Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Bittersweet Revenge
SERIES: Sins of the Father #1
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 308 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 13, 2025
BLURB:
Dean
I’ve been stalking Tiernan O’Shea online for years.
After Sloan O’Shea killed my dad, my mom and I spent years in hiding, moving from state to state, changing our names, never drawing attention to ourselves, hoping to never be found.
I’ve fed off nothing but vengeance ever since.
Tiernan O’Shea is exactly like his father—arrogant, rich, ruthless.
The plan is Get accepted to Ashford U. Get close to Tiernan. Get him to trust me. And then, when he brings me home to his father, I’ll take my revenge on Sloan O’Shea.
What I don’t expect is discovering the secret side of Tiernan, the parts he doesn’t show the rest of the world. He’s as beautiful as he is brutal—deadly, yes, but he’s also the kind of man who would do anything for those he loves. We’re alike in ways I never imagined. And when he touches me, kisses me…it makes me feel like I matter.
I’ve spent my whole life hoping to even the score, but now my revenge will be bittersweet because it’ll make me lose the only man I’ve ever loved.
REVIEW:
Dark Riley Hart – oh my! Even if Ms. Hart wasn’t already an auto read for me, I would have grabbed this one. What a pleasant surprise to have what I already loved about her writing kicked up a notch in this delicious dark story.
Dean, hell-bent on revenge after being left alone in life with no one to blame but the head of the mafia family who set it all in motion, works his way into Tiernan’s life to move forward with his plan to take out said father. What he didn’t count on was the connection he and Tiernan would share, what the two give and provide for each other. It takes control of him and basically derails all of his plans. He finds what he has been missing in his life with Tiernan, his sister and two best friends. But, he is still hiding the secrets and hates himself for knowing he will betray them all. There is a lot to his backstory, how he fits into Tiernan’s life and how this is way more than just revenge against a man who happens to be Tiernan’s dad.
Tiernan has had a pretty rough life as the son of the head of the mafia. Always at his beck and call, he despises everything about his father, from the things he is forced to do and the way he is treated, to the way Sloan has treated Tiernan’s mother, but Tiernan also craves what the position brings him. He basically only trusts three people – his sister, and his two best friends/cousin and keeps that circle small, until Dean. Never before has he had someone who matches, understands or craves the same things he does. He really doesn’t have much control over the growing feelings for Dean. He is under his father’s thumb, however, and figuring out a way to keep Dean is becoming a bigger issue every day.
Then, Dean finally comes clean and things spiral a bit. Just when we think things are back on track, things go from bad to worse and loyalties are truly tested. I loved the twists and somewhat unexpected outcome we got here. I flew through the pages of this to get more of these two together, the relationship building and the scorching chemistry of these two. I really loved what these guys did for each other physically and mentally, even if their obsessive behavior would be considered over the top to the normal crowd. There is definitely violence – everyone involved admits they are not good people – but this is the life they were raised to live. Needless to say, I was not quite ready for this to end and I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment and looking forward to more dark Riley Hart any time I can get it.
RATING: 
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