Tag Archives: Motherhood

Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier

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Book summary below provided by the publisher:

I went into this knowing little about it, which I think is the best way to go into most thrillers. There are twists along the way, and many of the characters are unlikable. The beginning, when Marin’s son goes missing, was very climactic. But shortly after the abduction scene, the remainder of the story mostly focuses on love affairs rather than the kidnapping and it lost much of its suspense for me at that point.

All that to say, go into this knowing the foundation is laid for a child abduction mystery…but then quickly detours and centers around adult love affairs. Though it heavily focuses on Marin’s marriage, it is still a thriller because of the plot twists, tension between characters, and the anticipation that leads up to the ending.

It is definitely a quick and easy read. It didn’t take me long to finish, and I liked it. But it isn’t at the top of my list and is not one that I had to think hard about, nothing mind-blowing, or something I thought long about after. I can’t say that I was completely shocked by the big twist at the end of the story. It was a good book, but not the whole package. I found her other novels more enjoyable, but think readers will still find this one exciting.

Jennifer Hillier is a best selling author and is widely known for writing psychological thrillers. Visit her website.

Read Publisher Weekly’s review for Little Secrets.

Follow Jennifer Hillier on Twitter or Instagram.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

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Truths I Never Told You, by Kelly Rimmer

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“What do you do if you find yourself as a new mom and you realize you’re just not capable?”

Told in two timelines, Grace struggles with postpartum depression in 1957 while Beth, in 1996, reluctantly helps her father move into a nursing home since he is suffering from dementia. Beth then helps her siblings clean out her fathers house where she finds letters from her mother, Grace, revealing untold family truths.

Synopsis below provided by the publisher.

“I want a career and I want to see other women have the option to make choices, too, instead of operating as a breeding machines for entitled men.”

The plot was very slow to build. The first half felt repetitive and the characters were hard to connect with. It was surprising to feel such a disconnect from the characters since the subjects at hand were so solemn and emotional. The second half presented some unexpected twists after a different narrator surprisingly enters… which helped move the plot along. The ending was okay.

Gender roles and the feminist movement in the 1950’s is explored and sufficiently represented. The issues brought up in the book regarding this are engaging topics.
Overall, the topics presented were interesting but the characters were flat and the plot was tedious.

Kelly Rimmer is a best selling author. Visit her website.

Read Publishers Weekly review for Truths I Never Told You.

The Things We Cannot Say was a New York Times best seller. Watch K. Rimmer discuss The Things We Cannot Say below in a Q&A.

Follow Kelly Rimmer on Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you to NeGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

|Purchase on Amazon| Goodreads Review|

Darling Rose Gold, by Stephanie Wrobel

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“They don’t know the depths of this mother’s love.”

Does forgiveness come with limitations or should it be unconditional? Should mitigating factors be considered when speculating harmful behavior? The story starts out with Rose picking up her mom, Patty, from prison. Patty, imprisoned for aggravated child abuse of Rose, has caused a strain on their relationship and Rose’s future to be thwarted. But, is Patty the only one to blame? Where do they go from here now that she is out from prison? And, is Rose willing to look past the years of abuse her from mother…?

I really loved this one! I found both narrators so hard to trust, and as lies began to unfold the thrill of what was to come had me rapidly turning the pages. Nearly every chapter revealed a new lie or added a new element to one of the characters that seemed to put a twist on things.

The relationship between Rose and Patty is emotionally draining at times. Both characters are messy, and their story is not one that I would describe as a happy one. Rose’s life in particular unveils the superficial mask that society often has, and we see her frequently hurt by others around her. Patty’s background comes in bits and pieces, but also demonstrates a past reflecting a lifetime of pain.

I am not an expert on Munchausens syndrome, so I can’t attest to the validity of this illness as it is presented in one of the characters. If you work in the medical field, you might find fault within this presentation and might take this into consideration.

Darling Rose Gold is author Stephanie Wrobel’s debut novel. Visit Stephanie Wrobel’s website to learn more.

Publisher’s Weekly review of Darling Rose Gold calls Patty the “Mother From Hell”.

Go to this Popsugar page to read this first chapter of Darling Rose Gold for free!

Read BookTrib’s review of Darling Rose Gold.

Darling Rose Gold is also published under the title The Recovery of Rose Gold depending on your location.

Stephanie Wrobel, photo from Penguin Random House website.

Follow Stephanie Wrobel on Twitter.

Darling Rose Gold was selected as a March 2020 Library Reads book. To learn more, click here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

|Purchase on Amazon| Goodreads Review|

Woman on the Edge, by Samantha Bailey

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In the first chapter, a scared woman that Morgan has never seen calls her by name and tells her to take care of her baby before jumping in front of a train. What was the woman running from and why did she entrust her baby to Morgan? How did she know her name?

Chapters alternate between Morgan, in the present, and the baby’s mother, Nicole, in the past.
Nicole’s situation as a new mother spotlights the reality of postpartum depression for women while Morgan’s circumstance demonstrates life as a widow whose spouse fell victim to suicide.

“Was this what motherhood felt like for everyone? A constant state of fear and panic?”

The overall situation and how things end up transpiring definitely seems implausible if you really think about it, but the suspense was so absorbing that I got caught up in all of it. Things were happening to Nicole that didn’t add up, and I wanted to know the truth.
The ending was a little over the top, but I was still turning those pages as fast as I could.

This was a short and fast-paced read that mystery and suspense readers will enjoy.

Woman on the Edge is Samantha Bailey’s debut novel. Visit her website.

Read Publisher Weekly’s Review for Woman on the Edge.

S. Bailey talks about her inspiration for writing Woman on the Edge.

Samantha Bailey

Follow Samantha Bailey on Facebook or Twitter.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance read copy. Opinions are my own.

|Purchase on Amazon|Goodreads Review|

Can You Feel This? by Julie Orringer

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“If a baby is dead, is it said to have been born?”

The main character suffers from placenta previa during her pregnancy. Both her and her husband, Ky, are worried about the survival of the baby. While prepping for her C-section to avoid complications, she remembers her painful childhood and the complications with her own mother. How will she mother her child when she wasn’t mothered herself? Is she prepared? She worries about the challenges she will face after the baby is born and is concerned about mental illness. Will she be like her mother? The secrets she has kept about her own mother and the death of her mother haunt her during and after birth.

“And now the baby lives out in the world, his cord cut: a newborn with a mother whose mother came undone.”

Part of the Inheritance series from Amazon Original Stories, this short story projects an eerie image of a past mother-daughter relationship. Will the cycle between mother and child now be broken?

(Note–This story is told in second person POV. The narrator addresses the reader as “you”.) Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

Taken from her author’s website, visit here.

Read Publisher’s Weekly article about Julie Orringer’s novel The Flight Portfolio.

20 Question Interview with Julie Orringer for Oprah readers.

Julie Orrinder discusses how she writes with WriterMag.

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