Bitter Sweet Heart by H. Hunting

Synopsis

Bitter Sweet Heart by H. Hunting
Publication Date: September 1, 2022 (will be available in Kindle Unlimited)

From the outside looking in, I live a charmed life: hockey legend for a father, my own promising future in the league, a great family, awesome friends. It’s not untrue, but it’s not quite that simple either.

My dad’s advice has always been to make hockey my number-one priority—at least until I make it to the pros. So, going into my senior year of college, I have a plan. I’ll put in the effort required to pass my classes, play hockey like my life depends on it, and avoid relationships. All I have to do is stay focused on the end game, and I’ll walk away with a degree and into a career in the NHL.

It should be easy.

But when a woman literally floats into my dock, just before summer ends and my senior year begins, I can’t resist one last hookup. What harm could a one-night stand do? It’s not like we even exchanged numbers.

Everything is fine until I run into her on campus.

It’s a big school. I should be able to avoid her.

Except she happens to be in my class.

And she’s not a student.

She’s my professor.

@agrandromance
Bitter Sweet Heart by H. Hunting is angsty and beautiful. #booktok #romancebooktok #romancebooks #steamybooks #bookrec #AGrandRomance #fyp #Canada @helenahunting
♬ Virtually – Caity Baser

My Review

Bitter Sweet Heart by H. Hunting

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You Will Adore Bitter Sweet Heart by H. Hunting

Read “Bitter Sweet Heart” if you like:
✔ M/F contemporary new adult romance
✔ Sports Romance (hockey)
✔ Student – Teacher
✔ Children of Pucked and All In A Lie for a Lie series
✔ Age-gap (Older woman – younger man)
✔ Angst
✔ Mental Health rep
✔ Dual Points of View
Note: Can be read as complete standalone but I highly recommend reading the previous book in the series before this book (which is Little Lies) for full enjoyment

Helena Hunting (H. Hunting) is a one-click author for me. I love her Pucked and All In series and these characters have a special place in my heart. The first book in this series, Little Lies, is a beautiful and angsty book and Bitter Sweet Heart is a wonderful follow-up to that book. Bitter Sweet Heart gave me a huge book hangover and it took me a few days to get over it.

CW: sexual harassment, emotional abuse, gaslighting, anxiety and panic attacks, past kidnapping discussed in detail

Maverick Waters is hanging out with his friends Kodiak and BJ at the lake house before beginning his senior year of college. When Kody and BJ leave, Mav is left alone on Pearl Lake, soaking up the sun and contemplating his future. A woman floating on a paddle board drifts over to his dock and they have a very adorable meet-cute. She introduces herself as Clover and they flirt a little. They later meet up at a beach party and have a very memorable night at her cottage. I just want to point out that Maverick is described as his father, Alex Water’s, clone. In every way. Iykyk. Maverick slips out and leaves Clover a note while she’s sleeping the next morning.

Five weeks later, Maverick walks into Clover’s creative writing seminar at his college where she’s just taken over for the previous professor. Yes, Clover is now Maverick’s professor. Uh-oh.

A few weeks after that Maverick is not doing well in the class. He makes things even more awkward than they already are when he tries to talk to Clover about his grades. He’s “kind of a hot mess”. Mav is persistent and keeps trying to connect with Clover despite the danger to them both if someone finds out about their burgeoning friendship.

In this follow-up to Little Lies we see where Maverick’s head was during that story and we get to know him on a much deeper level. The scary circumstances that drove Little Lies had a significant impact on Maverick and we get into how it affected him in Bitter Sweet Heart.

What happened to his sister, Lavender, traumatized the whole family in different ways although Maverick reveals that they’ve never really talked about what happened either individually or as a family. Clover and Maverick start to connect when he opens up to her about Lavender’s abduction and his role in it and the guilt he still feels.

“The weight of it still cloaks Maverick in sadness…he wears the guilt like a crown of thorns.”

We also get to experience Maverick’s relationships with Lavender, Kody, BJ and his Mom (Violet) and Dad (Alex). It was so rewarding to observe these relationships and the conversations he has with the important people in his life. These conversations allow us to know Maverick and his friends and family and to see how they all begin to transform themselves and their relationships with one another by having them.

Maverick is a person who is very protective of the people he loves. He’s always putting others first. We get to see him develop and evolve as a person as he faces his demons. We also experience the progress of the beautiful relationship he has with Clover. I don’t want to talk too much about Clover as I think it’s best to read about her blind.

Bitter Sweet Heart is a heart-wrenching and angsty romance filled with moments of light and love that you will adore.

I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.

View all my reviews

About H. Hunting (Helena)

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She writes contemporary romance ranging from new adult angst to romantic sports comedy.