I'm giving The Bitter Truth 3 stars. While the book had the potential to be an engaging domestic thriller, it didn’t fully hold my interest. The early setup of political intrigue and hidden secrets was compelling, but I lost interest once witches and the mention of paranormal elements were introduced. I’m not a fan of those themes, and it prevented me from fully enjoying the story. The twists in the second half of the book were farfetched and left me pretty confused. Ultimately, it just wasn’t for me.

The Bitter Truth is a thriller with twists and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing. I really like that Dominic’s character was told in third person point of view while the others were told in first. I felt less connected to him which I liked. Jolene and Brynne were great characters and I really enjoyed them. This story is so well written and the pace is great. I was hooked from the first chapter!

Poor Dominic.....He got what he deserved at the end. This book had me really thinking. Is this what really goes down in the political world? Like you gotta do whatever or use folks just to get what you want. This story started off sad with Dominic and his mom, but then you can see why he was that way. Jolene was my hero. She helped Brynn received justice, got her man at the end. Those two women, one wanted revenge and the other wanted to get away. This book still had you guessing till the very end. Shanora Williams will never disappoint me, her writing is mesmerizing. I fell in love with thrillers by reading her novel "The Wife Before", and will continue to read every book she releases.

I received a complimentary copy from Kensington and all opinions expressed are mine.

Shanora knows how to write a keep you on the edge thriller . The Bitter Truth is the perfect read for those that enjoy Multiple POVs and short chapters. The book follows Dominic the Governor of North Carolina and his wife Jolene. Dominic's secret 🙊 tho scandalous and bloody comes to haunt him and he just doesn't know who knows about his past and who is sending the threatening messages. Wives notice everything right!? Jolene also starts playing Sherlock but what does one do keep a secret buried? Oh how scandalous!

Rating :3.75

Another jam packed twisty thriller from this author! I love how her books are typically dark takes infused with couples drama. This one was another mysterious domestic thriller and per usual packs punch with the twists!

Secrets and scandal abound for the political couple in this book. Jolene starts digging into her husbands past and a buried secret comes to light. What will she do with what she knows?

I liked this book. It kept me guessing and I always appreciate a good twist. I believe this is my first Shanora Williams book and I’d definitely read more. She had me engaged in the story early on and desperately turning pages wanting to know what was going to happen next.

One of the better thrillers I’ve read in a while.

This was an okay, but entertaining thriller.There are multiple POVs and dual timelines which kept things interesting for me. The short chapters made this a fast read, and when things really start to go down makes it an even faster read. I thought the climax had me at the edge of my seat, though, it was slightly confusing.

Like I mentioned, the climax/ending was confusing if you look back at it. Also, there were certain parts of the book that were just simply unbelievable. Despite this, the book was an entertaining read which is why I rated the way I did.

The Bitter Truth had me hooked right from the first chapter. It was a tense and twisted thriller, full of drama and betrayal. I loved the strong female characters of Jolene, Brynn and Shavonne.

The storyline was compelling and at times harrowing, especially with Brynn's back story. I loved the twists and I genuinely didn't see them coming.

This is the 3rd book I've read by Shanora Williams. I've loved them all. She's fast becoming a favourite.

I highly recommend and look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and Shanora Williams for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you haven’t picked up a book by Shanora Williams, then consider this a sign to read one of her books! I have read all of her thrillers and am working my way through her backlog of books! I absolutely devour her books because they are just so good and I don’t want to put them down!

The Bitter Truth is filled with so many secrets and lies, you never know who is telling the truth and where the book is going to lead you! The characters are *chefs kiss*. They are so frustrating yet so compelling at the same time and you are just begging to get to know more about them and figure out how the past relates to the present. Definitely one that I would recommend and an author that I will ALWAYS recommend!!

Have you ever learned that there is a new subgenre that is a perfect way to describe a book that you just read? I just learned that a “popcorn thriller” is a “light, entertaining, and not too heavy suspense novel.” That is a perfect description of The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams.

Jolene feels like her husband, Dominic, the current Governor of North Carolina, is hiding something from her. When a mysterious woman starts showing up at campaign events, what secrets will start to come out?

My thoughts on this novel:
• This book kept me up way too late at night. It kept me guessing throughout the novel – it was a roller coaster of a novel.
• The story was told in alternating viewpoints that kept the story fresh and kept the reader guessing.
• This was a domestic thriller with the story dealing with a married couple, their friends, and a few others in their orbit.
• This was the first book I read by Shanora Williams, and it won’t be my last.
• I listened to the Between the Chapters Book Club interview with the author this week. It was interesting. I learned a lot about the author and her writing process
• I enjoyed that in this book everything was not as it appears, and the surprises kept coming.
• The author has a note at the beginning of the novel that discusses possible triggers in the novel.
• I liked that the chapters were very short, which made this book very easy to read.

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams is a perfect fun suspense thriller for the summer.

Book Source: Giveaway copy from Kensington Books and the Between the Chapters Book Club. Thank-you! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another page turner by Ms. Williams. I absolutely love her books and style of writing. She makes you feel real emotions for her characters, and I couldn't stand Dominic. I can't wait to read more of her work. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of the book.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book but after a while it started to fall flat. I would have enjoyed a more shocking twist near the end. It would have been nice for Jolene to stick up more for herself near the end and become a stronger version of herself. Overall this was a good read. I would read more by the author

This book is a wild (and unbelievable) ride. It took me a little bit to get into this one. And it definitely was a little heavy handed, every chapter made me dislike Dominic more and more. Dominic is an upstanding citizen and politician married to Jolene. Things haven’t been great in their marriage for a while. Dominic gets nervous when he starts to get anonymous notes referencing a woman he hasn’t thought about in years and promising his secrets will soon be public. Jolene knows something is wrong, but Dominic won’t talk to her about what it is. The writing was good for this one, I just wanted the characters to have a little more depth to them. Even the characters I liked weren’t fleshed out quite as much as I would have preferred. The very ending was a little odd, but I am satisfied with how this one turned out.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book. But I didn’t like the story. That Dominic character really had me ready to throw fisticuffs at a fictional character

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author. Shanora is the truth!!

I have been a fan of this author's thriller books since her first one, and this one is no exception. I absolutely love how she weaves a story that will have you captivated and holding on to the edge of your seat from beginning to end. And add the twists and turns, you have a story That will stay in your mind days after finishing it. In true fashion from this author, I was hooked right from the beginning and I still have thought about these characters even after I finished the book. It was such a great read, and I can't wait for the next one from her.

Yes!!! This was so good. I’ve read one other book by this author, The Perfect Ruin, but I definitely want to pick up her other two as well. I love this author’s writing style and ability to craft such compelling stories, so I knew this was an auto-buy for me. The title of this one is spot on, and I got chills when it was revealed in the story.

“We lie to ourselves and fabricate these stories in our heads so we can believe them. But eventually the story will crack, and the lies will spill out, and you’ll drown in the truth.”

I went in totally blind, didn’t even need to read the synopsis. In the beginning, I started to get a little nervous and unsure if it was going to be something I’d like. I don’t typically enjoy stories that center around politics and political schemes. But this one proved me wrong because I was absolutely hooked on this story the entire time.

“This is how it should be in the world: women helping women. People supporting each other.”

The prologue was jaw-dropping and immediately had me invested. The drama was so juicy and I was completely rooting for these conniving characters to get their justice. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and timelines, getting to see all the pieces unfold, as well as the short chapters. It’s definitely binge-worthy.

“We're all a little messed up. Every single human on this earth has endured a trauma or a tragedy that they want to heal from, but what happens when you don’t heal?”

There are also a lot of topics and questions raised that I could see making for a great book club discussion. There are some deep, emotional, traumatic and dark subjects, as well as commentary on wealth and abuse of power. The story really goes there and doesn’t hold back. It asks you to reflect on some of the darkest parts of humanity.

Highly recommend!

Read if you like:
💚 Juicy drama and secrets
💛 Thought-provoking depth
❤️ Binge-worthy read
💙 Vigilante justice

#TheBitterTruth #NetGalley
Awesome.
For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he's also helping her prove that she's far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she's never been happier to stand proudly by his side . Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can't get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she's never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her baffled: Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?
I loved it so much. It was really good.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving me an advance copy.

If you love a well-written dark and twisted thriller, Shanora Williams does not disappoint. The Bitter Truth is a masterpiece of secrets, lies and so much more.

This book is so rich in content, drama, intricate characters and topics. This story drips with crime, revenge, politics, blackmail, corruption, a who done it murder mystey, and the human psyche. Well done.

Oh man!! She just keeps getting better and better!!! Shanora Williams is becoming one of my favorite authors!!!

We follow Jolene who is a governors wife and we already find out her husband is lying about something and is deceitful! Jolene opens up to us about an eating disorder she had when she was younger and she met her husband in college while at the gym.

Dominic is the governor of North Carolina and is a creep and a pretty bad person. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself and how it will suite him.

Then we meet Brynne and she’s a part of Dominic’s past.

This story unravels cleverly and satisfies!! I loved the girl empowerment in this book! I loved the revenge plot by the women in this book!!

Thank you so much NetGalley for a chance to review this book!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️