What do you think?
Rate this book
Her Mother's Secret
Desire
Lettie Hargreaves wants more than her simple, uncomplicated life with her grandmother can provide. She longs for excitement and love and she's determined to make something of herself.
Deceit
There is something about Lettie's mother that Ivy has kept hidden from her granddaughter, something that would shatter her world. So when Lettie suggests going into service for the ailing Lady Laughton, Ivy knows she must do something to stop it.
Determination
Feeling stifled and confused, Lettie chooses a different path that offers her the chance at love and of the life she so craves. But she is still the same strong-minded young woman and her ambition may do more harm than good as she is entirely unaware of the secrets her actions will uncover.
Lettie Hargreaves wants more than her simple, uncomplicated life with her grandmother can provide. She longs for excitement and love and she's determined to make something of herself.
Deceit
There is something about Lettie's mother that Ivy has kept hidden from her granddaughter, something that would shatter her world. So when Lettie suggests going into service for the ailing Lady Laughton, Ivy knows she must do something to stop it.
Determination
Feeling stifled and confused, Lettie chooses a different path that offers her the chance at love and of the life she so craves. But she is still the same strong-minded young woman and her ambition may do more harm than good as she is entirely unaware of the secrets her actions will uncover.
422 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2014
7 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Catherine King
50 books21 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 23, 2015
Her Mother's Secret by Catherine King is the first book I have read by this author and I am sorry to say it will most definitely be my last. The basic plot had so much potential but was executed in such a poor manner that I did not enjoy this read despite normally liking books in this genre. Set in 1885 and then jumping forward to 1905, this book is based in and around Waterley Edge an area of the South Riding in Yorskhire. The book is split into three parts with only the later part showing some glimpses of what this book could have been. Although the storyline in this part did become more disjointed and unrealistic the further I read. We meet Ruth Hargreaves a young girl on the cusp of womanhood.She lives at Waterly Hall where her father Seth is butler and her mother Ivy is housekeeper. Ruth wants to be a member of the aristocracy and has grand notions for herself. The Lord of the estate Laughton is holding a party while his wife is away so he asks Ruth to attend the dinner and make conversation with the guests. This dinner will have far reaching ramifications that will alter Ruth and her family's world forever. Even within the first chapter I was left thinking could half of this really have happened at the time. Would a Lord really have invited a housekeepers daughter to mingle with important guests? Would Ruth really have attended a ladies college? Laughton must have paid his servants fairly well is all I can say. When you can't convince yourself this early on in a book that events could take place it doesn't bode well for what is to come.
We then jump forward twenty years and Ivy is no longer at Waterly Hall but living with a Reverend Ennis who is a Methodist minister. Her granddaughter Lettie lives there aswell and has although she has been brought up well, she is really under Ivy's thumb. Everything for her seems restricted, she wants to make more of her life and if that means slipping out to visit Thomas who helps out at the market than so be it. She feels trapped and with her grandmother attempting to set her up with a man she cannot stand, now more than ever she wants to discover her heritage and stand on her own two feet. Too many things have been kept hidden and it is time these secrets saw the light.When we start this section of the book up until part three nothing happens. There are chapters and chapters describing Lettie's visits to the Osbornes farm to collect eggs and fresh veg or to have a cup of tea.Not to mention the endless religious references about elders, the manse and the missions.It was too in your face and we didn't need to be told countless times. The reader would be clearly able to work out for themselves that Ivy's grandmother was very religious and this informed her decisions. Only when a major change occurs in Lettie's life do we see the book move on a bit but as I have said not very successfully.
This had a weak plot that bore no resemblance to the blurb until part two.If it had continued in the vein of part one throughout I would certainly have given up on it. You knew what the secret was from chapter one and that is just boring in a book. Where was the mystery, suspense or excitement? I don't claim to be an author or a master at writing but some of the sentence structure was amateurish and needed more consolidation. Initially parts one and two mirror each other in terms of being forced into a relationship with a man you do not like anyway. I felt it was repetitive and a waste of time and brought nothing to the story. I couldn't warm to any of the characters which is really unusual for me. Normally there is at least one character that you can empathise with but here I disliked them all. They were spiteful and narrow minded except Lettie who showed a small but of fight.But she really needed to take a firm stand with her grandmother and the reverend and not become a pushover like her mother before her.I know she had no other family members to fall back on but to be so much under her grandmother's thumb was a bit much. Surely at the turn of the century we were entering an era where women were beginning to fight to achieve the rights they so deserved.
Overall it was too obvious where the bulk of the plot was going to go on searching for Lettie's mother and finding answers to all her questions. Too bad we knew the history of her birth just not what had happened to Ruth. I felt it would have been much better if part one had not featured at all. Instead slipping it in at the end would have been much more suitable. That way the reader would have added tension and suspense throughout the book and the background of Lettie's birth coming at the end would have brought the story full circle and wrapped up the ending nicely. Sometimes if we find out the mystery element in the beginning I get over it and enjoy the journey as the character discovers things for themselves. But here the plot was just weak and paper thin and the last hundred pages just became even more ridiculous. Most of it was foolish and implausible. It was as if the author realised god I'm near the end I better get things wrapped up. She had rambled on for most of the book, nothing had happened except endless repetition which bored me to tears. So to have so much happen so quickly towards the end just made the whole storyline more unbelievable for me. There is much I want to say here but it would give away the last part of the book but suffice to say I wasn't happy with what happened to the characters, how situations and feelings could be brushed under the carpet immediately certainly bore no connection to real life.
A Mother's Story I find hard but need to say was a very average read that did not hit the mark for me in so many ways. I am a huge historical fiction fan and have read far better more accomplished books but this was lacking and didn't leave up to the expectations I have for books in this genre. I was left sorely disappointed and wouldn't recommend this read. Try a Kate Furnivall, Lesley Pearse or Lucinda Riley instead you'll get far more enjoyment.
We then jump forward twenty years and Ivy is no longer at Waterly Hall but living with a Reverend Ennis who is a Methodist minister. Her granddaughter Lettie lives there aswell and has although she has been brought up well, she is really under Ivy's thumb. Everything for her seems restricted, she wants to make more of her life and if that means slipping out to visit Thomas who helps out at the market than so be it. She feels trapped and with her grandmother attempting to set her up with a man she cannot stand, now more than ever she wants to discover her heritage and stand on her own two feet. Too many things have been kept hidden and it is time these secrets saw the light.When we start this section of the book up until part three nothing happens. There are chapters and chapters describing Lettie's visits to the Osbornes farm to collect eggs and fresh veg or to have a cup of tea.Not to mention the endless religious references about elders, the manse and the missions.It was too in your face and we didn't need to be told countless times. The reader would be clearly able to work out for themselves that Ivy's grandmother was very religious and this informed her decisions. Only when a major change occurs in Lettie's life do we see the book move on a bit but as I have said not very successfully.
This had a weak plot that bore no resemblance to the blurb until part two.If it had continued in the vein of part one throughout I would certainly have given up on it. You knew what the secret was from chapter one and that is just boring in a book. Where was the mystery, suspense or excitement? I don't claim to be an author or a master at writing but some of the sentence structure was amateurish and needed more consolidation. Initially parts one and two mirror each other in terms of being forced into a relationship with a man you do not like anyway. I felt it was repetitive and a waste of time and brought nothing to the story. I couldn't warm to any of the characters which is really unusual for me. Normally there is at least one character that you can empathise with but here I disliked them all. They were spiteful and narrow minded except Lettie who showed a small but of fight.But she really needed to take a firm stand with her grandmother and the reverend and not become a pushover like her mother before her.I know she had no other family members to fall back on but to be so much under her grandmother's thumb was a bit much. Surely at the turn of the century we were entering an era where women were beginning to fight to achieve the rights they so deserved.
Overall it was too obvious where the bulk of the plot was going to go on searching for Lettie's mother and finding answers to all her questions. Too bad we knew the history of her birth just not what had happened to Ruth. I felt it would have been much better if part one had not featured at all. Instead slipping it in at the end would have been much more suitable. That way the reader would have added tension and suspense throughout the book and the background of Lettie's birth coming at the end would have brought the story full circle and wrapped up the ending nicely. Sometimes if we find out the mystery element in the beginning I get over it and enjoy the journey as the character discovers things for themselves. But here the plot was just weak and paper thin and the last hundred pages just became even more ridiculous. Most of it was foolish and implausible. It was as if the author realised god I'm near the end I better get things wrapped up. She had rambled on for most of the book, nothing had happened except endless repetition which bored me to tears. So to have so much happen so quickly towards the end just made the whole storyline more unbelievable for me. There is much I want to say here but it would give away the last part of the book but suffice to say I wasn't happy with what happened to the characters, how situations and feelings could be brushed under the carpet immediately certainly bore no connection to real life.
A Mother's Story I find hard but need to say was a very average read that did not hit the mark for me in so many ways. I am a huge historical fiction fan and have read far better more accomplished books but this was lacking and didn't leave up to the expectations I have for books in this genre. I was left sorely disappointed and wouldn't recommend this read. Try a Kate Furnivall, Lesley Pearse or Lucinda Riley instead you'll get far more enjoyment.
March 13, 2020
400 pages without much story to narrate..I was flipping pages in search of something exciting to read in the next chapter,some new turn of event, but was disappointed every single time.
Want to read
November 22, 2014my book arrived today love Catherine King's books so I am looking forward to reading this book as soon as I can
September 23, 2015
Excellent loved it, I read it in 2 days and I couldn't put it down. Loved the story line. Hated Eric such a jerk
August 8, 2019
Even though this book was a bit slow paced at times, the character of Ruth and Lettie were easily relatable to and it made me want to keep reading to see how the story unravels. The third part of the book was probably the most interesting and, whilst slightly predictable, tied everything up nicely.
March 16, 2022
i didn't really like this book since the beginning it was disturbing
the book was boring definitely not what i was expecting
but i liked the ending
the book was boring definitely not what i was expecting
but i liked the ending
September 27, 2015
I received this book through goodreads first-reads
I do have to apologies for how late this review is, I won quite a few books around that time and I've been trying to catch up ever since.
Overall I was disappointed. I have to admit I was somewhat looking forward to reading this one after some of the books I have read recently, and I feel let down by it.
I usually don't read books like this but as I have an interest in history I thought a period drama would be right up my alley, but I was wrong. I'm sixteen and I felt like what I was reading was aimed at people younger than me, I felt like I was reading a Jacqueline Wilson novel. The plot was minimal and uninteresting and the relationships were unrealistic and undeveloped.
The main plot of the book was the search for family and I thought that this was random and the characters didn't really seem to care so much about this, and more about relationships which sprung up out of the blue almost as if the author just wanted something to write about. Not only that but this is all spoiled by the blurb which gives away major plot points which don't happen until about a hundred or so pages into the book, which spoiled the only interesting sub-plot.
The only reason why this didn't get one star was because I finished it, which means that on some level I mustn't have thought it as bad as I am making it out to be. From what I've heard Catherine King's other books are great so how about reading them instead of this one, and if not I hope you get more enjoyment out of it than me.
If you want to read this then my all means go ahead I could be just missing the point, but from the point of view of a sixteen year old, female, reader, I didn't enjoy it at all.
I do have to apologies for how late this review is, I won quite a few books around that time and I've been trying to catch up ever since.
Overall I was disappointed. I have to admit I was somewhat looking forward to reading this one after some of the books I have read recently, and I feel let down by it.
I usually don't read books like this but as I have an interest in history I thought a period drama would be right up my alley, but I was wrong. I'm sixteen and I felt like what I was reading was aimed at people younger than me, I felt like I was reading a Jacqueline Wilson novel. The plot was minimal and uninteresting and the relationships were unrealistic and undeveloped.
The main plot of the book was the search for family and I thought that this was random and the characters didn't really seem to care so much about this, and more about relationships which sprung up out of the blue almost as if the author just wanted something to write about. Not only that but this is all spoiled by the blurb which gives away major plot points which don't happen until about a hundred or so pages into the book, which spoiled the only interesting sub-plot.
The only reason why this didn't get one star was because I finished it, which means that on some level I mustn't have thought it as bad as I am making it out to be. From what I've heard Catherine King's other books are great so how about reading them instead of this one, and if not I hope you get more enjoyment out of it than me.
If you want to read this then my all means go ahead I could be just missing the point, but from the point of view of a sixteen year old, female, reader, I didn't enjoy it at all.
December 29, 2014
I won this book on a goodreads giveaway. I have to say I actually really enjoyed it and to say it was set in a different time it did have a lot of things that i could relate to....for example been told by my parents that i can't do something. It was a very sad tale and i did feel sorry for the main character's mother as she seemed to have had a really hard time of things....and i also regretted not seeing more of lettie's companion thomas in the books as he was a very honest wholesome kind of character. Overall this was a very easy read though i almost felt the ending was wrapped up almost too quickly since parts of the rest of the book had been more slow moving. However i would like to read another book by Catherine King!
December 17, 2015
I have never been as frustrated by characters as I was with Her Mother's Secret. These people continued to keep secrets even when Lettie deserved to know them.
I dont think I enjoyed it. The story was predictable, the characters were heavily flawed. Eh.
I dont think I enjoyed it. The story was predictable, the characters were heavily flawed. Eh.
February 25, 2015
Really enjoyed this book.
Different to my normal choice of book but wouldn't be frightened to pick up another Catherine King.
Thanks to my daughter for her choice in books x
Different to my normal choice of book but wouldn't be frightened to pick up another Catherine King.
Thanks to my daughter for her choice in books x
February 1, 2015
A well written family saga set at end of Victorian/early Edwardian era.
May 14, 2022
I am not used to saga fiction and it was great might continue to follow catherine king's other books.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews