I was so happy to receive this book! I really liked Lila’s story about her life and the decisions she made. She was tough. I wasn’t crazy about Grace and Ruth’s stories. I will be recommending this book!

Lila Pereira is beautiful, successful, hard-working, and happily married. However, her abusive upbringing and inexplicably absent mother has colored the way she raises her own three girls: She makes sure they're well-cared for, properly educated, and unharmed, but has a difficult time showing them affection, instead immersing herself into her work as an executive editor at The Washington Globe. Her husband, Joe, is there to pick up the slack, but the lack of motherly love most affects her youngest daughter, Grace. As an adult, Grace finds her own success, but remains curious about what really happened to Lila's mother Zelda. She sets out on a quest for the truth that Lila herself never sought. "Like Mother, Like Mother" is a comprehensive look at the consequences of maternal involvement (or lack thereof) through three generations of women and the effects on those who love them. But, more importantly, it challenges the traditional gender roles in which women are so often pigeonholed. Rieger asks the question: How are we affected by the women in our lives who dare to reject those roles? With a long cast of characters, Rieger illustrates the far reaching impacts of that very question. This is a bold, touching, and intimate look at what happens when women put themselves first.

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger follows three generations of women—Zelda, who was committed to an asylum when her daughter, Lila, was just two, and Lila's youngest child, Grace. A emotional novel about the complex nature of motherhood that I couldn't put down. This book will definitely stay with me a long time. Highly recommend!!

I honestly expected to hate this novel. I typically avoid multi-generational sagas with family secrets. So, when I tell you that this is one of the best books I've read this year, trust that it is a great book. Rieger's prose is compelling and smooth - she draws you in and pulls you along effortlessly. I hated having to put the book down. The characters come alive on the page, and you can practically see them in front of you, telling their stories. While they might not be particularly likeable, Lila, Grace, and Zelda are definitely complex women who are true to themselves. I love that even though there are secrets, some truly buried and others just not discussed in detail by family members, there's not a great deal of angst. Grace can be a bit whiny, but Lila is no-nonsense, and all of the actions and emotions feel true. The format of the novel - detailing first Lila, followed by her daughter and then her mother, is perfect for this story. While this feels more like Grace's tale overall, Lila is the center. Having a deeper understanding of her enables the reader to see Grace's similarities. Then we get Zelda's story and can see the threads of personality that flow through all three women. It's a brilliant novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and DialPress for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

At it’s core, Like Mother Like Mother is a story about generational trauma. The story told mostly by Lila, Grace, and Zelda, a matriarchal line of about three generations, and many secondary familial additions. Author Susan Riegar takes readers through their experiences in life and love, and explain how similar they are to one another despite how much they all may not want to admit. Grace does a majority of the unraveling of their family’s influences and history to come to terms with her relationship with her mother. It’s through Grace that readers get a complete picture of the overarching narrative and a lot of the themes Riegar hopes to get across.

Overall, I rated this book a 2.75/5 stars. The general theme and part 3 of the book were the highpoints of the novel for me. I thought that the story was nuanced and layered to help readers see the impacts of generational trauma. The twist that comes in part 3 was interesting and helped wrap up the story. I wanted to finish the story and see what happens, and that always means this story will get at least two stars from me.

The difficulty I had with this story was mostly the writing style. The narrative was very stream of consciousness and felt sudden and circular. One minute we’s be talking about one moment and the next paragraph we could be from a completely different perspective or time period. It was often hard to read. The general construction of the story was a lot of retelling moments from the main narrator’s past, so it felt like it took a while to get to the topics of the biggest interest. I often got bored when reading certain sections because I didn’t feel like the story was moving anywhere.

All-in-all, this story has great elements and ideas but, for me, missed the landing.

I devoured Like Mother, Like Mother. The more I read, the more I couldn't stop reading this multi-generational story of mothers and daughters, strength, loss, secrets and identity. Each generation had characters that were so interesting, and the story was compelling. Susan Rieger did a great job of creating a fast-paced saga. I can't wait to check out her other work.

3.25 stars

I was invited to read an advanced copy of this by the publisher in order to participate in an early reader book club discussion with them, which is such a fun idea! It wasn't my favorite recent read, but I'm excited to hear what everyone else thinks and what kind of discussion questions are posed on our upcoming Zoom call. 

This is a family saga that follows 3 generations of women and how their upbringings and relationships impact who they are as people, and how some cycles among families continue or are stopped. We follow Grace, the youngest daughter of a famous newspaper editor, Lila, Grace's mother and said editor, and Zelda, Lila's mother/Grace's grandmother. Grace is raised wealthy but feels feels slighted by her mother's obsession with her career and being nurtured mainly by her father, and she resents but craves Lila's approval and comparisons to her, which are inevitable when she enters the journalism field. Lila clawed her way up from poverty to her current success, in spite of an abusive father and dead mother. She didn't need a mom, and thinks her daughters will be fine without one, too. Zelda, forced into marriage to that abusive man at 17 and committed to an asylum when Lila was a child, has left behind no record of a death or another life. But Grace doesn't believe that her grandmother is dead, and is determined to find her, regardless of what issues it might bring to the surface for the family.

There were so many characters in this, it was a little hard to keep track of at times, but it did come with a "cast list" at the beginning to reference, which was helpful. I found it interesting that there was a cast list and then several parts, like a play, but there were no other connections or reasons for that in the text. I found myself enjoying the side plots in this more than the main story. I liked reading about Lila's career and Ruth (Grace's best friend) and her Southern family and her budding romance and career. But I didn't feel connected to all of the characters, particularly Grace, which made investment in the driving plot of the story more difficult. I do like the concept of seeing how successes and failures can be passed down through families, and that our true families aren't always blood-related to us. Thanks to Dial Press and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

“Like Mother Like Mother” by Susan Rieger is a story about three generations of strong women who must resolve the impact of being raised in an unhealthy home by an abusive father and absent mother.

The premise is strong, a mother who is committed to an asylum, a daughter who chooses a super successful career over motherhood and the repercussions of these choices on her husband, children and friends. It was a well written view on dysfunctional families.

This was a good story but I found but I couldn’t warm up to the characters and found myself confused at some of the dialogue. Overall it is an interesting perspective into generational trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved this one. The story is about three generations of mothers. Lila is abandoned by her mother at two years old when her mother suffers a nervous breakdown and is committed to an asylum. Lila and her two siblings are stuck being raised by their abusive father and grandmother in a lower middle class home. Despite her upbringing Lila is ambitious and dedicated to becoming a world renown journalist.

Lila marries into a very wealthy family. Joe is her adoring husband. They have three children that are mainly raised by their father and nannies. Lila is more comfortable sitting in a board room rather than the PTA. Grace is the youngest child and she has a difficult time with her distant relationship to Lila. She writes a best selling book about it and goes on a search to figure out what really happened to her grandmother. Did she run away or die in the asylum?

The characters in this story are complicated. They have depth, complexity and are at times both relatable and unlikeable. The book tackles questions about what it means to be a mother? Can you be a career mother that is hands off and still raise adjusted children. Is your personality shaped mostly by nature or nurture? How does generational trauma shape you? Why do some kids easily adjust and find happiness while others struggle. This book brings up so many important questions. I think it would be an excellent read for a book club. I will be digesting this book and its characters for some time to come.

Thank you to netgalley for the copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. Like Mother, Like Mother is the story of three multigenerational women over the course of decades. I wish I had enjoyed it more. I found it difficult to get into the story and stay as interested as I wish I could have been. I may try the book again at a later time and see if I can find a new perspective.

Like Mother , Like Mother is a fantastic look into the complexities of motherhood and family dynamics. Highly recommend.

I loved this book from the opening pages till the last.A generational story a story of family of mothers and daughters.Each character was beautifully written a book I will be recommending one of my favorites of the summer. #netgalley#randomhouse.

A well-written, thought provoking book about a multi-generational family. Strong characterizations. Ruth and Frances were my two favorites and I especially enjoyed their relationship. The Starboard Sisters were weird. Graces conversations with her immediate family often felt overly formal, stilted and unnatural. It's interesting to note the 2016 President Webb is the only fictional names POTUS. Personally, I could have done with less actual politics being included.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Do not be put off by the lengthy list of characters at the beginning - they are easy to keep straight in the narrative. This goes backwards and forwards in time and concerns Lila, her daughter Grace and her mother Zelda. Lila works obsessively and leaves all the parenting to her husband Joe. It is posited by various characters that this is because she was never mothered herself, Zelda having been committed to a mental health facility and then dying. Or is this true? This is only what Lila's abusive father has told her.

Lila charges Grace (by letter after her death) to investigate what happened to Zelda. Grace does so, and the narrative shows the similarities (and differences) between Zelda, Lila and Grace, and shows how love can both heal and help us accept the imperfections of others.

I enjoyed this, my only quibble being the inclusion of real events, e.g. the election of Obama, followed by pseudo-real events, e.g. the election of Webb - I wondered for a minute if I had forgotten a president!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I devoured this book! It was just the kind of multigenerational, layered story I enjoy. The characters were flawed but (mostly) lovable and there was just enough mystery to keep things interesting. What will likely stick with me was the way the characters related to each other. The author explored some fairly heavy themes but injected enough levity to keep from veering into maudlin territory. While the ending fell a bit flat for me, I would absolutely read more from this author and enjoyed this novel immensely.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Grace loved her mother, but never had the relationship she wanted. When she was younger, she was raised by nannies and her father. Her mother had a demanding job that left little spare time. An emotional read.

4.5 stars. Many thanks to Penguin Random House / Dial Press / Net Galley for an ARC of this book. This is far from my normal type of fiction but I really enjoyed this. The characters felt very real and spoke so directly and openly with each other; this made them feel very real. It’s one of those novels that has such a wide range of what it speaks to - families, parents, friends. It’s very well balanced and I really enjoyed it. I’ll be recommending it to friends.

Thank you Netgalley..this was a good multigenerational story that will keep your attention from beginning to end.

This novel spans three generations of women, each shaped by the past, yet it seems to revolve around Lila.
Lila’s father brought her up in 1960s Detroit, as her mother was committed to an asylum when she was a child. Mirroring her own upbringing, she chooses her career over motherhood, leaving her husband to care for their daughters on his own. This seemed to have worked well until their youngest, Grace, felt abandoned.

Publishing a bestselling book about her mother, Grace discovers she knows very little about her family's past and decides to delve deeper into the history and trauma of the generations before her.

Overall, this was a very well-written novel. I loved the dysfunctional family aspects and the discoveries made along the way. Even though the cast of characters was confusing to keep straight at times, I appreciated the complexity it brought to the narrative.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the best book I've read so far this year. It has notes of The News Room, Gilmore Girls, and just such a fresh originality on how monther-daughter relationships are complex and how our generational history impacts them. Can't wait to own a hardcopy of this!