Bitter Legacy

By: C. B. Clark

Narrated by: Bill Nevitt

Sharla-Jean Bromley returns to her hometown after a 17-year absence with vengeance in her heart. From the very beginning, her plans go awry when she meets devastatingly handsome Josh Morgan, the man to whom her father left half of his multi-million dollar lumber mill.

Josh, suspicious of Sharla-Jean’s reasons for returning to town after such a long absence, vows to keep control of the company he feels is rightfully his. She is equally determined to prove she can run her father’s mill, even though it means working side-by-side with Josh, a man whose very presence evokes an attraction that is increasingly difficult for her to ignore.

In the process, they must overcome a villain who’s determined to destroy both the lumber mill and their lives. Will Sharla-Jean succeed and heal the anguish that has long filled her soul? Will she and Josh find the passion of a lifetime?

©2017 C.B. Clark (P)2018 C.B. Clark

The lady in the red dress

I enjoyed this audio although at times I wanted to strangle the heroine. Just saying.

Sharla-Jean left town in disgrace seventeen years ago and no one has heard from her since. The town has moved on and only the death of her father brings her home. There are still whispers and condemnations. People believe she’s a villain and showing up to her father’s funeral in a red dress does nothing to dissuade the busybodies of that notion. There is more to Sharla-Jean, though, and only time can bring out the woman who has become successful in her own right.

To everyone’s surprise, her father has left her part ownership of the multi-million dollar wood mill that she believes should be her legacy. She’ll get her share – if she stays in town for one year and contributes to the running of the mill. She figures she can do that. It’s a year, right? Just a blip in her life. The other part of the deal is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak. Josh Morgan has been running the mill for years, a favorite of Sharla-Jean’s father. He believes the mill should be his. Sharla-Jean left years ago and although it was before his time in town, he’s heard all the things she did before blowing town. He cannot understand why her father has offered her the chance to claim her birthright. Oh well, it’s just one year. A blip, right? He can work with her for one year. Truth is, he knows she’ll leave long before then.

But things start going wrong almost immediately and naturally suspicion falls on Sharla-Jean. Josh can’t believe she’d be so destructive, but he also sees the evidence with his own eyes. His growing attraction to the beautiful woman isn’t helping things either and he wonders if lust is clouding his judgement.

Sharla-Jean has reasons for being cynical and those become clear as the story moves on. Most of the time I was rooting her although every once and a while she annoyed me. Such is often the case in thrillers where you’re questioning the intelligence and motives of certain characters. She redeemed herself in the end and I enjoyed the book, the conclusion included.

Bill Nevitt is a competent narrator, to be sure, but his female voices are a challenge. Sometimes I felt Sharla-Jean was being shrill and I think that was more the narration rather than the dialogue. I understand picking a narrator is tricky and it’s important to get someone who is good and Nevitt is that. Overall I enjoyed the book and am currently listening to C.B’s next book.

Great book!

I enjoyed this book a lot! It was a great easy read. Nothing too complicated and kept my interest.

Romantic Thriller

I normally do not listen to romance book but have to admit I enjoyed this book due to the suspense with someone trying to destroy the mill with twist and turns. Enjoyed the characters of Sharla Jean Bromley, Pauline, and Josh Morgan. Recommend if you enjoy a romantic mystery. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you

Romcom with some action

This story is about a wealthy man who leaves his company in equal shares to his estranged daughter and coworker with an interesting condition. They each have a history and a story that intertwine and evolve during the plot. It was a nice feel-good story with romance and some action in the background. The performance was entertaining and passionate and I loved how the narrator provided energy and excitement to the story. This book was given to me for free at my request and I have left this objective review voluntarily.

A great mystery with a touch of romance...........

In Bitter Legacy, Sharla-Jean returns to her hometown after an absence of 17 years to attend the funeral of her father. From the first moment, the listener knows that Sharla-Jean hated her father (she shows up to the funeral in red dress as a show of disrespect), but we only slowly begin to understand the events that led to her hatred. She plans to attend the funeral, liquidate her father's assets, and flee back to her home in Portland as fast as she can, but her father had other ideas. In his will, he leaves half the mill to Sharla-Jean and half to his business partner, Josh, and she must stay in her hometown for a year before selling his assets. Sharla-Jean and Josh are intensely attracted to each other, but they are continually at odds, almost to the point of ridiculousness. They were still doubting and fighting each in the final paragraphs of the story, and I found this part of the book very annoying. Thankfully, the mystery and intrigue behind Sharla-Jean's troubled past, the current sabotage of the mill, and the secret contained in Josh's private journal kept the romantic fighting from overshadowing the book. The author skillfully uses foreshadowing to ramp up the creepiness of the story, and I found myself continually surprised at the twists and turns the story takes.

Bill Nevitt does his usual incredible job with the narration. He differentiates well between the characters, and he handles both female and male voices with great talent. His performance is flawless, and his tone and use of emphasis ratchet up the suspense. I highly recommend anything that he narrates, and this is a particularly good one.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Can you find peace without forgiveness?

Sharla-Jean ran away from her hometown after a devastating incident, including setting fire to her father's lumber factory. Now she's back for her father's funeral, 17yrs later, and the hatred coming off the townspeople is emanating in waves...why is she back, after all, she abandoned the wonderful man? Imagine her surprise when she learns that her father left 1/2 of the factory to his manager! Josh has worked hard over the past 10yrs to help make the factory a success and hates that the woman, who turned her back on his mentor and father figure, is back to claim her inheritance. But Josh has to put aside his ill feelings to work with Sharla-Jean and figure out who is vandalizing the factory. Meanwhile, Sharla-Jean has to reconcile the unforgiving and uncaring man who pushed her away when she needed him, with the caring man portrayed by Josh. When everything comes to light, will Josh forgive Sharla-Jean and defend her or will he push her away? Good romantic suspense with great narration.
I voluntarily accepted a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fantastic Listen

I enjoyed listening to Bill Nevitt read this exciting story. He did a great job with how he presented it.

Roller coast ride of emotions

Ok WOW I love this story! I listened to it almost straight through and hated every minute I wasn’t listening. I was a little bit of a rebellious teenager so I could relate to Sharla-Jean right from the start. I loved that she was multi-dimensional which made her seem so real. Bitter legacy is full of twist and turns and mystery and suspense so much so it had me guessing at every turn. This is my first book by this author but won’t be my last. Bill Nevitt’s narration was spot on. He moves so easily between characters and narrates so smoothly. You don’t want to miss this one.

Good romantic mystery

Bitter Legacy, by C. B. Clark, is an entertaining romantic suspense story. I was drawn in right at the beginning and the book kept my interest till the last pages. The characters are strong and believable and their reactions and emotions are relatable. The author does a great job of revealing the hero and heroine's pasts layer by layer and of creating suspense as to who the antihero is and why is he out to destroy the lumber mill that has been bequeathed to Josh and Sharl-Jean. Romantic mystery buffs will not want to miss this one. I listened to a complimentary copy of the audiobook and was not required to write a review. The opinions are my own. Bill Nevitt did a great job narrating the story which made for an entertaining listening experience. A bit of warning, there is adult language and content in this book.

Excellent read/listen

Bitter Legacy, my third read/listen from author C.B. Clark. Another well-written & enjoyable mystery/romantic-suspense. Bill Nevitt’s excellent narration made the 10-hour 27-minutes pass very quickly. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I definitely need to get more by this author & narrator. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).