Danni's family has more secrets than she imagines.

My Mother's Secret took me by surprise. I hadn't read the blurb so I wasn't expecting quite such an emotional read. I loved My Mother's Secret because I thought it showed real life in a dramatic and thought provoking manner.

In a sense, My Mother's Secret is a tale that could have happened to any one of us, with family dynamics and secrets uncovered with empathetic skill by Julia Roberts. This is its absolute strength because the writing is humane, realistic and captivating. Indeed, I found many uncannily close aspects to my own family, particularly the grief of a lost child. I want to say more, but would spoil the read for others. I particularly loved the natural dialogue because I felt as if I were witnessing the events live rather than reading about them and Danni's first person account adds a depth I felt most keenly. I admit I wept with her on occasion.

The plot of My Mother's Secret has a deft balance between Danni and Ben's ordinary everyday life of balancing work, an elderly parent, Diane, and school runs for example, that so many will identify with, alongside those huge life affecting events that give this story such pace and frequently shocking elements. I'd love to see My Mother's Secrets brought to the screen either as a television series or a film because I think it would bring comfort as well as entertainment to so many.

As well as being Danni and Diana’s absorbing story My Mother's Secret is a captivating portrait of a marriage and family too. The emotional strain on Ben and Danni is portrayed with realistic sensitivity so that I empathised with both of them as they struggled to do the right thing, even when their views were diametrically opposed. In fact, I though each character here was so much more than a character on the page. Diana in particular held me in her thrall because she's truly awful and yet Julia Roberts made me understand her completely so that she touched me more than I might have imagined.

Underpinning the cracking narrative, there’s a mature and thoughtful secondary theme within My Mother's Secret of not judging others until you have the full facts that I very much appreciated. Desperately sad and emotional, but equally uplifting is its portrayal of the strength of the human spirit and the bonds that unite us too.

It's quite difficult to review this book because I don't want to spoil the plot but I do want to convey what an important story it is. Touching, emotional and convincing, My Mother's Secret is a story that will resonate deeply with many readers. I thought it was excellent.

What a brilliant well written book so beautifully told I just couldn't stop reading, it held my interest throughout and all the characters were so well described all with their own individual stories.

I look forward to reading more from this author and I can thoroughly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

It should be the simplest relationship you ever have in your lifetime but, in truth, there is nothing more complicated than the relationship you will have with your family. Everyone expects unconditional love, that should be a given, and most people do get to experience that. This is more definitely not the case for Danni who has always had the most turbulent of relationships with her mother, Diana, who always made no bones about favouring her brother over her. That doesn't stop Danni from wanting to help Diana after she receives a devastating diagnosis, or for wanting her own children to get to know their grandmother properly whilst they all still have time. And it is during this time in which Danni and Diana are forced together that Danni uncovers a shocking family secret - that she had another brother she never knew about.

This book should come with an recommended add on of a box of tissues. It is full of tension and emotion as Danni struggles with the feelings of inadequacy when it comes to how her mother views and treats her, and then as she uncovers the sad facts about what drove the gap between her and her mother all of those years ago. It was nothing she had done, nothing she could have done, and uncovering the truth doesn't make it any easier to take, but it does add a really emotional layer to an already heartbreaking tale of a divided family.

I could completely empathise with Danni and how she was torn between doing the right thing by her mother but also trying to protect herself from the toxicity of the relationship. There are many parallels I could draw between her life and my own, although thankfully my mother was never quite as vicious as Diana could be. But that idea of the child stepping up to be a support and, in Danni's case, caregiver to a woman who was far from the perfect mother to her, is something I recognise well, and Julia Roberts has painted a very clear and authentic picture of that most troubling of familial bonds. All Danni wanted was her mother's love and pride. All Diana wanted was her missing child. As Diana rapidly succumbs to her dementia, it looks unlikely that either one will get what they want. But that loss of short term memory and the regression to memories of her past that typifies dementia for so many families is sympathetically drawn and used to really good effect here, leading Danni to discover her Mother's devastating secret.

I think that, for me, a key aspect of this book, what made me become so invested in their story, is the way in which the author has managed to make me, as a reader, care about Diana and what happens to the wider family unit, despite the fact that for large swathes of the book Diana is a truly horrible character. The way in which she treats Danni is awful and yet Danni never gives up on her, making you want to read on to see if she ever gets what she needs the most. But seeing the way in which Diana interacts with her granddaughters, you know that there is something in her that is good, some part of her that does have the capacity to love even if she couldn't show her own daughter. The more we learn about Diana however, the more you come to realise what drove her to be how she is, and the shocking truth about her past will play with those emotions whether you like her or not. Julia Roberts has captured that element of the book perfectly, the judgment and assumptions that would have been prevalent at the time of Diana's first pregnancy and the devastating consequences of what happens to her child. Those are the scenes that start to get to you. The ones where you will start to sense the ice in Diana's heart finally melt.

This is a truly emotional story that paints a very vivid picture of Danni and Diana's life. Not every family is perfect which is reflected here in this most fractured of mother daughter bonds, and yet it also shows that even the hardest of hearts may be capable of love. Whilst some of the events in the book may make you angry, and Diana will certainly test every ounce of your patience as a character, there are scenes towards the end which will make your heart break, and there were definite tears leaking before I finished the book. This book is about family, forgiveness, loss and redemption. It will definitely play with your emotions, and I have no doubt that there will be many readers who connect with different elements of the story for very good reason, just as I did. If you are looking for an emotional, domestic drama with a small mystery at its heart, then you definitely want to give this book a try.

Loving someone is not always easy. Sometimes you give them to much attention and you smother them. Sometimes you don’t give them enough by far and you neglect them.
When it happens to adults, they can talk about it, but when it happens with children, it’s a lot more complicated. Some of them leave home to find someone to love them, others do it to find some space and air to breathe. In both cases it’s not always easy to visit your parents, but when something devastating happens, they still are your parents and you will help them and stand by them no matter what.
It’s a very emotional story and it would be very hard to cope with everything that life throws at you without a loving, supporting and understanding entourage.
Quite a few hearts went through the wringer, but love was, is and always will be the glue to make it whole again.
I love the book and kudos to the author for that one revelation that made my jaw drop to the floor.
5 stars.

Thank you, Julia Roberts and Bookouture

Danni had a very strained relationship with her mom, Diana. She’s never been able to understand why her mother doted on Danny’s brother, but never seemed to love her. When Diana is diagnosed with dementia, Danni finally gets the heart wrenching answers she has wanted. What is the secret that Diana has kept from her? This is an account of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on the entire family, but also is a story of forgiveness. I really enjoyed it.

This book was so sad! So very, very, sad. I really felt for Danni. Mostly because of the situation she had been thrown into with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but the other reason was the state of their mother/daughter relationship. I asked myself a few times, how can all their issues be repaired? In my head, I couldn’t see a solution. All I could see were rising tensions and vitriol.

I loved main character, Danni’s interactions with her husband, her two girls and Maxine; they were a delight to read. I also felt a sense of realism with it all, such as the financial constraints that Danni’s family were suffering at such a time when money would make a few things easier for them. This gave the whole book an authentic feel to it.

Julia Robert’s tells a fantastic tale of dealing with lifelong rejection. I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding Diana’s secret. The investigative journey that Danni took to reach the truth really had me flipping over the pages at speed. Word of advice, make sure you have tissues at hand. ‘My Mother’s Secret’ is a tearjerker of a read!

My Mother’s Secret is a heart wrenching. Danielle’s mother is vile to her foremost of her life, favoring her younger brother over her. Yet it’s Danielle who cares for her mother when she begins having medical issues. I did not care for Diane for most of the story, even allowing for dementia and her somewhat altered attitude toward Danielle. I was glad when Danielle finally tells her a few hard truths. The story times even more interesting near the end with a few more surprises. Keep the tissue Handy when reading this tearjerker.

Danni has always had a strained relationship with her mother and even though they live close together they rarely see each other. Danni receives a late night call that her mother was found wandering around in the middle of the night. This leads to a dementia diagnosis and Danni having to spend more time with her mom then in the past.
During one of her “episodes “ her mom mentions having given birth to a son when she was a teenager. Danni wonders if this is true or a made up story, while digging into this story Danni is reunited with family, exposed to family secrets and this takes unexpected twists and turns.
Such an emotional read, so much love, loss and secrets to uncover.
This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last, as the emotion is poured out into every single page !