My review
Every daughter needs her mother at any age…
This book brings home the above adage in a beautiful way.
3 strong women; grandmother Mary, mother Laura and daughter Abby. There is an ebb and flow of emotions between all of them especially between Laura and Abby. Laura left Abby, she was driven out, when Abby was just two and she still feels the pain of abandonment. But Laura returns after 20 years to try and bridge the gap between them. Is it too late…?
It’s tough going, as both have their own defences. But that’s what, makes this a good story. There is laughter and tears, love and anger, friendship and strangeness. The entire story is about forging a bond before it’s too late. Laura has her own way of being, she had to toughen up to live a different life in the city, and finds it difficult to open up. Pain of childhood makes Abby hesitant to be bold and ask her mother the tough questions. So the book has lovable moments as well as frustrating ones, when both refuse to share.
Kate Hewitt has done it again, written a book which pulls your heartstrings and makes you want to get a cuddle from your mother. Laura and Abby are both strong characters at the same time vulnerable. They have a bitter past but they look forward to a brighter future. They lose everything to come back stronger than before.
Kate Hewitt has written well, the transformation of strangers becoming friends then bonding into mother and daughter is well evolved. There are other characters who play their part, they come and go but it’s the mother and daughter who take the centre stage in the entire book. When life becomes tough, it’s the tough which gets going, and here the entire town’s people also come forward during periods of hardship.
I would have liked a bit more warmth between Laura and Abby and a lot more warmth between Laura and Mary. The story and background, friction between grandmother Mary and Laura is not well explained. The reason for Laura leaving is flimsy at best and a mother finding work for her daughter as a hostess in a night club sounds too farfetched for this kind of family saga story.
Scar of a mother leaving her daughter is deep but the chasm is never so deep or so wide that it cannot be abridged. Parents are also humans and they make mistakes but sometimes looking at their reasonings from a grown-up’s perspective is rewarding. Thank you, Kate for showing us that…
Every daughter, go to your mom, give her a hug, get a cuddle back and see the world becoming brighter.
There is no place on Earth like a mother’s arms…
I received an Arc from NetGalley and publisher, Berkley Publishing and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating : 4 stars
About the Author
Kate Hewitt is the USA Today bestselling author of more than forty books, including the Hartley-by-the-Sea novels Rainy Day Sistersand Now and Then Friends. She has also written as Katharine Swartz.
Book blurb
Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life on track. After her fiancé’s unexpected death, she returned with her young son to the small village where she grew up and threw herself into helping her ailing grandmother run the town’s beach café. Then one evening, her mother, Laura, shows up in Hartley-by-the-Sea and announces her plan to stay.
Laura Rhodes has made a lot of mistakes, and many of them concern her daughter. Slowly, Abby and Laura start making tentative steps toward each other, only to have life become even more complicated when an unexpected tragedy arises. Together, the two women will discover truths both sad and surprising that draw them closer to a new understanding of what it means to truly forgive someone you love.
Product Details
Publication date : 8th August 2017
Publisher : Berkley Publishing Group
Language : English
Available on Amazon
Mothers-Daughters’ story
46 Responses
Good one
Thank you sir.. For liking and commenting on my post. Much appreciated
Great review
Thank you sir
Welcome mam
Nicely reviewed 🤣
👍🏻**
Thanks
Great choice for writing review I will try this one when I get the time
That’s cool. It’s a nice book and reads fast
Thank you for your encouraging comments.
I completely agree with you. Every daughter needs her mother at any age.
Yea… It’s the universal truth
Hey doctor!!
This one seems interesting
Hey utkarsh, yes it was a nice book.. Lot of feelings in it
Will give it a try someday
Sounds like a good one. Seems like you get a few good ones thru your ARCs!
I had asked for this as I wanted to read Kate Hewitt book. So somehow they agreed…
yay!
😉
Sounds lovely 🙂 great review 💖
Thank you so much. It’s a lovely book..
Nice review, will check the book out
Thank you so much for commenting. Much appreciated. It’s a good book
Great post! Great review!! Gonna buy the book sure 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, it’s a good book.. Enjoyed it well
Haven’t read this one yet but I have read a couple of books by this author before and enjoyed them. 🙂
This was my first with her. I had asked for this book specifically.
In any age.
I agree…
?? Busy?? Not understanding
Ok
Every son is also needed his mother at every age.. Right na..
But daughters and mothers have a special relationship.. That is a little different…
Ohh.. ok.😊
😇
I love books with strong women.
Hey Jay, how are you? Yeah me too. I prefer such books where women are strong whatever genre I read
https://booksteacupnreviews.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/tag-desert-island-discs-blog-tag/
Class review
Ooo thank you Kurian much appreciated
What does it mean when you say that you received an arc? I see that in your posts, and I’m always curious. Is that a solicitation for a review?
No no it’s an advanced readers copy… Most publishers give.. It is kind of an exchange for review.
Ah gotcha. Thank you. I have always wondered. 🙂
Am going to pick this one up. Thanks for the review.
Thank you so much Smitha for your kind words