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Bitter Things
Michelle Papas vows to form a new connection with her emotionally scarred husband Scott after the gruesome discovery of two bodies in Central Park unhinges him. Just over a year later, through a seemingly chance meeting at a bar in midtown Manhattan, she discovers she and Scott share a fascination with Jong, an alluring woman who feeds on the desires of others. Michelle pursues the woman, and after the three partake in a night of passion, Michelle wakes up alone. Scott has disappeared, and what was meant to drive them together has propelled them apart. Enlisting the help of Dave Carson, her friend and confidante, Michelle sets out to find her husband. Frustrated by conventional police tactics, Michelle hires a private investigator. Instead of finding her husband, Michelle finds herself in a web of deceit where her trusted allies conspire with her hidden enemies. Michelle is forced to confront her loyalty to her wayward husband and choose between the sweet things of an incomplete life, or the BITTER THINGS of a life fulfilled by the ultimate sacrifice.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 24, 2010
Andrew Valentine has a great new take on Vampirism with Endorphins...and Blood and Sex. He has taken the Vampire story to another level.
For his first book into this genre we meet Michelle and Scott. They are a young couple, married and very much in love. Scott has major baggage from his childhood. The couple while jogging in Central Park, comes upon 2 dead bodies. Scott, reacts badly and now has even greater issues because of this, manifesting in him having very bad dreams. Michelle and Scott try to have a night out and go to a local bar near their apartment. This is where Jong aka Gina Lee enters their life. Michelle recognizes Jong from school, they party at the bar and the couple do something they have never done before. They bring Jong home where the three "get cozy". Michelle wakes the next morning alone, and Scott and Jong are gone.
This begins the story. The reader learns the history of the Vampire Xiamora, and the story of the Keep. Michelle recruits her friend Dave Carson, along with. police officer and also hires a private detective Jack Keach to help with her search for Scott.
I loved Michelle for her strong bullheadedness to find Scott and her fierce determination to keep him. The end comes down to Michelle having to choose between sweet things of an empty life without Scott or Bitter Things to complete her life and save Scott. This book is erotic. Scott is tortured at The Keep sexually while he is held a prisoner there. For myself, I found Scott to have a fine sense of strength of love over sex to try and not succumb to the evil .
Take the ride with them and see for yourself. What would you have chosen in Michelle or Scotts place?
Hope Mr Valentine is not finished with this story.Hopefully we can coax him into giving us a sequel, I look look foward to it
Gloria Lakritz AKA GRAMMY
Senior Reviewer
Paranormal Romance Guild
For his first book into this genre we meet Michelle and Scott. They are a young couple, married and very much in love. Scott has major baggage from his childhood. The couple while jogging in Central Park, comes upon 2 dead bodies. Scott, reacts badly and now has even greater issues because of this, manifesting in him having very bad dreams. Michelle and Scott try to have a night out and go to a local bar near their apartment. This is where Jong aka Gina Lee enters their life. Michelle recognizes Jong from school, they party at the bar and the couple do something they have never done before. They bring Jong home where the three "get cozy". Michelle wakes the next morning alone, and Scott and Jong are gone.
This begins the story. The reader learns the history of the Vampire Xiamora, and the story of the Keep. Michelle recruits her friend Dave Carson, along with. police officer and also hires a private detective Jack Keach to help with her search for Scott.
I loved Michelle for her strong bullheadedness to find Scott and her fierce determination to keep him. The end comes down to Michelle having to choose between sweet things of an empty life without Scott or Bitter Things to complete her life and save Scott. This book is erotic. Scott is tortured at The Keep sexually while he is held a prisoner there. For myself, I found Scott to have a fine sense of strength of love over sex to try and not succumb to the evil .
Take the ride with them and see for yourself. What would you have chosen in Michelle or Scotts place?
Hope Mr Valentine is not finished with this story.Hopefully we can coax him into giving us a sequel, I look look foward to it
Gloria Lakritz AKA GRAMMY
Senior Reviewer
Paranormal Romance Guild
January 29, 2010
I had read on an Amazon Forum of Andrew Valentines first new book. Curiously I pulled the book up on the website and was drawn to the product description.
Hmm, I thought. and bought it .I finished the book in 2 days and I work full time, So you can see I did not put it down in my "spare time" Enough about me and on to this great first endeavor.
Andrew has a great new take on Vampirism.Endorphins...and Blood
First we meet Michelle and Scott, married young couple, very much in love, Scott having major baggage from his childhood.We move past this with them finding 2 dead bodies in Central Park . Scott now has even having greater issues and dreams. The couple are out on the town at a local bar where Jong aka Gina Lee enters their life. The couple brings Jong home and they all get cozy. Michelle wakes in the a.m. alone in their apartment.Scott is Gone
This is where we all start the story of the past, of the Vampire Xiamora, and the story of the Keep. This book is erotic, but most of all we have a fine sense of the strength of love over sex.
Michelle recruits her friend Dave, along with a police officer and hires a private dectective to help her find Scott. I loved Michelle for her strong bullheadedness to find Scott and her fierce determination to keep him.
So we now come down to Michelle having to choose between sweet things or Bitter Things to complete her life and save Scott. Take the ride with them and see for yourself. What would you have chosen in her place?
Hope Andrew is not finished with this..Hopefully he can give us a sequel...Looking foward to it
Hmm, I thought. and bought it .I finished the book in 2 days and I work full time, So you can see I did not put it down in my "spare time" Enough about me and on to this great first endeavor.
Andrew has a great new take on Vampirism.Endorphins...and Blood
First we meet Michelle and Scott, married young couple, very much in love, Scott having major baggage from his childhood.We move past this with them finding 2 dead bodies in Central Park . Scott now has even having greater issues and dreams. The couple are out on the town at a local bar where Jong aka Gina Lee enters their life. The couple brings Jong home and they all get cozy. Michelle wakes in the a.m. alone in their apartment.Scott is Gone
This is where we all start the story of the past, of the Vampire Xiamora, and the story of the Keep. This book is erotic, but most of all we have a fine sense of the strength of love over sex.
Michelle recruits her friend Dave, along with a police officer and hires a private dectective to help her find Scott. I loved Michelle for her strong bullheadedness to find Scott and her fierce determination to keep him.
So we now come down to Michelle having to choose between sweet things or Bitter Things to complete her life and save Scott. Take the ride with them and see for yourself. What would you have chosen in her place?
Hope Andrew is not finished with this..Hopefully he can give us a sequel...Looking foward to it
March 29, 2011
"It's about Sex and Death and a chemical high, yo." You know from the first sentence of this book that this is not going to be your normal vampire/romance/paranormal/any other genre you can think of, book. I'm not really sure how to describe it, except to say wow.
In a nutshell Mitchell and Scott, husband and wife, decide to go all little outside the box one night and pick up beautiful, alluring Jong in a bar and take her home. Jong is not all she seems. There is a vampire in this book but that's not all that it's about. The book, to me, is about the power of love and what one will do for the one they truly love. This is not your teenagers vampire book, there are a number of fairly graphic sex scenes in it. As one person said to me while discussing the book, there will be times you are going to think "did he really say that?" This is also a dark book but there is humor there.
I was a little leery buying this genre (whatever it is) book written by a man. No offense to the author, but I thought what would a man know. Let me say, a lot. The characters are well written, the dialogue realistic and the plot compelling. If you like your paranormal a little on the "different" side, I would recommend this book. If you like your paranormal PG, this is not the book for you. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next offering by this author.
In a nutshell Mitchell and Scott, husband and wife, decide to go all little outside the box one night and pick up beautiful, alluring Jong in a bar and take her home. Jong is not all she seems. There is a vampire in this book but that's not all that it's about. The book, to me, is about the power of love and what one will do for the one they truly love. This is not your teenagers vampire book, there are a number of fairly graphic sex scenes in it. As one person said to me while discussing the book, there will be times you are going to think "did he really say that?" This is also a dark book but there is humor there.
I was a little leery buying this genre (whatever it is) book written by a man. No offense to the author, but I thought what would a man know. Let me say, a lot. The characters are well written, the dialogue realistic and the plot compelling. If you like your paranormal a little on the "different" side, I would recommend this book. If you like your paranormal PG, this is not the book for you. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next offering by this author.
January 9, 2010
Andrew Valentine's 'Bitter Things' just arrived and I can't wait to read it. At first glance I am very impressed with the cover design and the first few pages of the book.
I've just finished reading 'Bitter Things' and it was a wonderful read. If you enjoy Vampire Erotica then this book is for you. Blood, sex, mystery and suspense this book has it all!
I've just finished reading 'Bitter Things' and it was a wonderful read. If you enjoy Vampire Erotica then this book is for you. Blood, sex, mystery and suspense this book has it all!
February 28, 2010
Should be on the "greatreads" website! Fun, thrilling, sexy, scary - everything you need to keep the blood flowing on a cold winters night, or anytime
April 2, 2015
This book felt like a prelude to book two to me, even though I know it wasn't. I don't think I've read anything that original about vampires in a while.
May 4, 2010
I first learned of this book through an NPR radio interview with the author, where it came across as a sophisticated, adult take on the vampire genre. Usually trusting NPR and Kirkus recommends, I tried to find it in my library, couldn't, then ordered it online.
It quickly became apparent that this was not in the least sophisticated. The character development was obvious, and the psychological profiles were spelled out as if readers would need Cliff notes to keep up, which quickly became tiresome.
But the worst part is, this is a few-hundred page letter to Penthouse Forum magazine masquerading as a novel. I suspect it is poorly written because only one hand was used in crafting it, the other being otherwise occupied.
It is so salacious I now know why my library didn't have it, am too embarrassed to donate it to them, and have instead recycled it with the newspapers.
It quickly became apparent that this was not in the least sophisticated. The character development was obvious, and the psychological profiles were spelled out as if readers would need Cliff notes to keep up, which quickly became tiresome.
But the worst part is, this is a few-hundred page letter to Penthouse Forum magazine masquerading as a novel. I suspect it is poorly written because only one hand was used in crafting it, the other being otherwise occupied.
It is so salacious I now know why my library didn't have it, am too embarrassed to donate it to them, and have instead recycled it with the newspapers.
November 25, 2017
Fresh, brash, in-your-face, evocative story telling. Andrew Valentine's Bitter Things is actually frothy and stimulating. Think House and Bones, only a lot stranger and slyly literate. Highly recommended!
January 20, 2011
This book sucks....
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews