mandy_pandy's review against another edition
4.0
This book was nothing like I was expecting. For some reason, after I read the blurb on this I thought it would be kind of a light-hearted romance and that definitely was not what this was. This was a very complex and emotional story. Savannah is not very likeable at first but as this book progresses, I really liked her. I had a few issues with this story though and I think there should be a trigger warning for this one though - I wish I had knows that before going into this book. Overall, this was a good story. I recommend that readers don't skip the authors note at the end, it really puts the whole book in perspective.
Spoiler
suicideselket16's review against another edition
4.0
So, here's my dilemma: I could not put this book down, I was captivated from the moment I started reading it, but I really have little good to say about it.
Savannah's mom sends her to spend the summer with her uncle (her dad's brother) and work at his amusement park. Savannah is moody and tests borders at work because she doesn't want to be there, all these plans were made without her consent. Nobody likes her at work, she doesn't fit in and her boss is out to fire her because she only got the job because her uncle manages the place. Dallas comes along and brings her out of her shell.
I really liked the beginning of the book. It was all Savannah against the world. I really dug that, but once things started to change and she opened up more, the book started to change. Savannah has secrets that she won't share with anyone, not even the reader, some are obvious--she caught her best friend and her boyfriend having sex--others are not--the curse that killed her father. They get pretty annoying very quickly as she evades, even in her thoughts, the topics.
Savannah also is surprised that Dallas thinks she's beautiful, what with everyone else telling her she's ugly, but then once Dallas starts calling her beautiful suddenly ever guy sees it. She got a little whiny about this and always mentioning how bad her hair (shaved at the beginning) looks, but stops mentioning it once it grows in and looks, presumably, nice.
Then there's Dallas. Every girl swoons over him. He's never been "told no" -- which is a huge red flag in and of itself. It's also impossible considering he has quite the checkered past--he must have hit on someone at some point who was deeply into her boyfriend or a lesbian, or had some other reason to say no; people are not controlled entirely by hormones and a pretty face.
He also, somehow manages to be sweet and romantic and a total dick at the same time. FYI: A surprise date should not include "overcoming your fears." That kind of thing should be well-planned and involve a safe exit if it's too much. He's either clueless or a sociopath and I'm not really sure which.
I'm going to fill the rest with spoilers that really annoyed me, so if you want to read the book, you may not want to continue this review. It's around the time that Savannah gets fired (about a 1/4 the way through the book) for abandoning her post that things start to get weird. She gets her job back by explaining what happened, she fled after it started raining heavy because she didn't want to damage her hearing aides and she had warned her boss on many occasions, including once it started rainging and it was on record with personnel. Basically here, her boss should have been fired for disregarding several laws regarding reasonable accommodations for special needs individuals, but no, she was not fired, she was instead demoted and put to work alongside Savannah--big no-no. If not fired, she definitely would not have been placed on the same team as the girl who just got her demoted. This workplace tension could have put onto another girl who hated Savannah instead of this highly unlikely scenario. Never mind everybody always taking said ex-boss's side even though she's obviously unhinged and everybody seems to know it (they mention it a few times.)
I was then really offended by the rape revelation that resolved itself in about 10 pagesand had absolutely no reason to be there. It involved Savannah's ex-best friend, Candie, having once accused Dallas of rape. It was only there to prove that Candie was a bad person (yup, the mythical fake rape to get attention allegations). We already know she's a bad person, she really had no purpose to come back into the story and this exchange doesn't further the plot or strengthen a character, it's just there for filler.
So, here I am, stuck with a book riddled with plot holes and annoyances, but I still loved it, will still pick up something else from the author, but I talked angrily back to the book throughout the entire second half.
Savannah's mom sends her to spend the summer with her uncle (her dad's brother) and work at his amusement park. Savannah is moody and tests borders at work because she doesn't want to be there, all these plans were made without her consent. Nobody likes her at work, she doesn't fit in and her boss is out to fire her because she only got the job because her uncle manages the place. Dallas comes along and brings her out of her shell.
I really liked the beginning of the book. It was all Savannah against the world. I really dug that, but once things started to change and she opened up more, the book started to change. Savannah has secrets that she won't share with anyone, not even the reader, some are obvious--she caught her best friend and her boyfriend having sex--others are not--the curse that killed her father. They get pretty annoying very quickly as she evades, even in her thoughts, the topics.
Savannah also is surprised that Dallas thinks she's beautiful, what with everyone else telling her she's ugly, but then once Dallas starts calling her beautiful suddenly ever guy sees it. She got a little whiny about this and always mentioning how bad her hair (shaved at the beginning) looks, but stops mentioning it once it grows in and looks, presumably, nice.
Then there's Dallas. Every girl swoons over him. He's never been "told no" -- which is a huge red flag in and of itself. It's also impossible considering he has quite the checkered past--he must have hit on someone at some point who was deeply into her boyfriend or a lesbian, or had some other reason to say no; people are not controlled entirely by hormones and a pretty face.
He also, somehow manages to be sweet and romantic and a total dick at the same time. FYI: A surprise date should not include "overcoming your fears." That kind of thing should be well-planned and involve a safe exit if it's too much. He's either clueless or a sociopath and I'm not really sure which.
I'm going to fill the rest with spoilers that really annoyed me, so if you want to read the book, you may not want to continue this review. It's around the time that Savannah gets fired (about a 1/4 the way through the book) for abandoning her post that things start to get weird. She gets her job back by explaining what happened, she fled after it started raining heavy because she didn't want to damage her hearing aides and she had warned her boss on many occasions, including once it started rainging and it was on record with personnel. Basically here, her boss should have been fired for disregarding several laws regarding reasonable accommodations for special needs individuals, but no, she was not fired, she was instead demoted and put to work alongside Savannah--big no-no. If not fired, she definitely would not have been placed on the same team as the girl who just got her demoted. This workplace tension could have put onto another girl who hated Savannah instead of this highly unlikely scenario. Never mind everybody always taking said ex-boss's side even though she's obviously unhinged and everybody seems to know it (they mention it a few times.)
I was then really offended by the rape revelation that resolved itself in about 10 pagesand had absolutely no reason to be there. It involved Savannah's ex-best friend, Candie, having once accused Dallas of rape. It was only there to prove that Candie was a bad person (yup, the mythical fake rape to get attention allegations). We already know she's a bad person, she really had no purpose to come back into the story and this exchange doesn't further the plot or strengthen a character, it's just there for filler.
So, here I am, stuck with a book riddled with plot holes and annoyances, but I still loved it, will still pick up something else from the author, but I talked angrily back to the book throughout the entire second half.
jantine's review
5.0
Wow, just wow ...
I have no other words right now.
I received a free copy through Netglley in return for an honest review. A longer review can be found om my blog (http://www.eccentriclady.nl)
I have no other words right now.
I received a free copy through Netglley in return for an honest review. A longer review can be found om my blog (http://www.eccentriclady.nl)
alyce6d980's review
3.0
First things first I need to say a massive thank you to Kimberly Loth for accepting my request to review this book on NetGalley, and to NetGalley for the service that they provide.
'Bittersweet' was definitely not what I was expecting after reading the blurb:
Every Sunday Savannah Ray gets an email from her dead dad. She doesn't know how the emails work but she's finally ready to start looking for answers. To find those answers she has to go to the one place she show she'd never set foot in after he died--Haunted Valley, the amusement park. Once there and on the hunt for answers she is distracted by the charming Dallas and falls hard for him. When she answers she finds aren't what she expected and Dallas betrays her, Savannah must make a choice--succumb to the insanity that destroyed her father or find the strength to rise above it.
Now I don't know what that says to you, but to me it sounds like a paranormal romance: more spooky than cute. Needing to go to an amusement park called Haunted Valley, while being contacted by her dead father? I thought that all of the staff were going to be ghosts and it would have been absolutely terrifying. However, that was not the case.
'Bittersweet' is a contemporary romance that deals with themes of suicide and depression. It's been two years since Savannah's father killed himself, but she's still finding it hard to deal with, made worse by the betrayal of her best friend. In a moment of fury Savannah decides to shave her head, alienating her mother even further than she did when she was suspended from high school. Her mother think it's well past time that Savannah learns some responsibilities and maturity, so she conspires with Savannah's uncle, and they decide to send her to Haunted Valley, the amusement park that her uncle owns, for work over the summer. No, Haunted Valley is not filled with ghosts, it's just an extremely misleading name for an amusement park.
The first half of the novel was definitely the better half.
Read the rest of my review here!
'Bittersweet' was definitely not what I was expecting after reading the blurb:
Every Sunday Savannah Ray gets an email from her dead dad. She doesn't know how the emails work but she's finally ready to start looking for answers. To find those answers she has to go to the one place she show she'd never set foot in after he died--Haunted Valley, the amusement park. Once there and on the hunt for answers she is distracted by the charming Dallas and falls hard for him. When she answers she finds aren't what she expected and Dallas betrays her, Savannah must make a choice--succumb to the insanity that destroyed her father or find the strength to rise above it.
Now I don't know what that says to you, but to me it sounds like a paranormal romance: more spooky than cute. Needing to go to an amusement park called Haunted Valley, while being contacted by her dead father? I thought that all of the staff were going to be ghosts and it would have been absolutely terrifying. However, that was not the case.
'Bittersweet' is a contemporary romance that deals with themes of suicide and depression. It's been two years since Savannah's father killed himself, but she's still finding it hard to deal with, made worse by the betrayal of her best friend. In a moment of fury Savannah decides to shave her head, alienating her mother even further than she did when she was suspended from high school. Her mother think it's well past time that Savannah learns some responsibilities and maturity, so she conspires with Savannah's uncle, and they decide to send her to Haunted Valley, the amusement park that her uncle owns, for work over the summer. No, Haunted Valley is not filled with ghosts, it's just an extremely misleading name for an amusement park.
The first half of the novel was definitely the better half.
Read the rest of my review here!
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