Not What I Expected, In A Great Way
4.5 out of 5 stars
It is rare that I have the time to sit down and finish a book in one day, but that was the case with Bitter Fruit. I absolutely flew through it and I’m glad that I did. I needed a book like this and Hart provided an interesting and different story than I was expecting.
Jac was a character in the beginning. I think that Hart wrote her to be sort of a womanizer and someone that wasn’t ever going to settle down, which made the progression of the story and the scenes where Jac was berating herself for her feelings even more enjoyable. It’s the typical opposites-attract book but still made me smile throughout.
Lauren’s fiance was a piece of work. Hart did a great job writing him to be subtly controlling in early scenes and just continue to ratchet it up as things progressed. As someone who has lived through that sort of abuse, I can confirm that is exactly how it’s done. They start with subtle digs, comments, suggestions, and then they move to flat-out denials/control. It’s scary and something that Hart absolutely got perfect.
The scenes with Jac and Lauren together – doing mundane things were still electric. I haven’t read a book where the author was able to write the electric “feeling” that the characters have for each other into the simple scenes like this, Hart nailed it and it made me want to keep reading this late into the night.
Jac’s… “extracurriculars” were something that I don’t normally read about, but I think that Hart did a great job writing about them without actually writing about them. Now, I’m no prude and would have been fine with them in the book. But I like the line that they flirted with. I think it made me as a reader feel a lot like Lauren. On the outside looking in, but very curious.
The narration from Anastasia Watley was great – really flowed with the story and she nailed the confidence in Jac and the little bit of quietness from Lauren. It just worked.
Book Description:
A silly drunken bet, that lesbian Jac can bed a straight, beautiful coworker, blows up in her face in this charming opposites-attract romance.
Boredom and booze inspire Jac Lanier to accept an unusual wager from her best friend to seduce Lauren Blaine, a beautiful coworker, within a month. One small problem: The woman is straight. Not to mention engaged. And a complete stranger. Nonetheless, Jac is pretty confident that she’ll win. Naturally, her plan goes awry – after all, if you sow an onion seed, you won’t harvest a peach. Will Jac reap the bitter fruit of her games when the truth comes out? Will Lauren turn the tables on her?
Bitter Fruit by Lois Cloarec Hart
Narrator: Anastasia Watley
Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
Published by Tantor Audio on December 29th 2020
Genres: Romance
Format: Audiobook
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