4.5 rounded to 5

"My eyes filled with tears, but I didn't feel embarrassed, as I would have merely weeks ago. I feel validated and genuinely appreciative. Empowered by the solidarity and strength of the mothers around me... and grateful for the mom friends who would kill for one another."

This was was AMAZING !! Kathleen Willett did such a great job of showing how while being a mother is a dream come true and such a blessing, it's hard work. I loved the diversity of the mom group as well... it really showed how ALL moms can relate, no matter what.

This is told from the POV of Jenn, and a mysterious letter writer, another mom writing to her baby!!! I LOVED THIS!! I was trying to whole time to figure out who the mystery mom was- and I was SOO SHOCKED by the twists... over and over!! My only critique is the pace at the beginning of the book was a little slot BUT she defiantly made up for it the last 2/3 of the book !!

This was an amazing debut novel and I really enjoyed it !! I cant wait to see what she comes up with next !!

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Kathleen Willett for an ARC of this book !!

Her freedom, her sanity, her life. How much will a young mother sacrifice to protect her secrets?
Sleep deprived and overwhelmed, first-time mom Jenn is struggling to adapt to her new role. Frustrated with her loving but preoccupied husband and still grieving the death of her own mother, she feels isolated and depressed. It’s only when she joins a new-moms’ group that she starts to think she’s finally getting back on track.
Until Isabel, the group’s leader, suddenly disappears.
Now Jenn’s baby isn’t the only reason she can’t sleep. Consumed with worry over Isabel, Jenn is teetering on the edge of obsession. Concern turns to paranoia when Jenn finds clues that force her to look at herself, her marriage, and the women in her support group, who have more in common than Jenn realized. Much more.
Saving Isabel means unearthing secrets that were supposed to stay buried forever, and Jenn has to decide what she’s willing to risk to help a woman she barely knows. With each revelation, she gets closer to a slow-burning act of retribution that could easily and irrevocably draw her into the flames.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Mother of All Secrets by @kathleenmwillett

I really really liked this one! HAPPY PUB DAY!!! 🎉

There were some parts where I was like “my girl Kathleen, were you a fly on the wall during my postpartum experience?” 😂😅 some of the details she mentioned were so spot on that I LOL’d

I loved the twist in this one and it held my attention throughout! Definitely binge worthy! Full disclosure- I skimmed some of the fbk group comments bc honestly I get enough of that nonsense in real life. But the concept of the book was unique and I really enjoyed it!

This one is out today!! Go get you a copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What twists!!! This story is about a new moms group and one mom in particular that is struggling with new motherhood. I’ll be honest that the first part of the book was hard to read and I almost stopped reading. I related so much worth Jenn that even though my kids are older, it brought back the memories of comparing to other mothers and feeling alone that so many mothers feel. I’m so glad I decided to finish the book because wow! The second half of the book was thrilling and I stayed up way to late reading.

Mother of All Secrets, a debut novel by Kathleen Willett.

At the start of this book, I thought it was going to be another mom with post-partum story. And it was in the beginning. It was quite repetitive with the tiredness, lack of productivity etc.

Jenn joins a mom group in hopes of some help and making mom friends.

When Isobel, one of the other moms, goes missing, Jenn suddenly has the energy to focus on that and not her own life.

While the book started as a typical story, once it got going in was quite original. I can't say more than that without giving it away. It is rare these days for me to find books with original plots, so I was happy this one had one.

Thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

Jenn is tired behind belief with her newborn and lack of sleep. One of her mom’s groups colleagues is missing and things sent adding up. Jenn herself is questioned about the missing mom.
There more to the initial story. The,plot came together nicely. Some parts of the book were implausible from a practical stand point, but it’s still a decent book.

Mother of All Secrets by Kathleen M. Willett

I struggled with this book in the beginning. It dragged a lot for me but eventually it picked up. I didn’t care for the ending. This one was just ok.

Jenn is a new mom struggling to stay afloat. She tired and overwhelmed with her new responsibilities. To add to her predicament her mother passed away and her husband is preoccupied.

Jenn decides to join a new moms group. Just when she thinks she’s getting a grip on her life, the groups leader Isabelle disappears. Jenn becomes consumed with figuring out what happened. The deeper she digs the more secrets she uncovers; secrets that force her to look at her relationship and the people she thought she knew.

Mother of All Secrets is available August 1, 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

While I appreciated and related to the discussions focused on postpartum challenges (been there), this novel was a miss for me. I thought the characters were not only unlikeable but also not relatable as I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at plot twists and internal characters thoughts. I enjoyed the humor in the text chains of the upper west side group of moms and I always love a NYC setting for a book. Heartfelt thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

I liked this one! Lots of twists and I was invested right away. The storyline was intriguing and I loved the author’s writing style.

Mother of All Secrets by Kathleen M. Willett is a book about secrets, many secrets. This is a review that is difficult to write because not much can be divulged without giving away too much information about this great plot. Jenn is a first-time mother of a newborn daughter. She finds herself out of her element until she joins a young mother’s group. She finds companionship and empathy among the young women from her neighborhood. Things are looking up until the leader of the group, Isabel, disappears suddenly. Jenn feels drawn to the mystery and worries about Isabel’s safety and attempts to involve the other mothers. This is where the secrets begin to be revealed, ever so slowly, peeling back the layers of an unpredictable plot. The characters are so well drawn that the reader feels as if they know these women. Each one contributes much to the story, good and bad. The plot is fresh and original : the reader will hold their breath till the conclusion. This is a great revenge novel, the kind that draws us in and does not let go. I will reread Mother of All Secrets, just to examine each character now that I know what happens. This is my first book by Kathleen M. Willett and I hope to read more in the future. Highly recommended. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't bad by any means, I honestly didn't relate to it at all. I was initially interested because I love a good mom group honestly. I thought the story was interesting and I would read more from this author in the future for sure.

Jenn's struggles with post party depression and a pretty much absent husband ease a bit when she's invited to join a mother's group by Isabel. The women- Isabel, Kira, Selena, and Vanessa- buoy her spirits and validate her feelings. And then Isabel disappears. Her husband doesn't seem too concerned - why? but the women are. They share a secret which none of them recognize at first. This might seem slow initially as Willett builds Jenn's character and her miasma but know that it amps up. Good Upper West Side atmospherics (which could apply anywhere to be fair). Liked the characters and the twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Unfortunately, I found this book totally implausible. I just couldn't get behind the story. I was disappointed as so many of the reviews were so good, but it was not the book for me.

Jenn is a new mother and has all the new mom feelings. Exhaustion and overwhelmed. She decided to join a new-moms group for support and things seem to be going well, Until everything falls apart. A mom of the group goes missing. I really enjoyed this book and was excited to learn the ending. Looking forward to other books by this author.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC!

4 stars! Mother of All Secrets follows Jenn, a sleep-deprived, overwhelmed, new mother who is part of a new mom's group when the group leader disappears. Jenn is then consumed by the investigation and starts to uncover deep secrets as she searches for Isabel.

I thought this was a really strong debut! I didn't see the twist coming at all, which I enjoy, and I thought the author made a very compelling mystery. The main thing I didn't love is the "villainy monologue" that many thrillers fall into, but I would definitely read more from this author!

A story of early motherhood, love, friendship and betrayal. The struggle of mothering during those first weeks and months is clearly portrayed. Finding community with others living a similar life is important. Unfortunately the evil of one who you trust can unravel your very existence especially if you're barely hanging on. Twists aplenty will keep you glued to the pages. Enjoy and hate as you read this well-crafted story.

First of all, the cover and title are just perfect. I was intrigued before I even read a word. And man does it have the story to back that up!

This book grabbed me and pulled me in from the first page, I was hooked. I try to go to bed at a decent time but stayed up late to finish this one!

I really don’t want to say too much about the plot because I don’t want to spoil any of the amazing twists and turns coming your way. So I’ll just assure you that there are some great twists in here, most of which I didn’t see coming! Seriously, could not put this book down once all the pieces started falling into place. How it all comes together is just brilliant!

I’m not a mother yet so haven’t experienced the newborn struggles but I have a faint awareness of them so it’s refreshing to read a book talking so candidly about them. It also helped to make Jenn a very relatable and likable character!

I definitely have my eyes peeled for any other books coming from Kathleen Willett because this was a fantastic debut
This comes out August 1 so make sure to preorder a copy on Amazon if you haven’t already!

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. Absolutely loved this book, loved the twists, didn't see the ending, brilliant.

There is nothing I love more than supporting teachers, and I was excited to have the opportunity to read and review this debut novel by Kathleen Willett (a teacher). I never would have guessed that this was her first novel. It was well written, had so many twists and turns, and the ending had me mind blown! I thought it was fantastic, and I’ll be highly recommending this to others!