Book Review & Giveaway: A Mother Like Mine by Kate Hewitt (Hartley-by-the-Sea, book 3)

September 06, 2017

". . . when you've made a lot of mistakes in life. . . it takes some courage to come back and own up to them." (38)

Title: A Mother Like Mine
Series: Hartley-by-the-Sea, Book #3

Author: Kate Hewitt
Publisher: Berkley Books

Release Date: August 8, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Welcome to England's beautiful Lake District, where a reluctant reunion forges a new bond between a daughter and her wayward mother....

Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life on track. After her fiance'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 cafe. Then one evening, her mother, Laura, shows up in Hartley-by-the-Sea and announces her plan to stay. After twenty years away, she now wants to focus on the future--and has no intention, it seems, of revisiting the painful past.

Laura Rhodes has made a lot of mistakes, and many of them concern her daughter. But as Abby gets little glimpses into her mother's life, she begins to realize there are depths to Laura she never knew. 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.

I almost didn't pick up A Mother Like Mine by Kate Hewitt. The whole "prodigal mom" theme have been such a common premise for so many novels these recent years, particularly this year - at least of what I've read. However, I'm glad I did, and that's thanks to a cute and simple cover, and this line on page 6:

"She felt nothing. She couldn't tell if it was a true emptiness of feeling or merely a thin veneer of numbness, and she didn't want to examine the lack of emotion too deeply." (6)

I think it's just beautifully written, and I think it propelled me to continue believing that the author have crafted a good story, at least a well-written one that tugs at heartstrings. And I'm glad it wasn't just well written, it was a good story. I enjoyed it knowing what caused the rift between mother and daughter and how the men in their lives played that role. It's not about romance in any sense, but the untold stories of parent-child relationships. It's about the angst as well as the love between them. It's about the secrets and the decisions that didn't come to light until it does, and it's about starting over. It's about going home - where your heart claims it to be.

"Because at some point you've got to go home." (116)

In all, A Mother like Mine was a story that one would easily enjoy without too much turmoil. The end was sweet, wrapped in a nice bow, but it works well with this story.

For my clean readers, please note this novel contains minor profanity.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.

For my review policy, please see my Disclosure page.

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Kate Hewitt is the USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty books, including the Hartley-by-the-Sea novels Rainy Day Sisters and Now and Then Friends, and more recently, the Willoughby Close series. A former New Yorker, she now lives in Wales with her husband five children. She also writes as Katharine Swartz.