I loved this book, which I could hardly put down once I'd started. It's about a mother in her sixties who has found a new love interest, and her two daughters who are very different from each other.

The characters are believable, the pace of the novel just right for my tastes. The family dramas explored include issues that might possibly trigger painful memories for anyone recently bereaved, or with a background of childhood trauma. But they're sensitively handled, and there's nothing gratuitous or that I felt I needed to skim.

Definitely recommended if you like women's fiction with a bit of depth.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/06/mothers-and-daughters-by-erica-jame... ( )

A delightful family drama revolving around a mother and her two daughters (as the title suggests!). Naomi still lives in Anchor House which overlooks the sea, rebuilding her life after the death of her husband. Her chalk and cheese daughters, Martha and Willow, live with their respective partners but not all is happy in their worlds. It’s a tale of the secrets we keep and how those secrets reverberate and affect those around us.

This is a very enjoyable story about family dynamics. I loved the characters of Naomi and her two daughters. They seemed very realistic and believable. I cared about them. It’s a beautifully written tale, covering some serious issues as well as being entertaining and easy to read. The coastal setting for Anchor House sounded idyllic and it wasn’t difficult to transport myself and imagine walking along the beach at Tilsham. I’ve been a fan of Erica James’ work for quite a number of years now and they never disappoint. I found Mothers & Daughters a captivating, engaging and compelling read. I can highly recommend it. ( )

Although I found there was a certain degree of predictability in the storyline in this family saga, I thought that all the characters were well-portrayed and, with the gradual revelation of long-held secrets as the story unfolded, that the changing dynamics of their interactions were psychologically convincing. I was especially impressed by the ways in which the author explored the changes in the relationships between Naomi and her daughters, Martha and Willow, as well as those between the two sisters, as the various crises in the family force them to confront some uncomfortable home truths about the past and to recognise the corrosive, undermining effects of family secrets. Little by little the women use the insights they gain to begin to let go of well-established but dysfunctional patterns of behaviour, to adjust their perceptions of each other and to let go of guilt, anger and misplaced loyalties.
Themes of domestic abuse and coercive control in relationships are central to the story and were dealt with in a sensitive and insightful way, particularly in recognising how violent and controlling behaviour frequently develops in an incremental way, enabling the perpetrator to gradually undermine his victim’s self-confidence, thus encouraging totally misplaced feelings of shame and guilt to become entrenched, preventing the victim from feeling able to do anything to stop the cycle of violence and intimidation. If the perpetrator is a popular and successful member of the community, who is going to believe that such horrors are happening behind closed doors? However, as the story demonstrates, once the truth emerges it usually becomes apparent that it doesn’t come as a shock to some people, those who have either been aware of, or have suspected, what has been happening but haven’t felt able to ask!
The author also convincingly captured the range of emotions and tensions which can arise when a widowed parent begins a new relationship, only to find their happiness threatened by disapproval from adult offspring. Without introducing any spoilers by giving examples, there were moments when I found myself feeling furious with Martha’s controlling, manipulative behaviour as she attempted to derail her mother’s relationship with Ellis!
This is an easy to read, warm-hearted family saga and although I found it difficult to accept how quickly some of the conflicts were resolved, as the essence of the resolutions felt credible I was, for the most part, able to set aside my doubts and believe in the fresh beginnings promised for the characters. I also enjoyed the evocative descriptions of the rather genteel seaside village of Tilsham and of the family home.
Although I have been vaguely aware of seeing Erica James’s novels in bookshops, and noticing them on ‘best-seller’ lists, I’ve never been tempted to read one, assuming from their rather cosy, sentimental covers that they would fall into the type of romantic genre which holds no appeal to me. I was, therefore, more than a little surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Mothers and Daughters – a salutary lesson in not judging a book by its cover!
With thanks to Readers First and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in return for an honest review. ( )