“Bittersweet Creek” is a modern take on a mash up of “Romeo and Juliet” and the story of the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. It is a funny story which is told in first person but which alternates points of view between the two main characters. At times, the switching back and forth became a little confusing (because it happened fairly often) but on the whole, it was a good way to tell the story.
Romy Satterfield and Julian McElroy are on opposite sides of the multi-generational feud between the Satterfields and the McElroys. They bucked the family way and ended up falling in love with each other while they were still in high school. They secretly marry and then split up. They end up not seeing each other for ten years and never get divorced. This is the part of the story that is a little weak for me. It doesn’t seem plausible that they would let ten years go by without doing something about the marriage, seeing or speaking with each other or at least telling someone else what had happened.
Romy comes back to town to help her father out after he has been injured and the two run into each other and sparks again begin to fly. The story proceeds as you might predict but with a number of surprises – most of which deal with very serious issues and turn this story from a light-hearted romance into a more serious commentary.
I have read and enjoyed “The Happy Hour Choir”. This new story is once again set in the town of Ellery and there are a few appearances of some of the same characters in this story. This book ended up being a bit more serious than the previous one because of the issues involved.
I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Kensington, via Netgalley.
