A Mother Like Mine by Kate Hewitt

• Title:  A Mother Like Mine
• Series:  Hartley-by-the-Sea #3
• Author:  Kate Hewitt
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Pages:  384
• Published:  August 2017 – Berkley
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  Welcome to England’s beautiful Lake District, where a reluctant reunion forges a new bond between a daughter and her wayward mother….
 
Abby Rhodes is just starting to get her life on track. After her fiancé’s unexpected death, she returned with her young son to the small village where she grew up and threw herself into helping her ailing grandmother run the town’s beach café. Then one evening, her mother, Laura, shows up in Hartley-by-the-Sea and announces her plan to stay. After twenty years away, she now wants to focus on the future—and has no intention, it seems, of revisiting the painful past.
 
Laura Rhodes has made a lot of mistakes, and many of them concern her daughter. But as Abby gets little glimpses into her mother’s life, she begins to realize there are depths to Laura she never knew. Slowly, Abby and Laura start making tentative steps toward each other, only to have life become even more complicated when an unexpected tragedy arises. Together, the two women will discover truths both sad and surprising that draw them closer to a new understanding of what it means to truly forgive someone you love. (publisher)

My take: When Laura Rhodes returns home to Hartley-by-the-Sea from America she isn’t met with a warm reception from her daughter. Abby has every reason to be bitter where her mother is concerned. She left when Abby was a toddler and only came back for a few short visits over the years. Now Abby is a single mother of a young boy. She’s struggling to make a go of the family beach cafe and really doesn’t have time to forge a relationship with Laura.  But when something unexpected happens the two must figure out how to move forward. A Mother Like Mine is the story of forgiveness, learning to trust, and second chances. It’s a heart-warming novel that fans of the series will love. I enjoyed revisiting the quaint, picturesque village of Hartley-by-the-Sea and glimpsing characters from the previous books.  A Mother Like Mine can stand alone if you haven’t read the first two books. There’s an excerpt from Rainy Day Sisters (book 1) at the end – along with a Readers Guide.

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