Bittersweet Blossoms PC (Build 23902090)

She works in the crumbling stately home of Bly, and her young mistress: the devious, devilish Patience. Set in England in 1919, Bittersweet Blossoms is a slowly developing romance story between a working class girl and her mistress. Our protagonist, Dot Graves, is a working class girl from Manchester. When Dot’s father and older brother both die in World War I, Dot takes it upon herself to find work, in the hopes of supporting herself and her mother. A disastrous stint in a factory, however, encourages Dot to leave the city behind her, to seek employment elsewhere. Dot finds employment as a maid in Bly: a tumbledown mansion deep in the countryside which has fallen into decline.

Dot forms an unlikely bond with Fran’s daughter, Patience, but the other maids warn Dot to keep her distance. Patience’s moods are known to be mercurial, her temperament poor, and she fails to live up to her (rather optimistic) name in every regard. Dot hears these warnings, yet she pays them little heed. She can’t help but pity her mistress, who is consigned to her bedroom day in, day out: left immobile after an accident as a child. Dot wants to console Patience, if she can – but how will Patience react to the kindness of a girl whose status is so far beneath her own? This visual novel contains some references to World War I.

The story takes place many years after the first journey to Bly in *Blackberry Honey*, leaving players in a post-WWI world. The tragedy of the war affects nearly every character in the story and looms over them throughout. It serves as the emotional core of the narrative, making several moments genuinely moving. Despite the natural gloom that comes from this setting in Bittersweet Blossoms, it’s the themes of overcoming grief and moving forward through love that truly shine in *Bittersweet Blossoms*.

Even though this is a sequel to *Blackberry Honey*, don’t expect to see Lori or Taohua—they’re off being gay somewhere, and their story is complete. The music is lovely. Fans of the original *Blackberry Honey* soundtrack will find this one just as enjoyable. It’s hard not to get emotional when the “Blackberry Honey” theme returns in one of the more poignant tracks at Bittersweet Blossoms. Regarding Constance, many players were left a little disheartened by how things ended for her in *Blackberry Honey*. Her return here is a welcome one, and despite some concerns mentioned in the developer notes, this conclusion to her story is deeply satisfying.