It's hard to say much about this book without giving stuff away. I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out why Rose was doing what she was doing. But then I decided that I really needed to let go and just enjoy the ride, trusting that all would be revealed at the end of the day. So I did, and it was, and I started to enjoy the book more.
Rose is married with a child. A child that she is determined will go to the Woolf Academy. Irrespective that they really aren't the type of family to darken those hallowed halls. But determined she most certainly is and is shocked and surprised when all her hard work comes to fruition when Charlie is accepted. Although she is devastated when he appears not to be fitting in. But then there's a vacancy in the Circle - a solid group of mothers, by invitation only, who basically rule the school. The price is high for inclusion, as Rose finds out when she is elevated in status. But status for her also includes status for Charlie, but, as we start to find out, what will this ultimately cost them?
This is delightfully a bit bonkers. Full on and a smidge implausible. But all jolly good fun along the way. Head of the school Amala is a delightfully crafted character and I'd love to wax lyrical all about her here but you really do need to meet her as the author intends, and get to know her, warts and all, at exactly the right time for maximum impact. Other characters are just as well described and all act their parts well. I struggled initially with Rose, for reasons already mentioned, motive and all, but once I gave up second guessing, she kinda grew on me.
Plotting was sublime and so very well executed. Pacing matched the narrative all the way through and the ending was perfect.
All in all, another cracker from an author now firmly on my watch list - if you haven't already read it, I'd also recommend her debut book - Precious You. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Such a Good Mother started off well and I could feel myself getting drawn in to the plot. It had characters you love to hate and the story moved on quite well for the first half of the book. However I found the second half to be somewhat predictable in places and the plot stalled. I know others have love this book but for me it was just ok. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This was a well written book with some interesting characters. However, in the end it felt a slightly formulaic telling of a well worn story about a chosen group of women with secrets who were flattered to be central to the running of a school before everything falls apart.
thank you to netgalley and HQ books for an advance copy of this book

This is a good read.
Rose is still haunted by thoughts of those who bullied her at school and is determined that her son, Charlie won't suffer like she did.
Rose wants him to go to The Woolf Academy, a prestigious school that claims to give children the perfect education, but soon learns that the school needs money.
Rose and Pete are in debt, but she is determined to get Charlie into the school.
Rose is soon given the Golden Circle badge and feels like she's part of a wonderful clique. It comes at a price though with snide comments from some of the others but Rose will do anything for her child. Or will she?
This is a good family drama.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The book really begins with Rose O'Connell, the mother of Charlie and her visit to Woolf Academy - now a prestigious free academy - formerly the middle school that Charlie's mother attended and hated. The Woolf Academy is ruled over by 'the circle' - a small, seemingly, perfect and elite group of Woolf mothers. No-one can ask to join the circle - you have to be asked to join... and before long Rose, a bank cashier, very much not the usual 'Woolf mother' becomes one of the circle. The price of being one of the circle is, however, a high one ... and once she's in the circle it soon seems that Rose's life is about to spiral out of control, her marriage end and her relationship with her nearest and dearest be tarnished. This was a great easy, summer read, which pulled me in - I wanted to know what would happen in the end - and which had an interesting plot twist at the end. The author highlights from the start that all mothers who also work can struggle to be that 'good mother' and may feel guilt that they can't put 100% into both work and family life - I suspect many would agree - the lengths this mother goes to do seem a bit extreme but it didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. A big thank you to netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

All of us who have seen children through school can relate to the IT crowd!! Those perfect mothers with perfect lives etc. Far fetched but a good read

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for arc of this book
Not my cup of tea I have to say
It revolves around a mum trying to get her young son Charlie into the local high school now called The Woolf - it was previously her old high school where she was relentlessly bullied. But she is still keen to get her son into this posh school although this group of women who see themselves as above all others who wear a circle of gold to make sure everyone knows who they are, are a group of bullies themselves and suck Rose in she can’t see it she just wants to find out what happened to the mum who killed herself

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read Such A Good Mother.

I felt the premise for this book was extremely interesting. A woman who feels her life is falling apart is given opportunity to become part of an elite group of women responsible for raising the school's profile.

We see Rose the main character deal with a number of moral dilemmas along with being caught up in schemes of questionable legality.

In parts a bit too far fetched it definitely kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

A disappointing read, not my cup of tea.
Rose is asked to join the inner circle of parents when her son Charlie starts at a new school. An envied position and one Rose doesn’t seem suited to as the other members are all from a privileged background whilst she is not. All is not what it seems and what starts with one unexpected death leads in darkly to another
All a bit clichéd but some unexpected turns

‘Precious You’ now re named ‘That Woman’ was one of my fav books of 2020 so was with great excitement and also trepidation I started this book, I say trepidation as there has been lots of mixed commentary already on this book…
Without doubt the authors raw edginess is back and her ability to pick up on every human nuance is breathtaking, she creates situations and characters that have a way of evoking reaction and tells a story where every word is important and brings something to the table, her writing is outstanding, I love it
The story though for me this time is far fetched, set in a school where Mums will do anything to be in the ‘inner circle’ all watched and controlled by the leader, a true full on sociopath and narcissist, delicious in her shockingness and vileness, you shudder with the extremeness of her actions, pure wonderful badness…and once these Mum’s are in ‘the circle’ their lives are never their own again….
I say far fetched ( and it is ) yet if you can get past this ( and I did ) you will be hanging off every word as the story evolves and goes from dark to pitch black
Genuis author in skill and makes reading exciting but as say this time the story raises an eye

Writing 10/10 5 Stars
Believability of Story 7/10 3.5 Stars

I’m really not sure if I liked this one. I dislike the characters, spoilt, snobby and not very loyal. The book started off slow, picked up halfway through but, by then it irritated me. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A brilliant book , really enjoyed reading this, really good story which was written so well with a brilliant story line. Loved the ending and all the characters.

The main character Rose tries to be the best mother she possibly can. She tries to ensure her son is in the best snobby school possible. However within this school, there are a circle of moms, the IT crowd as you may call it. Then one of them ends up dead and Rose becomes apart of them.
The plot interested me a lot however the amount of fitting in to the IT crowd is a bit pathetic as an adult.
Overall bitchy novels isn’t for me.

This will have you on the edge of your seat for sure. I felt genuine anxiety and tension for the characters whilst reading this I was so invested. Such a great concept and I particularly liked the ending

Be careful what you wish for!

Rose O’Connell, her husband Peter Jacobs, and their son Charlie live in a small flat, above a shop facing the Woolf Academy.
Rose stares at the Woolf whenever time will allow, it’s opposite her home.
Should she apply for a place for Charlie?
What is happening to her old neighbourhood she grew up in?
Would the Woolf be a new start for Charlie and them all? Or is it all dreams and aspirations?
What will Rose do?

I found the book at the start to be of a slower pace, but it picked up around the halfway mark for me.
It features snippets of Rose’s childhood, which gave an indication of how the story may go.
It draws attention to two types of families, mainly featuring on the women side, being those that have, which she classifies as “messy buns” brigade,, and those that don’t.
Rose is a very busy mum, as most Mums are in life, juggling lots of plates in the air, running a home, being a mum, and working.
Amala Kaur runs the Woolf Academy, I won’t go into her character as I don’t want to spoil the story.
Jacq Jacobs is Rose’s sister in law, husband Pete’s sister. I warmed to Jacq’s character the most, although she wasn’t involved in the book as much. I would have liked her to be. I think her character and business type would have been very interesting in my opinion. Added the extra spice.
The end had twists and turns that made me doubt what I thought was going to happen?
An enjoyable thriller.
At the end of the book, it is interesting to hear why the author wanted to write this book.
A written from the heart, acknowledgment, which brings real meaning to something so heartfelt.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Publishers for an e-book copy. Opinions of this my own.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one, lots of unlikeable characters, twists and turns and actually how many wrongs make a right? My head hurts!

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Having it all is a killer…
Rose O’Connell aspires to be the perfect mother.
When she receives an unexpected invitation into The Circle, an elite clique of beautiful, wealthy and connected mums at her son’s exclusive school, it seems her dreams are about to come true. Every mother would kill for an invitation, and once she joins, Rose’s social status soars.
But what is each woman hiding beneath her immaculate exterior?
Why did a previous member take their own life?
And why have they singled out unassuming Rose to take her place?
Rose is about to find out that perfection comes at a price…

“Such A Good Mother” by Helen Monks Takhar is a psychological thriller based around the exceptionally cliquey group of mothers called The Circle. My guilty pleasure is reading about school cliques involving pushy parents, as it’s something that every mother can relate to. We’ve all seen them, we all know that sometimes the cruellest people in the playground can be the parents and having always made sure to stay on the periphery of such cliques, I do get intrigued as to what actually goes on within them.

The story flowed well enough, but being completely honest, the characters grated on my nerves from the start. If that was the author’s intention then fair play, but it just felt as if I read the book from start to finish in an agitated state. I’m also not sure how much of the clique behaviour is relatable to real life as I’ve never been a part of such a clique but to me, some of it seemed rather far fetched. Overall, this was an enjoyable read but I think the initial premise grabbed me more than the actual book did.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Such A Good Mother Helen Monks Takhar

4 stars

A story that all mothers can relate to.

Rose O’Connell is married to Pete with one 4 year old son Charlie. She works hard in a bank and her husband fits bathrooms but is struggling to find work. Rose has lived in the area all her life and is still haunted by the bullies at her school. She is determined that her son will get all the advantages that she lacked and decides to get him into The Woolf Academy, a prestigious school that claims to give children the perfect education. However the school is not a private school so needs to raise funds from the parents of the children who attend.

The problem is that Rose and Pete are in debt, Pete is struggling to get work and they are surviving on Rose’s salary as a bank clerk. However Rose is absolutely determined to place Charlie in the school and when she attends the open evening and meets the other mothers she realises that she is not in the same social position as these women and they let her know their opinion of her. The CEO of the school trust is an exotic Indian lady called Amala Kaur and when she appears to take Rose under her wing giving her the coveted Golden Circle badge she decides that the snide comments and actions of the other women is irrelevant when compared to her child’s future.

It soon becomes apparent though that Amala has chosen Rose for her own ends and wants her to use her position at the bank to initiate grants that are illegal. Such is Rose’s desire to raise her status that she agrees to help and before long is so embroiled that she cannot extricate herself.

Although I found this whole story a little far-fetched, I am sure any mother can sympathise with the desire to give her child the best of everything no matter what may happen. It transpires that all the women involved in the Golden Circle have their own very large problems and are trying to hide behind their outward wealth and power. I am sure that we have all encountered similar parents although maybe not quite so grasping as these.

I was intrigued as to how this story would end but must admit I was a little disappointed but apart from that I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a good read.

Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Sorry to say, but not a book for me. Really unlikeable characters. Just couldn’t gel with the story.

I really wanted to like this book, the blurb made it sound so good. But really – who would go to all of this effort – the brooch wearing, the bullying, just to fit in to be part of The Circle. I didn’t understand it. It was too far fetched to be believable, when people start being killed for not conforming, surely the school would do something about it?! To have a perfect relationship with her husband and to almost lose him to this other woman, Amala?

I found myself getting irritated just reading this book.

To summarise, Rose wants her son to go to a prestigious school. In order to fit in, she tries desperately to do as she’s told. She’s then invited to join The Circle under the leadership of (Parent Teacher Association-type thing) Amala. As a banking assistant, she obtains a grant for the school. Things heat up, the pressure is placed on her. Until she turns the tables.

I did finish the book because I wanted to know how it ended. Sadly, it was not for me. I rate it 2 stars.