Reviews

This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. McFadden

debrx94's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sunlitridges's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

annabelleclawson's review

4.0

This was a good read that I got through pretty quickly. The author did excellent work weaving multiple stories and relationships and origins together - I will admit I was confused at parts with who was who but that was probably my casual reading style rather than the author's fault. Writing was powerful, kind of swept me along as I went.

Also, I picked this up at the library without knowing it was a sequel lol, so that definitely influences my experience with the book! Now perhaps I should read the first one...?

ssparks415's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

booksandthemes's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

4.5

fulchet's review

5.0

This is the second book in the Sugar Lacey series. Not the fasted pace read although it certainly picks up towards the end. About a black woman facing prejudices in the 1950s and her return to her home town. An interesting read.

bookedupandbusy's review

Way too many characters!

eshareads14's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

it was a great conclusion, everything i hoped for. it’s a hard book and emotionally distressing read, but nothing that wouldn’t have happened in the deep south in the 50s and 60s. A great read, everyone is so connected it makes your head spin. 

whodatro's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

beyondevak's review

2.0

This book was suggested to the book club I'm a part of as a quality read. I confess that I opted to review it via an audio, after having attempted to read a soft cover copy. I thought that by listening to the story, I would be able to better appreciate the story in a much more profound way. The aforementioned helped and yet it did not help. Bottom line, I was not attracted to this story. I found This Bitter Earth to be dark, troubling, and tragic. (FYI:I understood that there were elements of what might be viewed as hope or perhaps glimpses of good, but overall it was a hard mix. There were two things that stood out for the good - the colorful settings and conflicts painted by the author and the complexity of the characters, in an emotional sense. These things made the story...tolerable.)

In fairness, I must state that I did not read Sugar prior to reading this one. I should have.

Rating: 2 to 3-/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: Adult
Status: M