Bitter Fruit

by Lois Cloarec Hart

Fuelled by booze and boredom, Jac Lanier accepts an unusual wager from her best friend. Victoria, for reasons of her own, impulsively challenges Jac to seduce Lauren, her co-worker and a young woman Jac’s never met. Under the terms of their bet, Jac has exactly one month to get Lauren into bed or she has to pay up. Though Lauren is straight and engaged, Jac begins her campaign confident that she’ll win the bet. But Jac’s forgotten that if you sow an onion seed, you won’t harvest a peach. When her plan goes awry, will she reap the bitter fruit of her deception? Or will Lauren turn the tables on the thoughtless gamblers?

Lesbian Romance
Length: approx. 54,000 words

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Lesbian, LGBT, Lesbian Romance, Contemporary, Lesbian Fiction

244 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2014

About the author

From the publisher's website: Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Lois Cloarec Hart grew up as an avid reader but didn’t begin writing until much later in life. Several years after joining the Canadian Armed Forces, she received a degree in Honours History from Royal Military College and on graduation switched occupations from air traffic control to military intelligence. Having married a CAF fighter pilot while in college, Lois went on to spend another five years as an Intelligence Officer before leaving the military to care for her husband, who was ill with chronic progressive Multiple Sclerosis and passed away in 2001. She began writing while caring for her husband in his final years and had her first book, Coming Home, published in 2001. It was through that initial publishing process that Lois met the woman she would marry in April 2007. She now commutes annually between her northern home in Calgary and her wife’s southern home in Atlanta.

Lois is the author of four novels, Coming Home, Broken Faith, Kicker’s Journey, Walking the Labyrinth, and a collection of short stories, Assorted Flavours. Her novel Kicker’s Journey won the 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award bronze medal, 2010 Golden Crown Literary Awards, 2010 Rainbow Romance Writer’s Award for Excellence, and 2009 Lesbian Fiction Readers Choice Award for historical fiction. Broken Faith (revised second edition) will be published in print and e-formats in winter 2013 and Coming Home (revised third edition) in spring 2014.

Reviews

[Pin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, well-written, well-edited, well-formatted (I read an ebook version) short romance novel with a simple but beautiful cover. IMHO, Ylva books (in print and ebook versions) are, by their quality, at the top of the lesfic publishing niche.

[Harrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like how smug Jac was 'she's straight and engaged' 'oh minor detail' really?
We were told over and over again how much chemistry they had rather than showing us. Lauren forgave Jac way too easily after finding out about the bet. Where was the angst?

[Guerunche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love surprises. After reading Lois Cloarec Hart's terrific novel Coming Home, I immediately needed to purchase the rest of her books. When I saw Bitter Fruit was available on audiobook - and the premise was so completely different from Home - I was in. It didn't hurt that the audiobook was just under 6 hours long and sometimes those are exactly what you're looking for.
Those who have read Coming Home know that it was quite chaste, so when I read the blurb for this book, I thought, "Wow! This is certainly different." And it was.
Gorgeous, successful banker Jacqueline "Jac" Lanier is a player. She frequents an exclusive sex club and can have any woman she wants. Her straight best friend Victoria even wants to sleep with her. They make a drunken bet one night that Jac has to have sex with someone of Victoria's choosing - no matter who it is - within 30 days. If Jac loses, she has to have sex with Victoria. While Jac cares for Victoria as a friend, she has zero interest in sleeping with her but takes the bet because she's confident there's no way she'll lose. Nobody ever turns her down. And really, she's bored with what her life has become, so why not shake things up?
So Victoria chooses her beautiful, very straight, recently engaged coworker Lauren Blaine, thinking she's so devoted to her fiance, Jac wouldn't have a chance. While this might seem a bit juvenile, it's quite interesting how it played out.
Jac meets Lauren over her birthday celebration lunch with Victoria and the women immediately hit it off. Jac oozes charisma and Lauren is quite charmed by her. They strike up a fast friendship and connect in a way that changes the course of their lives.
I really liked this book. Primarily because in spite of what Jac initially agreed to do, she's a strong character. Flawed, yes, but she has a great heart and she has realized that her life has become really empty. Lauren is girl-next-door sweet, beautiful, and completely devoted to her very diverse family. And yes, she is engaged, but is she really happy? Is he the right person for her? There are also very strong supporting characters, especially Lauren's family and Jac's brother.
I loved how Jac and Lauren communicated with one another. How fearless Lauren was about asking questions, and Jac about answering them. How their friendship develops and changes Lauren's perspective on many things.
Adding to the shine was the narration by Anastasia Whatley. I love that woman's voice and tone. The more I hear her, the more I like. She is in my top three of favorite narrators. While she didn't use a lot of voice differentiation in this work, it was enough. And the sexy parts? Oh my.
I highly recommend this for anyone who would enjoy a well written, strongly narrated, quick and spicy romance.

[Farah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is unavailable on KU / Available on Scribd
Kindle price USD 7.99

I've some issues with this book,
- The betting plot. It does cause some unpleasantness especially when it involves an innocent party but that's the plot. What pisses me off a bit, the grovelling is non existent.
- Lauren is straight until she falls for Jac, and when they have sex for the first time (no make out sessions whatsoever prior) she becomes Christian Grey 😕.


Other than the issues above, this book is not too bad. However, another book that's missing some biology, chemistry and physics.
-A special shout out to Lauren's family. One of the most beautiful family I have ever read in Lesfic.

Food for thought,

Lauren's fiance is an asshat. From some of the lesfic that I have read, most of the guys in the relationship with the then straight heroines are usually douchebags. Example :-
Jericho, Syd's ex husband
That Certain Something, Cate's husband
Decree Absolute, Jessica's husband

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read which I throughly enjoyed. Interesting to note on the role reversal between the 2 MCs

Ratings - 3.75 ⭐️

[Book Worm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say even though I found the bet at the beginning despicable, I soon came to like Jac. She was so likeable and thoughtful and was represented in her actions as such a nice person that I had a real problem with connecting this person with the person who'd callously bet that she's able to bed a straight and supposedly happily engaged woman. I could only make myself believe that they were one and the same person by telling myself that it's easier to do something like that if you don't know the person. But then again, how can you be lacking so much in empathy not to know that this is a really bad decision and then be so emphatic and thoughtful later on. So you see I still find it hard to reconcile the fact.
That brings me to the problem I have with this book. It is well written, well edited, has a nice enough cover... But I thought it was lacking in the part of character development. I felt that a few more inner dialogues on Jac's part would have made it easier for me to understand how she could have been those two persons. And it was especially hard for me to understand how Lauren could act like she acted after the bet was revealed. We just dropped out of her head seemingly completely after the big revelation. I understand it was done for the sake of suspense, but this way her struggle (and it is a life changing struggle) got totally blanked out.
That's why the conclusion felt too rushed and well not as satisfactory to me.

[Kexx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear, any book that starts with a bet worries me on too many levels. Skim read and when not delayed by the sweeter than sweet verbal mush was put off the type of sex! Why did I read it?? Each to their own....

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jac may be able to get any woman into her bed, but can she fall in love. Lauren is engaged to a man she doesn’t really know. When she meets Jac she feels a connection right away that she has never felt before. Will a stupid bet year th egg m apart before they declare their feelings towards each other. A good story that held my attention. The narrator Anastasia Watley is wonderful with a soothing and sexy voice.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot-line would have been better for an erotica rather than a romance. And the juvenile and predatory “bet you can’t bang her” wager by the purported work friend and the romantic lead was pretty contemptible. Was surprised by the likeability of the two main characters considering that.

[Len · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the overall rating doesn’t give justice to how nice this book is. it’s well written and it really holds your interest. Giving it a 5.

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

You, my friend, you’ve got magic in your pockets too.

3.5 stars. I always feel so disappointed when I end up rating a book lower than I expected to. Because in the beginning, this was so charming, so fun, and I really adored both characters and I thought I would love this. I still really liked it, but I just think the last quarter or so is so much weaker than the start. The plot isn't very original, but it doesn't need to be. A confident womaniser accepts a bet from her best friend to seduce a straight engaged woman whom she's never met. In the process, of course, they actually fall in love, and then have to deal with the fallout when everything comes to light. There's also the added complication of the fact that the best friend harbours feelings of her own. I really loved everything about how Jac and Lauren came to know each other and become friends. It was so natural, so full of warmth and chemistry, and even though this book is pretty short, it really didn't take long before I was fully invested in their relationship. Jac is continuously doing little things to seduce Lauren, of course, but at the same time, she's falling really hard herself. She's so charming and kind, and I really felt for her when she began to realise how much of a mistake she'd made in accepting the bet. They were both really well-rounded characters, and I loved all of their outings, and the time they spent with their family. The romance is just the kind of slow burn that I love.

But when it was time for all of that to come full-circle, for the attraction to come to fruition, it just didn't live up to the promise that it had in the beginning. Lauren turning into a dominatrix after five minutes... Fine. I mean okay, sure. I really wish that had been written in a more natural way, to show that she's so new to all of this, as well as being new to women in general. We do learn after the fact that she was a bit nervous, but it didn't read as completely natural to me? But I guess I could buy it. What really disappointed me was just how little pay off there was to the slow burn, if that makes any sense. Their first kiss was over and done in a sentence; it felt like there was no weight behind the moment, nothing special about it. And I do get the point that Lauren was trying to make, and I completely understand her feelings about it, and how she needed to be sure that Jack could relinquish control. But that last quarter did not feel anywhere near as romantic as the first parts of the book did. It felt like ticking boxes. I don't know. I was so giddy about their romance at first but I ended the book just sort of feeling okay about it. I also don't really know if the side-plot with the best friend was needed, and some of the language used was unnecessary.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Anastasia Watley, who is becoming one of my new favourite narrators. This is definitely another case of a narrator adding a little something special to a book. I really love everything she did with the voices for these characters. This is my first read by this author, and I liked this so much that I know it won't be my last. But I'm hoping I'll have some more success with whatever I read from her next.

“You’re obviously not averse to wagering. Are you willing to bet on us?”

[queer_aussie_reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anastasia Whatley is a narrator that has somehow managed to fly under my radar for a while now, but I’m realizing that I enjoy her style. Let me also point out that this is the first book I have picked up by Lois Cloarec Hart and I liked the way she writes.

Bitter Fruit was a bit of a complicated read for me. The concept is that Jac has made a bet with her best friend – sleep with Lauren, an engaged, straight woman she has yet to meet. The winner choices her reward, and the game is set. So, from the get-go, Jac doesn’t come across as the greatest person, so liking her will be a bit of a conundrum.

Lauren on the other hand is sweet, and innocent and thrives on having a new best friend.  Jac, who had previously been a ‘new girl every night’ type of woman changes her ways and falls for her target. Jac is very likable, and it is a bit tough to remember her goal. She is caring and sincere as she bonds with Lauren, who finds herself growing as a person and falling out of love with one person, whose true colours are beginning to show through, and in love with another who is hiding a terrible secret.  

I liked listening to this book but found the ending was a little too rushed, and the outcome a bit too unrealistic. I would still recommend it as a book to check out though, as I think others may see it from a different angle and enjoy the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

[Tempe Luvs Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this different take on romance.
Victoria, a straight woman happily married to a man, had two friends who were participants in a bet that she dreamed up.. Jac was lesbian and a real player who frequented an exclusive sex club. After a night of drinking together, Jac accepted Victoria’s challenge that, within one month’s time, she would seduce and bed the straight woman chosen by Victoria. If Jac lost, she’d sleep with Victoria, and Jac really had no desire to do that.
The “victim ” chosen was Lauren, another friend of Victoria’s, a woman she worked with. Victoria felt confident that Jac would fail because Lauren was head over heels in love with the man she was engaged to.
The story continues to cover Jac’s wooing of Lauren. Jac finds more and more ways to spend time and develop the friendship with Lauren and as she gets to know her, she becomes more and more impressed with what a wonderful person she was. She gets to know her wonderful family and also realizes that Lauren’s fiancé is a jerk.
Before the month’s time is up, Jac knows she wants to tell Victoria that the bet is off, but Victoria won’t let her out of it. Lauren overheard their conversation and the bet exploded.
The story lost me after this as I felt the rest of it was rushed. Others may disagree, but I’m only expressing my take on it. This was my third book by Lois Cloarec Hart and I want to read more. This was listened on audiobook, narrated by Anastasia Watley.

[Chand · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read two or the author's earlier works, Coming Home and Broken Faith and I'm afraid this one is nowhere near their quality. It'd hard to imagine that a writer who is so good at developing characters and manage to tell convincing stories through that has written a book with such uni-dimensional characters.

[TheAvidReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had potential but it was good. Not my best read nor the worst. I think the whole betting thing is soo offputting and predictable. and the terms of that bet were also offputting. But I like Lauren so that made the story good.

[moxieBK · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was way different than I thought it would be. This story was 4 stars until around page 130 or so (chapter 16.) Then went off the rails for me. Though I could see it coming, I wish it would not have gone the route that it took. Up to that point, it was five stars, but I ended up speed-reading the rest of the story. The supporting characters weren't very well developed and after introducing them, they just fell off the radar. Which is fine, but coupled with the change (that didn't feel quite true to the character,) I lost interest in the story. If they had mention in the description that there would be bondage, I might have skipped this all together. As it is, these things tainted my appreciation for an otherwise nice, quick read.

[Heinerway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I did her other books. Well done!

[Diginaut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really well written and nice build up of the story and romance, for the most part. The fiancé was a very one dimensional narcissistic jerk though. How are we supposed to believe Lauren ever fell for this excuse of a man?

The last part of the book, after the bet was reveiled, was a big dissapointment to me. I’m sure I’m biased, not being into kink one bit. But the explicit scenes were actually relatively chaste, so it’s not like I was offended or grossed out. I just found the turn in Lauren utterly unrealistic. How did she go from straight woman who hadn’t even kisses a woman to lesbian dominatrix in the blink of an eye? The fact that this part was mostly written from Jac’s perspective didn’t help either.

As a reader I didn’t understand Lauren’s motives at all. She must have felt incredibly betrayed, but they hardly talked about that or tried to fix this with words. Instead, some toys were pulled out of a bag and if Jac showed that Lauren was allowed to be the boss in that game then all was good again.

Like I said, I did like her style a lot (for the most part) and the story was certainly gripping so I’m definately gonna give this author another try.

[wren4777 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird one.

On one hand, I thought Jac and Lauren were really well written characters. I loved seeing them together, especially with Lauren's family, and I thought the development of their friendship was fast, but still natural.

However, I just couldn't get over how their relationship started. Jac's bet with Victoria was so random and icky, especially given that she knew Victoria was married and had a pathological obsession with her. Lauren forgave Jac far too quickly after finding out about the bet, meaning we never got to see any introspection or character development from her.

Also, I found the leads' relationship itself to be underwhelming once they decided to actually be together. Their first kiss happens incredibly uneventfully, and the BDSM elements that are teased throughout the novel never really come to fruition.

Essentially, the first 75% or so of the novel was quite good and had real potential, but the remaining 25% tanks its overall quality right down. :(

[joffiii]

Kerstin Gier Roman auf wish bestellt, aber mit besseren Sex Szenen und ohne Homophobie (Kerstin 😒)
Nein jetzt ernsthaft, es war so schlecht ich musste die ganze Zeit ungläubig lachen- aber hab’s an einem Tag durchgehört.
Das Tempo war so schnell, noch nie habe ich ein Buch gelesen, das SO schnell zur Sache ging. Die Handlung war zu 10000% vorhersehbar, also so offensichtlich, dass ich das Ende anders erwartet hätte, da man ja bei einem Buch nicht mit dem naheliegendsten Verlauf rechnet. Also Unterhaltungsfaktor fünf Sterne, sonst einen. Spicy 4/5, aber nur, weil es nicht so viel
Konkurrenz gibt.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 ⭐️ 'Bitter Fruit' by Lois Cloarec Hart is about a bet/dare "gone wrong." Although it has a quite predictable romance plot, the author, however, was still able to bring about a riveting chemistry between the protagonists. Hart still managed to weave a compelling plot which made me powerless to stop myself from reading it from cover to cover overnight! And even though the story took a tiny sudden, odd turn in its last chapters, the delicious build-up between Jac and Lauren made me overlook such anomaly and still gave me a generally wonderful reading-time— thanks to Hart's sublime writing.

[Jacia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy so much the way the book was written— it was in audible format so take that with a grain of salt. However, the second I realized it was a straight married woman who wants to be with her lesbian BFF I was instantly uninterested. The characters were already boring me and I’m totally not looking for this route. Hopefully those of you who enjoy this kind of story like it more, but DNF.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the story started out great and I was really enjoying it, when I got to about 75% complete, the remaining part of the story just felt rushed, like the author just wanted to finish it and the characters that were so well developed up to that point acted what felt to me to be very out of character and just weren't believable. It kind of ruined the story for me, but that's just one person's opinion.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was tough. Just based on the description you know the secret bet is going to come out at some point. It's the buildup to the breakup that stayed in the back of my head the whole time. Couple that with a heart of gold main character in an abusive relationship that I want the best for and extra emotions mingle in. Not going to ruin anything, but this is well written and gets you in your feels.

[Linda Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story - up to a point. As others have pointed out it starts out well enough and moves along nicely. Then all of a sudden it hurtles to a conclusion that doesn't seem to fit. Nice easy read with an ending that seems a bit rushed.

[CK529 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really didn't like the bet that started everything, and I found the resolution a bit out of sync with my thoughts about a character, BUT, I really liked the interaction between the two main characters and I loved the narration of the audiobook.

[Maya Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was truly surprised with how much I enjoyed this!! The synopsis gave me some pause—I assumed it would be more angsty than my usual reads. But it turned out to be perfect!! Jac and Lauren's relationship, the growth from friends to lovers, is wonderful!! They ended up being really cute!!

[Donna Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of friends take a bet without any thought of the consequences on the woman to be bedded. She was quite right. How can women treat other women like that. This is a powerful structure to falling in love.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - It was a simple, quick story with well developed main characters. It was a little predictable but to be honest most books are. I would recommend the book. Very sweet.

[Cece S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to listen to BITTER FRUIT on AUDIBLE since the reviews are all over the place. The narrator Anastasia Watley voice is so YUMMY! I’m so glad Lois Cloarec Hart made this available on AUDIBLE! Great listen!