Her Mother's Keeper

by Nora Roberts

A New York Times Bestseller She'd left town a starry-eyed innocent headed for the big city. Now Gwen Lacrosse returned home a savvy, sophisticated woman. But her mother's maddening new boarder enticed her as no one had before. Luke Powers was reputed to be an expert in both words and women - and soon he was turning Gwen's cool reason into something else entirely . . .

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Harlequin, Ebooks, Chick Lit

189 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1983

About the author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was somewhat an annoying read. The heroine is a presumptious little thing, assuming she can control her mother's life and that she knows better. But that's not even the problem ! The problem (to me!) is when there is a clear miscommunication that the author forcefully pushes until the end of the book, when in reality it would have been resolved in the first 10 minutes of the conversation (i.e. "Hi I am Gwen! You must be my mother's new boyfriend! Oh you are not?" The End!).

Don't get me wrong, i understand that a romance novel can't "exist" without the main "misunderstanding" - but at least make it somewhat believable!!!!

From page 1, the heroine is so sure that her mom and the hero are an "item" (even though we really don't get an explanation as to why she thinks this!). Then EVEN though she is sure he is with her mother, she still manages to make out with him, fall in love with him, etc... Does it NOT occur to her at ANY point to SPEAK to HIM about this?! Does she NOT think it's logical to say "we can't do this because i think you are sleeping with my mother?!" instead, all she keeps saying is that "she can't do this" - not really giving him a proper reason! ZERO communication!!! Romance novels are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable, so i hate when the only emotion i have while reading it is annoyance and when i keep repeating in my head "this is soooo unrealistic! every normal woman would have confronted him by now and solved the misunderstanding in two sentences flat"

[paige (ptsungirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Remember that most people don't see past the shape of a nose or the color of eyes. People are usually too busy with their own thoughts to notice someone else's."

Nora sweetie, why did she think her mom was in love with the same boy as her?

[Mara]

DNF - I just kept being icked out that there was any chance the hero could have been with the heroine's mother and couldn't get into it

[Alaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was weird.. but it was short and on my audible romance package.

Her Mother's Keeper was filled with characters just assuming the shit out of everyone and everything. In it, you will meet Gwen and Luke. When they first meet, she thinks he's her mom's boyfriend. I don't know why but I guess it could happen? He's like in his late-ish 20's and she's in her 50's. I'm sure it's a thing.

Upon meeting Luke, there's an obvious crush. Gwen and him have great chemistry but the whole liking your mom's boyfriend grosses her out. Yet, she still does it. So instead of ya know.. asking if they are a thing - she just continues to assume. At one point, they do kiss and she's so freaking out about wanting to bone him that she plans on leaving them in the middle of the night.

Low and behold, never assume. It will make an ass out of you and me - but mostly these characters. So she finds out that her mom and Luke aren't dating.. and then all is right in the world. The balance is back and they can bang all night (if they want). Overall, it was weird.. but I ended up finishing it anyways.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, where to begin. Have you ever read a story with a mother-daughter love triangle? Gwen Lacrosse returns home to Louisiana to protect her naïve mother Annabelle, whom she believes to be involved with a younger man – Luke Powers, an author staying at Annabelle’s boarding house. Gwen dislikes Luke (warning him away from her mother), but she is also attracted to him. This one has some of the 80s traits we hate to love (or maybe just hate?) like the grab and kiss, the run away crying, and absolutely no real communication between the main characters. But, that setting though! Nora knows how to write the South. To hear a full discussion of Her Mother's Keeper listen to Season 1, Ep. #4 "Nora Roberts 1983: From This Day, Untamed, Her Mother’s Keeper" of Romancing the Shelf, a Nora Roberts podcast: https://romancingtheshelf.libsyn.com/

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always love Nora Roberts books but this was the worst I have ever read! I found myself skipping just to get to the end. No substance at all and the ‘manly’ (?!) way Luke treated Gwen left me uneasy, although I just wanted to slap her many a time! Avoid at all costs, not worth you wasting your time on this drivel!

[Mariana Americano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, made me laught a lot! It's a great book and Gwen and Luke's are a lovely couple.

[Stephanie Jenkins Ortiz Cerrillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet romance by Nora Roberts. A classic tale of how we should never make assumptions because it can interfere with our own happiness. What a waste of time it can be to fill in our own blanks to someone elses life and we can be so wrong.

[Pilar S.C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

La trama muy predecible. Le falta algo a la historia. Eso sí, muy buen narrada. Roberts nunca decepción en ese sentido.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can tell this is an earlier book of Nora ROberts. Totally predictable.....

[Tracey S · Rating 1 out of 5]

The creepy factor is pretty high in this one, even for an 80's Nora - yikes

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good grief. Did this come from a 1960's romance? I was not impressed at all with this. Yeah, I know it was 1983 when it was published, and yes, I know the whole genre of a 'strong' man was the rage in romance novels, but hey! I was alive in 1983 and I can tell you this is NOT how women wanted their men to be!
The stupidity of the characters made me cringe all the way through. The mother is only 47, and comes across as some little old lady with dementia. The older man and a younger woman scenario has been done over and over again. It came across as creepy. Not enough time was given to Malon who I would have enjoyed a whole other storyline to learn of his life. Young Gwen comes across as dumb and ridiculously naive. Luke the predator. Hell, why not just rape her and be done with it? I mean that in the sense it was obvious had the publishers not demanded the tension throughout the story would have happened. Total crap!

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

2020
Gwen is annoying, in my opinion. She runs around assuming things about Luke and her mother having an affair, but then she's kissing Luke at literally every opportunity. I find it incredibly horrible of her to be making out with the man that she thinks is boinking her mother. Of course, that turns out not to be the case, but, in her mind, that is the truth of the matter. Luke certainly doesn't help that image, either. He lets Gwen believe it because it suits his own purposes. I didn't really like either of them as characters. So, I wasn't really interested/happy when the conclusion wrapped everything up.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't like the main character in this one. She was too... young, maybe. Making assumptions, "trying to protect her mother" which really read as her deciding what was okay and how her mother should be, being manipulative and seeing nothing wrong with it... I would have decked her, had I been the male lead. I usually enjoy Roberts, but this book just didn't sit well.

[Corinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like some of Nora Roberts books, but this wasn't one of them. It had no redeeming qualities and was just pure romance shlock. No mystery, not a strong central character, no interesting side plots. I would recommend skipping over this one.

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her Mother's Keeper

The love story of Gwen and Luke. Gwen rush home to New Orleans to keep her mother from have an affair with Luke. Luke is a known womanizer and she want to save her mother for hurt. Can Grew stop the affair or will she find love?

[Lyn Markham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. No substance to story. Skipped over parts to get to the end.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a very good book! If I could rate this book a 10 stars I would. Wonderfully written!!

[Loes M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

So in this book, Gwen was raised by a single mother who has her head in the clouds and who sometimes has people stay over to be able to afford her big mansion house. Gwen herself was always much more practical, growing up as a tomboy and now working at a fashion magazine as a big-shot editor in the big city. She keeps in touch with her mother through letters (because phones apparently didn’t exist in the nineties) and she is convinced that her mother is having an affair with a man twelve years her junior. So of course, there is nothing to do but take a month off and rush home to save her mother.

I didn't like Gwen: a 23-year-old who thinks she knows everything and needs to save her mother from a much younger man. Her mother can definitely take care of herself, and never needed Gwen's help before. Also: she doesn't even talk to her mother about it. Because if she had, the entire book wouldn't have happened. If she had just gone home, talked to her mother about her concerns about Luke, and then her mother could have immediately told her they weren't dating but that Luke was helping her with her book. Case closed! Of course, that wouldn't be a very long romance novel then...

So, Luke and Gwen. Luke is a lovable guy, a successful writer who doesn't mind physical labour and is glad to help out Gwen's mom. He knows Gwen thinks he's dating her mother, but he doesn't correct her. Instead, he continues to stick close to her, kiss her and make her angry. He gets offended himself by what she thinks of him, but it would be so easily resolved... At the same time, he also tries to keep his distance from her because she is so much younger than him. So both of them are attracted to the other but trying to keep their distance at the same time. The end also bothered me: Gwen is like, oh, I'm only 12 years younger than you but it is no problem. While in the beginning she was outraged that her mother was dating a man 12 years younger than herself. Stupid!

Didn't like this book, Nora Roberts has written so much better! This is one from the nineties though, so I forgive her!

More on: www.owlishbooks.com

[anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can’t say i hated it. i just wasn’t a fan of how this big misunderstanding wasn’t cleared up until the last chapter. and fmc was knowingly messing with her mother’s lover.

i did agree with luke about how his “affair” with her mother was none of gwen’s business.

also why was she kissing someone she thought her mother to be in love with.

wtf😀😀

“She speculated on the possibility of seducing Luke. She could flirt and tease and drive him to the point of distraction, make him fall in love with her and then cast him off when all danger to Anabelle was past. It can’t be too difficult, she decided.”

oh ffs. of course it’s woman’s fault that the man couldn’t control himself.

“You should know better than to look at a man like that.”
“Malleable,” Luke muttered. He stared down at the sluggish river before turning back to her. “Pliant, willing and outrageously innocent. Do you know how difficult it is to resist the untouched, the uncorrupted?”

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read as part of the Every Nora Roberts Book in Publishing Order book club. Notes pasted below exactly as written while reading.

Her Mother’s Keeper
- “now at 23 she felt mature and experienced” oh you sweet summer child
- So far all Luke has done to piss me off is grab Gwen’s chin but I guess that’s just A Thing men did in 80s romance novels
- IS TILLIE A WOMAN OF COLOR HOUSEKEEPER?! Taking all bets!
- He’s twelve years her senior. In your 20s and 30s, that’s a pretty big developmental divide.
- Welp I’m going to just stop taking notes now. It’s all the same story as before.
- I’m actually kind of impressed. This is book, what, nine? Ten? And it’s the same exact story as all the rest of them.
- I guess I hate Luke less than most of the men. At least, by comparison at least, he’s not like… actively repulsive.
- Gwen is such a twit.
- I guess that one sucked less. One and a half stars. Half a star because Luke wasn’t a rapist, and one full star for Louisiana.

[L.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her writing is improving but her heroes are still unaware that no means no. The hero in this book (and other early Nora Roberts I've read recently) is constantly forcing the heroine to hold his hand and kiss him while she screams no and tries to get away. But wait, it gets worse! She's come home for the purpose of getting rid of the guy because she thinks he's her mother's lover and she doesn't approve of their relationship. Instead of getting rid of him, she ends up fooling around with him. And despite the fact that he's sexually assaulting her and she thinks he's cheating on her mother with her... She falls in love with him. Whaaaaat????

I'm reading through Nora Roberts' old books by year written and I wonder when the main male characters are going to change from basically being sexual predators to guys someone could actually legitimately become romantically interested in.

[Anushka Bagde · Rating 5 out of 5]

My read-by dates in this post are actually re-reads, as I read this book a few years ago when I was reading Nora Roberts' standalone books in order. But I liked this story for the love that seemed to spring out suddenly and enthrall the reader as both Gwen and Luke fought it in their own ways. I liked Gwen's personality, her ability to stand on her own, and her carefree attitude. She exhibits both sides of that personality to her mother, Luke, and Michael, which I thought was important. Gwen was sweet and endearing to me, and I liked how it pulled down Luke's defenses and charm and made him fall for her as well. My favorite scene was the end, when Gwen's mother says Luke is helping her write a novel, and Luke and she finally admit their love for each other. I would have liked to see more of what Gwen's path was with Luke and what she'll do professionally. Otherwise, nice story!

[Maryellen Breen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read Nora Roberts books for years. ‘Her Mother’s Keeper’ does not have the usual flair I’ve come to expect. Gwen rushes home to Louisiana from New York because she thinks her too trusting widowed mom(50?) is having an affair with a 35 y/o writer who is ‘visiting’ (read bordering) at the family home on the bayou. Gwen finds herself falling in love with Luke during the month long visit. Typical of a Roberts’ book but recently I’ve grown weary of her use of sexual assault. There is nothing romantic about a 35 y/o man forcing himself on a 23 y/o woman within 24 hours of meeting her. Yes, he aggressively kisses her and tells her he will make love to her the day he meets her. I know the book is a product of its times but in 2024, this doesn’t fly.
Disappointed to think Roberts’ is now producing cookie cutter novels.

[Skittles Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a whimsical book. We have a young, innocent heroine who was under the false assumption that her mother was having an affair with a younger man. She took a leave from her New York job and flew back to Louisiana to put a stop to it, but fell in love with the man herself.

I have to say, despite this premise, it’s an awfully clean romance. This book is peppered with whimsy but I am sad to say I can’t understand how the hero is in love with the heroine. In lust, maybe, but in love? I can’t imagine how their lives can mesh with him being a writer and her a stylist. This area of the relationship wasn’t explored since miscommunication seems to be the central plot instead.

I’m a bit underwhelmed. I’m giving this 2.5 stars carried over

[Latham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her Mother’s Keeper almost made me want to retroactively give From This Day a higher rating; because at least that was entertaining. This was just boring, and dumb. Like really really dumb. Its main storyline is that our main character Gwen is visiting her mother, who she presumes is in a relationship with the much younger Luke. And then it’s just standard Roberts fare except you have to try to pretend that it’s even plausible that Gwen could possibly think Luke and her mother are having an affair; while he’s continuously showing interest in Gwen. It’s just so transparent and silly, and the big reveal at the end is that her mother is writing a book. Like ok girl no one cares. At least it’s short ig.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gwen Lacrosse has taken a long vacation from her job working for a fashion magazine in New York. She's come home to the boarding house her mother runs. Annabelle's letters have been full of praise for her boarder, Luke Powers. Concerned that the man may be taking advantage of her mom is what has brought Gwen back to Louisiana.

When Gwen point blank asks Luke if he is having an affair with her mother, Luke tells her, "It's none of your business."

Like all of Nora's books, this is an enjoyable read, but the premise just didn't sit well with me. If you truly thought your mother was involved with someone, why would you make out with him? Because if they are in love, you're the other woman. Although then why is he making out with you, which makes him a snake. So why would you want him?

Loved the characters of Tillie and Malon.

[ᜋᜓ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of Nora Roberts but I'm not a fan of this one. At first, it felt like the main female character has a purpose in going home but then it's ALL about the male character. While I understand that this IS a romance book, I am just disappointed that the female's whole character and her relationship with her mom took a back seat. She was just all over the guy, hated the guy, all over the guy again, then hated the guy...it felt like a high school love story. I thought there would be more realizations about life, I guess? Since she did come back from the big city.

[Aishwarya Damodar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like some of Nora Roberts books, but this certainly wasn't one of them. I am glad she evolved as an author eventually.

Spoiler ..!!

Awful plot, weak characters especially the central one - Gwenievre who is messed up in her head and actions. Such poor characterization and predictable story. Don't recommend it even for a light read.

Give it a miss!

[Ashley Christensen · Rating 1 out of 5]

She spent most of the book thinking her mom was having an affair with him, and let him kiss her and fall in love with him anyway.
What is with these romance novels in the 80s? I'm glad this isn't a trend anymore.

I feel like I should just update all of these with "Standard 80s Romance" and move on.