THE INHERITANCE by Joanna Goodman was SO good, I raced to the end to see what happened, only to wish the story would continue.

Arden Moore and her sister, Tate grew up watching their mother fight the legal system and the Ashforth family in trying to gain the inheritance from Arden’s billionaire father, Wallace. Thirty years ago when DNA was still in its infancy, Virginia Bunt faced obstacles at every legal turn. How could she prove her affair with Wallace and the paternity of Arden? She lost all of her petitions spectacularly.

Arden had a good life with her husband Scott and her three children. But now, two years after his death, she’s at risk of losing the house and all they worked so hard for. Her children each have varying medical and/or emotional problems resulting from their father‘s death. When Virginia suffers serious injuries, which she won’t honestly explain, she moves in with Arden and the children. As Tate and Arden work together to care for their mother, Arden once again takes up the inheritance mantle as she is in dire strait's financially. Unable to hire her mother‘s former attorney, he suggests she work with Joshua who is willing to work on a contingency basis. As the petitions move through the judicial process, Arden and Joshua begin a relationship. Will she get what is rightfully her’s or will she fail as her mother did? She really needs that money now! But nothing turns slower than the wheels of justice.

As her daughters are working to care for the children, Virginia begins to care for herself. Her journey of self discovery leads her to a support group for elder abuse. There she finds the acceptance and compassion needed to face what happened on the night she sustained her injuries.

I really enjoyed this novel. I stayed up well into the night to find out if Arden would get the inheritance or not. The author’s writing style is clear and concise and I could feel my heartbeat quicken each time Arden entered the court room. I have enjoyed other Goodman novels and this was no exception. It was complete escapism and great domestic suspense. I can’t wait to see where she takes me next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

This book had an interesting premise. I found it hard to connect to the characters. The ending felt very rushed.

The Inheritance: A Novel by Joanna Goodman is a fantastic novel where the beautiful cover may lead you to believe this is a light summer beach ready but is actually a deep gripping legal drama entwined with dual plots of a daughter and mother dealing with rebuilding their lives after individual traumas.

I didnt know quite what to make of this book.
I thought the premise was promising but the actual delivery fell short for me.
I didn’t really like any of the main Characters which tainted the reading for me.
I mist dint really have any sympathy for Arden and that made her actions irrelevant to me.

Great mother/daughter story. This family is complex with real, heartbreaking, and emotional challenges and tragedies. The character development was slow and steady, but beautifully done. I really came to love all the Bunt women and appreciate their strength. This book brought quite a few topics to the surface and I think would be great to discuss as a book club.

This was a drag. I skipped/skimmed at least 100 pages. On and on it went with the same content and conversations, just different verses or circumstances. And the parallel stories of Arden with the inheritance and her mother, Virginia, with the elder abuse... it just didn't fit or make for a cohesive story. I appreciated Virginia standing up to her attacker. But beyond that.... cannot recommend. Bummer.

Arden and Tate, sisters, same mother, different fathers have had to listen to their mother Virginia their whole lives. About how they have all been wronged. About how Arden’s biological father was a multimillionaire. Virginia has lawsuit after lawsuit trying to get her daughter acknowledged and to be entitled to part of her father’s estate. All three women are fighting their own battles but they all come together to form a bond. A bond that will make or break their family. I struggled with this book, sometimes pushing to finish. In my opinion, I just needed a little more. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, but the opinions are my own. The Inheritance-Joanna Goodman-Three stars.

Unfortunately this is a dnf at 27%ish. By chapter 10 I decided to give up and skipped to the last 3 chapters to see if there was any resolution. I was once again bored with chapter 34 but did find some positive wrap ups in chapters 35&36. The final pages did not leave a settled ending for me though. Sadly, DNFing was the right choice for me.

This book was such a delight. I had never heard of Joanna Goodman before I saw someone I trust recommend this book, and I binged 2 of her books this weekend. She is such a wonderful storyteller. The characters are so fully developed you would know exactly who they were if you saw them on the street. This story reminded me of something my boss used to say 'Things always work out the way they are supposed to'. We didn't get every single loose end tied in a pretty bow at the end, but we can trust that everything worked out.
Thank you Net Galley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an advanced copy of this book.
Highly recommend!

Arden’s life changes when her husband dies and leaves her family in debt. A call from an estate lawyer may change everything for her. It’s the beginning of a complex legal journey that will bring out secrets.

While this one was a lot different than I was expecting, I immensely enjoyed it. I was expecting it to be more of a court room legal thriller. There was a small portion of that, but more this was a story on how we build self-worth and identity. Major trigger warning for elder abuse and rape; while it is triggering, I am also glad it was highlighted in this story, as you do not see it often in books- but it does happen and we should know that.

“She’s waited on the precipice of her own life for more than six decades, marking time, standing by, chasing, vision-boarding, all to wind up pulverized and alone on the floor of her tiny bedroom.”

The Inheritance comes out 3/12.

I loved Joanna Goodman's Home for Unwanted Girls and will immediately pick up anything she's putting down. Her novels are thought provoking, impactful, and heart wrenching. The Inheritance is no exception. A compulsive, page turning read.

At its core, this book is really about identity, family, and finding who and how you can depend on others. There were chunks of book that were more enjoyable than others. I was surprised and not prepared for the plot with Virginia, and felt caught over guard with the graphic nature of her experience, and how it would come together with the rest of the story. I think Goodman does a good job of showing the familial relationships overall, and how preconceived notions may change your perspectives on others. The book was okay, but it felt a bit choppy in its pacing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

3.5 stars…..The Inheritance by Joanna Goodman is a book about a family fighting their entire life for their possible inheritance. Arden is allegedly the illegitimate child of billionaire, Wallace Ashforth. Her mother, Virginia Bundt, worked for Wallace and had an affair with him. On online chats her mother’s name was Bangin’ Boomer. Virginia did not have the best reputation. She was obsessed with men. Is Arther Ashforth really Arden’s biological father. How can you prove this in a court of law? Is money really worth what it caused this family to go through? Is money the root of all evil?

Arden takes up her mother’s crusade years later, after her mother lost everything trying to prove her daughter was Wallace Ashforth’s daughter. Arden’s fight begins when decades later DNA can be introduced as evidence into the courtroom. Even though Arden never met her alleged father or her brothers is she entitled to her portion of the money if she can prove she is their biological siblings? Her mother has been with many men, is her mother even telling the truth? Read to find out.

Another topic in this book is elder abuse. I found this interesting, I have never read anything on this topic and it is one that needs to be brought to the forefront. It is real and it is horrific.

I found the beginning of the book very slow. I did a lot of skimming. I enjoyed the end of the book much more. All in all I was a little disappointed. I love Joanna Goodman’s other two books the Home For Unwanted Girls and the Forgotten Daughter and would highly recommend those. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At its core, The Inheritance is a story of identity. Not only who we are, but how we are shaped by circumstances and the choices we make. This is a story of relationships - messy, raw, real. It is an examination of claiming who we are and learning to love oneself.

Arden Moore is a widowed mother of three young children swimming in a sea of debt created by her husband's lavish spending and complicated by his sudden death. Arden's mother Virginia has always claimed that Arden is the illegitimate child of a very wealthy businessman who died before her birth. Virginia spent a decade trying to establish Arden's paternity and claim a portion of the estate left behind. That unsuccessful pursuit left a wake of destroyed relationships and damaged lives.

The story is told from both Arden and Virginia's points of view. While Arden searches for her birthright, Virginia is dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic assault. Both mother and daughter struggle to repair the damage done by decades of searching for validation and self worth. There is a lot to unpack here and Joanna Goodman does it with a well crafted narrative that put the reader into the minds of these two damaged women as they look for healing and hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

A great premise but unfortunately the book is so poorly written that it impossible to care about the characters or what happens to them.

I liked the story of Arden, including all the history, but I wasn't a huge fan of the current storyline with Arden's mother, Virginia. Despite my dislike of the storyline, I loved the characters of this book. I've read all of Joanna Goodman's novels, and this one felt like a bit of a departure, but it worked. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel.

I’ve read a few of Joanna Goodman’s books and she is such an excellent storyteller. This story is ultimately about family relationships and their importance and the definition of what it means to be family. There are so many intricacies in the relationships in this book and it all comes together brilliantly to make a profound statement. This is an easy read, but has some suspense that kept me interested right up to the end. Goodman addresses some very serious topics with heart and aplomb. For fans of Elizabeth Berg and Jodi Picoult.

I really don't know how I feel about this book. Part of me enjoyed the story of Arden and Joshua and Arden's trials with her children. But on the other hand, I hated the story of her mother, Virginia and the whole thread of elder abuse. I liked the story line of the inheritance and the courtroom scenes, but hated the end of the book, when the reader is left in the middle as another heir has come forward. I know it cements the moral of the story of the inheritance not making Arden who she is and now that she has her job back she can make it on her own, but I think it would have been more satisfying for her to receive the money and have that be the end of it. So would I recommend this book--I don't know.

Virginia had an affair with a very rich married man who died without making a will. Virginia had a daughter from that affair and fought in court for years to get some money but failed. It took a toll on her and her daughter. Then, the daughter tried.

I enjoyed this book. I found reading about 100 pages at a sitting worked best due to the complicated
background story and ample amount of characters. The story includes some subjects some might
find difficult, but they are central to this well crafted story. Life is messy, and this book delves into
every kind of mess and finally winds around to what can be resolved and what we just have to live with.
The real life issues explored in the book will resonate with anyone who has ever been part of a family..
I found myself choosing sides and picking characters I hoped would be victorious. I found myself wondering how I would fare in some of the situations. And, as I write, I’m still wondering what choices I would make,
People say that money is the root of evils, and in a way, this is the undercurrent running through
the story, though many are just as likely to disagree.. For fiction, there are some great twists on real
time moral/ethical situations. Life lessons abound, along with hope and caring.
I recommend this book. My thanks to Harper Perennial, via MetGalley for this download copy
for review purposes.