My rating: 4/5
Beautifully written, Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight is an inspiring story that integrates themes of family, forgiveness, and emotional healing, that results in an incredibly memorable novel that evokes hope.
Enriched with likeable and noteworthy characters, Bitter and Sweet illustrates the importance of familial bonds and the significance of forgiveness in preventing the decay of bitterness from consuming meaningful relationships. Written in a dual timeline format, readers are transported from the early 1920’s to present-day in recurrent chapters. Main characters Mariah Clark and Sabrina Holland are sisters in the present-day period, whose strained relationship is confronted as they are summoned to the smalltown of Georgetown, South Carolina by their grandmother Gail Cooper Holland, to help save the failing family restaurant. Brought together by their love of their grandparents, the sisters are forced to work together to revitalize the business. Throughout this task, they both begin a journey of emotional healing from past experiences, that allows them to accept unconditional love, grace, and self-assurance of God’s love for them.
Tabitha Cooper is the main character from the early 1920’s whose naivete and longing for acceptance lands her in a complicated relationship apart from her family. An unfortunate situation forces her to financially provide for herself and her children. Utilizing her God given gift of cooking, she is determined to secure a stable livelihood, and eventually establish her own restaurant. Sheer faith and perseverance prove fruitful to her family, as well as the generations following her.
Author Rhonda McKnight is a great storyteller, whose talent shines in this novel. This well-paced story was a delight to read. Christian faith content was woven intermittently within the story. Elements of romance were depicted in a clean way, and there were no explicit activities or language in the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, and I look forward to reading more works by the author. I highly recommend this.
