This book is a little different from what I normally read. This is the story of three generations of very strong women. The story is complicated but I do believe that the author does a good job unraveling each of the main characters. I found myself thinking about the characters for a while after I finished the book. This book would be a great book club book.

A multi-generational story that was good but hard to read at some points. Not for the storyline but it didn’t flow. Kind of disjointed in places. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

Like Mother, Like Mother is a thought-provoking story about 3 generations of women. It starts with Lila Periera in 1960 Detroit. She was 2 years old when her horrible, abusive father commits her mother, to an asylum and is never seen again. Three decades later, Lila has worked her way up the media ladder to land the prestigious job as executive editor of The Washington Globe. In her life, she prioritizes her career and leaves the raising of her daughters to her husband, Joe. Her youngest daughter, Grace, feels abandoned by Lila and therefore resentful. They have a somewhat difficult relationship. After graduating college, Grace writes a best selling fictional book based on her mother’s life. This causes Grace to reflect on her family history. Did Lila’s mother die? Or did she just leave her children with their abusive father?

Like Mother, Like Mother is a PERFECT book club read! It is filled with complicated characters and relationships. This story takes a look at family dynamics, marriage, ambition and the bonds of family and friendship. How do our pasts affect our present? What effect do parents and their decisions have on their children and who they become? How much of our family history is fact and how much is just stories that have been told or changed and believed over time? Such an interesting story! Gives you so many things to think about. I really enjoyed this one! Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read an ARC of Like Mother, Like Mother in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this multigenerational family saga about motherhood. I especially enjoyed part 1 about Lila and part 3 about Zelda. I struggled through Part 2 about Grace. It was long and too political for me. An interesting read on being a hands off mother who loved her children and does right by them but isn’t warm, fuzzy and nurturing in a traditional sense. Grace actually inherits a lot of her work ethic and characteristics.

Susan Rieger's LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER has a rarely-seen spin on motherhood. Lila's mother Zelda was institutionalized when she was young, and her father Aldo was abusive. Despite these heartbreaking challenges, Lila rises to the top of her journalism profession and takes down a Trump-like president. However, she was a very hands-off mother, and her daughter Grace is extremely bitter about that, even penning a fictionalized teardown of her mother.

I love books that don't have a Pollyanna view of motherhood, such as THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain. This novel isn't nearly as dark, but it explores the dynamics of biological motherhood vs. taking on a motherly role in another person's life. It also prompts thoughts and discussions of what you might do if you don't feel adequately psychologically prepared to be a mother.

While I enjoyed this novel a lot, I do have a few quibbles:
1. Grace's older sisters are twins called the Starbirds for the entirety of the book. No one seems to view these twins as having separate identities from one another. As an only child, if I had twins as siblings, I know that I would be able to tell them apart. So I find it a tad unbelievable that their family treats them in that way.
2. For a journalist, Grace has very little research skills when she's trying to find what happened to her grandmother.
3. Grace's friend Ruth features prominently in this novel. I felt my attention lag in her sections, and sometimes I found it difficult to differentiate Grace from Ruth. Maybe this was supposed to occur? Maybe they were the younger Starbirds even though they weren't related to each other? Perhaps another nod to creating your own family vs. the family you are born into?

I really liked the themes that emerged in this novel - but like many novels that I enjoy, this does have a slower pace. LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER publishes October 29, 2024. I was given an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A powerful, successful, strong woman who is also a mother.. but maybe not maternal. Her husband fills that void. Lila remembers when her mother was put in an asylum and the abuse from her father that followed. It made her who she is. After her death, her daughter Grace realizes she doesn’t know much about her mother’s family. Did her grandmother die in that asylum like they were told? She sets out on a search to find out and in the course of her journey, learns so much about herself and her mother.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a story of three generations of very strong women.
The story follows Zelda, the grandmother, Lila, the mother, and Grace, the daughter.
Complicated and imperfect characters, secrets, family dynamics, dysfunction through generations. How do people survive? By doing what they have to, regardless of other people’s opinions.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a story of love and maternal bonds that will captivate you from the beginning. I was an interesting story of the newspaper worldq and I highly recommend it

To say that I loved Mother, Like Mother would be an understatement. I absolutely adored this book. The storyline is creative and the added mystery of Zelda was the cherry on my sundae. The characters are well-drawn, and it is hard for me to say goodbye to them, especially Grace, Ruth., Frances, and Joe. I would be so happy to hear that the writer has a sequel in her back pocket, chronicling the lives of Grace, Ruth, the Starbirds, and, perhaps, a wonderful wife for Joe.

Grace’s mother, Lila, is not particularly motherly. She is never around when her girls are growing up and leaves all the parenting duties to their father, Joe. Lila grew up without a mother in her life and she warned Joe that if he wanted kids then he would need to assume the role of both parents.

Grace grew up to write a book titled, “The Lost Mother”. loosely based on her life, that has some accusatory claims against her accomplished mother and an imagined destiny for her unknown grandmother. Lila was a fierce reporter who got her toughness from growing up in a violent home in a rough area of Detroit. She carried a switchblade all her life, and cried at the Eminem movie, 8 Mile, because it brought back memories of the neighborhood she came from.

Grace is determined to find out the truth about what really happened to Lila’s mother, Zelda. Through DNA testing websites and detective work, with the help of her two sisters who are lawyers, they track down some answers.

I admired the ambition of Lila, Grace, and Grace’s roommate Ruth, who all worked very hard to become successful in their careers in journalism/writing/podcasting respectively. The end of the book is definitely the most exciting part (the novel is broken into 3 parts: Lila, Grace, Zelda) to be able to uncover the truth behind stories that have been believed and skepticized in this family for far too long.
This novel is an excellent exploration of family relationships, and the physical and personality traits that are passed down and differ among family members. It highlights how found family, like spouses, in-laws, college roommates, can fill the gaps and be better for us than blood relations.

"Like Mother, Like Mother" is about three generations of strong women and raises the question of how much of our personality and ambition is shaped by genetics versus nurtured in our upbringing. It also offered an interesting look at the choices that we make in the name of survival and the ripple effect that they have. The writing was fantastic and immersive, and I really enjoyed this book.

The book follows the story of Lila, whose abused mother was committed to an asylum when Lila was just a baby, through her career pursuits and raising her own daughters, including Grace, who has followed in her mother's footsteps as a journalist and published a book about her often-absent mother.

I love books that explore the relationships between mothers and daughters, and this one had some great development of unconventional female characters who were deeply invested in their careers and strong in their identities. There are, in fact, very few male characters in the story, with the author focusing on the women. Readers who love layered multigenerational stories about complex women will really enjoy this book. While the characters are not always likeable and make some questionable decisions, to me, that made them all the more fascinating and real.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️From Random House Publishing: 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—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. 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. Grace becomes a successful reporter, even publishing a bestselling book about her mother. In the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. Did Lila’s mother, Grace’s grandmother, die in that asylum? Is refusal to look back the only way to create a future? How can you ever be yourself, Grace wonders, if you don’t know where you came from?
****************
My review: This book pulled me in immediately and held me. Lila was fascinating. Self aware, strong, brave and commanding. But yet, afraid of what she didn't want to know. Grace started off as brash and demanding, but that's understandable for a child who craves a parent's attention. I wasn't sure how I felt about Grace's novel but I did want to know the truth about Zelda.
I loved the political commentary. Real life was part of the book (Hillary, Barack) except for the corrupt, disgraced president Lila took down. He was fictional but used a lot of words like "big, great, tremendous". lol.
I guessed the ending about 80% through the novel but it was still satisfying to read. Grace grows, learns and moves ahead. It's a story of a family, of mothers and how choices affect generations. Also, the current day issue of how DNA and genealogy sites can upend families and sometimes, bring them together.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Highly recommend.

Like Mother, Like Mother reads like a play. Fully developed characters, clever prose, and compelling plot make for a well-rounded story. 4 Stars.

I had heard really good things about this book so I was so excited when I received an ARC! This was a very engrossing tale about multiple generations of strong women, and how sometimes being a strong woman does not necessarily mean being a great mother. I read this book very quickly, over the course of three days, because I was so interested in seeing how everything would come together.

One of the main characters is Lila, who originally seems to be the mother from which the story begins. Lila's own mother was killed when Lila was young, and her father was an absolutely awful person who abused her and her siblings. Despite her terrible childhood, Lila goes on to become an extremely successful newspaper editor and eventually, a mother herself. However, if you were to ask her daughter Grace, Lila left a lot to be desired as a mother. Later in the book, we learn that Lila is not the beginning of the story after all.

I really liked this book and felt like I knew the characters by the time I finished it. I found it to be engrossing and an absorbing family drama similar to Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes and Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.

***Thank you to the publisher for my digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!***

I tend to be a fan of multigenerational family sagas, so I was happy to receive a copy of Like Mother, Like Mother, by Susan Rieger from Random House/Dial Press and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was especially inclined to like it as it was described as female-centric (although I admit I still cringe at the term “women’s fiction.”

The women in this story are in three generations: Zelda, her daughter Lila, and Lila’s daughter Grace. Zelda was abused by her husband Aldo right up until he had her committed to an asylum. Their three children included a set of twins and the youngest daughter Lila, who was also abused by Aldo. Lila doesn’t really remember Zelda, and she became the recipient of Aldo’s abuse until she left and began heer life and career, advancing to become executive editor of a major newspaper. Lila isn’t positive that Zelda died, despite Aldo’s insistence that it was fact. Choosing career over motherhood, Lila depended nearly completely on her husband Joe to raise daughters, including the youngest, Grace (who felt abandoned by her mother).

Grace became a journalist and author, writing a bestseller that was “faction,” based on her family’s story (especially Lila). She realizes she doesn’t really know their whole story, so she sets out to discover the truth: had Zelda escaped the asylum and gone on to have a life of her own? Was Aldo really the horrible person he seemed?

I LOVED the first half or more of the book, but TBH it was due to Lila in particular and Grace as well. Once the story moved to Zelda and Zelda-adjacent characters, it was fine, just not as mesmerizing as the first half. There is mystery, strong characters, unraveling of the realities of family, marriage, and career, and some laughs along the way. Recommended for anyone who likes multigenerational family sagas and strong female characters. Will be a good choice for book clubs. Four and a half stars.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER
Susan Rieger

This is my first time reading Rieger. I enjoyed my time reading LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER. I found it to be both timely and prescient with us being on the dawn of this election season.

She being Grace, her being Lila, are daughter and mother.

There is no one she would rather be less like, and no one she resembles more. Their relationship is complicated. Full of disappointment and broken promises never given. Part of her is blood let to strangers that others interpret more as a willing donation.

There is a comfort in the river that runs between them. And loneliness resides in the current. Abandonment flows underneath. Constant and enduring.

She is reading the teleprompter and missing the message of the speech. The intention behind it, the driving force, is something she has never had the pleasure of knowing. For her, there is a lack of sincerity. A little bit of do as I say, not as I do. Her words do not match her walk; her heart ungiven. Because it was never hers to begin with.

I recommend this to those of you who found a home with the characters of SUCCESSION. It shows that women are as varied as their male counterparts. Men do not own the drive for success, and women have a place on boards other than the PTA. But nothing is without sacrifice.

The writing is smart, and the unflattering angles of Lila’s life are a reflection we can see ourselves in. Life is messy and we are intricate, delicate creatures. Splashing around in the mud and muck, trying to stay clean.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | The Dial Press for the advanced copy!

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Like Mother, Like Mother" by Susan Rieger is a captivating multi-generational family saga that explores the intricate dynamics between mothers and daughters across three generations. The novel delves into the lives of Lila Pereira, a driven, successful editor, her daughter Grace, and the shadows of family secrets that have shaped their lives. Beginning in Detroit in the 1960s, the story touches on themes of abandonment, ambition, and the powerful influences of family legacy.

Lila, at two years old, is separated from her mother when her abusive father has her committed to an asylum. This traumatic event reverberates through Lila’s life, affecting how she raises her own daughters, particularly Grace, who grows up feeling neglected due to Lila's career-focused priorities. As Grace matures, she becomes a journalist and writes a book about her mother, only to discover how little she truly knows about her family’s past, particularly her grandmother’s fate.

Rieger’s writing is praised for its sharpness, humor, and emotional depth. The novel effectively captures the complexities of familial relationships, especially the generational tensions between mothers and daughters. It also examines the idea of how much of our identity is shaped by the stories we inherit from our parents and the lengths to which we go to forge our own path.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven, emotionally resonant family dramas. Fans of Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful or Meg Wolitzer’s work will likely appreciate Rieger’s nuanced portrayal of strong-willed women navigating the challenging balance of career, family, and personal identity​.

I had read and enjoyed the author's two previous novels, so I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I absolutely loved it. I think each novel Rieger has written is better than its predecessor, and they're all completely different styles. It's a complex story with fascinating characters. I had to draw a family tree for myself to keep track of the many characters at the beginning, but as I got into the story, it wasn't needed. The author did a wonderful job bringing her unique characters to life, and I was fascinated by their lives. I appreciated the humor mixed in with the dramatic events in the book, especially the humor related to political events. I loved how friends became incorporated into every generation of each other's families despite religious and "class" differences. It was also interesting to have some role reversals from the usual family dynamics. I liked reading about the ethics related to writing books based on one's family, even in disguised form, and the impact on the subjects. I think this book would be an excellent choice for book discussion groups. I highly recommend it, and I hope I won't have to wait so long to read her next book.

A fascinating book, slightly strangely written (often hard to follow due to murky composition) but a worthy book nonetheless. Will be talked about I’m sure!

The women in this book are unapologetic, brash, truthful and hard edged. But they are also loyal, responsible and care deeply. I liked them very much! The men were important as spectators, endlessly devoted and cheering on their incredible women. All except the one man whose cruelty and selfishness created the mystery of the lost mother. It felt deliberate to create weaker men and stronger women throughout. But the weaker men were strong like 1950s housewives, holding the family together, picking up everyone’s slack.
The writing was succinct, no time spent on endless descriptions of place and surroundings. This was dialogue heavy, always my preference. And the dialogue was brilliant. I read this in one sitting.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.