Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I can appreciate the intrigue of the story - a multigenerational journey of Zelda, her daughter Lila, and Lila's daughter Grace. After Lila passes away, she posthumously sends Grace on a journey of finding out what happened to Zelda. There was witty quips and interesting dialogue. I did appreciate the list of characters and the families they belonged to in the beginning. To me, this story felt dry - there wasn't anything that really grabbed me to make me feel invested in the story. Rated three stars because this book might just not be for me!

Like Mother, Like Mother is a deeply engrossing multi-generational story that explores themes of ambition, legacy, and the complicated bonds between mothers and daughters. The novel introduces us to Lila, a formidable figure who rose from an abusive childhood to become one of the most influential newspaper editors in Washington, D.C. The narrative shifts from Lila’s early death and legacy to the lives of her youngest daughter Grace, whose so-called “novel” stirs tension as it draws heavily from Lila’s life. As the story unfolds, we delve into a mystery about Lila’s mother, Zelda, whom Lila had believed died in a mental institution—a revelation that adds layers of intrigue without becoming the exclusive focus.

The novel begins with Lila, but gains significant momentum when Grace’s perspective takes center stage. The relationship between Grace and her college roommate, Ruth, feels especially captivating. Their conversations are an absolute highlight, offering beautiful, in-depth portrayals of genuine, soul-baring dialogue. Through these conversations, we see two women push each other to think critically about their lives, creating a bond that feels authentic and transformative. Ruth’s background—growing up poor in the South, raised by her mother and grandmother—provides a stark contrast to Grace’s privileged upbringing, and yet their friendship feels real and deeply moving.

The character of Ruth poses a bit of a challenge for me. She works hard, but her life unfolds in a straight line—she never experiences setbacks or stumbles. Everything she puts her mind to happens without issue, leading to her wild success in every area—career, relationship, mentors and friends—with her magnetic personality drawing everyone in. This level of perfection stretches the limits of believability and leaves me wondering how some friction (maybe Grace starts to resent her friend’s perfection?) might have offered something interesting.

Lila, on the other hand, is a complex figure. Her choice to be an almost entirely absent mother, leaving most of the parenting to her husband Joe, is both revolutionary and frustrating. Lila’s refusal to engage in any self-examination, which the novel emphasizes repeatedly, makes her fascinating, but also leaves her feeling somewhat flat, though I think that is by design. She’s larger than life, but that same grandeur prevents her from becoming fully dimensional.

The same can be said of the rest of Grace’s family, particularly her older sisters, the “Starbirds,” who remain somewhat caricatured throughout the novel. Grace more than any other character feels fully fleshed-out, though even she doesn’t always reckon with her choices in a way that feels entirely satisfying.

That said, Like Mother, Like Mother is a thoroughly engaging story. Despite the underwhelming resolution of the mystery and a rather abrupt ending, I found myself unable to put it down. It’s not an epic, nor is it a fully satisfying meal of a book, but it’s still a wonderfully compelling slice of life that blends family drama with a dash of political intrigue. Fans of complex character studies and strong female friendships will find much to enjoy here.

Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mustered everything she has—brains, charm, talent, blond hair—Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. Lila unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn’t mind—until he does.

But Grace, their youngest daughter, feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondents’ dinners. As she grows up, she cannot shake her resentment. She wants out from under Lila’s shadow, yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life.

This is three interwoven stories in one tome. While slow at times, I really enjoyed the overall message of this book. I felt the middle lagged, but I'm glad I stuck with it. If you enjoy multi-generation stories centered around women, you'll enjoy this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Like Mother, Like Mother is an enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.

I found the writing style not to be to my preference, but the story was interesting.

This is a multigenerational story of one family.

This is a complicated story, though the characters are well developed and each with their own story to tell, I found it difficult at times to keep track of who was who and how they were all related to each other and then through in the friend Ruth`s story as a side.

Lila and her siblings are abandoned by her mother when her father has her mother institutionalised when Lila is a young child. Jump forward 30 years — we focus on Lila her marriage and children — then later her daughter Claire as well as Lila`s sister Grace as Claire writes a book about her Grandmother Zelda .

There is a lot of politics and religion mentioned throughout which is not something I enjoy being threaded into a novel at such a heavy amount.
I found the writing style and non-linear writing interesting but confusing from time to time as mentioned — I had a hard time relating to any of the women’s situation except Ruth the friend and her side story. I think this book was a hit or miss in many aspects and will work for some people and not others, but the ending on figuring out about Zelda was the most interesting part of the book for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Starting out, I wasn't sure I was going to like this story but I was wrong! The cast of characters at the beginning of the book made me question what I was getting into but the list turned out to be helpful. Part one of the book features Lila, the mother of Grace who is featured in part two. Lila is a determined newspaper journalist and later editor. She grew up without a mother. Her father was abusive. She knows she's not mother material but marries Joe who she knows will be a great father to any children they would have. They have three daughters, Grace is the youngest and feels the most disconnected from her mother. Grace ends up writing and publishing a book that is semi-autobiographical where she sheds her mother in uncomplimentary light. Part 3 deals with Grace pursuing the truth in finding out what happened to Lila's mother. Great family story.

2.5 very generously rounded up to 3...
Okay the problem with this novel is that I didn't believe any of it. I didn't believe the plot, I didn't believe the dialogue between the characters, and I didn't believe any of the however-brief internal monologue included. The dialogue was written so choppy and oftentimes, the characters weren't responding to each other. And because I didn't believe any of their conversations, I didn't like any of them. Not a one. It is really difficult to get through a novel in which you find no redeeming characters. And it also made the (very anti-climactic) ending all the more difficult to swallow.
I was hopeful in hearing this was a multi-generational story but in the end was really disappointed. I know the book was split into '3 parts' but the chronological order was all over the place and not in a way that made any sense. Safe to say this one wasn't for me.

This book started really slow for me. However once it hit Part 3 I couldn’t out it down as all the stories came together.

Lila is a famous reporter whose job means everything to her. She’s not a motherly person to her three girls, the older two collectively called The Starbirds (which just annoyed me) and her youngest Grace.

Grace writes a novel that is essentially all about growing up with a never present mother like Lila. The book looks back on Lila’s life growing up with an abusive father and a mother, Zelda who was also absent. Grace becomes obsessed with Zelda’s story.

This is a character driven family saga that reminded of books like Hello Beautiful and Tom Lake so if you liked those maybe this one will appeal to you. These books are not for me and unfortunately neither was this one. I was not invested in these characters. I would say I was bored for the majority of the book. The ending got slightly more interesting but the other 90 percent of the book did not make up for it. The main character was fairly unlikable even though parts of her seem relatable as a former working mother myself. I still couldn’t bring myself to like her.

Pick this up if you loved Tom Lake and Hello Beautiful.

This is a story about mothers and daughters. Lila's father was abusive and had her mother put in a mental institution when she was two. He told her and her siblings that their mother had died. Since her mother was gone her father was abusive to the children. Lila took the brunt of this to save her siblings. She does not think she can ever be a mother. She has three daughters and rises to the top of her career becoming executive editor. Grace is her youngest daughter and feels like her mother does not love her and writes a best selling fictional story about her mother.

This book is done in three sections. The first is Lila's story from her childhood until her death. The second part is Grace's story. It is about being Lila's daughter. When Lila dies she leaves a note for Grace to find out what happened to her mother. This is the last section of the book. The story is about mothers and daughters and how our mothers shape our lives. It is a story of family dynamics and what happens when we don't know the truth.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SusanRieger, and #RandomHouse for a copy of this book.
#LikeMotherLikeMother

Lila Pereira is a personality, a superhero whose strengths are her ability to unmask coverups in write ups, and to cut the crap. Her hard-won status as the executive editor of the Washington Globe comes with a hefty price tag: strained relationships with the people she loves. The reader learns quickly that Lila unapologetically pays any price for the things that she wants, and will be the first to remind her loved ones that she warned them.

Grace is Lila's youngest daughter, the one who shouts to the skies how much she needed a mother, shouts to everyone who will listen that her mother failed her, and writes a novel as a means to broadcast the message to the world.

Zelda is Lila's mother, who was committed by her husband, Aldo, to the Eloise Asylum when Lila was a toddler. According to Aldo, Zelda died at the Asylum. Lila and her two siblings grew up in Eight Mile, Detroit, under the very heavy hand of Aldo. Lila only ever speaks of her childhood in a flat voice.

The novel moves fluidly between these three characters, finally circling back to Grace as she works on making a sort of peace with the hand she's been dealt.

It's a hard book to put down. The characters come alive so quickly, I had to go back to see how Rieger introduced them to make sense of it. She sets crumbs for the reader to gobble up as the pages turn; for example, the novel begins with obituaries, and the reader finds out that Lila began her journalistic career in writing obituaries. When we get to read about Grace, we already have her mother's story as a backdrop to her Gen-Z/Millennial struggles. As a result, I struggled in turn to empathize with a character who had been given so much, who rages against her perceived abandonment yet spouts off wonderful Lila-isms right and left. I'm thankful that Rieger ends the novel with Grace reflecting on Lila and Zelda as an older, wiser person.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for access to the ARC. Opinions stated here are my own. I don't receive any compensation for my review.

I was drawn to this book for a number of reasons. I connected with the Detroit setting, and one of the protagonists was close to exactly my age. And I'm always a sucker for books about motherhood. When I started reading, I was a bit put off by the style, as characters often seemed to give speeches to each other in describing their lives, their feelings, etc. But once I got used to this way of writing, I was quite enthralled by the story and the storytelling. I found the characters as mostly flawed but still worthy of love (with one or two notable exceptions) and the three section setup really worked for me. I liked the way the book started with the death of a main character then built the rest of the narrative around her, her family of origin, her career, her husband, and her children. I also thought the connections to "real world" events was well-crafted. This is a book I'll recommend to readers who are drawn to multi-generational family stories.

Thank you Random House for the ARC!

3 generations of mother/daughter drama? Multiple perspectives? Lit fic? This should have checked all the boxes for me!

While I wanted to love it so much, I struggled with being bored the first 25% or so. I wish less time was spent talking about the magazine and politics and more time focused on THE FAMILY.

I think releasing a politically heavy book with a clear political lean with real names being used a week before an election was a poor choice. Reading about politics is the last thing I want to do right now as I'm reading to escape the non-stop political news.

Maybe it would have been better to release at a different time or leave out the politics. Sad because otherwise such a great story!

There are great books about multi-generations within one family. Hello Beautiful, Blue Sisters, heck...even Little Women. Like Mother, Like Mother should be added to that list.

Recently retired from her job as executive editor at the Washington Globe, Lila Pereria has passed away, Her youngest daughter Grace has just published a novel based on Lila's life. Lila was raised by an abusive father, and was told that her mother, Zelda, had died. Lile didn't have the maternal influence and maternal desire and that reflected in her own parenting of her daughters.

Weaving the past and present, this is the story of complex motherhood. Of being a working woman, of being a mom, of being a daughter. It's about the family you are born in and the one you create.

I found the writing riveting and lush. I wanted to know more about Lila, more about Grace...and really, more about Zelda.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Like Mother Like Mother

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A beautiful book examining a family of female lead characters, following generational trauma and related challenges, and its recurring effects, as well as a pursuit for a different future. While this may not be a unique concept, it was deftly drafted by Ms. Rieger with characters that are acutely aware of their flaws and challenges, and in every other facet of life, are accomplished and successful. Further, it begs the question as to whether knowledge of our upbringing and past (true or not), shapes our goals and plans for the future. Fans of authors like Ann Napolitano and Emma Straub would enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Ms. Rieger for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER by Susan Rieger is a multigenerational family drama that checked so many of my boxes. With themes of motherhood, marriage, and complicated mother/daughter relationships, it should have been my ideal book. Sadly, I didn’t mesh particularly well with the author’s style of writing. The novel is broken into three parts, and I think part two is what really soured my overall opinion about this book. There was so much random filler—just too many unnecessary details. All three parts had sections like this, but part two is where my interest really waned, and I even skimmed some sections. Also, there are a lot of characters in this novel that I found a tad excessive. However, the author does get a few extra bonus points for including a character list, which I referred to often. I did appreciate the hint of mystery throughout this story, which also included a touch of hope. Even with my few minor issues, I still recommend that you give this novel a go. It has some great bones, and a satisfying ending.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Family drama and dynamics
- Sisterhood
- Mother/daughter relationships
- Motherhood and marriage
- Journalist lifestyle
- Feminist undertones
- Politically-charged storylines
- Character-driven novels
- Slow-moving plot lines
- Mystery and intrigue
- DNA/genetic testing

If you enjoyed novels like Hello Beautiful or Blue Sisters, this one might pique your interest as well. LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER releases on October 29th! I give it 3.5/5 stars.

I am still thinking about this one. Absolutely fantastic read. I don’t want to spoil a thing, but this is a family saga of the highest magnitude. The book pretty much centers on Lila and her family. Lila wasn’t the mother the girls wanted, or the wife Joe wanted, but they all had strong feelings for her. When Lila leaves the family, they go on a quest to find Lila’s mother, and see if history does indeed repeat itself.

I highly recommend this one!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Took a bit to get going, but it was so worth the read. The story was fully developed, and the characters were realistic. I became totally emuursed in the book and didn't want to put it down to even go to the restroom. I carried it everywhere with me.

Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this multi generational women's story. We are being told the story of 3 generations of women a Grandmother, Mother and Daughter. We go on this journey with them and their family secrets, and I found Lila's story to be the most interesting. The story is told mostly thru dialogue, which I did find a little distracting after awhile. But overall the mystery of this family held my interest and its a lovely story to be told.

If intergenerational stories are your thing, then you'll probably be drawn to the three generations of women in Susan Rieger's Like Mother, Like Mother. But what draws you in won't keep you there, unfortunately. I received a free e-ARC to review.

The novel is divided into three parts. The first part is Lila's. The second part is Grace's, Lila's daughter. And Lila's mother, Zelda, gets the third part.

Essentially, Lila's mother was institutionalized when Lila was a baby, and then Lila was told her mother had died a few years later. But Lila never saw a grave or a death certificate. Growing up without a mother in an abusive household certainly influenced how Lila parented her own three children. While her older two daughters had each other and didn't need their mom as much, her younger daughter, Grace, longed for more mothering. When Lila passes, she makes a final request of Grace: find out what really happened to Zelda.

One of the things I did not like about this book was that it's not told in any sort of order. It's all over the place. If it had been a typical chronological order with some flashbacks thrown in, then I think the story would have worked. I would have liked the characters. I would have enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Zelda and how her disappearance affected Lila and, therefore, Lila's children.

Another thing I didn't like was the dialogue. The whole book is basically just long conversations between characters (of which there are many - the who's who in the front of the book would have been more helpful to refer to in a physical copy as opposed to my digital ARC), and half the time, it didn't feel like the characters were talking TO each other but more AT each other. It's a book of talkers, not listeners.

I stuck through this one because I really did want to know how it ended, and it was pretty fast-paced with all that talking. But this is not one that I'd recommend you go out and buy right away. Maybe check it out from the library first if you're really interested in it.