Mothers and Daughters: From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes the most captivating new family drama of 2022

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Erica James’ twenty-fourth novel is a wonderfully compelling family drama that touches upon some serious and fairly dark issues. Mothers and Daughters had it all, from families, friendship and trust to conflict, domestic abuse, control and secrets. Themes of domestic abuse and coercive control in relationships are central to the story and were dealt with in a sensitive and insightful way, particularly in recognising how violent and controlling behaviour frequently develops in an incremental way, enabling the perpetrator to gradually undermine his victim’s self-confidence, thus encouraging totally misplaced feelings of shame and guilt to become entrenched, preventing the victim from feeling able to do anything to stop the cycle of violence and intimidation. She was also her father’s clear favourite whilst younger and more empathetic sister, Willow, was happy to drift along. But these are very specific problems that I know about through other means and probably wouldn’t affect other people’s interest or enjoyment in the story, and to be fair didn’t affect mine either!

This one just kept in delivering, it had everything I enjoy in a book, sadness and happiness and a happy ending. With descriptive prose, captivating characters and more than one intriguing secret hidden deep in Naomi’s past, Mothers and Daughters is a heartwarming and very satisfying read, that may well make you reflect on your own family relationships. Despite being sisters, Willow and Martha are opposites in how they live their life and what gives them enjoyment. These are my own honest and considered opinions that are uninfluenced by any other reviews or publicity.

Ellis’s relationship with his mother gives the reader insight into his character, as does Rick’s recollection of his own unhappy childhood with his parents. She soon realises that their friendship is growing into other emotions; she is in love with Ellis and he has the same feelings for her.

I thought the author really brought the characters and the beautiful setting to life in such a way I felt like I had travelled to Anchor House as a guest. Siblings Martha and Willow couldn’t be more different – chalk and cheese they’d always been told, especially by their father.Younger sister Willow is more of a free spirit, floating through life from job to job, which was a constant frustration to her father. Willow is easy going, caring and loving and just ambles through life changing jobs and boyfriends, her father found that so frustrating and was very open to letting her know that she needed to make some plans and be more like Martha. Furthermore, events that happen in the novel link to Naomi’s past and I think this makes the family even closer still. Naomi's daughters are very different: Martha is determined and driven like her father, while Willow is a free spirit.

Little by little the women use the insights they gain to begin to let go of well-established but dysfunctional patterns of behaviour, to adjust their perceptions of each other and to let go of guilt, anger and misplaced loyalties. Perhaps because Naomi is presented as so caring and selfless, in contrast to Willow and Martha’s sometimes selfish or erratic behaviours. Biography: Erica James is the author of twenty-three internationally bestselling novels, with recent Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers including Swallowtail Summer, Coming Home to Island House and, most recently the hardback bestseller, Letters from the Past. Really this is an awesome story one that I would highly recommend I can’t praise it enough, it is the first book from Erica James that I have read but it won’t be the last.Fully rounded, living with pasts that affect their current actions, the relationships between them all give an insight into the human condition. The characters, their lives and their conflicts were very realistic and immensely enjoyable – a perfect holiday read to sweep you away. With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. Family, sibling rivalry, fertility, infidelity, domestic violence, narcissism and finding happiness were a few of the subjects which were intertwined throughout the story.

Willow has a new boyfriend Rick who at first everyone thinks is just what Willow needs in her life, even her father would approve of Rick but Willow is not sure if he is the right guy. The real drama begins when we discover that Naomi, in her middle sixties, has met a man, Ellis, and is having a serious relationship with him.Without introducing any spoilers by giving examples, there were moments when I found myself feeling furious with Martha’s controlling, manipulative behaviour as she attempted to derail her mother’s relationship with Ellis! Each chapter is written from the perspective of an individual character and this allows the reader to get to know, and understand, the dilemmas they are each facing and their opinions on the unfolding dramas.