Bitter Sweet: The intoxicating, razor-sharp debut book club read for 2025 everyone is talking about!

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'I inhaled this novel. Utterly believable, immersive and heartfelt. I loved it' JENNIE GODFREY

'Hattie's writing on early-20s friendships and their enmeshed intensity, was so convincing. I enjoyed it so much' MARIAN KEYES

'Raw and beautiful and true. Hattie Williams writes so honestly on love and loss that it hurts' ABIGAIL DEAN

'Thrilling, compulsive and utterly addictive' KIRSTY CAPES

'Unsettling, unflinching... [it] reminds us how dangerous love can be' ARAMINTA HALL

'Sharp, compelling, and thought provoking. The perfect book club pick for 2025' LOUISE O'NEILL

*Don't miss the intoxicating and compulsive debut novel from Hattie Williams - pre-order BITTER SWEET now!*

'In my life, there are things that have happened to me, and things that I have done, that have proven to be moments that have a clear before and an after. One of those moments, perhaps in some ways the biggest, was the day that I met Richard Aveling for the first time.'

Charlie is twenty-three, single and the new publicity assistant at the independent London publishing house Winden & Shane. Richard Aveling is fifty-six, married and the author that has defined his generation.

Charlie has long idolised the charming, illustrious writer, who also represents a link to her late mother, who loved his work. But as they embark on an illicit and all-consuming affair, Charlie is forced to hide the relationship from everyone she cares about.

And when the success of Richard's latest book launches him to a new level of fame where all anonymity is lost, she realises she might just be in too deep...

A thought-provoking exploration of a relationship founded in power, control and silence, Bitter Sweet is perfect for book clubs and will appeal to fans of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason and Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors.

Reviews

Thrilling, compulsive and utterly addictive. Hattie Williams is brilliant on toxic relationships, the lushness of friendship in your twenties, mental illness and coming of age. Most of all, it captures the glamour and gore of publishing in all its chaotic glory. An exciting and compelling new voice * KIRSTY CAPES *
Sharp, compelling, and thought provoking. The perfect book club pick for 2025 * LOUISE O'NEILL *
I inhaled this novel. Utterly believable, immersive and heartfelt. I LOVED it * JENNIE GODFREY *
This unsettling novel forensically dissects the power dynamic between older men and younger woman. It's a story as old as time written with a fresh, unflinching eye that reminds us how dangerous love can be * ARAMINTA HALL *

Author Bio

Hattie Williams left education in her teens to pursue a career as a musician. She has toured Europe extensively, made three studio albums, and worked as a composer with her tracks still regularly featured on TV and streaming services across the world. In her mid-twenties she found herself working in publishing quite by accident, and an admin temping job turned into a twelve-year career in which she worked with some of the biggest authors in the world. Hattie lives in east London with her husband and young daughter