I thought this was a really interesting read. I was willing for a plot twist or a big event to really kick off the plot as it took a while for me to get in to it. On reflection, once I’d read the whole book I realised it really didn’t need any gimmicks.

This is a well written emotional read with depth and interesting characters. I’m glad it went against all of my expectations as ultimately this is what made it a fascinating read and as a result my perceptions of Gilda changing throughout the book.

4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Orion and Francesca Jakobi for my ARC in exchang for an honest review.

A duet or tandem of stories run tbrough the book as the main character takes the reader with her in the present whilst also reminiscing and recounting events. With love and loss Gilda, and the reader is prompted to consider what if....and how when faced with reality there is a choice to react with bitterness, or acceptance....regret or with fortitude.
The switch between present and past was not easy to follow at times demonstrated how flash backs can be so swiftly provoked, but some fluidity was lost and reading was stunted and halted at times.
All in all well written saga.

I received this book via Netgalley, what an original story and oh it so pulled at my heartstrings.

I felt so much sympathy for Gilda, life has treated her so harshly; she has never received love and so she has no idea how to show or give love. Despite this she still manages to breach the potentially most difficult barriers which are often prevalent in a mother in law/ daughter in law relationship and formed a lasting bond with her son's wife. She was seemingly, lost when it came to forming a similar relationship with her son.

Communication is so vital is all successful relationships and at times I felt so empathetic towards her that I could have cried out loud to Gilda- don't do that or -please say that.

This is a great piece of writing and the style used could easily translate to a fabulous film .

Bitter is a rather interesting novel, told from the perspective of Gilda Meyer, twice divorced and dissatisfied with life and her relationship with her son. Told both in the present (the 1960s) and looking back on Gilda’s life, the timeframes are quickly cut together and the detail from the past is drip fed throughout, layering information as Gilda allows herself to remember and thank about it.
Gilda herself is at times hugely sympathetic, at others quite repellent, but always compelling.

Gilda and her sister were both married off to older men. While Lena headed for a life in New York, Gilda remains in London with husband Frank. Eventually she gives birth to Reuben. Surely his arrival should herald a new and positive phase in this arranged marriage? It seems not.
The story begins when Reuben is 30 and about to marry Alice. Now divorced from Frank, we go back and forth over the years seeing through Gilda's eyes the journey which led her to the loss of her husband and son and turned her into the sad, needy individual she is today. Now in her 50s Gilda becomes fixated on Alice, following her, trying to understand why her golden child has chosen a girl like her. She begins to stalk her, to dye her hair the same colour and emulate her dress - I found this quite uncomfortable. And yet it was also incredibly sad. Yes, Gilda has huge problems but every man, it appears, has let her down in some way. First her father marrying her off to an older man in order to cement his business relationships. Her husband Frank, lacking in affection. Her fair weather lover Leo. And then there is Reuben himself. Angry with his mother for abandoning him while not really being aware of the real circumstances behind it. In the end Alice is the catalyst who brings about change.

It’s a thought provoking read and an excellent debut novel. Highly recommended.

This is a really captivating emotional read about a mother’s love for her son.

The story is set in 1969 when Reuben, Gilda’s only child, marries Alice, who Gilda is not too sure about but is that just jealousy speaking ?

The story jumps from the present time to the past and we get to see how Gilda’s life has developed and what has led to the very strained relationship she now has with her son.

It all starts when Gilda sees something she shouldn’t and her father sends her from Germany to a boarding school in England. We then follow her life from her teens to adulthood, marriage to divorce and lots more along the way.

The book covers love, secrets, betrayal and much much more. It is a beautiful book that shows how past decisions can affect some much in the future.

I went through various feelings for Gilda, Alice and Reuben. I think the characters are brilliant and you really feel for all of them at some point.

This is a lovely book that if you love family dramas with a little bit of everything else you will love it. A beautifully written book revolving around a mother’s love for their son.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

We first meet Gilda as a lonely guest at her only child Reuben’s wedding. Unlike her ex-husband Frank and his second wife Berta, Gilda is very much on the edge of things. Berta is congratulated on “her” son, Reuben’s speech includes the statement that his wife Alice taught him how to love. Alice is kind and beautiful, she wants Reuben to be a good son to his mother. Reuben can’t bear to touch her and spends as little time as possible with her. When Gilda breaks her bookshelves so that she can ask Reuben to fix them for her she imagines the conversation she will have with him. Sadly the conversation neve happens as Reuben runs out of the door as soon as he’s botched a repair.

Slowly the story moves on, as Gilda tries to escape from her loneliness by stalking her son and his lovely new wife, little snippets of her own story are revealed. She grew up in a wealthy household in Germany as the Hitler was coming to power. She and her beautiful older sister were totally neglected by her socialite mother. As her life unfolds we realise why Gilda is so unhappy trapped in the life her father mapped out for her, unable to be a good mother or find true happiness because she’s never really been sure what it is. All the time she’s becoming more obsessed with Reuben and his wife. This is where the story didn’t ring true to me as there was no mention of their reactions as they got home to discover someone had made Reuben’s side of the messy bed or had been trying on Alice’s clothes. Surely they would have noticed and been appalled, maybe even changed the lock that she'd stolen the key to? I’m certain the staff in Alice’s department store would have noticed and commented on the woman who spent hours standing watching Alice as she went about her cosmetics sales. There were parts I could hardly bring myself to read as I thought she was surely going to get caught but I persevered and found Gilda’s own story was interesting enough to keep me engrossed despite some misgivings about the plot.

This book starts in 1969 as Gilda Meyer is at the wedding of her only child, Reuben, to Alice. Gilda is in her 50s and has had a difficult life as a Jew born in Germany in the 1920s who’s lived in the UK since the 1930s. In her teens she is sent to boarding school in England which she believes is punishment for having seen her father in a compromising situation. She is then isolated from her parents and sister. After school her father arranges a marriage for her to Frank, an older man and business associate of her father. They have Reuben but the marriage is never a great love match so inevitably Gilda finds love elsewhere. Things then start to unravel quickly for Gilda as she becomes more and more estranged from Reuben.

Gilda’s only lifelong friend is Margo who she met at boarding school. Gilda is haunted by her estrangement from Reuben and builds a fantasy view of their mother-son relationship which she shares with Margo. At times her mental state is very poor and she starts following and obsessing about Reuben and his new wife.

The book moves back and forth between present day and Gilda’s teenage and younger years. I found this quite hard to follow at times as the changes are abrupt and within the same paragraph. I frequently had to reread the previous section to clarify which timescale we were now in which interrupting the flow and my immersion in the book. There’s no great plot, just a lot of observing the intricacies of relationships within a family. I just found it quite depressing and was glad to finish it.

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group. for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this book had me gripped from the start. You are in turn revolted and then sympathetic to Gilda the main character, there are twists and turns as you find out her secrets. I completely related to this book and read it over two days. Loved it.

There is a wonderful flow to this book even though it switches from one time period to another in mid paragraph. It is a sad story that moved me to tears in the end.

Bitter is a novel about guilt, jealousy, false perceptions, obsession and depression. Despite being a quick read, the author manages to tackle many issues through a powerful first-person narrative that moves constantly from the present (1960s) to the past (WWII),
This book reminded me of something very important: it is very easy to judge (others and ourselves); the difficult (almost impossible) part is to try and understand others. No one acts in a vacuum and sometimes our actions can be the product of various aspects beyond our control and/or intentions.

Wow this was a roller coaster of a read all the way through. Fast paced and twisty. One of the best books I have read this year. 5 stars.

I am sure this book will appeal to many readers but for me it was a case of waiting for something to happen that would grab my interest.. Didn't get this feeling.

I loved this novel whose title derives from a schoolyard misunderstandng of the German word for please, but aptly descrbes the protagonist as we meet her, somewhat broken and unloved in an airless, lonely middle age. It's testament to the deft narrative skill of the author that I quickly warmed to her as her story unfolded and ended up blinking back tears on the bus as I finished the novel. It's one of those stories which makes the reader wince at the hundreds of little insults and wounds we inflict upon each other in our lives, intentionally and carelessly - it's the nuanced depiction of pain which makes it feel so real, but all the characters were three-dimensional and relatable and I really, really liked them. I'll definitely look out for more from this writer!

A fascinatingly addictive story about a woman who is rejected by everyone apart from her best friend from school. At first Gilda seems unlikeable, deeply unpleasant and manipulative, until you learn that she's always experienced rejection and bullying, and desperately wants to be involved in her son's life now that he's married. But even he finds her annoying and cold.

Francesca Jakobi paints a vivid portrait of the Swinging 60s complete with patchouli oil and Mateus Rose in the present day timeline of the book, and is equally successful in the drab 40s and 50s of Gilda's girlhood. 'Bitter' examines how the lack of a loving family means Gilda has no confidence in herself and grows up unable to show her own love. Which impacts on her own son, Reuben. The novel hinges on misunderstandings that, by the end become clear, even if not completely ironed out; there are finally glimmers of hope. Gilda has always blamed herself, but she learns that she's been the victim of other people's manoeuvring and plotting. This could have been a misery-fest, but the sparky writing and humour lift the novel beyond mere wallowing in loss.

My only quibble, and this is for the publisher - how did grammatical errors like: 'showed Leo and I where to sign', 'left Frank and I together' and, even more surprising: 'pretending me and Reuben are fine' not get picked up by an editor?

I loved this book! It is an emotional, compelling, heartrendingly beautiful story about Gilda, a Jewish woman who is obsessed with her newly married son Rueben and his wife Alice. Set in 1969 with flashbacks to Gilda's earlier life the story unravels to give you a complete picture of how earlier consequences have molded the characters. It is very well written and I can't believe it is a debut novel. I can't wait to read more from Francesca Jakobi.
Highly recommend!

A thoroughly good read. It took me a little while to get into this book, possibly due to the unique style of the writing, but once I had I found it difficult to put down. A really enjoyable story filled with interesting characters.

It is sadly the case that motherhood doesn't always come naturally, and a good mother needs a good – or at least adequate - role model. So this desperately unhappy story of a mother’s dysfunctional relationship with her son and daughter-in-law will have a powerful emotional resonance for any mother.
In reference to the German narrator’s cruel nickname at an English boarding school – when she mistakenly says the German, instead of English, word for ‘please’- Gilda also comes across as a very bitter woman, who could be described as the mother-in-law from hell. But we soon find empathy for this painfully flawed character who went through a hellish childhood - rejected by her parents, sent away to boarding school in another country, and forced into an arranged marriage at 18 to a much older man. Unsurprisingly,when she becomes a mother, her parental skills are non-existent and she fails to develop a healthy maternal bond, with devastating consequences.
It is a tribute to the author’s skill that Gilda is an unsympathetic character who the reader can easily find empathy with – and even begin to like.

This was an amazing book. I read it in one sitting.
Gilda castigates herself for the fractured relationship with her son. It colours every aspect of her life. Married twice but still very lonely, she pretends to have a closer relationship with her son and follows her daughter in law and son to try and build a connection.
Even with her childhood friend, Margo, she tries to keep up the pretence. However, eventually she has to face reality but then finds that she did not have the complete picture following her acrimonious divorce and that others held their silence in not revealing the full situation.
Towards the end, she begins to come to terms with what happened and then at the end she finds a gentle way of becoming part of her son's history.
Do read this: you will not be disappointed.

The story of a complex Mam and Mother - in - law. and very descriptive of 1960's life. A great story