Bad Mothers United

Bad Mother Series #2

by Kate Long

Before Yummy Mummies and Slummy Mummies, before the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, before we wondered How She Does It, there was THE BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK. Hundreds of thousands of readers lived a year in the life of Charlotte, Karen and Nan as they struggled with becoming mothers for the first time. And now they are back. Certainly older, probably not wiser, and definitely as hilariously catastrophic as before.

For all those who have asked how to be a woman, here is HOW TO BE...A BAD MOTHER.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Hello! And welcome to my GoodReads author page.

New: Pinterest boards!
https://www.pinterest.com/volewriter/... - For my new novel, Something Only We Know

http://pinterest.com/volewriter/bank-... See where Charlotte, Karen and Nan actually live!

and my Bad Mothers Facebook page, with lots of background info on the characters and filming: http://www.facebook.com/BadMothersUnited


I write bittersweet novels about family drama and personal crises, especially stories involving the relationship between mothers and daughters.

I like my books to ask questions such as, What makes a parent good or bad? In what way does a family's history shape its present? How can we make the best of the hand which life has dealt us?

My characters tend to have 'ordinary' backgrounds - but actually I think no one is truly ordinary. We all have amazing tales to tell of risk and loss, survival and disaster and triumph, on whatever scale. The most intense dramas are often played out across a domestic stage, with unexpected discoveries and revelations, patterns repeated or shattered forever, bonds broken and new alliances formed.

I've found myself as a reader that meeting such issues in fiction can help me make sense of the real world around me.

Recurring themes in my books include adoption, pregnancy/fertility issues, mental health, sexuality, disability, infidelity and the breaking of family secrets. I also tend to set the action in a specific place around Lancashire, Cheshire or Shropshire.

Reviews

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved 'The Bad Mothers Handbook' and wanted to see what happened to the three main characters - Charlotte, Karen and Nan. I wasn't disappointed, the continuing story is equally as good as the wonderful TBMH. Kate Long's effortless writing style immediately invites you into the lives of Karen and Charlotte. It's so refreshing to read about characters who are facing the same challenges, concerns and decisions we all experience as women and mothers. I laughed, cried and cheered my way through, and felt bereft when I finished the final page. I hope there's a third book, I want to know what's next for the mothers and possibly the next generation.

A cracking book, skillfully written with a natural empathy and understanding of women.

[Jennifer Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in 2004, we were introduced to Karen, Charlotte and Nan in The Bad Mother’s Handbook and they’re back in Bad Mothers United. Charlotte is now at York University, travelling back home to see her son, Will whenever she can while Karen is juggling her job as a teaching assistant with taking care of her two year old grandson. Karen is beyond frazzled but perks up when she meets her new sexy neighbour, Eric. Eric is a single father and starts to rely on Karen to help with his young son, Kenzie but Karen doesn’t seem to mind too much as the pair grow closer.

Charlotte is trying her best to separate her life as a mum to Will and her student life in York but feels she is missing out on both worlds and takes her frustration out on loyal boyfriend, Dan. Charlotte and Dan have been together for three years but they’re both feeling the strain and their relationship begins to crumble.

When I heard there would be a follow up to The Bad Mother’s Handbook, I assumed it would take place in the present day but it picks up a couple of years down the line from the previous book. Will is now two and Charlotte is at university. I did feel for Charlotte as she was pulled in two directions, wanting to further her education and make a better life for herself and her son but missing out on being a mum to him on a day to day basis but I also wanted to give her a good shake as she became stroppy and argumentative, pushing Dan away. Dan is loyal and patient but he can only be pushed so far and that is when the cracks start to appear in their relationship.

I also felt for Karen who wants the best for her daughter and makes sacrifices so that she can be there to care for Will but I don’t think Charlotte always appreciates what her mother is giving up for her and there is also the problem of their different approaches to parenthood. Karen and Charlotte don’t always have the most solid relationship but it was nice to see a better understanding develop between them towards the end.

I was sad to learn that Nan had died but she is still there in book through tape recordings Karen made while trying to learn more about Nan’s history and these were my favourite parts of the book. They were bitter sweet moments as Nan is suffering from dementia and her mind is deteriorating but they are still full of warmth and humour and the book wouldn’t be the same without Nan.

I liked how parts of the previous book flowed through to this one, such as Karen’s confused relationship with her ex husband, Steve and her adoption but I also liked the new elements too, with Charlotte’s life away in York and Karen’s new love interest. It has been a long time since I’ve read The Bad Mother’s Handbook but there were reminders of past storylines and I don’t think you have to have read the previous book to enjoy this one too.

[Melanie Trevelyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This follows on from The Bad Mother's Handbook and is by turns amusing, tragic and of course a happy(isn) ending! We hear the story from two main viewpoints, Mother Karen, daughter and Mother Charlotte and also taped conversations with Nan!
Charlotte is trying to juggle university, her son Will and boyfriend Daniel, he is unselfish, drives her around all over the place and helps with WIll. Her Mother minds Will while Charlotte is at university, is coping with divorce and then the death of an elderly neighbour brings a cat and new man into her life.
Secrets and lies are exposed as Charlotte finds hidden letters from her biological Grandmother and decides to investigate, her father is involved in a biking accident leading Karen to re-examine her feelings for him, become a carer as his new lady deserts him. Daniel finally snaps at Charlotte's jealousy and selfishness and this leads her to look again at her own life.
The story brings home some of the difficulties of single motherhood while at the same time demonstrating that life can progress, Charlotte misses Will terribly whilst she is at university, the bed-hopping habits of her housemates and their dilemnas help her to both appreciate and resent him. Karen enjoys looking after him but finds herself criticising her daughter's parenting skills.
This has some laughs and lows and shows some of the many trails and tribulations of Motherhood.

[Sally Quilford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Bad Mother's Handbook, so it was an absolute joy to catch up with Karen, Charlotte and Nan again in this wonderful follow up. It was like meeting old friends after a ten year period.

I read through it in record time because I just couldn't wait to find out what happened at the end. Kate Long's prose also flows very easily, keeping you turning the pages even when you know it's time to put out the light and go to sleep. There are two intriguing mysteries to solve. We the reader know the outcome of one, even if poor Charlotte doesn't, which makes her quest for the truth even more chilling. I kept wanting to say 'Run, Charlotte!'

The lesson I learned from The Bad Mother's Handbook and Bad Mother's United is that life is full of happy endings, but you sometimes have to go through a lot of anguish to earn them.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book. Loved The Bad Mothers Handbook and really looked forward to reading the follow up. As usual with Kates books a great read, characters are very believable, you feel as though you know them! Such a great realistic story and the perfect follow upto the Bad Mothers Handbook.

So refreshing to read a book that can portray such realistic events that you feel as though you are in the story with them. So much going on, its definitely hard to put down.

I have read all of Kate Longs books and really enjoyed them all. I couldn't wait for her to do the sequel and it didn't disappoint.

Would definitely recommend.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and loved The Bad Mothers Handbook so was really keen to get into this one too. As ever I love the way Kate Long gets you involved with the characters and you identify with all the little flaws of their personalities. I think when I read the first book, I identified with Charlotte a lot and felt on side with her point of view, with this book I was more on side with Karen, and felt her frustration at Charlotte's behaviour! I enjoyed the descriptions of living with a toddler too as my son is the same age as Will in the book. Good stuff, looking forward to my next Kate Long story!

[Rosie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was fantastic. It is a good story with very real characters and is so well written I felt I was part of this family and could see life through all their eyes. I could not put 'Bad Mothers United' down and would recommend it to everyone. Round here there are a lot of Kate Long's fans and we all agree this has been well worth the wait. If you see this - please write another one soon Kate!

Rosie Williams

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved The Bad Mother's Handbook when I was 17 and this sequel definitely didn't disappoint! Kate Long really has a knack of playing and screwing around with your emotions; her characters are so flawed and human that you can't help but hope that things will all go well for them. I wasn't so fond of Nan's storyline this time around and the Eric plotline annoyingly went nowhere in the end, but apart from that, another solid read. Hope there'll be a third!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I can still remember what it is like to be a student and that sense of displacement you get when you return to your family home. I am also the mother of a former student daughter and can also relate really well to the mixture of delight on having your daughter home and the mild irritation at the disruption to your routine that their presence causes. I found the misunderstandings between the two really touching.

[Kathleen McGurl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! It's rare that a sequel is as good as the original but this one is quite possibly even better than The Bad Mothers' Handbook. It's funny, warm, moving and wise.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember reading the first of the Bad Mothers books, but enjoyed this one anyway. The characters were likeable and seeing events from both Karen and Charlotte's perspectives was interesting.

[Tracie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Bad Mothers Handbook but I loved Bad Mothers United. Kate Long is such a talented author and I'll be looking out for more good reads from this author.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed I cried I just love all these characters, yes even Steve! Great book, really makes you think about family!

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Sad when I came to last page as all finished.

[Emma]

Although I have read the prequel to this I was told it can also stand alone as a book. Which I would agree with. I did get a tiny bit confused at one point but that was mostly because I couldn’t figure out if something had happened in the first book (and if so how I’d forgotten it) or if it happened off screen between the two books. Thanks to the power of twitter Kate unconfused me. It happened off screen, in case you’re wondering.

I talk books a lot with various different friends and a few days mentioned this book to one of them. Who said she’d hated The Bad Mothers Handbook. That surprised me because I’d really liked it. She found the characters annoying and wanted to tell Charlotte to grow up she said. I found that interesting because I didn’t find that with The Bad Mothers Handbook but did find that I spent a decent sized chunk of this book wanting to tell Charlotte to grow up and both her and Karen to learn how to communicate properly.

I think when characters annoy you that much it’s a quite a good sign of how realistic and true to life they are. That went down as they book went on and events unfolded. It became more obvious why things were how they were and then it made sense.

This book takes place over a year and each chapter is pretty much a day in a particular month. I quite liked that format. We got a really good snapshot of key events (usually just a day but sometimes a couple) in that month and them we moved on to the next month skipping what could be a few days or a few weeks to get there. Which does mean that some things were building up and then it would skip to the next month and what came of it. It kept the story moving a lot and skipped some of the more obvious and possibly mundane moments like the fight about money I was sure Karen and Charlotte were building up to at some point. There was at least one point by the end that wasn’t resolved that I’d have really wanted dealt with but maybe they’ll be a third book and it’ll be dealt with then. It would make a brilliant plot.

Part way through the book Steve, Charlotte’s Dad and Karen’s ex husband has an accident and becomes disabled in a way that looks at though some degree will be permanent. The difficulties in sourcing the right equipment with all the bureaucracy and delays are shown in a good way and Karen also has to tackle the dreaded DLA form. The way it’s length (circa 39 pages with its own booklet to explain how to do it which if memory serves is almost as long as the form) and the questions are described is brilliant. That part alone could be used to highlight the true difficulties people have with that.

I would hesitate to recommend that however as a bit later in the book Karen discovers that a minor character has been committing benefit fraud. I was a bit angry about that because I’ve had to fight all my life to get all the help I need and claim benefits I’m genuinely entitled too. But the general idea is that we’re all faking to some degree and I worried that would help make reinforce that idea for some readers. But then I calmed down and returned to the book and discovered that actually it was handled brilliantly.

This book was one of those ones that keeps you reading. Not in an edge of my seat I can’t put it down type way but because I’d pick it up and the next thing I’d know is an hour’s gone by and I’ve read way more than I planned. It was a fun enjoyable read but as you can probably tell from my review it provoked some very strong emotions from me so if thats what you want, fantastic, But if a calming read is what you’re after I’d probably skip it.

(I received a review copy from the publisher and this review was also on my blog)

[Baljit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this as it is the sequel to The Bad Mother's Handbook which i really enjoyed a few years back. Although you will probably find both these titles in the chick-lit section, they offer much more that the average chick-lit.
Kate Long writes about ordinary, working class people with day-today problems in small-town northern England. Beneath the homey exterior lie the struggles with financial matters, teenage pregancies,adoption, elderly parents, childcare but also hope for a better future.

'Nothing comes from nothing. Everything begins before itself.'

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly good read. The book was lent to me by a friend who raved about it. It was entertaining and thought provoking, especially so for mothers and daughters! Some of the minor characters including boyfriends and ex husbands were well developed and added depth to an emotional roller caster of family life.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rubbish. Such mixture of moaning and groaning, which annoyed me. Boring characters.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read sequel of the Bad Mothers Handbook. A bit signposted but not too bad

[Girl with her Head in a Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

It always seems to me that as soon as I say I don't like a particular genre, I suddenly discover a whole ream of it that I enjoy. I was really irritated a few months ago when I was contacted by a publicist a few months ago who wrote that she could see from my website that loved chick lit. I responded indignantly that this was certainly not the case. However, I do love The Bad Mother's Handbook and this week I read its sequel Bad Mothers United. I've dabbled with a few other Kate Long books and never quite felt like I hit pay-dirt but The Bad Mothers is head and shoulders above the average - this is chick lit with heart, soul and brain and it warms not just the cockles but the very toes. Plus I have a strong suspicion that it is set if not in my parents' actual village then at least in the very near vicinity - there are just too many local references to ignore. So hola Kate Long, I've been to Rufford Old Hall on many's a Saturday afternoon too and I also know the wonders of the River Douglas so thank you for singing the song of West Lancashire, too often are we forgotten and mocked for our proximity to Wigan - it's really nice to read a book about Real Northerners. We're cool, let's face it.



The basic premise of The Bad Mother's Handbook was three generations of the same family living in the same house; the crone, the mother and the maid otherwise known as Nan, Karen and Charlotte. Karen had Charlotte as a teenager, obtained a speedy divorce from Charlotte's father and had to move back in with her mother. Flash forward to 1997 and the seventeen year-old Charlotte finds herself inconveniently pregnant by her wastrel of a boyfriend Paul. Naturally, chaos ensues. To add interest to the mix, Nan is in the opening stages of Alzheimer's and lets slip that Karen is adopted. Battling the stress of caring for Nan and furious with Charlotte for repeating her mistakes (and also for generally being a stroppy teenager), Karen reaches for her biological mother to give her the answers she craves. Bad idea, Karen, bad idea. Charlotte struggles to come to terms with what is in store for her as her pregnancy progresses but meets and befriends the frankly wonderful Daniel.


I first encountered Daniel as an eighteen year-old who was frankly Unimpressed with the one boyfriend I had had so far and I have always just thought he was incredibly lovely. Weirdly, when the book was adapted a few years later, they cast Robert Pattinson as him. Yes. That Robert Pattinson. He wasn't that famous then and it was very much pre-Twilight but it was still kind of weird. They kind of did that thing that they normally do to pretty girls when they have to play Ugly - like Anne Hathaway in the first half of The Princess Diaries - so he had to wear glasses and massive scarves. I think it was mis-casting myself, the whole point was that Daniel was a bit overgrown and cuddly. I don't think that 'R-Patz' (check me out, being down with the kids) really fitted the bill. But hey ho. Daniel is a fish out of water, new in town and kind of a nerd, and very keen to be befriended by Charlotte who finding herself rather adrift from her friends in her pregnant state ... inevitably, Daniel has a fairly hefty crush and when Charlotte was finally ready to face up to their relationship, I cheered.


From the way I'm describing it, I realise that The Bad Mother's Handbook sounds like it has every cliché going but Kate Long is really able to elevate this to a whole new level. I steered clear of the television adaptation because they had Catherine Tate cast as Karen and it just didn't seem to have caught the original novel's spirit. It's actually fairly easy to review Bad Mothers United alongside The Bad Mother's Handbook because it is a direct continuation. One quick thing though - Bad Mothers United very possibly has the worst and most inaccurate blurb that I have ever seen in my life. First of all it announces that the bad mothers are back 'ten years on' - no, not ten, only three and even the 'Snapshots from the Future' only takes us six years on from the first novel. And then we are told that this time, the women are 'united'. Well no, that would be nice, but they're not ... Something tells me that somebody wrote the blurb for this one on the back of an envelope without so much as glancing through the book. Shame!

Bad Mothers United picks up with Karen looking after Charlotte's son Will while Charlotte is at university in York. Charlotte and Daniel are still together but Charlotte is struggling being so far away from Will and is scratchy in the raw misery of her maternal separation. Long really captures that sense of Charlotte's awareness of how unreasonable she is being but her inability to stop herself from being unpleasant. Oh Charlotte, that boy loves you. Karen on the other hand is still resolutely single, fending off her randy ex-husband and shouldering the grief of Nan's recent death. Interspersed between the chapters though are transcripts of taped conversations with Nan while she was in her care home and although Nan is gone, she is definitely not forgotten.


So often what irritates me about chick lit is that the central character is portrayed as a kind of superwoman but of course unaware of her own brilliance. The women of the Cooper family are recognisable fallible humans. In the first instalment, Charlotte was a typically bratty teenager who shouted at Daniel when her pregnancy test came back positive, even though as he desperately pointed out, it hadn't been him who got her pregnant. Still only in her thirties, Karen was trying to find some kind of meaning in her life. I was sad that the apparent rapprochement between mother and daughter was only temporary but to be fair, that's life. Relationships do go in phases. It was never going to be easy for Karen to bring up Charlotte's child. It reminded me of when I was a baby and my mother had to leave me with my aunt for a few weeks while she set up our first house. When she went to collect me again, she confessed that she was jealous to see that my aunt had taught me "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Apparently I wasn't word perfect but I gave it a good go. My point is, toddlers are remarkably heartless creatures and will attach themselves to any handy friendly adults. Grown-ups are far more vulnerable.

Will was a very believable toddler, keen on his biscuits and confident as a well-loved child. The scene where his biological grandfather drops by the house with the maintenance money was very well drawn. The reader can feel sorry for poor Mr Bentham, slightly overweight and very lonely, longing for a glimpse of his grandson but without anything to offer other than cash. Karen however is a busy woman and does not have time to do much more than thank him for the money with very little graciousness and close the door again. She's not a saint and some people might want a further scene where Mr Bentham becomes more involved in the family circle but what Long has portrayed is what millions of families experience. You can only do what you can do - life is too short for the Cooper family to run after the Benthams to make sure they feel included. They have their own problems to be getting on with. Will is far better off with Daniel.


In the first book, Karen sought out her biological mother and discovered Jessie Pilkington. In the second, it is Charlotte's turn to meet Jessie. Karen acknowledges to Charlotte that guilt is a natural part of parenting - mothers are constantly being told that they are doing it wrong. Yet still, while at different points, all three Coopers are convinced that they are bad mothers, the background menace of Jessie shows the difference between them and the truly Bad Mothers. We see them on the pages of the tabloids, their startled faces in the mug-shots. They excite such fury, these mothers who did not protect their children. By contrast there is the lovely Nan, even in her state of confusion her loving heart shines through. She talks to Charlotte of her wonderful granddaughter who is doing so well and Charlotte tells her that she is glad to hear it. She tells Karen that she is not sure who Karen is but she knows that she loves her very much. It reminded me of my very dear stepgrandmother who passed away this year and how she told me that she was so very sorry about my Grandpa's then-recent death and that she had been praying for me. It was so hard for her to get out a sentence and she remembered so few names by then but her heart was just as strong and true as ever. We remember those who we love and who loved us - I do truly believe that love does not die.

The part that really got me though was when the grieving Karen discovers that the three year-old Will has been 'trained' on the family photo albums by Charlotte. Karen's ex-husband Steve demonstrates one day when Charlotte is out, pointing to pictures of Nan and asking Will, "Who's that?" Will knows exactly who it is. It's Nan. He scores full points and even spots the pictures of the youthful Karen. It made me cry! It gave me real hope of how family members we love can live on for the next generation. It doesn't matter that Nan died when Will was so little - she will be an important member of his family regardless. Similarly for me, my paternal grandmother passed on when I was two but I have the birthday cards she sent me and I think of her from time to time. Also, one of my Grandma's cousins died when I was five; he had always been particularly fond of me - I had a special status of Fatherless Waif at this point - and I have never forgotten the interest he took in my life. From when I was very, very small I realised it was important that I did not forget him because he had loved me. This is the love that grants us immortality - by contrast, Karen refuses to speak of Jessie, her silence clearly intended to be ever-lasting and her choice is matched by Charlotte's. This sense of Things We Don't Speak Of fascinates me - Jessie is not a story to pass on. Her death will go unmourned and unmentioned. Will will never know who she was, never recognise a photo and so her death will be final.

Kate Long is sounding the trumpet here for women - she is right that they are generally the ones left carrying the can simply because they are the ones who give birth to the babies. Still, I felt like this book was more sympathetic towards the men in their lives - Charlotte realises that she needs to treat Daniel better, Karen decides to love Steve for who he is rather than resent him for who he is not - and the 'Snapshots from the Future' made me smile as people say to Charlotte that Will looks just like his Dad. I've been told that a few times myself, but I swear it's only because we both wear glasses. Who knows, perhaps Will will one day raise a pint with his Bentham grandfather but in the meantime he has a happy childhood ahead with Daniel Gale.

I think Kate Long is rather fascinated with causality - the previous book closed considering how far one has to go back to truly find a 'cause' and in this one, Karen blames the infamous North Atlantic Drift which brings rain to Lancashire for her own teenage pregnancy since without it, she could have had hung around with Steve outdoors rather than in and so would not have had sex with him. Charlotte and Karen most likely have many, many bumps in the road ahead in the decades to come - sons may be sons until they marry but a daughter is a daughter for all of her life. Still, Karen can be overwhelmed with love from only one of her daughter's smiles and Charlotte finishes the novel reflexively wanting to ring her Mum to tell her some big news. Bad Mothers United just made me want to hear more from the Coopers and to wish them all very best in the world.

For my full review: http://girlwithherheadinabook.blogspo...

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of disappointed that the supporting characters didn't really get a proper send off, as in, I'm left wondering what happened to them. Still thinking about them a couple of days later 😅 However the story is well written and the main characters do get a great growth arc. You start off with two persons who can be quite unlikeable who eventually learn, grow and worm their way into your heart. A great read

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for an escape from the very difficult relationship I have with my daughter and the cover suggestion was that this was a comedy. I found it was a painfully well written and exquisitely detailed tragedy. Sorry but it was too realistic for me and no lightness or humour at all. It was very well written though, just mis-sold.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sequel more than the first book as I felt I knew the characters well, I enjoyed the way each chapter was a new month, and enjoyed the various different stories and characters that were introduced to the main plot. An easy read that held my interest.

[Shelley Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this - far more depth than the cover suggested.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, just as much as the first!

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Think u needed read first book

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Ruthlessly realistic
* Great attention to detail
* Amusing

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Yummy Mummies and Slummy Mummies, before the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, before we wondered How She Does It, there was THE BAD MOTHER'S HANDBOOK. Hundreds of thousands of readers lived a year in the life of Charlotte, Karen and Nan as they struggled with becoming mothers for the first time.
And now they are back. Certainly older, probably not wiser, and definitely as hilariously catastrophic as before.
For all those who have asked how to be a woman, here is HOW TO BE...A BAD MOTHER.



I have never read a Kate Long book before but have looked at reviews for a few and was planning on getting them. So when Kate Long sent me a copy I was so grateful and it meant I got to jump right in! I thought having not read 'The Bad Mother's Handbook' I may be a bit lost reading this book but it was the complete opposite! The brilliant writing of Kate Long meant that straight away you could start to learn about the characters and their hilarious parenting adventures.

The book jumps forward 3 years from the first one, Charlotte is at university and Karen is looking after Charlotte's son, Karen's grandson, Will, whilst working as a Teaching Assistant. Sadly Nan has passed away, but through the genius of the little parts of conversations that we get thrown into at the end of a lot of the chapters, we still get a feeling that she is very much part of the story and still build up a relationship with her without having known her alive. These although sad as we are reminded that Nan is no longer with them, provides us with laughter throughout at her tales of her younger self.

Having not known Charlotte before the birth of Will I wasn't sure about her at first, I felt as through although a mum she was still a bit of a stroppy teenager, with how she treated her mum and boyfriend Daniel, and that she wasn't sure what she was doing in herself. As the book went on though I started to feel for her having to spend so much time away from her son, which would of course be hard on her, and you see this when she struggles to say goodbye to Will when she goes back to university so far away from him.

Karen is struggling with the death of her mum, when she tries to find her birth mum. You will have to read the book to find out how that went! I loved that we see Charlotte and Karen going through a lot of different things in the space of a year and how they are usually full of laughter for the reader, although it leaves them at times in quite catastrophic situations, some of these even put a strain on their relationship.

I really enjoyed the genius of Kate Long’s writing. The moments when we hear different versions of the same situations from the mind of both Karen and Charlotte were brilliant, this way we got to understand the different emotions and opinions of each character in the same situation, this in turn gives us a better understanding of the characters themselves. It is a very clever way of explaining the characters to us.

Karen and Charlotte’s relationship is the most enjoyable thing about this book, they are just so entertaining together, the perfect mix of personalities for a great story. Anybody that has read ‘The Bad Mother’s Handbook’ will love this book and even if you haven't you will still love it! I am now going to read every other Kate Long book! Absolutely loved it! If you haven't read this yet what are you waiting for? This is the perfect feel good book and it makes you value your mum and all she has done!

[Nrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling plot!

[Elizabeth Ducie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s just been a really shit year, Mum.” I doubt there’s many of us who can’t identify with a comment like that.

I spent a lot of this book wishing the main characters would behave differently. I wanted Karen to be less of a doormat, stand up for herself and act more like someone in her thirties than in her sixties. And I certainly wanted her daughter Charlotte to be less self-centred, more understanding of what her mother was doing for her. But that was the whole point: Kate Long’s characters are irritating because they are so well-drawn; we’ve all met Karen and Charlotte at some point.

And then at 93% through the book [I'm afraid Kindle doesn't do page numbers], there is a wonderful episode that puts the whole mother-daughter scenario into perspective. One of Karen’s thoughts in particular had me punching the air, shouting ‘YES!’

I loved the other key characters, especially Steve, Daniel and Walshie, although I wasn’t too sure about Eric. I’ve never been a mother, which may be why Will and Kenzie didn’t engage me as much as I suspect they were supposed to, but I have been a daughter all my life – and this book sang to that part of me. A thoroughly enjoyable read.