Absolutely phenomenal. This kismet romance will pull at your heartstrings and keep you rooting for each character—but in truth, you'll really be rooting for them to be together!

The Bitter Truth is a quick listen with engaging narration. Wes and Murphy are sweet together in this family drama where the setting almost steals the show. I loved how this story came full circle and look forward to seeing what’s next at Hawthorne Vines.

I recently listened to the audiobook of Bitter Truth, narrated by Nelson Hobbs and Savannah Peachwood, and I have to say they did an excellent job bringing the characters to life. The audiobook added an engaging layer to the experience, and I would definitely recommend listening to it over eyeball reading—it kept me more connected to the story.

As a fan of small-town romance and female comeback stories, the premise of Bitter Truth sounded like a winner. However, despite the strong setup, the execution didn't quite hit the mark for me. At under 300 pages, the book tried to tackle too many tropes and issues, which left the storyline and characters underdeveloped. Both Murphy and Wes had intense, emotional backstories that brought them to the vineyard, but there wasn't enough depth or detail to make their journeys feel authentic or relatable. Their personal struggles—Murphy’s return home, her deceased mother, complicated relationship with her father, and sibling dynamics; Wes’s search for his father, dealing with his mother’s addiction—were all significant, but the brevity of the book left these themes feeling rushed.

The pacing also affected the romance, which leaned heavily into insta-love. The characters hadn’t interacted much before suddenly diving into some steamy scenes that felt abrupt and unearned. While I’m all for spicy moments, it would have been more satisfying with a stronger buildup and emotional connection.

In the end, Bitter Truth felt like it was trying to do too much in too little time. With so many storylines competing for attention, none of them got the space they needed to develop fully. That being said, the ideas behind the book were strong, and I’d be interested in seeing how Meredith Wild and Jillian Liota’s writing evolves in future works.

In this small town romance, we are following Murphy and Wes as they navigate their complicated pasts as they collide in their current lives.

Murphy comes back to her hometown after she struggles to make it in LA. Sadly, her homecoming is far from well received by her brothers and father who run a winery. Murphy wants nothing more than to show her family that she can be helpful with the family business if given the chance, but they trust new chef Wes more than her.

Wes just moved from Chicago to northern California and lands a job at a new restaurant being opened on winery property. Little does he know, the damsel in distress that he helped recently is part of the family that now employs him. Struggling to separate his past discretions with his present feelings for Murphy, the two are constantly going back and forth in a will-they-won't-they tug of war.

Of course, being a romance novel, we know they will and when they do, the chemistry is off the charts. This is one of the only books I have ever read with a 69 scene and I was living for it. I am so excited to read more from this duo of authors.

Characters - 8 out of 10
Atmosphere - 10 out of 10
Writing - 9 out of 10
Plot - 8 out of 10
Intrigue - 9 out of 10
Logic - 10 out of 10
Enjoyment - 9 out of 10
CAWPILE Average Score - 9 out of 10
Star Rating - 5 out of 5

4.5 stars - A great start to a new series!

If you're looking for a romance that delves deep into family dynamics, this small-town gem is a must-read. Sweeping you into a picturesque vineyard setting, the drama and emotional highs and lows unfold, holding the reader captivated.

Nelson Hobbs and Savannah Peachwood deliver outstanding performances, breathing life into the story with their narration. Their voices perfectly capture the characters emotions, making the reading experience even more immersive.

This was a terrific introduction to the Hawthorne Vines series and I can't wait for more! For those who enjoy a compelling, heartfelt romance, this audiobook is available for free through Kindle Unlimited. Don't miss out on this beautifully told journey.

Bitter Truth is the first book in the Hawthorne Vines series and I enjoyed this one! It’s small town, set at her family’s vineyard, and a bit forbidden because he’s her new boss!

Murphy returns back to her hometown after living in the city for 9 years. She was an aspiring singer in L.A. but now she’s returning back to Rosewood with broken dreams. On her first day back, her car breaks down and Wes shows up to help change her tire. They both feel a little something there but go their separate ways and she ends up running into him again when she rolls on to her family’s vineyard. She finds out he’s the newly hired chef for the vineyard’s restaurant she’s there to help her brother open.

This has a lot of family dynamics with Murphy, her moody brother, and their father. Wes has some reasons for pushing her away as well, even though he’s interested. I really enjoyed the writing of this one, I haven’t read either author before but I liked this setting and the characters. We got some emotional elements to it as well which was nice. I’d definitely read more in this series! This is available on Kindle Unlimited with the read and listen feature.

I received an audio ALC, all thoughts are my own.

Coming back to her hometown was not on Murphy's agenda. But when she does, she is pleased new chef Wesley is there. But with the two working together to help get the family business booming again, romance has to be off the cards. Doesn't it? This was a solid slow burn romance. I loved how our two characters came together with their sparks evident from their first meeting. The audiobook was well narrated and I can't wait for more in this series.

Bitter Truth is a delightfully sweet and spicy small town romance. I was hooked from the very start. I fell in love with the characters. It is a little of a slow burn on the romance side and it does get frustrating when they keep pushing each other away as their chemistry is on point. The only thing, the smut might've been a little awkward(the narratord did make it better though), I think the book could've done without and been as good.

I really enjoyed the setting, the whole family even if they were pretty crappy in the beginning. I loved how they ended up all coming together and growing together. Wes & Murphy are magnetic, their connection is great and I loved how their story progressed. There is definitely a lot happening in this book, but for me it didn't feel like it was too much.

I really enjoyed this book and am very excited to continue the series to see what happens to the family. I want to see all their HEA!

🎧 The narration by Nelson Hobbs & Savannah Peachwood was amazing. I love both these narrators and together I thought they fit so well. My only thing was that you can hear pages turning, you can hear her taking breaths and stopping, it was a little weird, I feel like that could've been edited a little better.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @brilliancepublishing, @meredithwild & @jillianliota for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I was hoping for a more slow burn romance for this book, so having the first kiss at 4% (GAWDANGIT! *throws hat on the floor*) was a bit of a ‘ah man’ moment for me. I’m a sucker for FMC coming back home to the small town with family drama tropes.. but the family was so freaking irritating. They seemed so mean for no reason. Then the hot and cold romance in the beginning was giving me whiplash. I enjoyed the last half more. I did think the romance was rushed and the “love” was unbelievable to me. There was so heavy topics in here, again felt rushed. I liked that both the MC’s had troubled pasts that contributed to who they were today, I wish we had a little more exploration with that.
The narrators did a great job.

My first book from these authors and I really enjoyed it!

I loved that the conflicts weren’t too high stakes. Their first meeting was sweet and funny.

I loved how their relationship progressed. How it didn’t feel like they just jumped into the relationship too quickly.

Murphy standing up to her brother was great. I love when the mcs don’t let family walk all over them.

The “yes chef” moments were delicious. 🤭

Wish we’d gotten more of those 😆😆

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this arc!

What a great book! This one had me blocked right away. Great storyline and great writing! Perfect summer read. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Also my first by this author but will not be my last!

While I liked some parts of this, I feel like the authors tried to cram way too many tropes, plot lines, backstory pieces into this novel in too small of a space. There was just too much going on the entire way through and, because of that, it felt like there was nothing done incredibly well.

It was pretty atypical for the romances flooding the scene lately without offering anything remarkable to make it stand out from the crowd.

I liked the way that their backstories did almost mirror each other. I liked the failed dreams and trying to move on from them part. But I think it did make the characters a little too morose for the entire novel. The female narrator was so depressing to listen to that it never felt like an actual romance.

There's potential here but it needed a few more passes through in the edits and revisions part.

It has a Cute story and loveable characters with a real country vineyard feeling. Wine country, a chef and a singer friends to lovers family trauma great book.

I loved this story! I found it so interesting how Murphy and Wes had such parallel experiences in their pasts even if it was in 2 different work environments. I loved the bench-the chats had there, the reason it was made and placed there. Overall such a well written story.

I received an ALC for my honest review. I enjoyed listening to this story. This is a small town, slow burn, forbidden romance.
Murphy is headed home after a disappointing 9 years in LA trying to make it in the music industry. Just at the edge of her hometown she meets Wes at a gas station, where he changes her tire. They share a few minutes afterwards drinking wine coolers that Murphy bought as a thank you, and Wes is on his way. The connection between them is undeniable. Murphy isn’t happy about going home, but when she pulls up to the family home she see Wes standing there with her brother. She then finds out her brother has hired Wes as head chef at a restaurant that will be opening soon at the vineyard. Murphy and Wes know they should stay away from each other and fight the attraction as long as they can.
Meredith Wild and Jillian Liota did a great job writing this and I am looking forward to the next book to see where they take this story.