Everyone has a narration (including Martha’s husband Tom and Ellis) so it’s not just the women’s thoughts and feelings we’re privileged to get a glimpse of. Tom fast became my favourite character.

Martha is her eldest daughter and she’s married to Tom Adams and has a successful marketing career. Martha’s very much like her father, a high achiever, determined and a perfectionist. Martha and Tom want to start a family, after months of trying, she’s still not pregnant and Martha’s feeling very stressed. If you’re a fan of gripping domestic dramas exploring complex characters and familial bonds, add Mothers and Daughters to your TBR pile. James knows her way around a domestic drama, and this one has enough plot twists to hook a wide range of readers. This is a compelling and fabulous story about relationships and life and what mothers will do to protect their children, I loved it from start to finish, it was a hard book to put down and what a beautiful setting, a beautiful cottage Anchor House on the coast of a small English village Tilsham. We get to meet Naomi and her daughters Martha and Willow, this is a moving and emotional story and so beautifully told. I don’t often come across a book in which I find so many of the characters empathetic. At the same time, the situations rang true to life and I could imagine my sisters, or my daughters reacting similarly.Mother and daughters are very close and talk often but when Naomi meets her new neighbour, Ellis who is actually an old friend and more, Naomi decides that now is the time to move forward, a new Naomi and that includes having Ellis by her side. Martha has other ideas and wants her mother to sell her home and move closer to the girls, this causes some major problems with the normal flow of family life with them. Deliciously immersive ... tracing the complex emotions and dangerous undercurrents that lie beneath the deceptively smooth surface of family life’ Iona Grey A beautifully written story that examines the wonderful intimacy between mothers and daughters … a satisfying treat’ Adele Parks, Platinum The other niggle was the way one of the characters were dealt with at the end. They had become an inconvenience and it seems as though the author didn’t really know what to do with them. A touching and honest portrayal of a mother and her two daughters dealing with that thing called life.

This one is no exception. The relationship of three women, a mother and her two grown up daughters and how they have dealt with the death of their father/husband two years previously is explored in the novel. There is mention of the coronavirus pandemic, but it isn’t really about that, and it seems to take place when we’re all out of this mess! The three women, Naomi, Martha and Willow are all in relationships of various different stages. Naomi, at 60 odd is with the one who got away at university. Martha is in a stable satisfying marriage and Willow is finally with a man that is viewed as perfect boyfriend material by the rest of the family. A brilliant read. A compelling family drama, full of twists and turns. Completely absorbing’ Sarah Morgan, bestselling author of The Christmas Escape A brilliant and gripping family drama … full of heart – and plenty of drama – this is a brilliantly observational look at the complexities of family life’ My Weekly Naomi's daughters are like chalk and cheese . Martha the eldest daughter is sensible and determined. Willow the youngest daughter is very easy-going and full of fun.Naomi has also never revealed the full details of her life when married to their father, fearing that this would destroy their happy memories. When Naomi bumped into Ellis, a man she’d known through university, their rekindling of friendship was immediate. He’d moved into a cottage next door to Naomi to be nearer his mother who was in care and not expected to last much longer. Naomi and Ellis found they enjoyed one another’s company, laughing and reminiscing over the past. But Martha – especially Martha – wasn’t happy to see this new man in her mother’s life. It was too soon in her opinion, although Tom tried to temper her irritation. As emotions ran hot, and tempers flared, the discomfort which ran through the family was damaging. What would be the outcome for this family – this mother and her daughters? Would things right themselves; would they make their peace with one another? I loved this!! One of those stories when you're sad to leave the characters as you immediately feel at ease with them and want to carry on watching over them as they come to terms with the loss in their lives, but begin to move on. The story centres around Naomi and her two daughters Martha and Willow. Naomi has recently been widowed and is trying to rebuild her life in the little village of Tilsham by the sea.

Deliciously immersive … tracing the complex emotions and dangerous undercurrents that lie beneath the deceptively smooth surface of family life’ Iona Grey Wise and warm with plenty of twists and turns, you'll love this engrossing family story’ Rachel Hore I received a copy of Mothers and Daughters from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review, this is the first book I have read by Erica James, and it won’t be my last and five stars from me. 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. Since her husband Colin died a couple of years ago, Naomi has quietly rebuilt her life in Anchor House in the coastal village of Tilsham. She has reconnected with Ellis, who she knew during uni. Romance has blossomed between them but what will her two daughters think?Mothers and Daughters is a story with so much heart, which for me came across in the smaller gestures (such as having a cuppa made just as you like it!). It’s not always the grander gestures that come from a place of love … Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me an e-book copy of this novel for a review. Talking about characters, one of the characters made my skin crawl from the get go. The actions made me so uncomfortable I felt dread every time they stepped into the story. Unbeknown to her daughters, Naomi has recently met a Ellis an old love from her past. He has awakened feelings and companionship which Naomi had forgotten about. Should Naomi take a chance on a new beginning ? What will her daughters feel about her having her own life?

Naomi, Martha and Willow are easy to relate to. Even though I’m closer to age with Naomi, I identified more with Martha. Naomi frustrated me a times although I did understand her motivation.Erica James’ twenty-fourth novel is a wonderfully compelling family drama that touches upon some serious and fairly dark issues. Her characterisation is excellent, the setting is beautiful and the slow reveals are delicately and sensitively handled. Her eldest daughter, Martha, is sensible and determined – just like her father was – and very much in control of where her life is going. If she could just get pregnant with her husband, life would be perfect.