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Bitter Root
Adi Bergeron doesn’t want to be discovered. Discovery could lead to her arrest or worse. She just wants to keep flying under the radar, safe and anonymous. She may have to give up the life she’s built for herself when the restaurant she works in is chosen to be featured in a culinary magazine.
Reporter Griffith McNaulty has had a rocky year. She’s struggling to rebuild herself after having her reputation destroyed and her heart broken by a previous interview subject. She’s jaded and hesitant to accept the flimsy story Adi presents as her past. The relationship that develops between them cements Griffith’s need to find Adi’s truth. Can she get to the root of Adi’s fear or will the past destroy them both?
Reporter Griffith McNaulty has had a rocky year. She’s struggling to rebuild herself after having her reputation destroyed and her heart broken by a previous interview subject. She’s jaded and hesitant to accept the flimsy story Adi presents as her past. The relationship that develops between them cements Griffith’s need to find Adi’s truth. Can she get to the root of Adi’s fear or will the past destroy them both?
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2016
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Laydin Michaels
4 books11 followersLaydin Michaels is a native Houstonian with deep Louisiana roots. She finds joy and happiness in the loving arms of her wife, MJ. Her life is also enriched by her son, CJ, and her four fur children. Her love of the written word started very early. She has been a voracious reader all her life. Forsaken is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 17, 2017
This is the author's second book and in many ways it is not as good as the first (Forsaken). I struggled to finish it. The plot has a lot of illogical and unconvincing places. The whole story about hiding identity is thin and full of holes. I was saying "no way" many times while reading.
There is zero chemistry between the main characters (Addison and Griffith), and Griffith is in particular annoying and plain unlikable. Addison is pushed around by the intentions and needs of others practically until the end of the book.
The ending is rushed, but I welcomed it.
I cannot recommend Bitter Root.
2 stars
July 3, 2016
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
There is zero chemistry between the main characters (Addison and Griffith), and Griffith is in particular annoying and plain unlikable. Addison is pushed around by the intentions and needs of others practically until the end of the book.
The ending is rushed, but I welcomed it.
I cannot recommend Bitter Root.
2 stars
July 3, 2016
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
July 3, 2016
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Location New Iberia Louisiana.
Characters
Two point of views. Adi Bergeron and Griffith McNautly.
Merley Adison ‘Dinks’ ‘Adi’ Bergeron Nerbass - chef of a small restaurant in Louisiana named ‘Boiling Pot’. Ran away from home when she was 14. Is now 22.
Griffith McNaulty - is a reporter. Her reputation is currently smeared due to something that happened with an interview subject (something to do with a 'Tabitha Moore' who was a 'criminal' and had 'deliberatly subverted the truth' and her article had 'cost innocent people their life savings'). She is looking for more than just a puff piece.
Bertie Durall - is a 74 year old woman who found Adi curled up next to a dumpster outside the Boiling Pot. Calls Adi Dinks. Took Adi in as her own, taught her how to cook.
T’Claude Michaud - owner of the restaurant Adi works in.
J.B. Nerbass - the big evil step-father. Mixed up with criminals. Is a killer.
Plotline
At the age of 14, Adi ran away from home. Her mother was a bitch – the kind to slap her around; the father was a step-father – and connected to criminal elements. In the prologue, 12 year old Merley Adison Nerbass accidentally walks in on her step-father, J.B. Nerbass, doing something bad. J.B. gathers his step-daughter to him, puts a gun in her hand, and helps her pull the trigger. Some guy named Ransom is now dead (I say some guy, he is known to Adi as the father of two kids she knows and sees in school). J.B. praises Adi for her killing ability.
From that moment on, J.B. included Adi in his criminal activities. Without her desire to be included. Her life is hellish. This proceeds for two years when finally Adi knows she has to just leave or she is going to end up dead – either by J.B. or from her soul withering away.
Chapter one opens 8 years later. Adi goes by a different name (though one that’s basically her old one minus Nerbass and reintroduction of her real father’s last name - Bergeron, perfect disguise, eh? – it’s true that Bertie calls her Dink, but she’s the only one to do that), and is now the chef/waitress in a restaurant. She was saved by the head person at that restaurant, one Bertie. Bertie took Adi in as her own.
Things heat up when two people from a magazine pop in (one named Dawn Chapman). They didn’t plan to be there exactly, but got lost. They sample most of the food on the menu. Decide to feature Adi for their chef of Louisiana (there’s this thing they are doing, no matter). Adi wants nothing to do with it. T’Claude, the owner of the place, loves the idea. Adi is basically forced to go along.
So – the magazine reporter shows up, one Griffith McNaulty.
Potential Issues
1) Not sure if it is an issue or not – the restaurant that Adi was found curled up outside of was called Boiling Point - supposedly the same restaurant she works in now. But the current restaurant is called Boiling Pot. Not sure if there was a name change or if there was a mistake and it was always Boiling Pot.
2) Okay, I get it already. Either the author, or the character - Griff, really dislikes Los Angeles (And Griff is from Los Angeles). Based on the 8 billion times things are compared with Los Angeles, and Los Angeles is found to be the lessor of whatever is being compared.
Some Thoughts
I dragged my feet on this one. I really did not wish to be the first to say anything about this book here. So I slowed myself down. Which meant both that reading this book took longer than it normally would have and I absorbed more of the words as they flashed past. No, that's not right. I normally absorb the words; I had more time with them I guess you could say.
I could probably go either way, but I basically liked Adi. Everyone else gave off creepy icky vibes.
It's a book about someone who ran away from a very bad situation (step-father was/is a very bad man in the killer/criminal way). Got found sleeping next to a dumpster. Got taken in by the woman who found her who gave her a job and a place to live. And now it's roughly 10 years later and a reporter is interviewing the chef at a dumpy-looking restaurant who serves outstanding food. That cook being Adi.
I understand that the author wanted to set up a situation wherein the reporter would just need to dig deep into Adi's background. But . . . the way things came about is annoying. Like - she got burnt by a prior story she did and now her name is mud. So, she's doing this freelance story about a chef. And she doesn't want to be 'burnt' again so she . . . . needs to know the truth about every second of Adi's life. Not finding out that the woman - the chef, had come from a bad background and that her story might have consequences is a real issue. And, quite frankly, one that does not really have a real solution. Digging deep into her past isn't a solution. The only real solution is to not publish any story (or not use Adi's name, but the article is about Adi; or giving Adi some code name - which would be odd, considering, again, the article is about Adi).
Whether or not the big baddie, step-pops, would read a magazine about cooking, there is the unfortunate part wherein Adi did change her name. By dropping her first and last name. And retaking her biological father's last name. And putting her middle name in front of it. As in . . . evil step-pops, seeing someone they vaguely recognize in a photo in a magazine would see a name they do recognize next to it.
So, the reporter really really needs to know all about Adi's past. Because otherwise her name is mud. But . . . um . . starting a relationship with your interview subject who is ten years younger than you is okay? I'd think that would be even more of a hindrance to repairing your reputation than failing to know Adi's backstory. (That and the out and out lying she does on the story - during the interviews, etc. is on a disturbing level).
I mentioned that all but Adi is creepy/icky. Then only mentioned how the reporter is icky/creepy. Indirectly. Well, Bertie, the woman who found Adi, is icky/creepy in a overly . . . . hmm . . . possessive way. And, if she didn't have the personality she has, she'd be an evil-step-mother type. She has Adi working basically 11 hours a day; she's super pushy and constantly bringing up issues Adi does not wish to discuss; and she's super-naive for a 74 year old (what bad could happen to have your story come out; so what if your super-evil-let's-kill-everyone-who-irratates-us step-father learn of where you currently are - nothing bad can happen from that). Plus - she never plans to retire, despite the fact that Adi has been waiting for Bertie to retire before moving off to some other city so that she can 'live'. Be openly lesbian. She can't in her current small town (she believes). The excuse pushy Bertie gives for getting Adi's story out there is because Adi needs to burst out of her shell . . . except that she's hindering her development by trapping her in the situation she currently is in.
There are way too many story-lines here. It is a big ball of mess. If the 'two people meeting, realizing an attraction' had been followed, it might be an interesting book; or the mystery of whatever evil step-father had been followed alone, without the other baggage, or . . . .. But all together makes a mess of a book. Wordy. This would have been a hell of a lot better if this had just been a reporter doing a story that lead to an even bigger story. But as is, it's super annoying.
Long and short - there are several 'books' here, but it does not really work as one whole complete book. It's strange in it's way, but if each little plot line had been teased out and pushed into a separate book - they might have worked on their own, but all squashed together created an overwhelming wordy book.
July 3 2016
Location New Iberia Louisiana.
Characters
Two point of views. Adi Bergeron and Griffith McNautly.
Merley Adison ‘Dinks’ ‘Adi’ Bergeron Nerbass - chef of a small restaurant in Louisiana named ‘Boiling Pot’. Ran away from home when she was 14. Is now 22.
Griffith McNaulty - is a reporter. Her reputation is currently smeared due to something that happened with an interview subject (something to do with a 'Tabitha Moore' who was a 'criminal' and had 'deliberatly subverted the truth' and her article had 'cost innocent people their life savings'). She is looking for more than just a puff piece.
Bertie Durall - is a 74 year old woman who found Adi curled up next to a dumpster outside the Boiling Pot. Calls Adi Dinks. Took Adi in as her own, taught her how to cook.
T’Claude Michaud - owner of the restaurant Adi works in.
J.B. Nerbass - the big evil step-father. Mixed up with criminals. Is a killer.
Plotline
At the age of 14, Adi ran away from home. Her mother was a bitch – the kind to slap her around; the father was a step-father – and connected to criminal elements. In the prologue, 12 year old Merley Adison Nerbass accidentally walks in on her step-father, J.B. Nerbass, doing something bad. J.B. gathers his step-daughter to him, puts a gun in her hand, and helps her pull the trigger. Some guy named Ransom is now dead (I say some guy, he is known to Adi as the father of two kids she knows and sees in school). J.B. praises Adi for her killing ability.
From that moment on, J.B. included Adi in his criminal activities. Without her desire to be included. Her life is hellish. This proceeds for two years when finally Adi knows she has to just leave or she is going to end up dead – either by J.B. or from her soul withering away.
Chapter one opens 8 years later. Adi goes by a different name (though one that’s basically her old one minus Nerbass and reintroduction of her real father’s last name - Bergeron, perfect disguise, eh? – it’s true that Bertie calls her Dink, but she’s the only one to do that), and is now the chef/waitress in a restaurant. She was saved by the head person at that restaurant, one Bertie. Bertie took Adi in as her own.
Things heat up when two people from a magazine pop in (one named Dawn Chapman). They didn’t plan to be there exactly, but got lost. They sample most of the food on the menu. Decide to feature Adi for their chef of Louisiana (there’s this thing they are doing, no matter). Adi wants nothing to do with it. T’Claude, the owner of the place, loves the idea. Adi is basically forced to go along.
So – the magazine reporter shows up, one Griffith McNaulty.
Potential Issues
1) Not sure if it is an issue or not – the restaurant that Adi was found curled up outside of was called Boiling Point - supposedly the same restaurant she works in now. But the current restaurant is called Boiling Pot. Not sure if there was a name change or if there was a mistake and it was always Boiling Pot.
2) Okay, I get it already. Either the author, or the character - Griff, really dislikes Los Angeles (And Griff is from Los Angeles). Based on the 8 billion times things are compared with Los Angeles, and Los Angeles is found to be the lessor of whatever is being compared.
Some Thoughts
I dragged my feet on this one. I really did not wish to be the first to say anything about this book here. So I slowed myself down. Which meant both that reading this book took longer than it normally would have and I absorbed more of the words as they flashed past. No, that's not right. I normally absorb the words; I had more time with them I guess you could say.
I could probably go either way, but I basically liked Adi. Everyone else gave off creepy icky vibes.
It's a book about someone who ran away from a very bad situation (step-father was/is a very bad man in the killer/criminal way). Got found sleeping next to a dumpster. Got taken in by the woman who found her who gave her a job and a place to live. And now it's roughly 10 years later and a reporter is interviewing the chef at a dumpy-looking restaurant who serves outstanding food. That cook being Adi.
I understand that the author wanted to set up a situation wherein the reporter would just need to dig deep into Adi's background. But . . . the way things came about is annoying. Like - she got burnt by a prior story she did and now her name is mud. So, she's doing this freelance story about a chef. And she doesn't want to be 'burnt' again so she . . . . needs to know the truth about every second of Adi's life. Not finding out that the woman - the chef, had come from a bad background and that her story might have consequences is a real issue. And, quite frankly, one that does not really have a real solution. Digging deep into her past isn't a solution. The only real solution is to not publish any story (or not use Adi's name, but the article is about Adi; or giving Adi some code name - which would be odd, considering, again, the article is about Adi).
Whether or not the big baddie, step-pops, would read a magazine about cooking, there is the unfortunate part wherein Adi did change her name. By dropping her first and last name. And retaking her biological father's last name. And putting her middle name in front of it. As in . . . evil step-pops, seeing someone they vaguely recognize in a photo in a magazine would see a name they do recognize next to it.
So, the reporter really really needs to know all about Adi's past. Because otherwise her name is mud. But . . . um . . starting a relationship with your interview subject who is ten years younger than you is okay? I'd think that would be even more of a hindrance to repairing your reputation than failing to know Adi's backstory. (That and the out and out lying she does on the story - during the interviews, etc. is on a disturbing level).
I mentioned that all but Adi is creepy/icky. Then only mentioned how the reporter is icky/creepy. Indirectly. Well, Bertie, the woman who found Adi, is icky/creepy in a overly . . . . hmm . . . possessive way. And, if she didn't have the personality she has, she'd be an evil-step-mother type. She has Adi working basically 11 hours a day; she's super pushy and constantly bringing up issues Adi does not wish to discuss; and she's super-naive for a 74 year old (what bad could happen to have your story come out; so what if your super-evil-let's-kill-everyone-who-irratates-us step-father learn of where you currently are - nothing bad can happen from that). Plus - she never plans to retire, despite the fact that Adi has been waiting for Bertie to retire before moving off to some other city so that she can 'live'. Be openly lesbian. She can't in her current small town (she believes). The excuse pushy Bertie gives for getting Adi's story out there is because Adi needs to burst out of her shell . . . except that she's hindering her development by trapping her in the situation she currently is in.
There are way too many story-lines here. It is a big ball of mess. If the 'two people meeting, realizing an attraction' had been followed, it might be an interesting book; or the mystery of whatever evil step-father had been followed alone, without the other baggage, or . . . .. But all together makes a mess of a book. Wordy. This would have been a hell of a lot better if this had just been a reporter doing a story that lead to an even bigger story. But as is, it's super annoying.
Long and short - there are several 'books' here, but it does not really work as one whole complete book. It's strange in it's way, but if each little plot line had been teased out and pushed into a separate book - they might have worked on their own, but all squashed together created an overwhelming wordy book.
July 3 2016
August 2, 2016
*ARC provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes for an honest review*
I have never read any of this authors books before so I didn't know what to expect but, the description seemed promising. To start let me say that this book is not bad but it's not anything to write home about either. You can tell that this author has experience in writing because the writing in this book flows and is easy to read, it isn't stilted and awkward like many new authors writings tend to be.
Aside from the writing I wasn't very impressed with the storyline between Adi and Griffith, too much time was spent on Griffith investigating her 'human interest' story and not enough time was spent on developing any kind of chemistry between the characters. I also didn't take to Griffith's character purely because of how nosey she was, (yes I know she is a journalist), about Adi and her history. To me it seemed like the author just needs a way for Adi's past to be brought up because Griffith was just too pushy about finding out about something that had nothing to do with the story she was sent to write.
If this had been a story based purely on Griffith being a cutthroat journalist and she happens to come across Adi's story then I would have rated it higher but as it stands my actual rating would have to be 2,75.
I have never read any of this authors books before so I didn't know what to expect but, the description seemed promising. To start let me say that this book is not bad but it's not anything to write home about either. You can tell that this author has experience in writing because the writing in this book flows and is easy to read, it isn't stilted and awkward like many new authors writings tend to be.
Aside from the writing I wasn't very impressed with the storyline between Adi and Griffith, too much time was spent on Griffith investigating her 'human interest' story and not enough time was spent on developing any kind of chemistry between the characters. I also didn't take to Griffith's character purely because of how nosey she was, (yes I know she is a journalist), about Adi and her history. To me it seemed like the author just needs a way for Adi's past to be brought up because Griffith was just too pushy about finding out about something that had nothing to do with the story she was sent to write.
If this had been a story based purely on Griffith being a cutthroat journalist and she happens to come across Adi's story then I would have rated it higher but as it stands my actual rating would have to be 2,75.
July 23, 2016
I've received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I've read by this author and I decided to give it a try sole by its description. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me, hence, the low rating.
One big issue I had with this book is that I didn't find chemistry between the main characters. As a matter of fact, I plainly disliked Griffith as it's hard to see her reasons why she is obsessed in uncovering the real identity of Adi. The secondary characters were too stereotyped, either good or bad, it just doesn't seem real.
I hate giving a low score because I appreciate the effort and hard work of the author and publisher but unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.
This is the first book I've read by this author and I decided to give it a try sole by its description. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me, hence, the low rating.
One big issue I had with this book is that I didn't find chemistry between the main characters. As a matter of fact, I plainly disliked Griffith as it's hard to see her reasons why she is obsessed in uncovering the real identity of Adi. The secondary characters were too stereotyped, either good or bad, it just doesn't seem real.
I hate giving a low score because I appreciate the effort and hard work of the author and publisher but unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.
October 13, 2018
I enjoyed most of the book. However the ending felt sloppy and rushed.
July 31, 2016
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This book was a five-star read until about halfway through the book. I loved the characters, especially Addison and completely fell in love with her way of life and those that she loved. Once Griff started to investigate on her own, I felt uncomfortable, not wanting to go on. Knowing that she was putting Addison in danger as well as herself, yet she continued. I believe that I would have felt differently if something happened and Griff needed to know the answer to saving Addison or something, but this was just Griff trying to get information that Addison was not ready to share. This is still a good read, even with the problems that I had with the book, Addison is such a strong character that the reader will automatically fall for her and feel what she is feeling throughout the book.
August 5, 2016
Laydin Michaels starts her novel with a bang — literally. Eleven-year-old Merley's stepfather shoves his gun in her hands and makes her pull the trigger.
Despite the typically slow genre (romance), the suspenseful plot makes Bitter Root exciting enough to keep me reading to the end. The writing isn't great, and the sudden head-over-heels nature of the relationships is unrealistic, but I was engaged by the story and intrigued by the descriptions of Cajun cuisine and bayou country.
Note: I received an advance reader's copy of the novel through NetGalley.
Despite the typically slow genre (romance), the suspenseful plot makes Bitter Root exciting enough to keep me reading to the end. The writing isn't great, and the sudden head-over-heels nature of the relationships is unrealistic, but I was engaged by the story and intrigued by the descriptions of Cajun cuisine and bayou country.
Note: I received an advance reader's copy of the novel through NetGalley.
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