by Lindsey Dorcus)
Length: 9h42min

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was a solid debut novel! The pacing was incredibly slow, so don’t go into this expecting a fast thriller. Every single character was unlikeable and painfully flawed in their own way. It was very reminiscent of Long Bright River, especially with the slow pacing and small town dynamics. I think the mystery itself was a little simplistic and lackluster, but I thought the characterization was done well. I'd be curious to see what Samantha Crewson comes out with next.

I received an ALC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ❤️

l'm making a very early prediction that we'll see Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter by Samantha Crewson in the Goodreads Choice Awards this year! There were so many important themes in this book: poverty, domestic abuse, the people who look the other way and their complicity, addiction, and so much more. The mystery is captivating, and this one will break your heart in so many different ways. So glad to see it as part of the Book of the Month selections this month!

This book sucked me in right away and kept my attention the whole time. It’s a pretty dark story, but very well done and an excellent debut. I loved the main character. The narrator was great and I listened to it very quickly.

The plot of Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter initially pulled me in — the synopsis promised a compelling mystery set in a small, rural town grappling with deep-seated issues like addiction, abuse, and long-buried secrets. Samantha Crewson does an excellent job portraying life in a small community, especially highlighting how generational struggles with addiction ripple through families and affect everyone. The setting felt authentic, and the themes of redemption, abuse, addiction, and long-held secrets were handled thoughtfully. It’s definitely a heavier story, both in subject matter and tone.

That said, the narrative ended up feeling repetitive. A lot of time was spent diving deep into the characters’ backgrounds but also just the slow life happening around them, which made the pacing feel slow. Honestly, it could have been a short story — there just wasn’t much development around the mystery of Providence’s missing mother. Her disappearance, and the investigation surrounding it all felt more like background noise than the driving force of the plot.

Some characters felt like they were added just to reinforce Providence’s outsider narrative rather than being necessary to the story itself. Zoe’s character, in particular, seemed inserted mostly to highlight Providence’s feelings of isolation, but her role didn’t really go anywhere meaningful. Similarly, Gil and Conner felt like convenient additions rather than fully developed parts of the story — incorporating flashbacks with them could have given their presence more emotional weight.

On a minor note, I also found the title hard to remember, even while reading. It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t stick easily.

In the end, Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter had a strong emotional core and important themes, but the plot and character development didn’t come together in a satisfying way for me.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I really disliked our characters, especially our main one. It all seemed way too far fetched and I lost interest completely.

Thank you for the audio in exchange for a review!

This was an easy and gripping suspense. I liked how the plot line was different from anything else I read. I love a good mystery and this didn't disappoint.

This book was a mess. I was so excited to read it because the premise is really great, but sadly the reality was a big let down. There were just so many parts of this book that felt off and were hard for me to believe. If her sisters were abused by their father the same that she was, why would they not believe her that she was trying to run him over instead of the mother?? That makes zero sense. And her personality was so hard to believe. She was just such a hodgepodge of personality quirks that none of them seemed to fit together. She's addicted to biting herself, plus she's addicted to tattoos, PLUS she's also addicted to plastic surgery. I'm sorry, but pick a lane.

And the book just moved SO slowly! I was almost halfway in before anything big really happened! I could listen to the book for a full hour and the storyline had hardly progressed. Just way too much description - over describing every feeling, every memory, everything that surrounded her. It was just intensely repetitive! And I guessed who the real killer was about 60% into the book. Thought maybe I would be wrong and be pleasantly surprised, but nope. What a disappointment.

UNPUTDOWNABLE!! Another great thriller mystery that absolutely hooked me. A debut novel about family trauma, forgiveness, and survival, wrapped inside a suspenseful mystery. It is NOT a fun family reunion, but it is a great 4🌟 read!

This is a pretty strong debut novel!

Trigger warnings: suicidal ideations, abuse - physical, mental and sexual, addiction

I did enjoy seeing Providence’s journey from her release from prison and the bond she forms with her estranged younger sister. The emotional toll they go through with the grief of their missing mother, the trauma of their childhood growing up - even to present day and the healing of finally getting away from a situation that’s not ideal.

You can feel the desperation for family, the realization that family isn’t always blood but sometimes it comes from found family.


Lindsey Dorcus does a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I thought her voice gave the perfect amount of darkness to the story.


Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter by Samantha Crewsome kept me guessing from start to finish. I was hooked, trying to piece together what exactly landed her in jail and whether her mother was truly missing—or worse. The story doesn’t shy away from the hard realities the girls had to endure; the abuse they suffered was absolutely heartbreaking and had me feeling every ounce of their pain.
Despite all the darkness, there’s a strong thread of hope woven through the story. In the end, providence won out, and that reminder of resilience and survival stayed with me long after I turned the last page. Samantha Crewsome masterfully shows that even in the bitterest moments, there’s a sweetness worth fighting for. I will also be finding out what choke berry pie is.

3.5⭐️ rounding up to 4

There were a few things about the main character I didn’t feel were necessary and filler. I also did not like the character names it made it hard to keep everyone straight at first.

The overall story was moving and powerful and interesting. But just not a fan of the characters and some of the side story/topics. Check the triggers. There were also some things that never were answered of discussed.

I did enjoy it, it was good enough to finish, I wanted to find out the end but not a re-read in my opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version, I picked this book as my book of the month pick so I also have it printed.

Do you ever have those moments when you begin writing your review and it feels impossible to describe what it was that didn’t work for you? That’s where I am with this one. It was good writing and powerful storytelling but there was something missing. Maybe the dark grittiness affected my feelings. There were many times it made my skin crawl and I had a desire to slam the book shut. I appreciate that the content and meat of the story is not something I can connect with or understand and respect the effort of the author to showcase such topics. Maybe I needed to be in a different headspace for this one. 🤷‍♀️

If you’re looking for a haunting story with very emotional moments and a lot of thought-provoking content then this one’s for you!

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: Physical & 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3.5

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was very good and kept me hanging on to the end. The ending was exactly what it needed to be. I really enjoyed the story, although a little predictable great story none the less.

I love debut novels! I had actually selected this book as my BOTM this month, I got excited to see it on audio here. Thank you for the approval. It gave me a chance to swap to audio when I had to put my book down and be an adult. I really enjoyed this dark domestic story of a family torn apart by the MC running her mom over by a car. She returned when mom went missing. The characters were very well developed. The story was executed perfectly. I really enjoyed this book on audio. I will be watching for the next book that this author comes out with.

Providence Bird is as stubborn as they come but also a badass sister and fighter. Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter is a very heavy read about generations of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a father and husband. Providence's alcoholic mom has gone missing. Providence returns to her estranged town and city after she was ex-communicated for attempted murder on her mother when she was a teen. Her crime was always misunderstood, but she never felt sorry for it. I enjoyed this character driven story and thought that Lindsey Dorcus did a great job narrating. I especially loved her voice for Harmony's character. I would definitely check out trigger warnings, but would recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC.

Thank you to @dreamscape for the gifted audiobook!

An instantly enveloping story - I was shocked to discover that this is the author’s debut! A novel wrought this emotion and trauma, I found myself invested in the characters, particularly Providence, right off the bat. This book is gritty and serious and has an intriguing mystery element that absolutely broke my heart. This is fast-paced and has a lot going on but never feels like too much or not enough. The audio experience was phenomenal and I could not stop listening. Well worth the read, this novel gutted me and still gave me hope. An excellent book!

It’s been a minute since a book has captured my full attention. I think maybe I just read too much and sometimes that can be a hinderance.

But I loved this book. This family has ISSUES. Their lives are haunted and dark by past and present. Our MC was locked up for running her mom over and returns home years later because her mom is missing… sounds wild right??

There’s lots of triggering content in here. Some not outright discussed per se but things are made known.

I think these characters were hella flawed but the author makes them likable and you root for them. Except for the dad. 🖕🏻That dude.

I had many guesses on what happened to the mom but I didn’t figure it out. I do kind of wish things ended differently there. But the rest of the ending was pretty good.

I enjoyed spending time with these characters. This story is full of trauma, grief, resentment, redemption, and even hope.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I definitely recommend this one. It got me feeling feelings.

The narrator was great and she definitely made me feel inside the story. She really captured the MC and I felt her emotions throughout.

I went into this ALC expecting something else but was pleasantly surprised. The narration was spot on, and the storyline kept me listening. 3.75 stars rounded up.

I was not expecting to finish this book in one sitting, but here we are!

Having read the description, I was expecting something a little different, but was pleasantly surprised that it is a true thriller.

The family dynamic was certainly interesting and full of twists as you discover more is happening that what it appears from the surface.

While these siblings have a contentious relationship based on their upbringing, in their own distorted way, they would do anything to save each other from that pain.

I listened to the audiobook, and found the narrator to be great at bringing the story to life. It’s not often that I listen to a book in one sitting, but Lindsey Dorcus held my attention the whole time. It was a very easy book to follow and listen to, despite the sometimes complicated details unfolding.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for providing me with an ALC of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.25 stars.

There was a lot going on in this book... abuse, family secrets and much more! However, I just found this one a little underwhelming for me. It never really pulled me in enough and I just could not find any of the characters likable.

The pacing felt slow and I found myself just not really excited to pick the book back up. With that being said, I did not hate this book. It does have promise and it could be more of a me thing than the book.