From Bittersweet romance to… a British local. Witchy women and a surprise for a woman who figured her adopted family wanted nothing to do with her. Witch is When it All Began by Adele Abbott is the first in the series A Witch P.I.

This mystery series is actually way more extensive than I realized when I came across this as a free download. I do believe there are 13 at current count of these. The estimated read time for it (typical whatever) was a little over 4 hours so I think it is classified as a novel. It is cute, humorous, not much on the romance really… yet… but the main character – Jill Gooder is an interesting individual surrounded by people who are worth reading more about.

Jill has taken over her father’s P.I. office after his death and employs (I use that term loosely as with a downturn in their clients post change over Mrs. V works for free knitting like crazy and fighting with the office cat – a one- eyed specimen named Winky) a single receptionist. She is determined to continue the family legacy and solve any mystery thrown her way. Apparently including that of her own past.

Jill is adopted and very happy with her sister. It is not until her birth mother sends out a message requesting her presence at her death bed that things get… well… witchy.

A legacy she has yet to fully learn about, a family to acquaint herself with as well as mundane murders and problems to solve. The mystery in this story was interesting with a bit of a surprise solution. The main character has a healthy sense of humour and a stubborn streak a mile long. There is only a dash of a potential romance and a good strong mystery going on that is intriguing. The magic and the mundane characters are all quite interesting. So if you like magic, mystery all wrapped in a very British package this could be a series for you! 

Ok so right off the bat… random Amazon freebie… story line interesting, characters endearing, romance (naturally)… slight smut warning. Ok – maybe not slight. More like, it catches you towards the end of the story. They are loving and sweet but… DESCRIPTIVE. I do believe you can skim and skip. BUT if this makes you uncomfortable or turns you off a story. I am warning you now. Sexual activities will ensue!

And with that… onto the rest of the review!

Bittersweet is a contemporary romance novel by Noelle Adams. There are a few underlying themes… grief, healing, finding a new love. Main character Zoe starts the story many years before her current situation where she is friends with Adam, a somewhat awkward but highly intelligent man. She is then introduced (by him) to his cousin Josh and falls in love. Fast forward years to the present where she has married and been widowed after Josh falls ill. Leaving her with a young son (Logan) and a rather distanced relationship with Adam.

Much of this story is dealing with Zoe’s grief process and her letting go of things… Josh’s possessions that do not harbor close emotional ties, their home that really is not suitable for her new situation. Learning to move on and to still be strong enough to be a mother and deal with Josh’s legacy.

Bittersweet is a gentle romantic and emotional ride. I wouldn’t say the feelings that progress are a surprise, rather a comfortable story with some ups and downs but a lot of love, some laughter and a few tears.

I personally enjoyed this book (well I did skip and skim the hot and heavy bits). BUT if sexual content makes you uncomfortable this may not be the book for you. On the other side it did feel like an honest telling of the story of a woman who has to figure out how to move on after being devastated by her spouse’s death (granted she DOES have a bit more… money and such than most). The characters are sweet and broken, the romance a nice pace and the ending quite satisfying. Definitely worth it if you enjoy these sorts of books. 

I will start off with a warning, there are multiple sexual encounters in the second half of this novel. They are rather detailed but not overtly rude. However, the relationship does require these encounters to occur for some progression and some of the conflict.

Anyway that is the warning… Bittersweet by Noelle Adams is an emotional piece based around the life of Zoe, a newly widowed mother of an infant son and her journey from the absolute devastation of losing her husband to becoming a woman ready to love again. With her husband’s cousin Adam (a friend prior to her marriage and even prior to meeting her husband) at her side emotional upheaval is inevitable but so is growth and healing.

What I love about this book is that you feel like the people are realistic (ok the cousin is VERY rich and Zoe herself very comfortable so some of the day to day concerns of most people do not apply) and the timeline feels like it would be possible. There is no sudden wake up realization that life is fine… no excessive and instant love occurring.

Bittersweet brings you along as Zoe works through her thoughts and emotions… You fall in love with baby Logan and you see the amazing man behind the facade in Adam. All in all a terrific read, if you can deal with some sexual content (again I skimmed and skipped myself).

Bittersweet