Bitter and Sweet

A Lowcountry Novel

By: Rhonda McKnight

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Angel Pean, Lynnette R. Freeman

". . . a poignant story of sisterhood, motherhood, and new love found in old places. McKnight's writing is as delectable as the Gullah cuisine at the heart of the novel." —Denny S. Bryce, bestselling author of The Other Princess and Wild Women and the Blues

From the beloved author of The Thing About Home comes a dual timeline tale of Lowcountry flavor, family, grief, secrets, and the sweet redemption that lies within the bonds of sisterhood.

-The Present-

When summoned to Georgetown, South Carolina, sisters Mariah Clark and Sabrina Holland both assume their ailing grandfather's health has gotten worse. Neither expects their grandmother's undeniable request—save the family restaurant.

Mariah is at a crossroad in her life. After being dumped by her husband and forced to walk away from their diner that she helped rescue from bankruptcy, bitter feelings consume her. Even though the restaurant has been in the family for eighty-six years, giving her all to another struggling business isn't something she wants to do.

Living out of her van and striving for a fresh start, Sabrina yearns for stability for herself and her daughter and a chance to turn her baking hustle into a bona-fide business. The family restaurant may be just the blessing she needs—but as old tensions and angry disagreements resurface, Sabrina wonders if her sister will let her have a say.

-The Past-

After falling victim to a love she thought would last a lifetime, Tabitha Cooper finds herself away from home and struggling to survive in Charleston in the early twentieth century. She is determined to turn corn into cornbread and to take care of her children the best way she knows how—by serving food that's good for the soul—and along the way forges a path that leaves a legacy of success for generations to come.

Through letters that reveal Tabitha's complicated past, the sisters discover truths that just might be the right recipe to mend their hearts—if they can find a way to savor the blessing of today and leave the bitter aftertaste of old memories behind them.

©2024 Rhonda McKnight (P)2024 Thomas Nelson

Phenomenal from start to finish

Don’t know where to begin…the narrators, the characters, the storylines… all that things. Prepare to go on the journey with this family

A Southern Gem

This story was an amazing journey. The complexity of relationships, strength, forgiveness, self-esteem, loss, and love. Thank you Rhonda McKnight for sharing your gift, and using your pen to empower and encourage women. I wish I could rate more than five stars. The narrators were awesome and embodied this journey!

The Detailed Story Telling

Loved the story of this generational family. It had everything from history, race, slavery, colorism, trauma, Love, determination and so much more. Loved all of it!

A great read

This book was so inspiring I wish that this book was made into a television series or put on the big screen. The characters in this book are so real. And the subjects that they deal with also pronoun I love listening to this book. The storyline is great. I give it five stars. It kept debate you from the beginning to the very end.

Narration

Great complex story. Loved toggling back and forth in time. Strong character development. Narrators were phenomenal and really worked for each role.

This is life, Bitter and Sweet

I loved this book. I wanted to punch Mariah in the face for most of the book.

It’s a story about forgiveness, renewed faith, the damaging effects of colorism and shame, survival and resilience. Also, learned a lot of the Gullah as their culture.

Just like her last book, “The Thing About Home”, this book made me remember my summers growing up in the country and miss my grandparents.

Excellent Narration; Beautiful Story

As a South Carolina native, I cringe every time I see an audio book supposedly set in my home state - especially the low country. Most of the voice actors miss things like pronouncing “Muscadine” with a long ‘I’. Missing that kind of nuance distracts from an honest setting. This audio performance nailed it and turned a good book into a beautiful story.

Read it!!!

10s across the board! This story is so rich and so full of love, heartache and healing! I know Mariah is a widely hated character but I personally loved her character development and perspective shift by the end of the story. I have always love a multi-generational story and this story proved that love over again. Black women endure so much and still find space to hold each other up and fill each other with love and community.

Such a good read. The narrators were spot on as well!

Great Book!!

I loved the story of black women defying the odds and healing through therapy.

Family love

Lovely story told by narrator. Easy to care for all the characters. Highly recommended. Reading the next story by this author.