Family secrets.
Emotionally invested.

I love Lisa Wingate books and she was spot on with her quote “Perfect for fans of Before we were yours” totally!


Gripping.
Intriguing.

What I loved was the well tuned merging of the side by side timelines, how beautifully written it was.
I find in some books with dual timeline I favour one over another but in this one I needed no preference at all as both kept me intrigued throughout.

The descriptions, the planting of what scene to set in my mind was perfectly arranged by this author Nikola Scott.

Character growth and reveals we’re all here and I enjoyed every minute of my experience with these characters.

So if anything I’ve said triggers your interest or you’ve read this (as it’s been out since 2017) share your thoughts with me.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a bit slow at times but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

I love reading mother and daughter themed novels and this one was interesting because of its 1950s and 60s setting. Family secrets and family relationships make good reading for me and this novel did not disappoint. The writing rambled and could be tightened in places but overall I enjoyed it.

Addie and her family are together for the one year anniversary of the death of her mother Elizabeth when there she takes a phone call in her mother's study from what appears to be a private detective .........what on earth could her mother be needing one for! There is then a knock at the door and a woman, Phoebe turns up claiming to be Addie's sister but how can this be possible........Addie is determined to get to the truth

Liz's story is then told in 1958 when she was sent to stay at the country house of the Shaw family when her own mother was dying and it was here that she fell in love......but was everything that it seemed I the Shaw family.

A good story working well in the two timelines and I think I enjoyed both equally. I was born in 1960 and it makes you realise how different the times were then for such a comparatively short time ago. I really felt for both Addie and Phoebe and such a shame that Liz never got to see the outcome

My Mother’s Shadow is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time. The poignant story line is deeply affecting, especially when read as a mother of two children, I found that i often had a lump in my throat whilst reading about Elizabeth’s horrific experiences. It’s hard to believe that people judged and treated people so cruelly over so little without realizing the damaging effects that it would have on all concerned. I’m very thankful that thinking has now moved on and we now live in a much more open-minded society.

The main character, Addie, was very realistic and hugely likeable and I found myself really drawn to her story and plight throughout the book. The transformation she goes through is brilliant and I enjoyed watching her grow in confidence and start to stand up for herself, doing what she wanted to do rather than what she thought others wanted her to do. I felt for her with her difficult relationship with her mother, who she felt she never pleased and was never good enough for. It was hard reading about how this had affected her over the years and it was good to see her come out of her mother’s shadow in this regard and become a much more confident and together person. Her relationship with Phoebe and Andrew was lovely to read about as i felt that in their presence we got to see the really Addie and i loved how much more confident and unafraid she was around them.

The descriptions of the idyllic summer that Elizabeth spent with the Shaws was beautifully described and I really felt that I could picture those lazy, summer days in my mind’s eye. It was lovely to see a different, care free side to Elizabeth and to watch her grow throughout the summer in her new-found acceptance. Some of the games and mischief the children got up to was stuff that i used to enjoy doing when i was a kid, which helped create a wonderful sense of nostalgia for me and the fun i used to have.

Unusually for me with a book with two time-lines I found that i enjoyed them both equally. Normally I am rushing through one part of the story to find out what is happening in the other, normally older timeline. I think this is down to the author cleverly sharing out the facts and reveals between the two timelines so as to keep both interesting whereas i don’t believe this is always the case with other books. This also helped keep the story really interesting and I found that i kept reading, faster and faster as the book progressed in order to find out what had happened. Sometimes one of the story lines revealed a clue that wasn’t yet known in the other story line and then i found myself on tender hooks, waiting for it to be discovered and to see what their reaction would be to the new information. This helped create a lot of tension and anticipation in the book which made the book very easy to read.

Though it is hard to believe, this is Nikola Scott’s debut novel and I very much look forward to reading more from her. I felt the comparison with Kate Morton & Rachel Hore was very much deserved and feel sure that if you like their books you will enjoy this one!

Huge thank you to Becky Hunter and Headline for providing me with a copy of this book.

Beautifully written, Atmospheric and a rollercoaster of emotions

1958 A perfect summer, a young woman in love and having the time of her life.
1999 A family come together on the 1st anniversary of their mother’s death.
This book is written in dual narrative, Addie who is the oldest out of her 2 other siblings, and then through diaries written by their mother Elizabeth Harrington in the 1950’s.
Present day the Harrington family, Graham, the father and his three grown up children, Adele (Addie) Venetia who is heavily pregnant and Jasper all come together on the anniversary of their mother’s death.
Addie’s dad has been struggling since his wife passed away and isn’t in the best of health at the moment so when a stranger arrives on the doorstep looking for Elizabeth Harrington/Holloway claiming that Elizabeth was her mother Addie makes sure none of that reaches her dads ears.
Phoebe claims that she was adopted as a baby and that she was born at exactly the same time and date as Addie which would mean if all of it was true the two ladies are twins!
Obviously Addie and Venetia don’t believe any of it, even with the few bits Phoebe has brought with her. But seeing the writing in the journal, her mum’s writing finally makes Addie want to know more, about how could her mum give up just one of the babies and why did her parents lie to her. As far as she knew her parents were married before she came along but after searching through her parents house with the aid of her best childhood friend Andrew they find her parents marriage certificate along with a birth certificate with only her mothers name on it, the date of birth and the box for father’s name left blank, the certificate didn’t even have a name for the baby so the child’s name was documented as “Baby”
Addie whole life has just been turned upside-down and the only person who could have told them everything has taken the secrets to the grave with her.
As the twins start digging into their mothers history trying to make all the puzzle parts fit they begin to form a bond, a bond that only twins understand.
1958 – Elizabeth Holloway’s own mum Constance is dying of cancer, the doctors have told them that nothing else can be done for her now except keep her comfortable.
Elizabeth had always been close to her mother and had taken up reading sat at her bedside, reading to her, listening to things her dad didn’t approve of and under her mum’s strict instructions try to attend to her mother’s garden, bringing in roses, bringing some of the outside inside so her mum could smell it and imagine she was out in the garden.
So it came as a massive shock when she was told she was going to be sent away for the summer to stay with friends of her mother.
Her mum told her of all the wonderful times she had from her visits there and made Elizabeth promise to have fun, enjoy the countryside and to not worry about her!
Elizabeth didn’t want to leave her mum, not when she was so gravely ill but her parents insisted so she had no choice but to go.
At first she couldn’t settle, couldn’t stop worrying about her mum and decided that it would be inappropriate to be having fun why her mum was almost on death’s door.
But gradually not being happy became impossible with the Shaw family and the other young people staying there.
She learns how to ride a horse, swim and there were no strict rules and regulations. If you were late for breakfast it didn’t matter, she was just served it up whenever she found her way to the dining room.
On her 17th birthday she didn’t think anyone knew and she certainly hadn’t told anyone but to her delight they had a beautiful birthday cake waiting for her, presents and they had arranged a birthday party just for her.
And it was this birthday she received her first kiss! She fell deeply in love but in the end it all came crashing down around her. She found herself single and pregnant which in those times was nothing short of a scandal!
Addie and Phoebe slowly uncover layers of the past it takes us on that rollercoaster of emotions with them.
This book is certainly very engaging and evocative with strong likeable characters, some not so much! With twists and turns, surprises and mysteries, some coming as a bit of a shock!
This is a story about families, family secrets, identities, betrayal and how the past impacts on the future.
I really enjoyed this book, i was a bit wary when advertised for fans of Kate Morton but i was pleasantly surprised by this book, the writing is just sublime and it is hard to believe this is Nikola Scott’s first novel.
Perfect rainy duvet day book 🙂

This was such an engaging, emotional book that mixes the dual timelines so well, that once I had started reading I just couldn't put it down.

What happens when you find out that when you thought you knew someone, it turns out you knew very little? This is what happens to Addie after her mother Elizabeths' death. She always had a difficult relationship with her mother and never could understand why, but a year after her death another woman appears on the doorstep claiming to be Elizabeths' daughter and has exactly the same birthdate, throwing everything the family knew up in the air and bringing back some very bad memories and bad feelings.

As we follow Addie and her journey to find the truth, we also see back in time to 1958 when Elizabeth kept a diary of her time living with her sick mother, and father, and her Summer spent at Hartland House. It is a fascinating mix of history, family secrets and self discovery and does an amazing job of pulling you in as a reader as you see at close hand the devastation that secrets can wreak on a family.

There is never a let up in the pace, and as Addie discovers more and more about her mother as she finds letters and a mobile phone, it really shows how you can never really know a person. And there's a heartbreaking twist thrown in for good measure that took me by surprise and took my breath away.
A stunning read and I can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

A wonderful story which is really a social commentary of life in the late 1950,s and early 60,s which highlights women's place in society and the country's moral values of the time.
Addie is the eldest of three siblings who at the age of forty suddenly lost her mother in a road accident.
On the anniversary of her mothers death a woman appears at the door looking for her mother proclaiming that she is her daughter and in fact Addie,s twin.
The research into her mothers life and the origin of her birth shatter not only Addie and her sister but also the reader and give a real insight into what single mothers had to endure to maintain their respectability in the eyes of society in the middle of the last century.

An easy read. This is an enjoyable read. I did not give it four stars as I have read better similar books. The story is heartbreaking in parts. Single mothers went through so much pain. There was so much heartache. It is good that books are written about this. It is a part of history which still affects people today and it should be talked about more,

My Mother's Shadow is a well written story with an uplifting feel.

Do you like family secrets, characters to root for, and a book that whisks you away on an emotional rollercoaster?  If you’re nodding your head, then My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott is a book you need to take note of.

[book-info]

Balancing the books is a quick fire review where I list the assets and liabilities of a book (as I see them) and leave you decide if you think this book is worth investing in.

The Assets of My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott:

Mother/Daughter theme :  I lap up mother/daughter themes in books.  And I loved that a loving relationship was present, but there was also a strained relationship.  It wasn’t a cruel one, but rather a situation where they didn’t understand each other, and wound each other up.  Both bonds were fascinating to read about.

Swoony cover:  Scorn all you want!  I’m a shallow book-cover-magpie and I can never resist a gorgeous cover.  The image on this one, of a girl crossing from a dark depressing world into a happier, light-filled zone captures the tone of the book perfectly.

Secrets: Family secrets lure me.  I want to dig deep, and uncover every hidden detail.  Watching the search for the truth, and the subsequent fallout that rocked the family made this a book that I wanted to keep reading and reading.

Emotional Rollercoaster:  I loved how the author wove all the emotions in to the story in such a way that I felt them all.  I was giddy during the fun summer, broken at the misery some characters endured, frustrated at how gullible one naïve girl was, enraged by a useless father, confused by the shocking appearance of new family members, and in love with how a sister bond developed.   All the moods, and all the feels made this a very emotionally satisfying read.

The Liabilities of My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott:

Rambling sentences:  Some sentences were overly rambling, and long winded.  It was something I noted, but it didn’t overly hinder my enjoyment of the work.

[rating-report]

Investment potential of My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott:

If you like the sound of a contemporary/recent historical fiction mash-up and a heartfelt plot, then this might be just the book for you.  Or if you are a fan of authors like Kate Morton, or Julia Crouch, then you might also like this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline Review for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration.  As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

Addie and her family have come together to mark the first anniversary of her mother’s death when they get a shock. A woman, claiming to be Addie’s twin has turned up on the doorstep. Phoebe insists that their mother, Elizabeth Harrington gave birth to them both. At first Addie doesn’t believe Phoebe, but as the two women look into their mother’s past, they develop a friendship, learning that one twin was given up for adoption. Told in 1999 and 1958 (Elizabeth’s story), this is a story about the difficulties unwed pregnant women faced in the past as well as the ability to find and reconnect to family