What do you think?
Rate this book
Bittersweet Revenge
What a fool she'd been
Val was distressed and outraged when Michael Prescott blamed her for his brother's death. But she saw red when she uncovered Michael's deliberate plan of revenge.
She should never have trusted a man--particularly one capable of taking that trust and trampling it without mercy. Well, she certainly wouldn't let it happen again.
But then Val's neatly sealed feelings insisted on expressing themselves. How, she wondered, was she ever going to explain that to Dr. Prescott!
Val was distressed and outraged when Michael Prescott blamed her for his brother's death. But she saw red when she uncovered Michael's deliberate plan of revenge.
She should never have trusted a man--particularly one capable of taking that trust and trampling it without mercy. Well, she certainly wouldn't let it happen again.
But then Val's neatly sealed feelings insisted on expressing themselves. How, she wondered, was she ever going to explain that to Dr. Prescott!
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1991
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 28, 2017
Re Bittersweet Revenge - Rosemary Hammond's final HP voyage continues the September 1991 theme of an h making peace with her past and pushing a little social change subtrope too. Where Anne Beaumont's book featured preserving natural landscapes, RH takes on one of the big cause célèbres of the 1980's and 1990's - drinking and driving.
In the US especially, it is very hard to remember at time when drinking and driving wasn't completely shunned and subject to severe penalties and social stigma. But I assure you, back in the heyday of Disco, New Wave and Spandex, very few people actually considered the damage that could occur if you got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Police tended to look the other way and the penalties for driving under the influence were not very stringent.
It took two decades of social campaigning before public awareness of drunk driving dangers really sank in, and since there was limited internets and no twitter, social campaigner's had to reach their audience in other ways - hence the inclusion of little social subtropes in ventures to HPlandia and other category lines. By adding these social campaigns to the backstory, authors were able to contribute to the support of their favorite cause.
This one starts with the 28 yr old h returning to her hometown near San Francisco CA for her high school reunion after ten years. She left in a hurry when she had just turned 18 after her father wrecked the car with her mother in it while driving when he was intoxicated. The h's long time boyfriend all the way through high school had started drinking heavily as well and the h's father long term drinking had left her in a bad mental place. So when her parents died, the h saw too many similarities between her boyfriend and her father and left for her grandmother's house in Seattle, breaking up with her boyfriend and breaking his heart, since she took off while only leaving him a short letter.
The h finally returned for the reunion when her ex boyfriend begged her to come visit. The h did go and she did see him, but their relationship was very firmly in the past for the h. So even tho her old BFF tries hard to pimp her out and the ex wants to try again, the h told the ex that they were definitively over and there was no going back, she has a different life now. Since the ex went right away and cuddled up to another girl, the h believes that the past is settled and continues on with her vacation plans.
The next morning the h finds out that the ex hadn't been as reformed as she was told, he was intoxicated when he left the reunion and he wrecked the car he was driving. He died and the girl he was with ended up in the hospital with multiple injuries. The h goes to the funeral, she has a vague sense of guilt that she should have done more for her ex, but really there was very little she could do and the ex's mother agrees.
Unfortunately the H, the brother of the h's ex and a big time cardiovascular surgeon based in Los Angeles, thinks the h is responsible for his brother's death. He accuses the h of being non supportive and running out ten years earlier on his brother, but the h tells him he has offloaded his guilt on to her in their little confrontation.
The h goes to hospital to visit the girl who was also in the wreck and she finds out that the girl was actually her ex's long time girlfriend, and when she knew the h was coming, she gave the ex several drinks to help him keep his composure. The girl feels guilty that her pushing the booze contributed to the death, but the h tells her it was her ex's choice to drink. The girl refuses to tell the brother or the ex's mom about what happened, mainly cause the H was there and vowing that he would get revenge on the h. There was mention of pumping and dumping and so the h has her guard up.
The H and h start seeing each other after the H apologizes for thinking she contributed to his brother's death. The h is very reserved in her relationships and she has a hard time trusting men, after two of them let her down so badly between their drinking and their indifference while they were doing it. (The h's mistrust is a bit fuzzy and one of the drawbacks of the book, I could see not getting involved with men who are heavy drinkers, but the h is distrustful of ALL men and never dates and there was no real reason for that. Especially since the h herself is imbibing cocktails in practically every scene of this book. The h drinks, the H drinks and smokes and I have never read an HP that had so much booze in it before. I almost grabbed a Captain consult just to feel more in tune with reading this.)
The h is very attracted to the H and after a lecture from her old hometown BFF, she takes a chance when he asks her out. He tells her he is thinking of taking a job offer in Seattle, where she lives and works, but he is very vague in if he is going to take it or not and the h's instincts are alerted. She ignores the pricking of her thumbs and sleeps with the H anyways and looses her Vestal untouched status.
The next morning, the h finds the letter the H got confirming his new job and it was dated three weeks before the H even met her. So he lied to the h about not being sure about moving to Seattle and the h realizes that the H really has been playing her for a revenge dump. The H admits that initially he was planning on seducing her for a little payback, but he claims he changed his mind after she and he lurved the roof off. The h is furious and gives him a smackdown and goes back to her life.
The then h has a mopey moment, cause she slept with the H cause she fell in love and she is further hurt when one of her customers, (she is a buyer for an upscale boutique,) comes into the shop and is with the H. The woman is a rich socialite and she looks like the H's preferred type, she is also hanging all over the H, who barely acknowledges the h.
The H and h meet again at a charity function. The H is with his socialite and the h is with the socialite's upper class cousin, a guy she doesn't really want to date cause he pounds more Captain than I do, but her friends bully her into seeing him in the hopes of the h meeting another upper class guy, so they can pimp her out. The h tries to apologize to the H for the way they parted after the big lurve club moment, but the H is pretty distant and the h feels her love is hopeless.
There are more mopey moments and the H seems to accept the h's apology at one point and then he wanders off, but he makes no further offers for h tower of power rides with him. Then the h goes out with the upper class guy on New Year's and he drinks too much and she gets in the car with him and he gets into a wreck. The h ends up in the H's hospital and while she is concussed and medicated, she tells the H she loves him when he comes to see her.
Later she claims it was just the drugs, but the H takes her home when she gets discharged and he apologizes for his treatment of her, claims that he was trying to get back in her good graces and that he loves her back, so they should get married for the HEA. The h asks about the rich socialite and the H assures her that he only saw the woman a few times as he contributed some work for her charity. The h explains about the socialite guy and assures the H there is nothing going on her side either. The H is pretty convincing in his big declaration and the h is very much in love, so they jump into each other's arms for the big lurve mojo explosion before planning the wedding for the HEA.
This one was okay, in a mediocre day at the HP office way. I found myself unconvinced of the h's deep distrust of all men based on two alcoholic's issues and I found all the boozing it up to be a bit strange in a book that was espousing not drinking and driving. No one, not even the h, tries to get a cab or show responsible after drinking behavior.
Also, given the depth of the h's feelings about men who drink, I found it seriously implausible that the h would date, let alone get into a car with a guy who was as hammered on booze as that guy was. The H was kinda strange too, but overall this one is readable, so this HP can be a just sorta there one, and RH can call it a day for her time in HPlandia.
In the US especially, it is very hard to remember at time when drinking and driving wasn't completely shunned and subject to severe penalties and social stigma. But I assure you, back in the heyday of Disco, New Wave and Spandex, very few people actually considered the damage that could occur if you got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Police tended to look the other way and the penalties for driving under the influence were not very stringent.
It took two decades of social campaigning before public awareness of drunk driving dangers really sank in, and since there was limited internets and no twitter, social campaigner's had to reach their audience in other ways - hence the inclusion of little social subtropes in ventures to HPlandia and other category lines. By adding these social campaigns to the backstory, authors were able to contribute to the support of their favorite cause.
This one starts with the 28 yr old h returning to her hometown near San Francisco CA for her high school reunion after ten years. She left in a hurry when she had just turned 18 after her father wrecked the car with her mother in it while driving when he was intoxicated. The h's long time boyfriend all the way through high school had started drinking heavily as well and the h's father long term drinking had left her in a bad mental place. So when her parents died, the h saw too many similarities between her boyfriend and her father and left for her grandmother's house in Seattle, breaking up with her boyfriend and breaking his heart, since she took off while only leaving him a short letter.
The h finally returned for the reunion when her ex boyfriend begged her to come visit. The h did go and she did see him, but their relationship was very firmly in the past for the h. So even tho her old BFF tries hard to pimp her out and the ex wants to try again, the h told the ex that they were definitively over and there was no going back, she has a different life now. Since the ex went right away and cuddled up to another girl, the h believes that the past is settled and continues on with her vacation plans.
The next morning the h finds out that the ex hadn't been as reformed as she was told, he was intoxicated when he left the reunion and he wrecked the car he was driving. He died and the girl he was with ended up in the hospital with multiple injuries. The h goes to the funeral, she has a vague sense of guilt that she should have done more for her ex, but really there was very little she could do and the ex's mother agrees.
Unfortunately the H, the brother of the h's ex and a big time cardiovascular surgeon based in Los Angeles, thinks the h is responsible for his brother's death. He accuses the h of being non supportive and running out ten years earlier on his brother, but the h tells him he has offloaded his guilt on to her in their little confrontation.
The h goes to hospital to visit the girl who was also in the wreck and she finds out that the girl was actually her ex's long time girlfriend, and when she knew the h was coming, she gave the ex several drinks to help him keep his composure. The girl feels guilty that her pushing the booze contributed to the death, but the h tells her it was her ex's choice to drink. The girl refuses to tell the brother or the ex's mom about what happened, mainly cause the H was there and vowing that he would get revenge on the h. There was mention of pumping and dumping and so the h has her guard up.
The H and h start seeing each other after the H apologizes for thinking she contributed to his brother's death. The h is very reserved in her relationships and she has a hard time trusting men, after two of them let her down so badly between their drinking and their indifference while they were doing it. (The h's mistrust is a bit fuzzy and one of the drawbacks of the book, I could see not getting involved with men who are heavy drinkers, but the h is distrustful of ALL men and never dates and there was no real reason for that. Especially since the h herself is imbibing cocktails in practically every scene of this book. The h drinks, the H drinks and smokes and I have never read an HP that had so much booze in it before. I almost grabbed a Captain consult just to feel more in tune with reading this.)
The h is very attracted to the H and after a lecture from her old hometown BFF, she takes a chance when he asks her out. He tells her he is thinking of taking a job offer in Seattle, where she lives and works, but he is very vague in if he is going to take it or not and the h's instincts are alerted. She ignores the pricking of her thumbs and sleeps with the H anyways and looses her Vestal untouched status.
The next morning, the h finds the letter the H got confirming his new job and it was dated three weeks before the H even met her. So he lied to the h about not being sure about moving to Seattle and the h realizes that the H really has been playing her for a revenge dump. The H admits that initially he was planning on seducing her for a little payback, but he claims he changed his mind after she and he lurved the roof off. The h is furious and gives him a smackdown and goes back to her life.
The then h has a mopey moment, cause she slept with the H cause she fell in love and she is further hurt when one of her customers, (she is a buyer for an upscale boutique,) comes into the shop and is with the H. The woman is a rich socialite and she looks like the H's preferred type, she is also hanging all over the H, who barely acknowledges the h.
The H and h meet again at a charity function. The H is with his socialite and the h is with the socialite's upper class cousin, a guy she doesn't really want to date cause he pounds more Captain than I do, but her friends bully her into seeing him in the hopes of the h meeting another upper class guy, so they can pimp her out. The h tries to apologize to the H for the way they parted after the big lurve club moment, but the H is pretty distant and the h feels her love is hopeless.
There are more mopey moments and the H seems to accept the h's apology at one point and then he wanders off, but he makes no further offers for h tower of power rides with him. Then the h goes out with the upper class guy on New Year's and he drinks too much and she gets in the car with him and he gets into a wreck. The h ends up in the H's hospital and while she is concussed and medicated, she tells the H she loves him when he comes to see her.
Later she claims it was just the drugs, but the H takes her home when she gets discharged and he apologizes for his treatment of her, claims that he was trying to get back in her good graces and that he loves her back, so they should get married for the HEA. The h asks about the rich socialite and the H assures her that he only saw the woman a few times as he contributed some work for her charity. The h explains about the socialite guy and assures the H there is nothing going on her side either. The H is pretty convincing in his big declaration and the h is very much in love, so they jump into each other's arms for the big lurve mojo explosion before planning the wedding for the HEA.
This one was okay, in a mediocre day at the HP office way. I found myself unconvinced of the h's deep distrust of all men based on two alcoholic's issues and I found all the boozing it up to be a bit strange in a book that was espousing not drinking and driving. No one, not even the h, tries to get a cab or show responsible after drinking behavior.
Also, given the depth of the h's feelings about men who drink, I found it seriously implausible that the h would date, let alone get into a car with a guy who was as hammered on booze as that guy was. The H was kinda strange too, but overall this one is readable, so this HP can be a just sorta there one, and RH can call it a day for her time in HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2021
Revenge plots tend to be byzantine and stupid; this one is pretty straightforward but still stupid. Guy's brother decides his high school girlfriend from 10 years earlier caused him to drink and drive and die. Please.
This is not truly a 3 star read but it's better than the run of the mill, just ok 2 star novels so I'm rounding up.
You can read my full review here: https://www.morebooksthantime.com/bit...
This is not truly a 3 star read but it's better than the run of the mill, just ok 2 star novels so I'm rounding up.
You can read my full review here: https://www.morebooksthantime.com/bit...
August 21, 2023
Nope
Didn't work for me
Romance was too soon for the situation they met in
Didn't believe the H and also if you love someone don't you even try to convince them, the H left the h too late to explain things and only did because they met incidentally
Also the h fell in love and out of it too soon , ntg special about her
first half was all dreary and second half too.
h was too enmeshed in her alcoholic aversion and i didn't feel they spent substantial time together to fall in love.
Didn't work for me
Romance was too soon for the situation they met in
Didn't believe the H and also if you love someone don't you even try to convince them, the H left the h too late to explain things and only did because they met incidentally
Also the h fell in love and out of it too soon , ntg special about her
first half was all dreary and second half too.
h was too enmeshed in her alcoholic aversion and i didn't feel they spent substantial time together to fall in love.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews