★★★彡
Summary:
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.
So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...
Summary:
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.
So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...
I had had this book in my nook for ages, until finally, I felt an urge to read a light contemporary. Bittersweet was exactly what I needed after an intense Daughter of Smoke & Bone series week-long marathon. Although not my favorite book by Sarah Ockler, Bittersweet was very fluffy and cute, which was what I was looking for. There are some problems that bothered me, butI was able to put them aside and enjoy the story.
I was afraid I would forget all about the book and what it was about within a few days, but here I am almost a week later and I still remember it all (or almost all). When it comes to the problems, all I can say is that if you are going to read this book don't expect it to be a work of art. It is a bit rough around the edges, but as long as you are able to put those things aside you will be able to enjoy it.
Bittersweet is the story of a teenager who is offered a second chance at going after her dream of becoming a professional figure skater. In order to prepare for the competition, however, she makes a deal with the ice hockey captains: she will help them improve their technique on the ice if they get her time on the rink for free.
Hudson becomes increasingly invested in the team and her practices and begins to neglect her previous life, including her job at her mom's diner baking cupcakes and her best friend. Throughout the novel she has to deal with this problems, as well as a love triangle and facing her actions years ago which made her lose her old best friend and seemingly end her figure skating career.
The characters were not all that accessible and I never fully connected with them. I had trouble empathizing with Hudson because she ran away from her problems, which drove me a bit crazy. For example, Hudson lost her old best friend because she stopped talking to her instead of explaining why she did what she did. Years later, she doesn't want to apologize because it is "too late" even though they both clearly still haven't gotten over it.
Hudson starts out having a new best friend (whose name I believe is Dani). I loved Dani. She was a great friend, supportive yet did not just go along with everything Hudson said. Their friendship goes south, however, when Hudson begins having less and less time for Dani. I did not like Dani as much in the end because she was not as good a friend as I hoped she was, but I understand her too. She acted the way most people would in her place. I saw a review that called her a hypocrite, and I do somewhat agree since she began doing the same thing to Hudson that she stopped talking to Hudson for doing in the first place.
The relationship that was most messed up in my opinion, however, was the one between Hudson and her mom. They have a really strange relationship. Her mom will ask Hudson to give up many things in order to help her at the diner, but never acknowledges what Hudson is giving up. She doesn't care about her daughter's dreams, just her own. She also guilts Hudson into doing what she wants, which seems incredibly devious.
The love triangle also seemed unnecessary. It did not tell me anything about the characters and the problems it created were stupid. I liked Josh but I hated that he would close off instead of talking about things. Everything would have been so much easier if Hudson and Josh would just talk to each other about important things instead of pretending they don't care.
I did not particularly like the climax. When Hudson finally stands up for herself everybody makes her feel like she is doing the wrong thing. Then she goes and does what got her in this problem to begin with without building up to it. It was a sudden realization that came out of nowhere.
Even though I disliked the climax, I did like the ending. I loved the last scene with Hudson and her brother, Bug (possibly the greatest character in the story), and I liked how she solved the problem that came up and the scene where she sees the team again.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, this book had lots of problems, the main one being the characters who were barely three dimensional. It is still a quick read, though, and if you don't pay attention to the lows you will probably like the rest.
I was afraid I would forget all about the book and what it was about within a few days, but here I am almost a week later and I still remember it all (or almost all). When it comes to the problems, all I can say is that if you are going to read this book don't expect it to be a work of art. It is a bit rough around the edges, but as long as you are able to put those things aside you will be able to enjoy it.
Bittersweet is the story of a teenager who is offered a second chance at going after her dream of becoming a professional figure skater. In order to prepare for the competition, however, she makes a deal with the ice hockey captains: she will help them improve their technique on the ice if they get her time on the rink for free.
Hudson becomes increasingly invested in the team and her practices and begins to neglect her previous life, including her job at her mom's diner baking cupcakes and her best friend. Throughout the novel she has to deal with this problems, as well as a love triangle and facing her actions years ago which made her lose her old best friend and seemingly end her figure skating career.
The characters were not all that accessible and I never fully connected with them. I had trouble empathizing with Hudson because she ran away from her problems, which drove me a bit crazy. For example, Hudson lost her old best friend because she stopped talking to her instead of explaining why she did what she did. Years later, she doesn't want to apologize because it is "too late" even though they both clearly still haven't gotten over it.
Hudson starts out having a new best friend (whose name I believe is Dani). I loved Dani. She was a great friend, supportive yet did not just go along with everything Hudson said. Their friendship goes south, however, when Hudson begins having less and less time for Dani. I did not like Dani as much in the end because she was not as good a friend as I hoped she was, but I understand her too. She acted the way most people would in her place. I saw a review that called her a hypocrite, and I do somewhat agree since she began doing the same thing to Hudson that she stopped talking to Hudson for doing in the first place.
The relationship that was most messed up in my opinion, however, was the one between Hudson and her mom. They have a really strange relationship. Her mom will ask Hudson to give up many things in order to help her at the diner, but never acknowledges what Hudson is giving up. She doesn't care about her daughter's dreams, just her own. She also guilts Hudson into doing what she wants, which seems incredibly devious.
The love triangle also seemed unnecessary. It did not tell me anything about the characters and the problems it created were stupid. I liked Josh but I hated that he would close off instead of talking about things. Everything would have been so much easier if Hudson and Josh would just talk to each other about important things instead of pretending they don't care.
I did not particularly like the climax. When Hudson finally stands up for herself everybody makes her feel like she is doing the wrong thing. Then she goes and does what got her in this problem to begin with without building up to it. It was a sudden realization that came out of nowhere.
Even though I disliked the climax, I did like the ending. I loved the last scene with Hudson and her brother, Bug (possibly the greatest character in the story), and I liked how she solved the problem that came up and the scene where she sees the team again.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, this book had lots of problems, the main one being the characters who were barely three dimensional. It is still a quick read, though, and if you don't pay attention to the lows you will probably like the rest.