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Mothers and Daughters
A wonderfully warm novel to curl up with about family loss, hidden secrets and new beginnings. Perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley.
Alice finds herself suddenly widowed in her early forties, leaving her with an empty house and a lonely heart.
Laura and Evie, her twenty-something daughters announce their separate and unexpected news, which ploughs Alice straight out of grieving and into the prospect planning a wedding and becoming a reluctant – yet glamorous – granny, to not one, but three grandchildren.
Frank, an old family friend returns to give his godchild Laura away at her wedding.
A whole host of secrets unfold that rock the family's foundations and set Alice free to finally begin a new, exciting chapter of her life with no regrets.
Alice finds herself suddenly widowed in her early forties, leaving her with an empty house and a lonely heart.
Laura and Evie, her twenty-something daughters announce their separate and unexpected news, which ploughs Alice straight out of grieving and into the prospect planning a wedding and becoming a reluctant – yet glamorous – granny, to not one, but three grandchildren.
Frank, an old family friend returns to give his godchild Laura away at her wedding.
A whole host of secrets unfold that rock the family's foundations and set Alice free to finally begin a new, exciting chapter of her life with no regrets.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2016
246 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
April 20, 2021
I only read this book as it came as part of a box of books subscription. It’s not the sort I would usually pick up, and now I know why. Poorly written, with numerous grammatical mistakes, this was only the tip of the iceberg.
The whole premise of this book is flawed - why on earth would anyone ask someone they barely know to give them away at their wedding? Add to that a self- entitled judgemental protagonist who behaves as if her world has ended because her daughter is getting married and another is having a baby. The mother is written as though she is an 80 year old not a 45 year old, which is ridiculous - she actually comments on how birth control is more easily available these days as if 40 year olds grew up in the dark ages. They are also grieving the death of a husband/father as if he died last week, not 2 years ago.
There are pointless sub-plots going on that are never resolved, and there are some seriously problematic gender and race politics.
Utter rubbish from start to finish.
The whole premise of this book is flawed - why on earth would anyone ask someone they barely know to give them away at their wedding? Add to that a self- entitled judgemental protagonist who behaves as if her world has ended because her daughter is getting married and another is having a baby. The mother is written as though she is an 80 year old not a 45 year old, which is ridiculous - she actually comments on how birth control is more easily available these days as if 40 year olds grew up in the dark ages. They are also grieving the death of a husband/father as if he died last week, not 2 years ago.
There are pointless sub-plots going on that are never resolved, and there are some seriously problematic gender and race politics.
Utter rubbish from start to finish.
May 25, 2016
Mothers and Daughters by Minna Howard is a very touching read. It was so wonderfully written and was just a lovely book.
I really liked the main character Alice after losing her husband unexpectedly and dealing with her own grief she someone how manages to find the strength to move forward with her life while helping her two grown up daughters. She has a fierce love for her girls which shines through in the book and would do anything for them.
There are a lot of secrets that unfold in this book but they set Alice on the right path to finding happiness again.
I highly recommend reading this book.
Thankyou to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review which I am more then happy to give.
I really liked the main character Alice after losing her husband unexpectedly and dealing with her own grief she someone how manages to find the strength to move forward with her life while helping her two grown up daughters. She has a fierce love for her girls which shines through in the book and would do anything for them.
There are a lot of secrets that unfold in this book but they set Alice on the right path to finding happiness again.
I highly recommend reading this book.
Thankyou to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review which I am more then happy to give.
April 26, 2016
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC for an honest review. From the first page I knew that I'd enjoy this book. The story depicts the lives of a recently widowed mum and her two daughters who are finding it hard to get over the loss of a husband and dad. The daughters are living in the modern world and their life choices Alice doesn't always agree with.
We walk through their lives as secrets emerge and their life choices develop. The book is written in a way you can picture the characters depicted in the book.
A great read!
We walk through their lives as secrets emerge and their life choices develop. The book is written in a way you can picture the characters depicted in the book.
A great read!
September 27, 2017
I really enjoyed the book, couldn't put it down and loved the whole story , very addictive book I must admit .
December 26, 2016
Alice is in her early forties and she's a widow. Julian was a few years older and he was her first love. They had a few amazing years together and he was her rock. Alice misses him terribly. Especially now that her daughters, Laura and Evie, are in trouble. In both cases it's something they have caused themselves and dealing with the consequences should be their own responsibility. Alice is powerless, she can't force her daughters to make the right decisions and she has to stand by and support them no matter what. Fortunately Frank, her husband's best friend, is back in her life. He's a great shoulder to lean on and she needs him more than ever, because in all the chaos with her family there are also unexpected secrets that finally come to light.
Mothers and Daughters is a great story about a mother who has to deal with a lot of unexpected problems while she's still grieving. Alice is strong though and adventurous. She doesn't let herself become a victim of the situation and tries to do whatever she can to improve things. Evie is talented and beautiful, but sometimes the heart wants something that should have better been left alone. Laura is smart and practical and Alice thinks she might have chosen safety over everything else and that there's maybe a little too much of it. Her daughters have to make their own mistakes though and she can't tell them what to do. It was interesting to watch her inner struggles and to see her eventual reactions. The love for her daughters is the most important thing in the world, so she supports them while silently disapproving what they do. Minna Howard describes the battles she fights inside her mind in detail and I loved getting to know Alice so well.
Frank is a kind man and there's a lot he hasn't told Alice. Now that he's back in her life he wants to be there for her, but he doesn't dare to tell her the truth. I loved seeing them together and they have a special connection. I liked Minna Howard's choice to let her readers witness his feelings as well. Most of the story is being told from Alice's point of view, but she's also given Frank a voice. He's an amazing person and has sacrificed a lot. I kept hoping he would get what he wanted. I enjoyed reading about him and instantly liked him very much.
Minna Howard tells her story that's filled with terrible messes and difficulties in a wonderful way. Her story never becomes too heavy. While there's quite a bit of sadness in Alice's life, she manages to keep the right amount of lightness in her tone of voice. Mainly because Alice finally has the chance to do exactly what she wants and because of that she's becoming her old bold self again. Alice's family is definitely fascinating. I couldn't wait to find out more about the secrets and about the implications of Evie and Laura's decisions. I was also curious to discover what would happen when the truth would be revealed. I loved the romantic ending, which is surprising and fittingly turbulent. If you like a good family story, you will definitely love this book.
Mothers and Daughters is a great story about a mother who has to deal with a lot of unexpected problems while she's still grieving. Alice is strong though and adventurous. She doesn't let herself become a victim of the situation and tries to do whatever she can to improve things. Evie is talented and beautiful, but sometimes the heart wants something that should have better been left alone. Laura is smart and practical and Alice thinks she might have chosen safety over everything else and that there's maybe a little too much of it. Her daughters have to make their own mistakes though and she can't tell them what to do. It was interesting to watch her inner struggles and to see her eventual reactions. The love for her daughters is the most important thing in the world, so she supports them while silently disapproving what they do. Minna Howard describes the battles she fights inside her mind in detail and I loved getting to know Alice so well.
Frank is a kind man and there's a lot he hasn't told Alice. Now that he's back in her life he wants to be there for her, but he doesn't dare to tell her the truth. I loved seeing them together and they have a special connection. I liked Minna Howard's choice to let her readers witness his feelings as well. Most of the story is being told from Alice's point of view, but she's also given Frank a voice. He's an amazing person and has sacrificed a lot. I kept hoping he would get what he wanted. I enjoyed reading about him and instantly liked him very much.
Minna Howard tells her story that's filled with terrible messes and difficulties in a wonderful way. Her story never becomes too heavy. While there's quite a bit of sadness in Alice's life, she manages to keep the right amount of lightness in her tone of voice. Mainly because Alice finally has the chance to do exactly what she wants and because of that she's becoming her old bold self again. Alice's family is definitely fascinating. I couldn't wait to find out more about the secrets and about the implications of Evie and Laura's decisions. I was also curious to discover what would happen when the truth would be revealed. I loved the romantic ending, which is surprising and fittingly turbulent. If you like a good family story, you will definitely love this book.
June 9, 2017
Such a great book with each character having their own secrets and describing how they eventually come to
Light and effect not only the secret holder, but eventually trickle through the family... and, there is just so much more throughout the book that happens, I cannot do justice in this review. The book was more than I expected.
Light and effect not only the secret holder, but eventually trickle through the family... and, there is just so much more throughout the book that happens, I cannot do justice in this review. The book was more than I expected.
June 13, 2017
I thought this book would give me the warm and fuzzies as implied in the title "a wonderful warm novel", NOT! The story was interesting but all of the characters were like spoiled little children including our heroine and her love interest. Our heroine made such a big deal out of her husband's secret that I was yelling at the book (audio version) "grow the F--K up! Because the man didn't commit a crime, he just had a past like everybody else and the weird thing is that they all were holding onto secrets. The subplot with her friends' husband wasn't really necessary because there wasn't any resolution the reader could say, "OK, that's what happened"! IMO, Alice our heroine worried way too much about her grown-up daughters whom were both at least 21 and had to learn to deal with their own choices. The only character I really enjoyed was Cecily, who seemed to have good, sage advice and knew how to be loving and supportive to Alice. Both of the secondary little girls (Zara & Lexie) bridesmaids were written as spoiled grown-ups with little respect for anyone else. Then there was Elspeth, stereotypical mother in law to be, (grooms Mom) a nasty and know-it-all attitude that turned off everyone. I really got tired of hearing about how Julian was the perfect husband and man. Everyone admired him and how Alice was so lucky in her marriage, until she wasn't. It was an interesting story and it kept me turning the pages but IMO the plot wasn't realistic and not many people would have made such a big stink out of Julian's secret. Also no resolution of Ned. I would have liked to know if he knew he had half sisters and if he wanted to meet them.
August 24, 2016
I struggled with this novel. It seemed to waffle a great deal - Alice’s angst over her younger daughter’s pregnancy, her angst over her older daughter’s impending wedding, the OTT angst over her (dead) husband’s relationship before they married which resulted in a child……
There were some moments when I went ‘WTF???’
e.g: Evie’s baby is due to be born ‘in about three months’.
COME ON!!! She MUST have been to the midwife, had a scan, got a ‘due date’ but seems not.
And then (this is complicated!) Laura’s fiancé’s ex-wife’s father has …. ‘a heart attack or stroke or something’ (??) so Alive ends up looking after the fiance’s six year old boy. (who is utterly delightful!) BUT the poor kid is terribly shy and reserved (not surprisingly) And Alice describes him as ‘damaged’
FOR GOD’S SAKE!! Being shy is NOT ‘damaged’. I found that terribly offensive - and it made Alice come across as a sanctimonious snob who had no compassion or empathy. Neither of her daughters were any better.
The timeline was all over the place - jumping months (or so I assume) without any sense that time had passed. Frank was an anomaly as well - there were some hints that he was not all he seemed to be, but in the end this was not answered. Neither were the hints that there was something ‘dark’ behind the paternal grandmother’s claims about the grandchildren’s allergies.
There were some moments when I went ‘WTF???’
e.g: Evie’s baby is due to be born ‘in about three months’.
COME ON!!! She MUST have been to the midwife, had a scan, got a ‘due date’ but seems not.
And then (this is complicated!) Laura’s fiancé’s ex-wife’s father has …. ‘a heart attack or stroke or something’ (??) so Alive ends up looking after the fiance’s six year old boy. (who is utterly delightful!) BUT the poor kid is terribly shy and reserved (not surprisingly) And Alice describes him as ‘damaged’
FOR GOD’S SAKE!! Being shy is NOT ‘damaged’. I found that terribly offensive - and it made Alice come across as a sanctimonious snob who had no compassion or empathy. Neither of her daughters were any better.
The timeline was all over the place - jumping months (or so I assume) without any sense that time had passed. Frank was an anomaly as well - there were some hints that he was not all he seemed to be, but in the end this was not answered. Neither were the hints that there was something ‘dark’ behind the paternal grandmother’s claims about the grandchildren’s allergies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2016
I loved this book, I'd been saving it, because I knew it would be good, I wasn't disappointed, it was great! Looking forward to A Winter Affair!
September 18, 2016
Good
the woman who lost her husband early in her life.there children were grown but had issues that she tried to help them with.
the woman who lost her husband early in her life.there children were grown but had issues that she tried to help them with.
June 11, 2021
I want to start by saying that I hate that I'm about to review this book before I've finished reading it, but... I couldn't finish reading it. I usually read crime/thriller/fantasy etc, that type, but I started reading this as a got it as part of a book subscription and wanted to give it a go and venture out of my normal reading habits, you know, expand my horizons. It was a waste of time.
The main character, Alice, is so unlikeable that it's almost laughable. She judges absolutely everything and everyone based on her own outdated views, and from the chunk of this that I read, there wasn't a whiff of character development. She doesn't like anybody's decisions or life choices, and loves to whine to her friends about other people, but when it comes to her own choices, it's her way or no way. She's a hypocrite. Her husband died (not a spoiler, it's on the blurb) and the feeling I'm getting from this is that she's sad, but he was holding her back anyway, she wants to sky-dive gosh darn it! Eugh. I must say that I did like that the daughters in this book made their own decisions based on what they wanted - I hope it works out for them both, honestly, but I can't put myself through reading the rest of the book to find out.
In summary of the first 34% of this book: a tepid account of the biased and outdated views of a bigot that could do with a hard shake.
The main character, Alice, is so unlikeable that it's almost laughable. She judges absolutely everything and everyone based on her own outdated views, and from the chunk of this that I read, there wasn't a whiff of character development. She doesn't like anybody's decisions or life choices, and loves to whine to her friends about other people, but when it comes to her own choices, it's her way or no way. She's a hypocrite. Her husband died (not a spoiler, it's on the blurb) and the feeling I'm getting from this is that she's sad, but he was holding her back anyway, she wants to sky-dive gosh darn it! Eugh. I must say that I did like that the daughters in this book made their own decisions based on what they wanted - I hope it works out for them both, honestly, but I can't put myself through reading the rest of the book to find out.
In summary of the first 34% of this book: a tepid account of the biased and outdated views of a bigot that could do with a hard shake.
June 22, 2020
Mother and daughters after husband/father dies
Alice is still grieving two years after her husband Julien dies of a heart ailment. Her daughters, Evie and Laura seem to be acting out their loss, although we’re not really given much insight into their feelings, only their actions. Evie is pregnant; the father is a married man known for having many affairs. Frank, a long time friend, re enters their lives as Laura’s godfather. She has asked him to ”give her away” at her wedding. We learn much about how Alice copes with all this, and a bit from Frank’s perspective. He has loved Alice from afar for all the years of her courtship and marriage to Julien. More drama ensues as Frank discloses secrets Julien kept all those years. The ending was abrupt and a bit too “pat”. I waited and waited for Alice to confront Laura about her feelings for Nick, but she never did. Throughout the book, the writing was marred by typos, run on sentences, misused commas, and a few misused words.
Alice is still grieving two years after her husband Julien dies of a heart ailment. Her daughters, Evie and Laura seem to be acting out their loss, although we’re not really given much insight into their feelings, only their actions. Evie is pregnant; the father is a married man known for having many affairs. Frank, a long time friend, re enters their lives as Laura’s godfather. She has asked him to ”give her away” at her wedding. We learn much about how Alice copes with all this, and a bit from Frank’s perspective. He has loved Alice from afar for all the years of her courtship and marriage to Julien. More drama ensues as Frank discloses secrets Julien kept all those years. The ending was abrupt and a bit too “pat”. I waited and waited for Alice to confront Laura about her feelings for Nick, but she never did. Throughout the book, the writing was marred by typos, run on sentences, misused commas, and a few misused words.
March 12, 2022
I wanted light and fluffy, and that it was! A very easy read, you absolutely knew everything that was going to happen - no surprises.
I didn't like the narrating character at all. She was very judgemental and righteous.
The writing is also pretty terrible 😳 lots of repetition and grammatical mistakes.
It's a book id like to say is 'of it's time' except it was released in 2016. There's a lot of internalised mysogyny. The women are very much fragile objects of prey for the men.
*Spoiler*
Even when a bride cheats on her loving husband (who is constantly demonised for his dependability and reliability as a partner) on their ACTUAL wedding day whilst still in her bridal gown WITH the father of her sisters child - she is revoked of all responsibility because she was simply preyed upon by those dastardly knowing men.
I didn't like the narrating character at all. She was very judgemental and righteous.
The writing is also pretty terrible 😳 lots of repetition and grammatical mistakes.
It's a book id like to say is 'of it's time' except it was released in 2016. There's a lot of internalised mysogyny. The women are very much fragile objects of prey for the men.
*Spoiler*
Even when a bride cheats on her loving husband (who is constantly demonised for his dependability and reliability as a partner) on their ACTUAL wedding day whilst still in her bridal gown WITH the father of her sisters child - she is revoked of all responsibility because she was simply preyed upon by those dastardly knowing men.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2023
Minna Howard's Mothers And Daughters promises to be a touching, perhaps poignant, story of family love overcoming trials and loss. And if you can read through the typos, stilted dialogue, and terrible grammar, maybe it is. However, even if all of that was corrected I don't think I could rate this book much higher. Alice, our protagonist, is self righteous to the point of bordering on bigotry, and the story is repetitive and predictable, and the characterisation riddled with inconsistencies. Somehow Julian, the late husband, was at one and the same time an utterly perfect husband and man who was also holding Alice back from the exciting, thrill seeking life she wanted. Julian being reliable is a virtue, Douglas being reliable is a vice. Nick cheating is terrible, Laura cheating is barely a blip. I could go on, but much like this book I'd only be repeating myself.
June 9, 2021
This so sounded like my type of book but it just didn't click with me at all. After over a month trying to get through it so not to DNF 2 books in a row I have to say I'm not sure if it was worth persevering, I've seen very mixed reviews so maybe it was just me but I'm not sure. Grammatical errors kept taking away from this book for me. It's one I want to pass on for a second opinion and maybe retry in the distant future. However for now it's crime/YA reads for me to see if I can get back into a reading mojo.
July 28, 2017
This was an interesting plot although quite ridiculous at times, but the thing that really annoyed me was the bad punctuation, grammar and the use of the wrong word at times - eg, "she looked at him covetously" when the author meant "she looked at him covertly" - one of many examples. And the romance finally just fell into place at the end as if none of the rest of the book had happened. A shame really.
September 16, 2018
I have been so fortunate with the last few books I have read that the typos have been minimal. Unfortunately, that ended with this book. The errors have been numerous but the most glaring was when Cicely's companion Kalinda was referred to as Zarinda for all of chapter seven then went back to being Kalinda in the following chapters. I despair!
This book was so interesting but these mistakes interfered with my total enjoyment.
This book was so interesting but these mistakes interfered with my total enjoyment.
May 8, 2023
Found this very repetitive. And annoying the relationship between Alice as mum and Evie and Laura as the daughters. Alice was too soft and just accepted the unsuitable decisions that they made.
I felt Evie needed to be challenged more on her behaviour with nick and it made me feel uncomfortable as a parent that she didn’t do this. Plus Laura being unfaithful on her wedding day was not full addressed.
Not really for me. But it was a quick easy read.
I felt Evie needed to be challenged more on her behaviour with nick and it made me feel uncomfortable as a parent that she didn’t do this. Plus Laura being unfaithful on her wedding day was not full addressed.
Not really for me. But it was a quick easy read.
November 19, 2023
Alice lost her husband to cancer very quickly. Still struggling with his loss, one daughter ends up pregnant with the local Romeo and the other has sprung a new fiancee on Alice who has 2 kids from a previous marriage and a heap load of involved grandparents.
Nice easy read. Obviously a romance blossoms for Alice on top of her daughters' issues.
Only issue was the frustrating repetitions of Alice's opinion of her daughters' predicaments.
Nice easy read. Obviously a romance blossoms for Alice on top of her daughters' issues.
Only issue was the frustrating repetitions of Alice's opinion of her daughters' predicaments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2017
A little repetitive
Love disappearing in a chicklit,with a cosy blanket & cuppa, ordinarily but i found this a little hard going. The same topics are repeated each chapter and felt the writing was a lot of filler to make it longer. The story was quaint but i struggled to finish it.
Love disappearing in a chicklit,with a cosy blanket & cuppa, ordinarily but i found this a little hard going. The same topics are repeated each chapter and felt the writing was a lot of filler to make it longer. The story was quaint but i struggled to finish it.
May 3, 2018
Good read
Good light hearted book. The usual family complications. A widowed mother found herself overwhelmed by her two daughter's life choices and as if that's not enough found her husband has a grown up son that he fathered before they met but miraculously never mentioned to her and she only found out by chance
Good light hearted book. The usual family complications. A widowed mother found herself overwhelmed by her two daughter's life choices and as if that's not enough found her husband has a grown up son that he fathered before they met but miraculously never mentioned to her and she only found out by chance
September 20, 2018
I listened to the audio book version of this book.
I found it OK, though full of angst and quite repetitive. A number of times I found myself rolling my eyes at Alice's thoughts on the situations her daughters had got themselves into and worrying about a love triangle that, mostly, appeared to be in her own mind. Though I was glad there was a happy ending.
I found it OK, though full of angst and quite repetitive. A number of times I found myself rolling my eyes at Alice's thoughts on the situations her daughters had got themselves into and worrying about a love triangle that, mostly, appeared to be in her own mind. Though I was glad there was a happy ending.
April 16, 2021
This is one of the worst books I've ever read.
The writing is absolutely awful, unrealistic, and the same thoughts of the main charachter repeated on most pages. Nothing happens.
This story would have been good if the book had been written well.
Honestly, do not bother reading this. I am so surprised it has a high star rating.
The writing is absolutely awful, unrealistic, and the same thoughts of the main charachter repeated on most pages. Nothing happens.
This story would have been good if the book had been written well.
Honestly, do not bother reading this. I am so surprised it has a high star rating.
May 17, 2022
If you are looking for a light easy read, then this is the book for you. Sometimes, this is just what one needs. There is nothing stunning about this book, no strong plot, no strong characterization, this book is definitely never going to be a literary classic. However, on a wet, winters day, a homely story is perfect.
August 24, 2017
Heartwarming
Truly heart warming read. If you want some light hearted but a powerful read than this is for you. Howard goes into all the quirky nature of family, love and life in this story.
Truly heart warming read. If you want some light hearted but a powerful read than this is for you. Howard goes into all the quirky nature of family, love and life in this story.
October 1, 2017
Painfully redundant and poorly edited. Should have stopped after the second instance of "bought" instead of "brought." Characters are shallowly rendered. Too many plot "twists" that don't add value or richness to the storyline. I cannot even recommend as a light, fun read.
January 20, 2018
Wonderful story of friendship and love
She was married to his best friend and he was living far away from them. Then his friend died and he went to his goddaughter's wedding and met up her. Read on for more.
She was married to his best friend and he was living far away from them. Then his friend died and he went to his goddaughter's wedding and met up her. Read on for more.
November 18, 2018
Mothers and daughters.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are so real that I hated Nick and I felt for his wife. Having such a good friend to be able to give unbiased opinions. The love shine through. Fabulous.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are so real that I hated Nick and I felt for his wife. Having such a good friend to be able to give unbiased opinions. The love shine through. Fabulous.
July 16, 2019
Alice
This is a story about a woman who list her husband and then found out a daughter is pregnant and another daughter engaged. I thought the book dragged some and Alice was very self centered.
This is a story about a woman who list her husband and then found out a daughter is pregnant and another daughter engaged. I thought the book dragged some and Alice was very self centered.
August 21, 2019
For me this book felt like it waa going on forever. It just seem to pootle along with not much going on.
I couldn't relate to the characters unfortunately and found this a hard read.
Just not my cup of tea.
I couldn't relate to the characters unfortunately and found this a hard read.
Just not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews