Bittersweet Always by Ella Fields

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There are many romance novels which touch on the theme of mental illness. There are many that do the issue justice, and some that don’t. There are those that glorify, and those that objectify. Heck, there are even those that have no freaking idea what it truly is.

Ella Fields' latest release, Bittersweet Always, does none of the above. No, this novel gives honesty, integrity, and empathy to an otherwise stigmatised issue. Bittersweet Always teaches the reader what it’s like to love a person who struggles to love themself. It shows what it’s like to care for someone who’s constantly trapped inside their own head. And I don’t know if it’s because this topic hits so close to home, or if it’s Ella’s signature style, but my heart will never be the same again. This book tore it out my chest only to replace it in a slightly different spot. So with every beat, every pulse, every skip, I’m reminded of Pippa and Toby’s story.

And what a story it is.

Sometimes it’s a fundamental truth that two people are meant to be together. Sometimes the stars align, it’s preordained, life deems it so and so it is. But where Bittersweet Always deviates from common romance tropes, is in exploring the notion that just because Pippa and Toby are in love, this doesn’t mean their relationship is all rainbows and freaking butterflies. And the beauty of this is, their journey mirrors real life so succinctly it’s hard to determine where the pages end and the reader begins. This phenomenon is both amazing and gut wrenching because as we all know love can be hard, cruel, and bitter. On the other hand, it can also be sweet, beautiful, and so absolute the word itself doesn’t even begin to encompass its emotional range.

Don’t worry, Ella takes our hand as she walks us through the darkest of places. She lets us see for ourselves the devastation love can yield, but also the joy it can bring to those brave enough to experience it. And finally, she leads us to where love, true love, is one part bitter and three parts sweet.




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