This Bitter Earth - reading

Finished "This Bitter Earth" by Bernice L. McFadden. Lappy did it. Fortunately, it's not a murder mystery, so I'm not giving anything away with that statement. This book was indeed about a bitter existence. I recall one moment of joy, one or two really tense moments, and a whole lot of sadness and the general dealing with life's problems. This is the second in the series, something I seem to have a tendency to do to myself (I haven't read the first). Do I have the will to go back to the first in the series? It might be a little too real-life to fulfill my interest in escapism.