This was a great creepy book. When Ruth (mom) gets kicked out of her nursing home her daughter takes in the burden of her care. What she is taking on is much more than she expected.

This book was not my jam and I had a hard time getting and staying into it. I think that this was a me issue and not an author or book issue. I will for sure give Mina Hardy another try in the future.

#BitterIstheHeart
#NetGalley

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was perfectly chilling in all the best ways. I enjoyed every second of this. It was a slow burn that added to the suspense but I can see that turning some people off. Overall I very much liked it and would read more by this author. The narrator did a good job as well.

Reading BITTER IS THE HEART in October was definitely the correct move - it was creepy and thrilling. I constantly felt like the book was inching towards something shocking/surprising, and so my guard was up the entire time. I truly enjoyed this read from an author I had never read from before.

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Bitter is the Heart took me by surprise. This story grabbed hold of me from the first chapter and never let go. It was shocking, upsetting, disgusting, disturbing, toe-curling and eye-opening all at once.

In this novel we follow Tamar Glass, a woman haunted by childhood trauma who suddenly finds herself stuck caring for her abusive elderly mother, Ruth. Tamar as a main character had my heart from the start. When I say she is haunted by her childhood, I mean it. There's so much to unpack as far as her past relationship with her mother, as well as her father's death, and even her relationship with her sister, Lovey.

Tamar is also starting to feel the effects of menopause and she has been through a divorce and is now on her own for the first time as an adult. Then mother arrives. Ruth, Tamar's mother, is reintroduced to her life in a disturbing way. Tamar wakes one night to find her Mom looming in the dark of her bedroom. Ruth had been living in an Assisted Living facility 15-miles away and she had never been to Tamar's house. How the heck did she end up there?

That scene set the tone for the entire novel. Hardy built out this story so well. She built the drama continuously. It's brutal at times, but I was with Tamar all the way. I think some interactions between Tamar and Ruth could be shocking to some, but I feel like they felt natural and made perfect sense to me.

I feel like this book could have hit especially hard for me because I am close to the same point in my life that Tamar is, and while I can't say I've been through the family struggles that she has, I can relate to a lot of the other aspects of her experiences. I love that after her divorce she had returned to her hometown after a long period of time away. This did allow her to reconnect with people from her past, including her high school boyfriend, Miguel, who plays an important role in this story.Incidentally, I also had a hs-boyfriend named Miguel...coincidence? Maybe...

There were so many scenes in this that left me with absolute chills, jaw on the floor, completely disturbed and needing more information. Once Ruth gets kicked out of her Assisted Living facility and moves in with Tamar, there was no turning back. It was high speed ahead.

Additionally, I loved the religious elements of this. Tamara is Jewish, and the Jewish faith was incorporated into this story in a big way. I had never read anything where it was done to this extent, and with this many impactful conversations. I feel like this will stand out in my memory because of that representation.

The only negative I can think of was there was a scene involving a puppy that I had to skip through. You'll see it coming, Readers sensitive to animal content beware. Besides that, I was completely enamored with this story.

I noticed the synopsis recommends this for fans of Cassandra Khaw and T. Kingfisher. The Khaw comp I don't get at all. I do see Kingfisher, for sure. While Hardy doesn't include as much dark humor as Kingfisher does, the Domestic Horror elements and Tamar's dry delivery of her thoughts do line up with things such as A House with Good Bones, The Hollow Places and The Twisted Ones.

When I was reading this I kept thinking of Ainslie Hogarth's Motherthing, which I really enjoyed a couple years ago. I ended up connecting with this one more though because I feel like this has a more cohesive and traditional narrative style, which was easier for me to follow. I also saw my friend, Crystal, compare this to My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon and I completely agree with that. I can't believe I didn't think of that myself while reading it.

If you enjoyed any of the books or authors listed above, you need to check this out. If you enjoy Domestic Horror, or Horror that incorporates Religious elements, you need to pick this up. If you just love Horror and always enjoy diving into a fun, disturbing story, you need to pick this up.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audiobook was so well done. I loved this and can't wait for more from Mina Hardy!

Big thanks to NetGalley for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fantastic! The premise was unique and creepy and the story was well paced to keep the reader interested. One of the few horror books I have read that didn't ruin the story with the ending.

I was truly impressed with this author! The representation of how childhood trauma can affect us into adulthood was spot on. I loved the way she was able to put such a clear picture in your head of what is happening. When she describes something scary or disgusting she does it in the best way possible. I have read a LOT of books and I have never physically gagged before...this book did that!

I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for the early audiobook of Bitter is the Heart!

I got this one on a whim after not hearing anyone talk about it & I’m so glad I did! This is a very “wtf is actually happening?!” kind of story that kept me guessing until the end!

Bitter is the Heart is a great, spooky read that had me hooked from almost the beginning! It was a bit of a slow burn, but the story never felt too slow or meandering. Tamar and her family were fascinating, and her relationship with her mother had me stressed out to no end! There were a couple truly disturbing scenes, but for the most part, I didn’t feel like there was anything too gory - mostly just creepy!

The audiobook’s narrator was great, and I would readily listen to her narrate something else.

Trigger Warning: animal injury/death. What I’m about to say might bother people who want to go COMPLETELY blind into a book, but I don’t consider it to be a spoiler. There are a couple of brief mentions of animals dying or nearly dying. I am a big ol’ baby and cannot handle animals being hurt, and it did make me consider stopping the book; however, I pushed through the two (I think) brief mentions in the first half and I’m glad I did.

All in all, I recommend this one if you like spooky reads featuring family drama!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Mina Hardy for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Tamar fled her abusive mother years earlier and has to take care of her after the mother is kicked out of her assisted living home having become abusive. Tamar's sister has moved very far away as her husband had to take a job across country. Tamar has no choice in the matter and things just get more bizarre by the minute with her mother in her home. Tamar has night terrors and finds herself losing time and having blackouts. This is very full of painful childhood abuse moments which may be difficult for some to read. Overall it was a good story and was definitely creepy.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. The premise sounded like it was going to be a good, creepy story but it ended up being super slow with unlikable characters. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it wasn’t the book for me.

"Bitter is the Heart" by Mina Hardy is a family drama and horror. It's mostly a psychological horror, but there is some physical violence as well.

Tamar is about 50 years old and has moved back to her hometown to be close to her sister. Then, the sister's family moved cross country. Tamar found herself as the one in charge of her elderly mother. One night, she wakes up to find her mother, Ruth, standing over her in the dark. Soon, her mother is evicted from the assisted living home for very confusing and inscrutable reasons.

With no other options, Tamar has to bring her mother home to live with her. In childhood, her mother was abusive to her. Tamar had moved out at 18 years old.

Weird things happen more and more. Can't tell you any more without spoilers. But for those of you who have - OMG that hair thing?!!! This is a very disturbing book! If you can handle that, you might like this one. It's well written.

Characters - 4/5 (all unlikable and messed up)
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 3/5
Pacing - 2/5 slow in parts
Unputdownability - 2/5
Enjoyment - 2/5
Narration - 4/5 by Hallee Bee Bard
Cover - 3/5
Overall - 24/8 = 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Mina Hardy for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The author did a wonderful job at incorporating tense and spooky scenes throughout the book, even from the beginning. It led to an impending sense of dread and a solid build of tension even though it was a somewhat slow burn. Related to this, the incorporation of the strained mother/daughter relationship and the pain and trauma from that was excellently done. This is a heavy focus of the book and at times it was somewhat difficult to stomach just how awful Tamar’s mother was being, but to me that was an indication of how well the author wrote.

I also quite enjoyed that Tamar’s family was Jewish. This aspect was incorporated in a way that felt realistic. It added much to the characters and the story overall, and I enjoyed the use of Jewish folklore as well. This work is a bit of a slow burn, with more of a focus on past trauma and relationships than on the horror aspects until closer to the end. While I quite liked this and thought that the work had some strong, tense, and spooky moments, people looking for hardcore horror will possibly be disappointed.

If you’re interested in a darker read that explores generational trauma with strong characters, then I recommend checking this one out. The narrator did a fine job bringing this book to life, and it was an enjoyable listen. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was such a unique book. It was a little bit domestic/family drama and a little bit spooky demonic possession or haunting. It's quite hard to label as just one thing which is one of the reasons it's such a good read.

Tamar has recently been placed in the position of having to take her mother into her home to care for her. It's supposed to be a temporary situation but none of the care homes are returning Tamar's calls and she's starting to feel desperate. It wouldn't be such a bad thing if Tamar and her mother had a good relationship but they have the opposite. They are dysfunctional with a capital "D."

Tamar ran away from home when she was younger and didn't look back until she returned a few years ago. That wasn't to be closer to her mother - - it was to be closer to her sister and her family. And as irony would have it, once Tamar moved back, her sister and her family moved away for her husband's job. Thus leaving Tamar in charge of her mother and all her issues.

This was a clever storyline. I liked how the author explored demonic possession from the viewpoint of the Jewish faith. It's so often done from the Catholic or Christian perspective and the point was made in one exchange that it would be different depending on your faith. It was a brilliant statement and really lent some heft to this plot in my opinion.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I was also given an early copy of the audiobook for review. I found it to be quite enjoyable as the narration felt like it really fit the characters and kept me engrossed in the storyline. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook! This one delivers a decent thriller with a good premise, but it doesn’t fully stand out from the crowd. The characters are interesting, though at times a bit predictable, and the pacing keeps things moving, but some plot twists felt underwhelming. The narration is solid, which helped keep me engaged, but the story itself didn’t leave a lasting impact.

While the premise sounds creepy, it does not quite deliver. There are definitely moments where it shines through but the story was slow moving and not a lot happened? The characters could have been more dynamic and seemed more like general fiction than horror. So maybe I was not the right audience for this audiobook. The narrator was fine but didn't add anything special.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC.

So much I want to say on this book without spoiling it. I will be thinking about this book for a while.

Obviously, this story is a metaphor for generational trauma. Dealing with and ending the cycle.

There are many stories out there about children that make you question if they are evil or possessed. I enjoyed the twist on that trope that it was an elderly women you questioned instead.
I also liked the glimpse of the Jewish culture and their spirits /demons / traditions as I had never read a horror book with a Jewish main character. It was refreshing to not fall back on Christian/Catholic lore regarding potential possesion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audiobook for review.

Bitter is the heart by Mina Hardy

When Tamar has to allow her abusive mother to move in with her temporarily, all the old memories resurface but the things happening now can’t be explained and remembering what happened in her mothers house all those years ago… Makes her wonder just what other evils were lurking within those walls.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the right mix of horror and thriller with some excellent characters. The pace wasn’t fast enough for my freaky brain but this book was fantastically scary on a whole other level. I thought all the threads came together nicely at the end and definitely a must read for the spooky season.

4.5 stars

This was a creepy one because who doesn’t think their Mother is possessed at some point in their life? Well unfortunately for Tamar this is true and she has spent years running away from her Mother just to get pulled into having to take care of her and then bringing her into her own home. That’s when all kinds of strange things start to happen and take over her used to be simple life

3.5⭐️

I almost DNF this book! I am so glad I didn’t!!!

This book has very slow burn beginning, but once it gets to the crescendo it’s really good.
I don’t think I ever read or watched a horror involving Jewish demonic believes.
It was very interesting to dive in to a new world.

There are some reviews that are saying that the author didn't do enough, because the ending went hard, even though there were no hints....

All I have to say to them is "Have you ever seen a paranormal horror movie?"

The author kept an amazing pace, slowly building the story and the signs of things to come. Within a chapter, I already felt like this was within ths realm of a very specific horror movie. (Not going to say which one, because spoilers. You'll know which one, once you get to a certain spot.)

This read was therapeutic, as someone who has dealt with having an abusive birth giver that nobody wanted to see/believe was near evil at times. Though, that subject matter mixed with the tension and suspense did cause me to take a break in a couple of places. It was definitely worth going back every time, though.

The only part that I didn't care for was that there were a couple of loose ends that the story didn't cover. So, they will float out there in the aether forever, just twisting away.