An emotional read about family, relationships, love and, of course, mothers and daughters. I love this authors books.

An excellent read by one of my favourite authors. Such a great read. I could not put this book down and did not want this to end.

This is a great family drama with well rounded characters. It is written extremely well as all of this authors books are.
A great read

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

What a wonderful book. Brilliantly easy to read and fantastically captivating. Quite a lot of tough subjects talked through very thoughtfully Highs and lows, twists and turns and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Full of characters to love wholeheartedly, and definitely a few to hate too. I would highly recommend this book.

Very different from my usual reads & I have to admit I didn't find myself reaching for my kindle that often. However when I did pick it up I was easily drawn into the story & actually quite enjoyed the book in the end

Widowed Naomi is starting to put her life back together, and neighbour Ellis is definitely keen to help. But with her two daughters around, opinionated Martha and relaxed Willow, nothing is ever going to be straightforward.

Mothers and Daughters is a delightful read. Erica James has once again created a strong cast of characters and an easy to read book. The interaction between the family members is believable and works well.

Another great story from Erica James

A wonderful story of a family, who although different in personality come together through the trials and tribulations of life. Naomi is starting to enjoy her life with a late love, and her daughters are polar opposites. Martha is the efficient, organized driven one whilst Willow is spontaneous and dreamy. All of the women are bursting off the pages and really had me unable to put the book down, especially towards the last quarter!
The story has trigger warnings for abuse and violence, and it is handled in a well written manner, although the ending is a bit succinct. There is a lot of topical content that means you can identify with nearly all characters and storylines at some point/to some extent. A good contemporary read.

I really enjoy an Erica James book, and this one did not disappoint me.
Beautifully crafted story, likeable characters, well written and kept me turning the pages.
An enjoyable, easy read that I rated 4 stars and would happily recommend.

Another great book by this author. Interesting story of relationship and what a mother will keep to herself to protect her daughters, plenty of family secrets to uncover to keep your interest and well defined characters dealing with a difficult subject in a sensitive way so that the book was not at all depressing

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this through NetGalley (huge thanks!), though was very close to the publication date when I downloaded it at the beginning of March and so by the time I’ve now finished it, pleased to say it is now fully available, published 17th March! 😬

“Mothers and Daughters” tells the story of recently-widowed Naomi and her two young adult daughters Martha and Willow as they find themselves at new stages of their lives and navigate their relationships with each other and those around them. Set to the backdrop of sunny coastal village life, this was a perfect read for these last few weeks as we had some properly warm spring weather, and I’ve been able to enjoy our own stretches of sea with family again!

In some ways this book wasn’t exactly what I expected after the other books of Erica James’, I’d read - it deals with some very difficult topics (def one to check the warnings of first if anyone prefers to have a heads up on some issues/themes beforehand); but I really enjoyed the insights into the perspectives of all the characters, and this was an emotional, engaging read that kept me turning the pages as the drama unfolded for this little family.

The different outlooks of Naomi and Ellis compared with their children had touches of what I’ve really loved about some of Erica James’ books in the past, especially “The Dandelion Years” and “Song of the Skylark”, two beautifully gentle stories spanning different eras and providing great insight into the perspectives of different generations.

I’ve really enjoyed having a family drama to be drawn into the past few weeks, and a sunny one at that.

My first from this author but certainly not my last.

A story about a mother and her daughters. The story shows spotlights in relationships and secrets gradually revealed. A great book about mothers, sisters, family, secrets and relationships.

Erica James is most firmly on my favourite author list; I’ve read virtually all of her books over the years from the very first one and she never disappoints.

The latest, Mothers and Daughters I loved. The central characters are Naomi, a strong and resilient character, widowed after a long marriage to Colin. Her two adult daughters Martha, who is determined, bossy, organised to the nth degree and her father’s favourite and then there is Willow. The youngest and the most indecisive, who drifts along in life not really having a focus of what she wants to do. Each woman has their own memory of Colin who casts his shadow over their lives, even after his death.

Although the relationship between the three women is at the heart of the story, other relationships are bought under the spotlight including marital problems, the issues facing blended families, control and abuse and deciding how much of your real self that you let others see.

So much of the story felt authentic both in plot and characters. Some I felt so much sympathy for and I was so hoping that they wouldn’t sabotage their own chance of happiness. There were others that raised red flags almost immediately and I found myself shaking my head in disbelief and shock.

I thought the author did a perfect job of blending all the different personalities and showing how they each reacted to change and personal challenges – as well as focusing on the difficulties that arise when someone wants to reclaim their own life in the face of opposition from others.

This was one book that I really didn’t want to put aside. The idyllic setting of the harbour village of Tilsham on the Sussex coast and Anchor House with its beach access contrasted sharply with the slightly darker undertone to the story. There was so much to enjoy about this story, highly recommended.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book

A fantastic read that had me unable to put the book down once started. I was hooked from the moment I started reading. So well written and gripping, I loved the setting of the beach house that I could truly picture myself there. The book does touch on some sensitive subjects.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

This was such an easy to read book, and the setting made it a perfect summer read to get stuck into!

Mothers and Daughters follows Mum Naomi, her two grown up daughters Martha and Willow, and their partners. Martha and Willow are completely different from each other. Will their differences separate them or can they come together when they need each other most?

I absolutely loved the beach house setting that was part of this book. It made me want to pack up straight away so I could feel the sand and hear the waves. James created such a wonderfully vivid atmosphere that is perfect for the warmer months! I loved that each chapter swapped between different points of view. Although the POV’s weren’t clearly labelled, it didn’t take me long to figure out who each chapter was dedicated to. I particularly loved Willow’s chapters as I felt quite an affinity to her.

This book manages to tackle some important topics in a sensitive manner. I didn’t quite expect such difficult things to be bought up when I had seen the cover! Although nothing particularly surprised me, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I also came away with a renewed appreciation for my own mum, and how lucky I am to have her! James’ writing is seamless and beautiful to read. The characters were all quite different but special in their own ways. The changes shown in the daughters towards the end of the book moved me so much. I love it when characters grow as a novel progresses and this book was a wonderful example of that. This certainly won’t be my last book by James.

As a warning for those who struggle with it, the death of animals is mentioned in this book. I want to thank Netgalley, HQ Publishers, and Erica James for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.

As always Erica James delivers a highly enjoyable tale. I bet anyone reading it will identify, at some point, with this complex relationship

Another great read you can always rely on an Erica James book to bean excellent, gripping read.

Relationships with mothers and daughters can be difficult just like Naomi and her daughters Martha and Willow. They all have to reevaluate their relationships when secrets and home truths emerge. The family dynamic might be changing but hopefully for the better.

A fantastic read that had me unable to put the book down once started

An emotional read about the relationship between a mother and her two daughters, Martha and Willow. This also deals with themes of abusive relationships, pregnancy and fertility issues. As always, the descriptions are fantastic and evocative but I was disappointed in the ending.

A total heartwarming and uplifting story about the complex relationship between families. A strong about love, growth honesty and family support. Five stars from me.