Bitter Over Sweet

by Melissa Llanes Brownlee

Hawaiian native Tita works to escape a vicious cycle of poverty and abuse, only to realize along the way that life can not only be better, it can be whatever she wants it to be...

Take a deep dive into the lives of real Hawaiians as we follow Tita and other native women living and struggling against abuse and despair in a world controlled by tourism' s long tail.

These stories of resilience offer readers a glimpse behind the bird-of-paradise curtains and a look at what' s not in the travel magazines.

What is it like to live day in and day out in a place that everyone else considers paradise? To live within America but not be considered American enough?

Bitter Over Sweet gifts us a rare, authentic indigenous voice speaking about these often misunderstood islands. It' s Night of the Living Rez meets Lilo and Stitch.

"A stunning collection. I'm a sucker for flash, for voice-y lit, for the unexpected, for the problematic, for Brown girls, for pop culture, and for playing with form, and Llanes Brownlee brings this all together beautifully in Bitter over Sweet. It's a feat of fresh style, intricate language, imagination, grit, and so much heart."

—DEESHA PHILYAW, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

142 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Bronwen Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of flash fiction, revolving around the life of Tita and her family. I have never visited Hawaii but I got such a sense of Tita's world - her annoying mother and her siblings, the food she eats, the warmth of her extended family, her experiences with boyfriends and growing up, but also the difficulty of living in poverty, while around her tourists roast themselves on the local beaches. Inevitably with so many stories in a collection, some are flashier than others but overall this is a five-star book.

[Nina Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy it is to explore the world of Tita and her family within one stunning collection of flash. Melissa Llanes Brownlee brings together works of flash that balance the familiarity of everyday family struggles with the clash of Hawaiian cultural identity. It mirrors an immigrant's journey but in Tita's case, they are 100% American in a state where "She doesn't want to be their good little Hawaiian."

You feel Tita's struggle to meet the expectations and ideals about weight or image that should never have been enforced on a young girl. Each flash shines, and together they bring to life a lifetime of lived experiences that shape a world with a depth beyond sandy beaches and vacation vibes.

[Timothy Boudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dazzling collection, delivering a deep emotional impact in a small space. No one writes micros like Melissa Llanes Brownlee!

[Jan Stinchcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a pleasure to travel to the Hawaiian Islands (and beyond) with Melissa Llanes Brownlee.

[Nicole Mau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flash fiction has certainly been having a moment these last few years. Brownlee's novel in flash reads like a photo album of moments and memories, traumatic, joyful, human. Although there were stories that left me wanting more, I appreciated the immediacy of the language and how each story was weighted with emotion. A wonderful read.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of these stories connected to Tita but the connection didn't always seem obvious. I need to read up on what a few of the Hawaiian words mean that were used in the book. I liked the short story/article format of the book.

[Julia Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flash fiction centered on Hawaii, touching on everything from climate change to colonialism, filtered through the lens of local families who seem to be just scraping by. It's a challenge to say so much in short pieces, but here it is executed beautifully.