Rachel is step mum to Olivia and Dylan who have sadly lost both of their parents. She is originally from New Zealand and moved to Dublin to marry the love of her life, Lorcan. Lorcan sadly passed away leaving Rachel to be the only parent to Olivia and Dylan. However, he wanted Rachel to be their adoptive mum and be recognised by law as their mother. This causes a stir for the children’s paternal grandparents who want their daughter to be remember and for them to have shared custody of the children with Rachel.

This book is brilliant, and I cannot recommend it enough. The story flows so nicely and really reels you in to feel angry, sad, happy and it’s just beautifully written. It also taught me that I love drama, so long as I’m not involved. Family dramas might be my new favourite book to read. I just so wanted the best for Rachel and her children and the entire family. Even the characters you don’t like, you understand their point of view and want them to work it out.

A stand out book and I would recommend everyone reads it!

This audiobook told the tale of a riveting family saga, with terrific characters, that has you utterly engrossed from start to finish

This is a beautifully written and narrated tale about love, loss and family.
In this story we meet Rachel a young widow, . Her husband, father to Olivia and Dylan, died nearly 2 years ago in a tragic accident. Leaving her to bring up the 2 children he had with his 1st wife, who died when Dylan was a baby.
Rachel has been their mother since her and Jack got together several years earlier.
Rachel emigrated to Ireland, where the story is set, when she fell in love with Lorcan. She has struggled since his death and on a visit home to New Zealand briefly thinks about the possibility of moving back to be nearer to her family.
Upon arriving home her struggles become harder as the children’s maternal Grandparents fear she is going to disappear with Olivia and Dylan and decide to fight for joint custody.
Told from several family members prospective we learn more about each one and the loss, fears and struggles of a blended family and what lengths people will go to to protect the ones they love most.
The narrator did a fantastic job of making me feel as though I was there as the story was unfolding. I felt every emotion the characters felt and found myself hoping things would work out ok. One minute hating a certain character for behaving the way they were and the next minute feeling so sorry for all they were going through.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and listen to this book, my 2nd from this author

Highly recommend

Narrator 3.5 ⭐⭐⭐
Aoife McMahon's natural voice is beautiful and soothing, but her NZ accent was a little painful after awhile

Story 3 ⭐⭐⭐
I understand the reason why Sheila's character was so horrible but for me it went on waaaay to long without Rachel or anyone else calling out her mortifying and bad behaviour. For me it really ruined this book. It just wasn't particularly pleasant.

I listened to the audiobook of A Mother's Heart and I really enjoyed it . The book follows Rachael who is stepmother to Dylan and Olivia - who's both parents have died. Rachael has to navigate some tricky situations. From natural and step grandparents to the adoption process. Love this narrator too. An excellent read as always from Carmel Harrington definitely gets my recommendation.

A MOTHER’S HEART
BY
CARMEL HARRINGTON.
Narrated by Aoife McMahon.

I finished this book a few days ago, and it’s one of those that is still going around in my head.

Rachel and her children Dylan and Olivia, have really been through it. After the death of Niamh, the children’s biological mother, Lorcan their father fell in love with Rachel.
The four settled comfortably into a family unit together. However, when Lorcan is tragically killed, Rachel and the children draw even closer to each other and form tighter bonds as a family of three.

Rachel is originally from New Zealand, where her close family still live.
When the possibility of Rachel and the children moving to NZ is brought up all hell breaks loose. When Sheila, the children’s biological grandmother finds out a battle begins to secure responsibility for Dylan and Olivia and it all gets pretty unpleasant.
Everyone wants what’s best for the children, but can they agree on how best to move forward.

Rachel is quite literally a saint. Despite being devastated at becoming a widow, she remains strong for the children, and incredibly tolerant and considerate towards Sheila.

Sheila firmly believes she is the best person to take care of the children. With the steadying hand of her husband and son, can she begin to see a different way forward?

There is also the question of Lorcan’s parents. Why are they so distant? Just what happened to push them away?

This book is an incredibly emotional read. It stirs up so many different feelings and provokes some interesting debate and questions.

I loved the characters in the story. Even caustic Sheila had a softer side and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her situation.
Rachel’s Family were a treat as were Lorcan’s parents. They gave the story a real sense of warmth and family.

I’m always a fan of Carmel’s writing and look forward to her books coming out. A Mother’s Heart is another beautifully written, poignant, thought provoking, intelligent and all round damn good read.
I loved it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fabulous narration by Aoife McMahon.

With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Uk Audio, for a copy of this title.

I love Carmel Harrington and 'A Mother's Heart' is no different. It is a heart felt story and I cared so much for Rachel from the beginning.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc

I have just finished listening to this book read to me on audio. I did enjoy it and felt really invested in the characters. It is an emotional book, with a lot written about emotions, in particular focusing on the death of a close relative. If this has effected you recently, then you may find it hard to read/listen to as the whole book is based around grief and the effect on one extended family.
To say I enjoyed it sounds rather bazar if I'm honest as it is so personal a story. However there is drama with a few twists thrown in. I think if I'd read it, I would have found it slow and skipped through but listening made me think and take in more. Thank you for the opportunity to consider the effect of grief on a family.

I have read and enjoyed a lot of Carmel Harrington’s books. She is a terrific writer of women characters and always gives great insight into the emotion and complexities that women, and in this book especially, mothers have. As the title suggests this is a book about mothers, specifically Rachel who is a New Zealand native living in Dublin after she has married an Irish man. Her circumstances leave her with no option but to make life altering decisions for her family. She meets with opposition from other family members and the book shows the depth to which mothers will go to in order to protect and cherish their children. I enjoyed this book and found the narration to be excellent. The narrator did well with a difficult task of conveying an Irish Northern Irish and New Zealand accent in the one story! I found that I could not stop listening to the story and was really rooting for Rachel. However some of her decisions, especially the last one, were very questionable for me. Also I don’t believe somebody could be that forgiving to the people who have really tried to destroy her. This is definitely worth a read and alongside all of caramel Harringtons other box stands up as one of her best.