📚: All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman
⭐️: 3/5

Meet Florence. Single mom to Dylan. Former girl group pop star. A hot mess, to be honest. It’s kind of no wonder all the other mothers hate her. (At times, I hated her while reading. And I’m a mom. So I guess I’m one of the other mothers that hate her.)

When one of Dylan’s classmates goes missing, and fingers start pointing at Dylan, Flo goes into Nancy Drew mode to try to find the truth and save her own son. A satirical thriller - this plot sounds like a thriller but unwinds non-traditionally, and at times, completely hilariously.

I wanted to like this more, especially with the amount of laughs the first 1/3rd of the book gave me. Bit by bit though, Flo’s character grated on me (for my sentiment of her to go from hilarious to annoying to disdain in under 400 pages is quite a journey). I found the ending pretty predictable as well. While this was a fun read, it didn’t quite live up to what I hoped from it.

Thanks to G.P. Putnam Sons & Penguin Ransom House via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the Other Mothers Hate Me is out on 3/11.

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman is about a former girl band singer, Florence, who is raising her 10-year old son Dylan on her own. While Dylan is on a school field trip, a boy from his class is kidnapped. When Florence finds evidence her son might be involved in the kidnapping she takes it upon herself to investigate.

This was a fast paced read and while some parts were a little unrealistic, I enjoyed it. I think fans of the Finlay Donovan series would also enjoy it.

I usually don't like books with unlikeable lead characters and especially when all the characters are pretty off/sketchy! But the story line kept me reading and I truly enjoyed the book. Lots of twists and turns and didn't see the end coming!

I generally don't enjoy novels where the main character is more than just unlikeable but also self-sabotaging. The bones of this book are excellent - the comedy is wry and clever, the thriller aspects and its denouement (mostly) believable and satisfyingly surprisingly. But Florence's decisions are cringe-worthy and she was hard to root for. But the pacing is good and the action kept me turning pages. Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the DRC.

I had high hopes for this one based on the description - I love thrillers that combine humor and feisty main characters with suspense. However, I'm afraid this one disappointed, at least for me. It wasn't that the main character was unlikable - I suppose she was, but in ways that made a bit of sense for me. What I found most problematic in the book was the plot itself, which went off the rails on a number of occasions. I stuck with it so I could find out what happened to the boy, but kept thinking that there were many ways to take the basic premise and move it in a way that was more believable both for the situation and for the characters involved.

Florence is a hot mess. She’s miserable, unreliable, a lousy mom… of course the other mothers hate her. But when her son is being accused of the disappearance of another child, she tries to get her ass in gear, while also unsurprisingly making a huge mess out of an already messy situation. Again, she’s a hot mess. I’m using the word mess a lot. 😅

Aside from her miserable demeanor, there’s a lot in here to enjoy. The story is well written, she’s the character you kind of enjoy not liking while simultaneously rooting for her, there’s dark, witty humor and a good plot twist that had me smacking myself in the forehead when it clicked - though I won’t say what it was that clicked because it would ruin the whole story. Oh and she’s an ex-pop singer so you know what, I had good ‘ole Brittney in my head while reading this. 😂

If you enjoy unreliable characters and stories where people take solving shows it into their own hands, pick this one up! Thanks to @putnambooks for my eARC! All the Other Mothers Hate Me will be published next week!

All the Other Mothers Hate Me is a deftly blended comedic thriller. This balance is best showcased in the character of Florence, the hate-able titular mother. She is, by all accounts, a selfish mess of a human, but you will root for her success despite her many misgivings as a mom, sister, and friend. When her son’s classmate goes missing while on a school field trip, Florence fumbles her way into an amateur investigation, which is just as amusingly sloppy as Florence herself. The tertiary characters are also well-drawn and often voice the reader’s own frustrations with our heroine. This is a highly entertaining debut for Sarah Harman; I definitely look forward to her next offering.

Once upon a time Florence Grimes was the lead singer in an all-girl band, and with nothing going right for her, she becomes obsessed with restoring the band to its earlier success. The only thing she loves more than her band is her young son Dylan and then he disappears during a school field trip, along with another boy. She doesn’t have the money to hire a private detective so she decides to find him herself. And the chase is on. It’s a quick and easy read, perfect for a snow day.

Sometimes I'm glad unlikeable characters are having a renaissance and sometimes I think books would improve drastically if they were not! There's an art to allowing the reader to engage with a character while also finding them repulsive, and the author did not walk the line with this one. I found Florence insufferable, a fact which was not helped by the juvenile writing style. Add in some significant plot holes, and this thrilled failed to leave an imprint on my psyche outside of frustration. I wanted more from the other mothers as well!

3.5 stars.

Thanks Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Florence Grimes was quite the character. Selfish, a little lazy, makes very interesting decisions, and is stuck her previous pop star past. She is a divorced, unemployed single mom to a 10 year old boy named Dylan. She often sneaks out in the middle of the night (leaving her son) to party and hook up with married men. She's convinced she is destined for a comeback in the pop world. AND, she is convinced that all the other mom's at her son's prestigious boys prep school hate her because of her outlandish ways.

During a school trip, one of Dylan's classmates goes missing. A billionaire's son who has quite the unfriendly history with Dylan. Alas, Dylan jumps to the front of the line as the prime suspect as he was the last kid to be seen with him. Obviously rattled, Flo jumps through so many hoops to not only find the truth, but to clear her son's name, even doing some pretty questionable things to keep her kid safe. She makes some really controversial decisions along the way, but I just couldn't help myself rooting for her to save the day. And as a bonus, she ends up making a friend.

This book was highly entertaining and I couldn't put it down once I got in the thick of it. It was humorous and witty. I had a pretty good idea who the "cuplrit" was, but was surprised by the way in which it was presented. Overall, I thought the plot was well done and there were plenty of shenanigans to keep me guessing throughout the book. I'd recommend this book for women's fiction/thriller lovers

I thought this one had a ton of potential and also hit the right marks at points in the book. But I also felt like the characters were so unbelievably unlikeable (I know that's the point but this felt excessive to me) and I couldn't really buy into their motivations or their behaviors. Pretty flat characters but also really fun...

The pacing is well-balanced, with a mix of humorous moments, heartwarming interactions, and quieter moments of introspection. Harman's writing is engaging and conversational, making this a perfect read for fans of contemporary women's fiction, humor, and relatable stories about motherhood.

This was my first Sarah Harman novel and I totally enjoyed her writing style. Parenting styles differ for most of us. Florence got under my skin in both good and bad ways. Fantastic characters kept me flipping pages long into the night. Although I didn’t agree with all perspectives it was very insightful Great storytelling.
Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Harman and GP Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this book

Florence is a single mother with a son, Dylan, that does not fit in at school. On a field trip a child goes missing and Dylan was his partner on the trip. Did Dylan do something to his tormentor? Florence's life is full of chaos. Knowing this can she clear her son from suspicion. All the other mother's at the private school do not like her. So who will be her ally.

This is a book about not fitting in and making friends anyway. It is full of twists and turns. Can Flo clear her son and find out what happened to the other child? The book is also about an amateur detective trying to solve a real crime. How much danger is Flo in? You will have to read this book to find out what is going on in this town.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SarahHarmon and #GPPutnamsSon for a copy of this book.
#AlltheOtherMothersHateMe

DNF. This book was not for me. I appreciate the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. I just couldn’t get into it.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the mix of humor and satire with the thriller aspect. I did see the Adam plot twist coming but did not anticipate the entire storyline. Florence was over the top at times but somehow still relatable.

All the Other Mothers Hate Me was such a fun read. As a SAHM of three myself, I love books about mothers behaving badly. Having worked at both daycares and schools, I am all too familiar with those kids who are bad, annoying, etc. and their parents. It brought me back to some of my teaching days, but this was much more entertaining. I love that Florence was kind of thrust into this role as investigator/private detective; it just goes to show the lengths mothers will go to in order to protect and defend their kids. There were plenty of entertaining moments that made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. This is one of those reads that is a good palate cleanser, or a good one to pick up when you're in a slump, or just not sure what to read next. I think this would be a fun book to read over the summer. Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read a digital ARC of this book.

thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.. this book is being turned into a series by the people behind The Bear -- pumped to see who they cast as Flo.. I read her as Kaley Cuoco's Cassie from The Flight Attendant.

Loved this story of an unlikable single mother, Florence, and what she would do for her 10 year old son! A child, Alfie, has gone missing from the private school that Florence's son, Dylan, attends. Dylan seems to be the last person to be with Alfie, and he seems to have some secrets. Florence will go to any length to make sure that Dylan is not implicated in any way with this crime, and in doing so, she gets herself involved in some sketchy situations. All for the love of her precious son.

This book is incredibly well written! So much so that I had trouble sleeping, feeling guilty myself for doing the horrible things that Florence did! I read this book in record time - I just couldn't wait to find out about Alfie and Dylan, and who might end up dead, alive, guilty and not guilty!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review All the Other Mothers Hate Me.

3.5 Stars.

Although I thought that the main character of Florence was a selfish, horrible mother with a drinking habit, drug habit, and sex addiction, she comes through in the end.

The storyline was interesting. A boy goes missing while on a school trip, and Florence thinks her son might either have something to do with it or know something about it. So she goes off on her own to cover up what she believes her son might have done and to find out what really happened.

She makes friends with Jenny, who is also an American now living in England like Florence, and together, they do some sleuthing.

It was a clever plot with primarily unlikeable characters, a lot of lies, and a twist in the end that I never saw coming.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons/Putnum, the author, and Netgalley.