Willow Lamont is a successful prosecutor in Seattle, but when her grandfather requests her return to Benevolence, to help at Chocolate Haven, the family chocolate shop. She arrive, but only plans to spend several weeks while her sisters deal with family issues and her grandfather continues to recuperate from his broken leg. Why does she not want to spend time at a place she used to love? What is her big secret? As well, just like her sisters, she can't seem to get the hang of making the famous family fudge. She used to be able to make it with now problem, what is happening? Shortly after arriving, someone knocks at her door late at night. Panic has her calling the police. Deputy Sheriff, Jax Gordon comes to her house and together they find an abandoned baby in the alley behind the dumpster. This brings the two of them together on a regular basis dealing with the situation and trying to find the baby's parents. We met Jax briefly in the last book and learned a bit about his bad boy image, but he has changed. This twist was a bit different, as Willow becomes a possible foster mother of "Baby Miracle" forcing her to decide whether or not she will remain in Benevolence.

As much as this was a romance, there were a couple of mystery storylines in this story as well. Who was the baby's mother? Why was she abandoned? What is Willow's secret that still holds her hostage whenever she is in Chocolate Haven alone? Can she put the past behind her? l liked how this author let us know about Jax's terrible past and the incident that changed his life when he was just a kid. These confessions will bring Jax and Willow together, but is it enough to overcome the fear of commitment? It was hard to see how Willow's past tarnished her relationship with her mother and I enjoyed reading about their confessions and reconciliation. And of course, there is the fudge. Will Willow find peace and finally be able to make the famous Lamont Fudge. This was the best in this trilogy as far as I am concerned. I loved all the various plotlines, mysteries, relationships and discoveries. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves a good clean romance with some mystery and intrigue.

I really thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was well written evoking an understanding of the emotions the characters were feeling.

Willow Lamont grew up in a small town where her grandfather and father owned Chocolate Haven. She had loved being a part of this family business until she experienced such a horrible, traumatic incident at the hands of one of the former employees. She had never been able to fully work through her emotions of that experience so she just stayed away. Now, she was back at the request of her grandfather to help in the shop. The nightmares had returned and it seemed to be impossible for her to make even one batch of the famous Lamont fudge without ruining it.

Jax had always admired Willow in school. She was beautiful and strong and she had a family who loved her dearly. Jay's family had all been murdered, except for him. And, he had been a witness and only survivor to them crime. Because of his experience, he never wanted to have a family because of the chance that he might lose them all as he had as a child. His story was so sad and yet even though he was wounded both in body and mind, he could still have the desire to help. He was a good man and was currently working as a deputy sheriff who was determined to seek justice for victims of crime.

I won't give away the plot of the story but it was truly a beautiful weaving of a love story and healing process for both Jax and Willow. This was a mostly clean romance. There was some language but no sex. It was a truly sweet, romantic story.

I was given an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BITTERSWEET is book three in Shirlee McCoy's sweet small town series, Home Sweet Home. Willow Lamont is the third sister to take care of the family candy shop for their grandfather who has created a special recipe for fudge. When she was younger, she suffered a trauma and when she was old enough, she went to college and stayed away from her hometown. Now that she has returned, though temporary, she knows that it is time for her to face some demons.
Willow finds herself in the orbit of the deputy sheriff Jax Gordon, an old friend from school. One night, she finds an abandoned baby out behind the shop in cold weather and she and Jax bring the baby to safety.
I like Willow and feel for her. Though she is smart and successful, her personal life -not so much. She volunteers to foster the baby and Jax is there for her. He is a great guy, but has always felt like an outsider because he has issues from his past. Neither are looking for a relationship, but they become closer as time goes by. Jax help her in the shop and helps her learn to trust again.
This is a sweet and cute romance, gradually building from friendship to love. It is full of heartwarming moments and features a brave woman who faces her past, reconnects with family, and finds a forever love in the place she needed to find some peace and a happily ever after.

Chocolates, a lost baby, and a handsome deputy... these are the beginnings of a darling story that will pull at your heartstrings. Willow is looking to start a family, Jax is looking for a lost baby, together they will find what they both are looking for.

This was my first time reading anything by Shirlee McCoy and I must admit, I am hooked. Her characters are colorful, full of spunk, and will remind you of people you just might know. The chocolates will make you hungry while the words will make you sigh. A great combo!

Bittersweet by Shirlee McCoy tells the story of the Lamont family. They have a long history of making chocolates in Washington. Now, the business hinges on lawyer Willow Lamont, home for a couple weeks to try and perfect her family’s secret recipe. While she works hard at perfecting the recipe, she is simultaneously battling the lingering effects of trauma that no one knows about. A baby is left near her home and she becomes its caregiver, which forces her to make connections and let down her guard with her family. This was a fun, easy read. I highly recommend it for an interesting, light read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Shirlee McCoy’s entire Home Sweet Home Series of three daughters coming home to help out at the family homemade candy shop is truly wonderful but none more so than the third book, Bittersweet. Beside the family dynamics aka drama, the romance and the in-depth character study this book has an air of mystery to it. If Deputy Sheriff Jax Gordon doesn’t steal your heart then Baby Miracle will, because no matter how much Willow Lamont tries to shield hers, that is exactly what happens.

There is so much that kept me turning the pages way into the night with this story, more than one mystery, the nemesis fudge recipe, several subplots (loved Grandfather’s) and characters that I loved, some that I detested and a few I even pitied. The wonderful style made me feel more than once as if I was too on this journey of discovery and healing with Willow and Jax.

The three books in the series are keepers, ones I will reread again. I highly recommend the series but especially Bittersweet. While all of the stories fit today, I think you could read them in any order. As for me I am glad I was able to read them in the order that they were released.

Willow s back in Benevolence, Washington and Jax is glad to see her back. The third Lamont sister is back to help out at the fudge shop and when she finds a newborn baby her life in turmoil. This is a wonderful series, Home Sweet Home, and I'm sad there aren't any more sisters. The book ties up all the loose ends s answers all the lingering questions. Can be read without the other books but you'll appreciate it more by reading the series in order.

Bittersweet by Shirley McCoy
Home Sweet Home #3

Coming into the series on the third book was not an issue as the story makes sense without reading the previous books. In this book Willow has returned home to help her grandfather out in the family candy shop. In the past she left town taking a secret with her that has impacted her life in more ways than one. In the beginning of the story she meets Jax Gordon, sheriff of Benevolence, and they find an abandoned baby in a nearby dumpster. Both Jax and Willow have demons to deal with and reasons that falling in love and making a future with someone have been difficult. During the story a search is on for the baby’s parents, the baby is taken in as a ward of the state, Willow becomes the foster parent, community and family are there for one another, the perfection of the family fudge recipe is finally figured out as Willow and Jax finally realize their feelings for one another.

This is a well written, emotional, small town romance that I recommend to those looking for more than a quick lighthearted read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Try this one. It's got a good story line and you just know there's going to be a happy ending! Willow has changed her life- big time- by returning home to work with chocolate (yum), Jax, well, he might have issues but he's a good guy. The discovery of baby Miracle is the glue that holds this tale together. I liked the writing, I liked the pace, I liked the positive vibes. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. The is a good beach book or one to just relax with at the end of a hard day.

Fantastic story. Bittersweet is the third book in Shirlee McCoy's Home Sweet Home series but it is easily read as a standalone. Willow Lamont is the third sister to return to Benevolence, WA to help keep the family's chocolate shop running as her grandfather recuperates from a leg injury. After running as fast and as soon as she could she never thought she would be back working in the shop again. Yet here she is having to face her demons head on. The only thing getting her through it is a handsome sheriff Jax Gordon and a beautiful baby girl depending on her.

You will want to read as Willow's past unfolds and she deals with her demons to have a bright future to go in to. I highly recommend it.

Bittersweet is the story of Willow Lamont and Jax Gordon – two people who survived horrific events when they were young. Both dealt with their traumas in their own way and grew to be upstanding adults who only hoped to outrun their bad memories. When Willow returns to the small town where she grew up to help at her family’s chocolate shop she runs into Jax, a school friend from when they both lived in Benevolence. Neither has a problem with being friends but can they deal with what could happen if the underlying attraction they feel becomes more? Fate has plans of her own when a baby comes on the scene late one night. No spoilers here! This is the first of author Shirlee McCoy’s books I’ve had a chance to read. I thought it was a sweet and heart warming story about learning to trust and move forward. I’d definitely read another book by McCoy. Recommended to fans of the author and contemporary romance.

This book is as much a mystery as it is a romance and one that will draw you into the story early on. I liked the main character right away and wanted to know more about her past. The author does a good job of building early tension in her story, not just between the main character and her love interest, but all the way around. This is the kind of book that could get non romance readers interested in the genre.

Mysteries from the past plague the present in this novel each new revelation more interesting than the last. I really liked the idea of a woman with demons returning to her home town still fearing what could happen. This book is more complex than a lot of romances and made me eager to finish it and find out what happened to the characters that I had quickly grown fond of.

This novel has a good amount of sexual tension and hurdles for the characters to overcome, but didn't feel overdone or full recycled story lines. I loved the chocolate shop as well. This was a great way to spend an afternoon and I recommend it to others that like a bit of mystery with their romance.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Bittersweet is a beautiful story. It is well written with characters that I loved. I am a sucker for books with children. Baby Miracle will tug at your heart strings.

Bittersweet by Shirlee McCoy is the 3rd book in her Home Sweet Home series. Willow Lamont is our heroine, having returned home temporarily to help her grandfather run Chocolate Haven. With her two sisters (previous story heroines) busy with a marriage or babies, Willow spends her free hours making chocolate and failing on making the family secret fudge recipe. Willow has nightmares, due to a rape when she was only 13, and has kept this a secret all these years; one reason she does not like to come home.

One evening, while working late, she hears a noise outside and calls the cops. Jax Gordon, the deputy sheriff and our hero, arrives to find out what is wrong. Willow describes a car stopping and then pulling away. Together Jax and Willow will find an abandoned baby by the dumpster. When they are at the hospital for the baby, Jax recognizes that Willow is hiding some kind of trauma, and when it comes to that, Jax is an expert. He himself has his own nightmares of having his own family murdered years before.

What follows is a slow build sweet romance between Jax and Willow, with the mystery of finding the person to dumped the baby. Despite their determination to not have any relationship, they both start falling for each other. It was really nice to see the Lamont family again, as well as the backdrop of making chocolate. Willow will foster the baby called Miracle, temporarily until she is well enough to be adopted.

Bittersweet was a very nice romance, with a couple that each had their own mentally disabling issues. Willow will slowly learn to put the past behind her, and realize that she loves being home again. The only problem is she needs to help Jax move on from his past, as he fears being hurt again. Once again, Shirlee McCoy gives us another wonderful story, surrounded by a great family, in the small town of Benevolence, Washington. If you enjoy small town romances, I suggest you read Home Sweet Home series

The stories of the Lamont sisters and Chocolate Haven are satisfyingly concluded in Shirlee McCoy's 'Bittersweet'. The story of Willow, an accomplished District Attorney in Seattle, home to help her Grandpa in the family chocolate shop, is poignant and heart wrenching. Willow's completely serious issues are exacerbated by being alone in the shop, especially at night. The nightmare that plagues her, however, saves the life of an abandoned baby as she is woken at night by knocking on her door. Responding to her call is Benevolence police officer Jax Gordon and together they discover an infant behind the dumpster at Chocolate Haven. This starts a road of self-discovery for both Willow and Jax that is beautiful and a privilege to observe. Shirlee McCoy never disappoints and I look forward to much more.