Review: Bittersweet by Carrie Aarons (The Ashton Family #1)

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

Carrie Aarons's has gotten her new series off to a great start! Bittersweet is the first book in the Ashton Family series, and it had a lot of the things I look for in romances in general and series starters in particular--main characters who have chemistry, witty banter and entertaining back and forth, notable supporting characters, and a setting that makes me want to stay awhile. Patrick Ashton and Cassandra Mauer may not have necessarily been the Romeo and Juliet of Hope Crest, Pennsylvania, but there was definitely no love lost between her late father and his family's patriarch. His family wants her land, but there's one thing that Patrick seems to want even more--her heart.

This was an easy-breezy read, without any over-the-top drama that I find rather tedious to get through. I quite enjoyed getting to know Cassandra and Patrick better. They were strong individuals who, once they knew what they wanted, fought with all their might for it. I appreciated the fact that their relationship wasn't exactly something that was immediately accepted because I felt that it brought the main characters closer, both standing up for what they had. There was also a bit of suspense to the story that I think made things even more entertaining. All in all, Bittersweet was a noteworthy read, and it sets the bar for the rest of the Ashton Family series. This gets five stars.

Release Date: 07 July 2023

Date Read: 03 July 2023

Learn more about Carrie Aarons.

Pre-order Bittersweet on Amazon.