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The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore
For fans of Rebecca Serle and Elizabeth Acevedo, a magically insightful novel about a woman's journey to discover her roots and what it means to carry our ancestors with us.
In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.
Fresh off a breakup with her long-term boyfriend, laid off from her job as a cartographer, and facing a daunting inheritance of her mothers’ aging Minneapolis Victorian and two orange tabbies, how can she possibly leave the country now? But when an old flame offers to housesit, the chorus agrees that there’s no room for excuses. Armed with only a scrap of a handdrawn map, Dorrie sets off to find out where—and who—she came from.
In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.
Fresh off a breakup with her long-term boyfriend, laid off from her job as a cartographer, and facing a daunting inheritance of her mothers’ aging Minneapolis Victorian and two orange tabbies, how can she possibly leave the country now? But when an old flame offers to housesit, the chorus agrees that there’s no room for excuses. Armed with only a scrap of a handdrawn map, Dorrie sets off to find out where—and who—she came from.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2025
50 people are currently reading
16752 people want to read
About the author
Anika Fajardo
18 books128 followersAnika Fajardo is an award-winning writer, who was born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota. Her debut novel, The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore, is forthcoming in 2025. She is also the author of Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family and two middle-grade novels, What If a Fish and Meet Me Halfway. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
lost-interest
October 17, 2025I'm probably the problem.
7% in
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Dozed off 3 times
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August 25, 2025A very intriguing book. I love the characters. Will Dorrie listen to the voices in her head or make her own decisions. She has a major decision to make in her life. Highly recommend.
May 27, 2025
I received this book as an ARC and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a beautiful story about identity and family, and I loved the author’s writing style. Her themes are poignant and well utilized throughout the novel. There is also a dual timeline format and I enjoyed each of the characters’ POV equally. Will definitely be recommending this book to friends and family when it is published!
September 7, 2025
A slow build, female-centered novel about where we come from and how we bring our ancestors with us. I found it extremely touching and engaging.
Dolores has just lost her mother, Jane. She was adopted by her biological aunt and her partner Elizabeth. Both of her mother have passed in the last 16 months. In her early 30’s, she lives in Minnesota and is a cartographer, although recently laid off. So she has some time to
I found the parts about cartography, history and map-making to be very insightful and interesting. I know very little about this field, we all use maps but who knows how they are made and the history of exploring? Fascinating as interstitials.
There is just a touch of magic as Dolores hears voices of her ancestors, they mostly make judgmental comments about what Dolores is observing. It’s just like when you hear your loved one’s voices in your head. When you love someone, you know exactly what they’d say.
This was a very solid debut, I loved the themes and the slower pace lent itself for more description and setting. It helped think of questions about who we are and how it relates to where we come from.
Thank you to Gallery Books for the free book. Book will be published September 16, 2025. #gifted #partner
Dolores has just lost her mother, Jane. She was adopted by her biological aunt and her partner Elizabeth. Both of her mother have passed in the last 16 months. In her early 30’s, she lives in Minnesota and is a cartographer, although recently laid off. So she has some time to
I found the parts about cartography, history and map-making to be very insightful and interesting. I know very little about this field, we all use maps but who knows how they are made and the history of exploring? Fascinating as interstitials.
There is just a touch of magic as Dolores hears voices of her ancestors, they mostly make judgmental comments about what Dolores is observing. It’s just like when you hear your loved one’s voices in your head. When you love someone, you know exactly what they’d say.
This was a very solid debut, I loved the themes and the slower pace lent itself for more description and setting. It helped think of questions about who we are and how it relates to where we come from.
Thank you to Gallery Books for the free book. Book will be published September 16, 2025. #gifted #partner
September 27, 2025
With the passing of her aunt and last mother figure in her life, Dolores finds herself unmoored, jobless, and strapped with end-of-life responsibilities. Armed with nothing but a simple map and a promise to her dying mother, Dolores sets out to find her heritage, retracing her birth mother's journey to Cali, Colombia. With the help of the voices of her female ancestor, Dorrie finds her way to her past, finding a way to be rooted in the present, and grow into her future.
This was a "vibes" book for me--the prose was full of beautiful imagery and metaphors, parts of the story felt like fall weather and Gilmore Girls rewatches, the plot meanders gently as Dorrie explores a new side of herself and her family. The writing itself captured me enough to keep going, but ultimately the plot was a little too slow to make me want to keep reading. Some aspects of the conflict felt like they were there simply to give the reader more to be surprised by or engaged with (how many tragedies can realistically befall one woman?).
Readers who enjoy novels by Yaa Gyasi, Bernardine Evaristo, or Charmaine Wilkerson for their generational storylines may also like this book.
This was a "vibes" book for me--the prose was full of beautiful imagery and metaphors, parts of the story felt like fall weather and Gilmore Girls rewatches, the plot meanders gently as Dorrie explores a new side of herself and her family. The writing itself captured me enough to keep going, but ultimately the plot was a little too slow to make me want to keep reading. Some aspects of the conflict felt like they were there simply to give the reader more to be surprised by or engaged with (how many tragedies can realistically befall one woman?).
Readers who enjoy novels by Yaa Gyasi, Bernardine Evaristo, or Charmaine Wilkerson for their generational storylines may also like this book.
Want to read
August 19, 2025Looking forward to reading this!
April 16, 2025
I’ve been walking around like a zombie all week because the cliffhangers in this book kept me awake and thinking long after I forced myself to put the book down each night. This is a book with a a lot of interiority that feels like action because a chorus of ancestors live in the main character’s head, warning, arguing, advising, leading Dolores on an international quest to fill in gaps in her history and to find her way forward after heartbreaking loss. Other magical moments: hummingbirds, mangos, strangers who become friends, lost friends found, cats!
January 26, 2026
Wow, so glad I didn't just skip this standout debut from last year, it was SOOO good!! I loved following 35 year old Dorrie who has just lost her second mom and made a promise to trace her roots in Columbia.
What follows is a coming of middle age women's fiction/romance that heavily leans into identity, belonging, friendship and family roots as one woman traces the origins of her birth to a country she's never visited all while hearing the Greek chorus of her female ancestors in her head.
Moving, heartfelt and deeply emotional. This was excellent on audio narrated by Stacy Gonzales. I enjoyed this book so much and highly recommend it for fans of books like Bearer of bad news by Elisabeth Dini and authors like Patricia Engel or Johanna Rojas Vann.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review! I’m excited to read more by this new author to watch!!
What follows is a coming of middle age women's fiction/romance that heavily leans into identity, belonging, friendship and family roots as one woman traces the origins of her birth to a country she's never visited all while hearing the Greek chorus of her female ancestors in her head.
Moving, heartfelt and deeply emotional. This was excellent on audio narrated by Stacy Gonzales. I enjoyed this book so much and highly recommend it for fans of books like Bearer of bad news by Elisabeth Dini and authors like Patricia Engel or Johanna Rojas Vann.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review! I’m excited to read more by this new author to watch!!
January 15, 2026
At 35, Dolores (Dorrie) is truly an orphan. Her American birth mother and Columbian father both died in Columbia when she was an infant after which she was adopted and raised in Minnesota by her gay aunt and her aunt's wife. Fortunately for her, she receives regular commentary and advice by a "Greek Chorus" of ancestors. After finding an old map of places in Columbia that was hand drawn by her birth mom, Dorrie decides to travel to Columbia and learn more about her. This was a beautiful, uplifting, often humorous book about finding your roots and understanding your past.
August 9, 2025
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The setting: Dolores, "Dorrie" Moore has become a 35-year-old orphan. First orphaned as an infant, she is raised by her "two mothers" [Jane--Dorrie's aunt, and Elizabeth--Jane's wife. After their deaths [first Elizabeth, then Jane], Dorrie finds herself lost. She has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and been laid off from her job as a cartographer. In her daily life, she is often accompanied by a chorus of dead relatives--many aunts, who urge her on, reprimand her, offer opinions, etc. Her Aunt Jane's death-bed wish was that Dorrie return to her birthplace in Colombia. Armed only with a scrap of a hand-drawn map, Dorrie journeys to Colombia to find out where and who she came from. Who is this “brown” girl raised with much l0ve and multicultural experiences by Caucasians?
A dual timeline--which i like. The past--Dorrie's mother, Margaret/Maggie [the youngest sister of Jane] and her Colombian story--where she met Dorrie's father, Juan Carlos. Present--Dorrie's current circumstances--first In Minnesota after her mothers' deaths, and her subsequent quest in Colombia.
Friendships, family, self discovery--both timelines. Throw in a bit of Colombian history/cartels, politics, etc.
New knowledge: in 1920, the League of Nations came up with the idea of a passport as it is known today--size, layout, content.
Some predictability and neat and tidy, but I didn't [much] care as I was enjoying the read.
3.5, but taking a leap and rounding up.
The setting: Dolores, "Dorrie" Moore has become a 35-year-old orphan. First orphaned as an infant, she is raised by her "two mothers" [Jane--Dorrie's aunt, and Elizabeth--Jane's wife. After their deaths [first Elizabeth, then Jane], Dorrie finds herself lost. She has just broken up with her long-term boyfriend and been laid off from her job as a cartographer. In her daily life, she is often accompanied by a chorus of dead relatives--many aunts, who urge her on, reprimand her, offer opinions, etc. Her Aunt Jane's death-bed wish was that Dorrie return to her birthplace in Colombia. Armed only with a scrap of a hand-drawn map, Dorrie journeys to Colombia to find out where and who she came from. Who is this “brown” girl raised with much l0ve and multicultural experiences by Caucasians?
A dual timeline--which i like. The past--Dorrie's mother, Margaret/Maggie [the youngest sister of Jane] and her Colombian story--where she met Dorrie's father, Juan Carlos. Present--Dorrie's current circumstances--first In Minnesota after her mothers' deaths, and her subsequent quest in Colombia.
Friendships, family, self discovery--both timelines. Throw in a bit of Colombian history/cartels, politics, etc.
New knowledge: in 1920, the League of Nations came up with the idea of a passport as it is known today--size, layout, content.
Some predictability and neat and tidy, but I didn't [much] care as I was enjoying the read.
3.5, but taking a leap and rounding up.
February 1, 2026
3.5 rounded up
September 27, 2025
This book had the perfect ratio of everything! Self discovery, family, friendship, love. I also love when a book goes down a random rabbit hole and this one kept coming back to cartography and that was delightful.
September 24, 2025
An interesting premise about hearing the voices of your matriarchal relatives in your head, women from past generations giving you advice and commentary. However, I found the main character bland and generic. Her inner dialogue was really repetitive and I didn’t agree with some of her choices. The cover and premise caught my attention but the story didn’t hold it.
October 15, 2025
4.5 stars
September 15, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ Thank you @gallerybooks & @Simon.audio for the gifted books.
May 23, 2025
I quite enjoyed this book, it's alittle different than what I normally read but had a great story. I loved how she found out about her roots and how she was going to move on after everything she went thru. I loved the ending as well and the little suprise at the end.
July 6, 2025
*****3.5*****
The cover of this book really attracted me. It's so beautiful! I enjoyed reading it. It wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be more of a literary novel, but it was more like literary chick lit, which I don't mind because I enjoy chick lit. It also sort of reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love even though that's nonfiction because the main character, Dorrie Moore, travels to Colombia and San Francisco and then back home to Minnesota and finds herself, essentially. I liked Dorrie's first-person narration, and I liked the cartography references between parts. I didn't like the alternating perspective back in 1989 to Dorrie's parents. I didn't think they were necessary and didn't add anything to the story. I feel like Dorrie's discovery of what happened to her parents would be far more impactful without the flashbacks. I also didn't like the random blurbs about cartography that came up throughout the novel. At first, I appreciated the history and found it cool how Fajardo linked the history to Dorrie's story, but they became increasingly intrusive. I really liked that the characters felt so real. They are all really well-defined and detailed and came alive for me, even Dorrie's parents. I found myself connecting to everyone, and I liked that a lot. The section in Colombia was my favorite because of the characters and the richness of the details and Dorrie's experiences. I love that the map she finds of Cali, Colombia is a driving force for her and comes up again in the novel as a metaphor/symbol. I loved the ending--the last lines are great. There are just a lot of cliches and obvious directions for the story to go in. It's a beautifully written book, and it's funny, but some things are a little eyeroll inducing. I write contemporary fiction myself, and I know there are cliches and obvious plot lines, so this isn't necessarily avoidable, but it's just a note to explain the rating. I guess, for me, I felt there were so many ways the book could go with the characters and inciting incidents, but then, it went the cliche way, so maybe that's why it impacts my rating. I also felt that Dorrie's "Greek chorus" of voices she hears with her dead female relatives speaking was more of an afterthought. It is important to her character development in a way, but the story would be 100% the same without it. I didn't really see the point, and it didn't feel like magical realism because it's never clear whether Dorrie actually hears these voices, or she relies on what she thinks her dead "mothers" would say for comfort and an excuse to maintain the status quo in her life. I love magical realism, and I feel like Fajardo could have dove into this much more and made the Greek chorus much more of a character and made it clear that Dorrie was actually hearing them speak. It would've been great if she could speak back to them, if they actually interfered in her life and made an impact on the plot.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. I recommend it to people who enjoy literary chick lit with a vaguely magical realistic background and who like stories about people who are lost finding themselves, especially in other countries but also coming home to find their home and themselves changed in various ways. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ebook to read and review.
The cover of this book really attracted me. It's so beautiful! I enjoyed reading it. It wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be more of a literary novel, but it was more like literary chick lit, which I don't mind because I enjoy chick lit. It also sort of reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love even though that's nonfiction because the main character, Dorrie Moore, travels to Colombia and San Francisco and then back home to Minnesota and finds herself, essentially. I liked Dorrie's first-person narration, and I liked the cartography references between parts. I didn't like the alternating perspective back in 1989 to Dorrie's parents. I didn't think they were necessary and didn't add anything to the story. I feel like Dorrie's discovery of what happened to her parents would be far more impactful without the flashbacks. I also didn't like the random blurbs about cartography that came up throughout the novel. At first, I appreciated the history and found it cool how Fajardo linked the history to Dorrie's story, but they became increasingly intrusive. I really liked that the characters felt so real. They are all really well-defined and detailed and came alive for me, even Dorrie's parents. I found myself connecting to everyone, and I liked that a lot. The section in Colombia was my favorite because of the characters and the richness of the details and Dorrie's experiences. I love that the map she finds of Cali, Colombia is a driving force for her and comes up again in the novel as a metaphor/symbol. I loved the ending--the last lines are great. There are just a lot of cliches and obvious directions for the story to go in. It's a beautifully written book, and it's funny, but some things are a little eyeroll inducing. I write contemporary fiction myself, and I know there are cliches and obvious plot lines, so this isn't necessarily avoidable, but it's just a note to explain the rating. I guess, for me, I felt there were so many ways the book could go with the characters and inciting incidents, but then, it went the cliche way, so maybe that's why it impacts my rating. I also felt that Dorrie's "Greek chorus" of voices she hears with her dead female relatives speaking was more of an afterthought. It is important to her character development in a way, but the story would be 100% the same without it. I didn't really see the point, and it didn't feel like magical realism because it's never clear whether Dorrie actually hears these voices, or she relies on what she thinks her dead "mothers" would say for comfort and an excuse to maintain the status quo in her life. I love magical realism, and I feel like Fajardo could have dove into this much more and made the Greek chorus much more of a character and made it clear that Dorrie was actually hearing them speak. It would've been great if she could speak back to them, if they actually interfered in her life and made an impact on the plot.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. I recommend it to people who enjoy literary chick lit with a vaguely magical realistic background and who like stories about people who are lost finding themselves, especially in other countries but also coming home to find their home and themselves changed in various ways. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ebook to read and review.
October 8, 2025
4.5 stars
Location Minnesota, California and Columbia
Tropes: Magical realism, grief and loss, only child, adopted, finding one's self, unplanned pregnancy, second chance romance
This book was unexpectedly really good. There was a moment in the book where I was not happy where the author was going because it felt unrealistic but then there was redemption and the world was right again.
I am also obsessed with Dolors being a cartographer (map maker) this is so symbolic to the story and how it is woven in is just perfection. I LOVED this element.
This book has the PERFECT magical realism elements in it. It's not overwhelming but it adds to the book in the most perfect of ways.
Dolores grew up with two moms and a best friend. When her moms both pass away within a short time of each other her life is turned upside down. Remembering that her one mom always wanted her to explore her half heritage in Columbia - she booked the trip and set out to figure out who she really is.
Location Minnesota, California and Columbia
Tropes: Magical realism, grief and loss, only child, adopted, finding one's self, unplanned pregnancy, second chance romance
This book was unexpectedly really good. There was a moment in the book where I was not happy where the author was going because it felt unrealistic but then there was redemption and the world was right again.
I am also obsessed with Dolors being a cartographer (map maker) this is so symbolic to the story and how it is woven in is just perfection. I LOVED this element.
This book has the PERFECT magical realism elements in it. It's not overwhelming but it adds to the book in the most perfect of ways.
Dolores grew up with two moms and a best friend. When her moms both pass away within a short time of each other her life is turned upside down. Remembering that her one mom always wanted her to explore her half heritage in Columbia - she booked the trip and set out to figure out who she really is.
August 1, 2025
This was a beautiful homie story of the twin cities and Columbia. I loved the realness of the characters and the imagery the author creates so easily. I feel so grateful to have been able to read this ARC 😍
September 23, 2025
This was a very enjoyable read with the theme of how everything in life brings you to where you’re supposed to be and shapes who you are. Very satisfying ending with endearing characters all along the way. I love the Greek chorus concept, too.
December 11, 2025
I definitely picked this book by its cover … and the fascinating story! This was my third sad book in a row …
I’m not quite sure why I picked the existential books and this semi sad one to read on vacation … but I did love the story of self discovery and of growth. As someone who travels a lot, I cannot imagine someone born in Columbia yet never left the town she grew up in!
I would also clarify that while the beginning of the story is sad, it doesn’t stay that way the whole time!
I’m not quite sure why I picked the existential books and this semi sad one to read on vacation … but I did love the story of self discovery and of growth. As someone who travels a lot, I cannot imagine someone born in Columbia yet never left the town she grew up in!
I would also clarify that while the beginning of the story is sad, it doesn’t stay that way the whole time!
October 27, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“ In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.“
I love this magical realism read about one woman’s journey to figuring out who see is and what makes us who we are. The classic nature vs nurture.
I especially loved the writing in the descriptions of Colombia, definitely a good book to pick up if you want to immerse yourself in a foreign country and feel the travel vibes.
There are flashbacks written in Dorrie’s mother Maggie’s perspective and the romance in those is just so aspirational. Love!
This was one of my favorite reads in October
“ In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.“
I love this magical realism read about one woman’s journey to figuring out who see is and what makes us who we are. The classic nature vs nurture.
I especially loved the writing in the descriptions of Colombia, definitely a good book to pick up if you want to immerse yourself in a foreign country and feel the travel vibes.
There are flashbacks written in Dorrie’s mother Maggie’s perspective and the romance in those is just so aspirational. Love!
This was one of my favorite reads in October
October 19, 2025
Beautifully written & a great story. And a little long.
May 17, 2025
A delightful story of self discovery.
Wonderfully written, the writer beautifully describes people, and places in a way that makes you feel as if you know them and are visiting foreign places.
Highly recommend, get your copy today.
Wonderfully written, the writer beautifully describes people, and places in a way that makes you feel as if you know them and are visiting foreign places.
Highly recommend, get your copy today.
July 16, 2025
The premise of this story is so compelling: an adopted woman returning to Colombia to search for her heritage, accompanied by the voices of female ancestors in her head like a Greek chorus. I was hoping for a rich and layered story of grief, heritage, identity and ancestry with some nuanced character work, but unfortunately, for me, the execution never lived up to the premise. I'll discuss why this novel didn't work for me.
- First off: the writing style. It was straightforward and clear in the sense that it communicated what was happening, but it didn't do any more than that. There were no beautiful or striking turns of phrase, no depth or nuance, and no evocation of either emotions or setting.
- The pacing felt very slow, especially in the opening third. It takes 30% for Dolores to even get to Colombia.
- The characters. Dolores feels like an empty vessel for the plot, and barely has any personality. The supporting characters felt similarly empty, and connections between them were established through generic, Hallmark-esque scenes and memories. There was little to no meat or complexity to the characters and their dynamics.
- The chorus of ancestral voices was what initially intrigued me most, but even that element felt underdeveloped. Each voice is named, but we’re given no context for who these women were or what they meant to Dolores. In fact, most of them seem to have died before Dolores was old enough to even form a meaningful connection with them. They mostly comment on the main character's daily actions in mundane ways, and she doesn’t engage with them or reflect meaningfully on what they say — so the device ends up feeling more like a gimmick than a meaningful narrative layer.
- The plot was just so uninteresting. Very little happens, and the story focuses disproportionally on the mundane and the irrelevant, like the transportation of Dolores's cats prior to her trip. The journey itself got bogged down in dull travel logistics and minor inconveniences that didn’t carry emotional weight. I didn't feel that the second story line in the past contributed anything meaningful to the narrative.
- The themes. Oh, the themes. Such interesting and moving things could have been done with this story thematically, but the promising premise is completely underutilized. When the author does attempt to work in a theme, it remains unsubtle and superficial.
In conclusion, I can say that this story isn't bad or offensive per se, but I found it oversimplified and bland in every way. If a book isn't trying to be deep and explore nuanced themes, that's fine, but then it should at least be entertaining. Mine seems to be an outlier review, however, so I imagine I'm just not the right reader for this story and others will feel differently.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
- First off: the writing style. It was straightforward and clear in the sense that it communicated what was happening, but it didn't do any more than that. There were no beautiful or striking turns of phrase, no depth or nuance, and no evocation of either emotions or setting.
- The pacing felt very slow, especially in the opening third. It takes 30% for Dolores to even get to Colombia.
- The characters. Dolores feels like an empty vessel for the plot, and barely has any personality. The supporting characters felt similarly empty, and connections between them were established through generic, Hallmark-esque scenes and memories. There was little to no meat or complexity to the characters and their dynamics.
- The chorus of ancestral voices was what initially intrigued me most, but even that element felt underdeveloped. Each voice is named, but we’re given no context for who these women were or what they meant to Dolores. In fact, most of them seem to have died before Dolores was old enough to even form a meaningful connection with them. They mostly comment on the main character's daily actions in mundane ways, and she doesn’t engage with them or reflect meaningfully on what they say — so the device ends up feeling more like a gimmick than a meaningful narrative layer.
- The plot was just so uninteresting. Very little happens, and the story focuses disproportionally on the mundane and the irrelevant, like the transportation of Dolores's cats prior to her trip. The journey itself got bogged down in dull travel logistics and minor inconveniences that didn’t carry emotional weight. I didn't feel that the second story line in the past contributed anything meaningful to the narrative.
- The themes. Oh, the themes. Such interesting and moving things could have been done with this story thematically, but the promising premise is completely underutilized. When the author does attempt to work in a theme, it remains unsubtle and superficial.
In conclusion, I can say that this story isn't bad or offensive per se, but I found it oversimplified and bland in every way. If a book isn't trying to be deep and explore nuanced themes, that's fine, but then it should at least be entertaining. Mine seems to be an outlier review, however, so I imagine I'm just not the right reader for this story and others will feel differently.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 12, 2025
This book had such a wonderful premise!
I wanted to love it.
I found the ghost voices to be incredibly mundane, where I thought they would be intriguing and a unique twist.
The main character was just a concept and never flushed out for me. She was only the conduit of the storyline, and I am a very character motivated reader.
Felt like there wasn’t enough of an original voice to stick with me honestly.
Also the flashbacks and the cartography pieces just made the story disjointed and messy.
It was entertaining enough, easy to read, and had a few good moments, but overall was not the kind of book I could sink my teeth into. I do love a good fatty chew when it comes to reading stories.
🌟🌟🌟
Had such potential.
I wanted to love it.
I found the ghost voices to be incredibly mundane, where I thought they would be intriguing and a unique twist.
The main character was just a concept and never flushed out for me. She was only the conduit of the storyline, and I am a very character motivated reader.
Felt like there wasn’t enough of an original voice to stick with me honestly.
Also the flashbacks and the cartography pieces just made the story disjointed and messy.
It was entertaining enough, easy to read, and had a few good moments, but overall was not the kind of book I could sink my teeth into. I do love a good fatty chew when it comes to reading stories.
🌟🌟🌟
Had such potential.
September 1, 2025
*Book review: Anika Fajardo’s The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore.
Published by Gallery Books — thank you to the publisher for my gifted book.
Some books roar; this one murmurs in your ear like a memory you didn’t know you had. The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore is a quiet, introspective, and unexpectedly witty novel about grief, identity, and the complicated weight of legacy. Anika Fajardo writes with a warmth that sneaks up on you. One minute you’re in a dusty attic in Minneapolis, the next you’re standing on a street in Cali, Colombia, holding a wrinkled, hand-drawn map and trying to make sense of your life, your lineage, and whether or not ghosts are real—or just projections of your unmet needs. Honestly, it could go either way, and Fajardo leans into that ambiguity beautifully.
Dolores Moore—Dorrie—is 35, recently orphaned for the second time, newly single, freshly laid off, and altogether unmoored. Her two mothers, Jane and Elizabeth, both gone. Her long-term boyfriend, Franklin, also gone (though not dead—just a well-timed breakup). Her job as a cartographer? Poof. She’s left with a large, creaky Victorian house, two elderly orange cats, and a Greek chorus of female relatives in her head. Dead ones. They offer unsolicited commentary on everything from what she should wear to whether she’s wasting her potential. They’re funny, bossy, opinionated, and deeply familiar to anyone who’s ever had a nosy aunt or overbearing grandmother.
The setup is clever, but what keeps you turning pages is the emotional undercurrent. After promising her dying mother she’d return to Colombia—the place she was born but never knew—Dorrie is stuck. She wants to honor the promise, but life keeps giving her reasons not to. It’s only when an old flame volunteers to watch the house (and the cats) that she finally buys a plane ticket and goes. Her mission is simple: follow the map, find the roots. But nothing about this journey is tidy, and that’s exactly what makes it feel true.
There’s a dual timeline structure that alternates between Dorrie in the present and her birth mother Margaret back in 1989. Margaret’s chapters give the novel a heartbeat. She’s vibrant, impulsive, and a little reckless—drawn to Colombia for love, adventure, and escape. It’s bittersweet knowing what’s coming, but watching her fall in love with both a man and a country gives the book a lovely texture. You feel the tension of two women’s lives running parallel across time—one trying to start something, the other trying to make sense of what was left behind.
The magical realism here is understated. Don’t expect spells or levitating tables. It’s more in the feeling—voices from beyond, signs in mango trees, conversations that may or may not be internal. The dead women in Dorrie’s head—her “many mothers”—serve as guides, distractions, guilt trips, and comfort. Sometimes they interrupt. Sometimes they push her forward. Sometimes they just make jokes about her wardrobe. But they’re always there, hovering like memory.
What’s fascinating is that Fajardo doesn’t treat Dorrie’s journey like a straight line. There’s no huge, dramatic epiphany. No single scene where everything shifts. Instead, she gives us a slow unraveling and a subtle re-stitching. Dorrie makes tentative steps toward understanding—about her mother, her father, herself—but it’s never grandiose. It’s real. One step forward, two steps sideways, a bit of a backslide, and a hesitant leap. It’s one of the most honest portrayals of self-discovery I’ve read in a while.
Is it perfect? Not quite. There are moments when the pacing drags—particularly in the first third when Dorrie is spinning her wheels in Minneapolis. The ancestral voices, while charming, sometimes blur together without distinct identities. And a few of the cartography-themed asides, though intellectually interesting, feel shoehorned in rather than organically woven into the plot. Still, these are minor quibbles in a novel that’s more concerned with mood than momentum.
The emotional payoff comes not in a single twist, but in the accumulation of small choices. Dorrie learning how to be in her own skin without needing permission. Dorrie realizing that honoring her mothers doesn’t mean living their lives. Dorrie allowing herself to imagine a future that isn’t built entirely from inherited maps.
Fajardo also deserves credit for representation done right. This is an OwnVoices story featuring an adoptee raised by two women, exploring her Latina identity, reconnecting with her birth roots, and dealing with the complexity of loving a family that wasn’t built the traditional way. There’s space for queerness, for bicultural identity, for grief that isn’t melodramatic, and for healing that doesn’t demand a complete breakdown. It’s hopeful without being saccharine.
The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore is for readers who love stories about women at crossroads, about ghosts that talk (but don’t haunt), and about how sometimes, coming home means leaving it first. It’s for people who like their fiction with a touch of magical realism, a lot of heart, and a chorus of dead women chiming in on every decision.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)
#TheManyMothersOfDoloresMoore #AnikaFajardo #GalleryBooks #BookReview #NetGalleyARC #LatinxFiction #MagicalRealismBooks #WomensFictionReads #GriefAndHealing #AdoptionStories #FoundFamilyFiction #September2025BookReleases #OwnVoicesNarratives #BookstagramRecommendations #ContemporaryFictionWithHeart
Published by Gallery Books — thank you to the publisher for my gifted book.
Some books roar; this one murmurs in your ear like a memory you didn’t know you had. The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore is a quiet, introspective, and unexpectedly witty novel about grief, identity, and the complicated weight of legacy. Anika Fajardo writes with a warmth that sneaks up on you. One minute you’re in a dusty attic in Minneapolis, the next you’re standing on a street in Cali, Colombia, holding a wrinkled, hand-drawn map and trying to make sense of your life, your lineage, and whether or not ghosts are real—or just projections of your unmet needs. Honestly, it could go either way, and Fajardo leans into that ambiguity beautifully.
Dolores Moore—Dorrie—is 35, recently orphaned for the second time, newly single, freshly laid off, and altogether unmoored. Her two mothers, Jane and Elizabeth, both gone. Her long-term boyfriend, Franklin, also gone (though not dead—just a well-timed breakup). Her job as a cartographer? Poof. She’s left with a large, creaky Victorian house, two elderly orange cats, and a Greek chorus of female relatives in her head. Dead ones. They offer unsolicited commentary on everything from what she should wear to whether she’s wasting her potential. They’re funny, bossy, opinionated, and deeply familiar to anyone who’s ever had a nosy aunt or overbearing grandmother.
The setup is clever, but what keeps you turning pages is the emotional undercurrent. After promising her dying mother she’d return to Colombia—the place she was born but never knew—Dorrie is stuck. She wants to honor the promise, but life keeps giving her reasons not to. It’s only when an old flame volunteers to watch the house (and the cats) that she finally buys a plane ticket and goes. Her mission is simple: follow the map, find the roots. But nothing about this journey is tidy, and that’s exactly what makes it feel true.
There’s a dual timeline structure that alternates between Dorrie in the present and her birth mother Margaret back in 1989. Margaret’s chapters give the novel a heartbeat. She’s vibrant, impulsive, and a little reckless—drawn to Colombia for love, adventure, and escape. It’s bittersweet knowing what’s coming, but watching her fall in love with both a man and a country gives the book a lovely texture. You feel the tension of two women’s lives running parallel across time—one trying to start something, the other trying to make sense of what was left behind.
The magical realism here is understated. Don’t expect spells or levitating tables. It’s more in the feeling—voices from beyond, signs in mango trees, conversations that may or may not be internal. The dead women in Dorrie’s head—her “many mothers”—serve as guides, distractions, guilt trips, and comfort. Sometimes they interrupt. Sometimes they push her forward. Sometimes they just make jokes about her wardrobe. But they’re always there, hovering like memory.
What’s fascinating is that Fajardo doesn’t treat Dorrie’s journey like a straight line. There’s no huge, dramatic epiphany. No single scene where everything shifts. Instead, she gives us a slow unraveling and a subtle re-stitching. Dorrie makes tentative steps toward understanding—about her mother, her father, herself—but it’s never grandiose. It’s real. One step forward, two steps sideways, a bit of a backslide, and a hesitant leap. It’s one of the most honest portrayals of self-discovery I’ve read in a while.
Is it perfect? Not quite. There are moments when the pacing drags—particularly in the first third when Dorrie is spinning her wheels in Minneapolis. The ancestral voices, while charming, sometimes blur together without distinct identities. And a few of the cartography-themed asides, though intellectually interesting, feel shoehorned in rather than organically woven into the plot. Still, these are minor quibbles in a novel that’s more concerned with mood than momentum.
The emotional payoff comes not in a single twist, but in the accumulation of small choices. Dorrie learning how to be in her own skin without needing permission. Dorrie realizing that honoring her mothers doesn’t mean living their lives. Dorrie allowing herself to imagine a future that isn’t built entirely from inherited maps.
Fajardo also deserves credit for representation done right. This is an OwnVoices story featuring an adoptee raised by two women, exploring her Latina identity, reconnecting with her birth roots, and dealing with the complexity of loving a family that wasn’t built the traditional way. There’s space for queerness, for bicultural identity, for grief that isn’t melodramatic, and for healing that doesn’t demand a complete breakdown. It’s hopeful without being saccharine.
The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore is for readers who love stories about women at crossroads, about ghosts that talk (but don’t haunt), and about how sometimes, coming home means leaving it first. It’s for people who like their fiction with a touch of magical realism, a lot of heart, and a chorus of dead women chiming in on every decision.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)
#TheManyMothersOfDoloresMoore #AnikaFajardo #GalleryBooks #BookReview #NetGalleyARC #LatinxFiction #MagicalRealismBooks #WomensFictionReads #GriefAndHealing #AdoptionStories #FoundFamilyFiction #September2025BookReleases #OwnVoicesNarratives #BookstagramRecommendations #ContemporaryFictionWithHeart
January 31, 2026
What attracted me to this book at the library was its cover; I am a sucker for pretty covers. I am also attracted to unusual titles (perhaps because I can never think of good titles for my own writing to save my life). I needed to read this book to know who these mothers were.
Now, this was admittedly a slow burn. I do sometimes get tired with those sorts of books. I get impatient and need to have something more concrete happen now. But it was pretty clear from the beginning that this was not the kind of novel where that was going to happen. If you are looking for suspense or action, this is not it and you should move on. On the other hand, if you like or are in the mood for slightly quirky characters who have to cope with difficult situations and then find out more about themselves, then you are in the right place.
This protagonist is a relatively young woman in her mid 30s who was raised in a home with two mothers. Even though this is not uncommon nowadays, I still do not see it in literature that much so I was intrigued. Dolores was adopted from Colombia but had never gotten back there until after both her mothers have died. She fulfills a promise to one of them to return to Columbia to see where she “comes from.” Her birth parents have both died as well and the fact that she is an orphan many times over is something that impacts her and that she has to come to terms with. It is actually the thing that personally ties me to this novel, because I am also adopted and all of my parents are deceased and even as an older adult, it’s a lot.
The author uses character development and dialogue as well as situation to explore how Dolores comes to terms with her emotions and how she is going to go on with the rest of her life, which includes new developments that will cause drastic changes. Magical realism is used to lighten the situation, which is exactly what that device is supposed to accomplish. It is not an easy thing to do but Ms. Fajardo manages to use it effectively in order to keep the situation from being overwhelming to the reader.
This is Ms. Fajardo’s first novel and I am in awe. Few debuts earn five stars from me. If you enjoy character driven novels or even if you do not (they do not tend to be my favorite) but like seeing how characters deal with adversity in unfamiliar and difficult circumstances, do yourself a favor and read it. Give it a little chance. It will take a little while to engage and perhaps a little more to fully understand (there are flashbacks to Dolores’ birth parents) but it is well worth some patience.
Now, this was admittedly a slow burn. I do sometimes get tired with those sorts of books. I get impatient and need to have something more concrete happen now. But it was pretty clear from the beginning that this was not the kind of novel where that was going to happen. If you are looking for suspense or action, this is not it and you should move on. On the other hand, if you like or are in the mood for slightly quirky characters who have to cope with difficult situations and then find out more about themselves, then you are in the right place.
This protagonist is a relatively young woman in her mid 30s who was raised in a home with two mothers. Even though this is not uncommon nowadays, I still do not see it in literature that much so I was intrigued. Dolores was adopted from Colombia but had never gotten back there until after both her mothers have died. She fulfills a promise to one of them to return to Columbia to see where she “comes from.” Her birth parents have both died as well and the fact that she is an orphan many times over is something that impacts her and that she has to come to terms with. It is actually the thing that personally ties me to this novel, because I am also adopted and all of my parents are deceased and even as an older adult, it’s a lot.
The author uses character development and dialogue as well as situation to explore how Dolores comes to terms with her emotions and how she is going to go on with the rest of her life, which includes new developments that will cause drastic changes. Magical realism is used to lighten the situation, which is exactly what that device is supposed to accomplish. It is not an easy thing to do but Ms. Fajardo manages to use it effectively in order to keep the situation from being overwhelming to the reader.
This is Ms. Fajardo’s first novel and I am in awe. Few debuts earn five stars from me. If you enjoy character driven novels or even if you do not (they do not tend to be my favorite) but like seeing how characters deal with adversity in unfamiliar and difficult circumstances, do yourself a favor and read it. Give it a little chance. It will take a little while to engage and perhaps a little more to fully understand (there are flashbacks to Dolores’ birth parents) but it is well worth some patience.
September 21, 2025
Thank you @gallerybooks and @netgalley for the free arc 💖.
✨What it is about:
After losing her whole family, job, and boyfriend in the same year, Dorrie Moore is stuck with an old house, two cats, and a promise to return to Colombia—plus a chorus of ghostly relatives giving their two cents. When an old flame offers to housesit, she grabs a hand-drawn map and finally sets off to figure out where (and who) she really comes from.
💭My thoughts:
This was the emotional journey of self-discovery for Dolores (Dorrie), a cartographer adopted from Colombia, who finally uncovers the details of her origins with her birth parents. Before passing, her last living relative urged her to visit the country and learn everything about her roots.
After a very difficult year, Dorrie was so lost and conflicted that it took her some time to warm up to the idea. But eventually, she does. With the guidance of the female voices of her deceased relatives (who live in her head), she embarks on that journey and discovers truths that open her eyes to who she truly is, where she came from, and what would bring her genuine happiness.
The story started a little slow, but it was thoughtfully crafted and progressed with emotional momentum, peeling back the layers of Dorrie’s life like an onion. The magical realism was subtle but effective, and the representation was strong. Definitely a good portrayal of a person with a nontraditional family background.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read if you like:
💐Journeys of self discovery
💐Dual timelines
💐Magical realism
💐Mother figures
💐Cartography and ancestors
💐LGBTQ+ rep
⚠️CW: Mentions of adoption, death of parents/family, grief.
✨What it is about:
After losing her whole family, job, and boyfriend in the same year, Dorrie Moore is stuck with an old house, two cats, and a promise to return to Colombia—plus a chorus of ghostly relatives giving their two cents. When an old flame offers to housesit, she grabs a hand-drawn map and finally sets off to figure out where (and who) she really comes from.
💭My thoughts:
This was the emotional journey of self-discovery for Dolores (Dorrie), a cartographer adopted from Colombia, who finally uncovers the details of her origins with her birth parents. Before passing, her last living relative urged her to visit the country and learn everything about her roots.
After a very difficult year, Dorrie was so lost and conflicted that it took her some time to warm up to the idea. But eventually, she does. With the guidance of the female voices of her deceased relatives (who live in her head), she embarks on that journey and discovers truths that open her eyes to who she truly is, where she came from, and what would bring her genuine happiness.
The story started a little slow, but it was thoughtfully crafted and progressed with emotional momentum, peeling back the layers of Dorrie’s life like an onion. The magical realism was subtle but effective, and the representation was strong. Definitely a good portrayal of a person with a nontraditional family background.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read if you like:
💐Journeys of self discovery
💐Dual timelines
💐Magical realism
💐Mother figures
💐Cartography and ancestors
💐LGBTQ+ rep
⚠️CW: Mentions of adoption, death of parents/family, grief.
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