A Mother’s Last Wish by Jo Barlett

What a heartbreaking story of a loving mother, Louisa, who receives the most devastating news possible, she has pancreatic cancer and its incurable and she only has months left to live.

Now Louisa wants only the best for her children, six-year-old Flo and four-year-old Stan. Who will be there to look after them when their dad, Tom, goes away on business? Who will be there to hug them when they are sad or to comfort them when they are upset? As Louisa learns to let go she finds her twin sister Holly is there to step in and be the best Aunt the children could ask for.

This book is written from three points of view Louisa, Tom and Holly.

I loved this book and shed many tears, I loved the characters, especially Louisa, and I found the story heart wrenching.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Boldwood Books, for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Louisa gets the heartbreaking news that she has terminal cancer. We follow her journey from her initial diagnosis through to her passing. She is lived and supported by her husband Tom and her twin sister Holly.

This story is told from Louisa, Holly, and Tom's points of view. Have a box of tissues handy as this story will make you cry as you live through the emotions Louisa has to go through. Louisa is distraught at the knowledge that her children will be carrying on their lives without her. This story could be abut any one of us. This is a beautifully written book.

Published 26th January 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #JoBartlett for my ARC of #AMotersLastWish in exchange for an honest review/

In my opinion, this author always produces amazing reads. And this one was no different.

The pacing of the plot was great.
The storyline was ....heartbreaking.
The characters were relatable and easy to like.

Would definitely read others by this author!

This was such a sad, heartbreaking story that left me with a tear in my eye. Louisa and Tom are the perfect couple with two small children when a hospital appointment changes everything. She has cancer and it’s terminal. The story tells of her struggles during this sad time and spending as much time with her two children. It’s a beautiful story with the reality that this could happen, it was very well written and the emotions were everywhere in the book. This book fulls at your hearts strings, a great story. 5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Very emotional book about a mother finding herself diagnosed with incurable cancer. This is how Louisa deals with her diagnosis and tries to spend time with her two children before it’s to late.

Such an emotional roller coaster of a read, but a wonderfully told story, definitely one to recommend from this brilliant author, who’s previous books I have enjoyed, it should however come with a warning to have your tissues ready!

So emotional but so worth reading! This is going to be a success novel because it's so good. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this book.

Lou feels she has everything a great marriage to Tom snd two beautiful children Stan and Flo. But when a diagnosis throws her a curveball she’s not sure how to handle it, she dosnt want to face the fact of her children growing up without her.
Holly has always been the protector of her twin sister Lou but she’s now faced with losing her and she can’t cope, but she must remain strong for Lou’s sake.
Emotional read but Jo has written this sympathetically with great insight into the world of having the courage to live life to the full no matter how long you have to do that.

I will be honest and say that sometimes I had to put the book down and stop reading for a day or so as my emotions were all over the place.

Louisa has terminal pancreatic cancer and is trying to navigate through the little time that she has left to spend as much time with her children Flo and Stan, her loving husband Tom and twin sister Holly.

This is a wonderfully written story but very raw and emotional!

All I can say is have the Kleenex ready! This was a heartwarming book about a loving family coping with cancer and death. It gives you a glimpse of what people go through when dealing with the scary word Cancer.

I feel a bit like I'm kicking a puppy but this didn't work for me. I appreciate the depth utilized in exploring the life of a woman dying of cancer, but the constant musings were repetitive and tiresome. The worry she had about her children in particular was so omnipresent, I frequently skimmed those parts. I also found the writing a bit clunky. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We meet Louisa and Tom with their young children Flo and Stan. Louisa is dealt some devastating news but all she can think about are the children. How does she navigate all of this?

Oh what a heartbreaking read this was. I absolutely felt for Louisa and her family including her twin sister Holly. What I enjoyed about this story was that it was told by multiple points of view including Louisa, Tom and Holly.

When reading this story I just wanted to cry. It just makes you realise how important family is and that everything can change within seconds.

I’m usually reading Jo’s uplifting romance stories but this was so different and I still loved her writing just as much if not more. Also my heart was breaking reading the acknowledgments of this story too 🩷😭

From now on I’m literally reading everything that Jo writes. I highly recommend this very emotional read about family and finding out what’s important ✨

Thank you to Boldwood Books for an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A Mothers Last Wish by Jo Bartlett
I think have probably all thought a few times about what we would do if we were ever given a death sentence. This book delves into that when Louisa, a wife and mom of two young children is told she has terminal pancreatic cancer. Louisa struggles with the thought of leaving her children the most. The story is told through her view and that of her husband and twin sister. Not gonna lie, it will tear at your heartstrings and definitely make you cry especially if you’re a mother.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘A Mother’s Last Wish’ written by Jo Bartlett in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

After having tests organised by her doctor, Louisa is devastated to learn that she has an aggressive type of cancer. She suffers the debilitating effects of chemotherapy but it isn’t halting the progress of the disease that her specialist had hoped for and she’s gradually getting weaker. With the support of her husband Tom, twin sister Holly, family and friends, Lou comes to terms with what the eventual outcome will be and as well as a Plan A she sets herself a Plan B so that her much-loved children Flo who’s six and Stan four are cared for following her demise.

‘A Mother’s Last Wish’ is definitely the saddest and most heartbreaking novel I’ve read, mainly because nearly two years ago I lost my youngest daughter to the same type of cancer. From the beginning I started sobbing which continued all the way through the story till I reached the final page. The characters were so perfectly described that they had personalities and rather than just fiction they felt real and approachable. Although immensely sad, the story wasn’t over-sentimental and there was a positive ending that life does go on albeit with a huge person-sized gap. Thank you, Jo, for writing such an amazing story that I couldn’t stop reading. I’d give far more than five stars if I could and would love to know how the family moved on with their lives.

This book is about dealing with the an incurable cancer diagnosis of a young mother and how she deals with the emotional aspect of leaving her husband and 2 young children .
Rather than focusing on treatment it is an emotional read that concentrates on how she comes to terms with it and how she wants to help her family while she can .
Get the tissues ready. I sobbed regularly all the way through .
Excellently written and sensitivity pours through the pages .

To everyone who knows them, Louisa and Tom are the perfect couple. They have two beautiful kids, Stan and Flo, and are about to celebrate ten years of happy marriage. Life is perfect. But when Lou is dealt devastating news, that perfect life is turned upside down and Lou and Tom must reevaluate the very foundations on which their marriage is built.

Lou’s greatest concern is who will look after her children if she’s not there to care for them? Will anyone be able to love them like she does?

Holly can’t face the news that Lou is so sick, and as twins they’ve always been together. Older by twenty minutes, Holly has always tried to protect her little sister. So she’ll do anything, promise anything, to make Lou feel happy and safe. Holly loves Stan and Flo fiercely, but with no children of her own can she ever be the mother her sister wants for her children?

Determined to make the most of every precious moment, Lou’s final wish for her family is to show them what it really means to live and love. And as Tom and Holly try to navigate their own pain, all they want is to shower Flo and Stan with love and help them make the most of the time they have left with the mother who adores them.
History comes alive in this brilliant, highly-imaginative, and vivid novel. Immersive and revelatory and a pleasure to read!

Loved this book. Full of love, family and strength. Read this at a pool in Spain and sobbed all through it.

Beautifully written story about how you should always live life to the fullest A terminal illness for Louisa forces her to examine the rest of her days, knowing that she won’t be around to see her children grow. The love of family is what keeps most going. A captivating read. Thanks NetGalley for an ARC. .

A raw, tender, honest and emotional story of what to do when life deals you the most unimaginable card. I can't pretend to understand the immense grief and loss the characters felt but it effected me as I read the words. I felt so much sadness,fear, heartbreak and I don't think I have ever sobbed through reading a whole book before like I did this one. As hard as it was to read I just know it was as hard to write so that's a credit to the author. It's not a easy subject by far and I know most of us dread the C word. In this story we follow women who are facing the worst and the main character is facing her children growing up without her. None of the characters feelings, thoughts or actions are wrong as there is no rule book on how to handle something like this we all just do what we feel is right. Grief is a complex emotion and there is no way to predict it. My heart tore in two for the children and even now writing this I have a lump in my throat. I enjoy fiction books like this because they are not sunshine and roses just like life isn't. They are real and honest and I praise the author for taking on such a tough topic that will or has sadly effected most people.

Such a beautifully written book that is so heartbreaking but also heartwarming too. In my opinion Jo Bartlett is a very talented writer and this, although extremely emotional and at times difficult to read, is in my opinion her best yet. I have never cried as much when reading a book as I did with this.
Louisa receives the devastating news that she has terminal cancer and the story focuses on how, along with her family, Louisa navigates the journey from initial diagnosis to her passing.
I liked how this was written from the different perspectives of the main characters and how the narrative doesn’t ever shy away from the harsh realities of cancer.
Like many others cancer has touched my life, either losing family and friends to it or having them survive this horrible disease. This will stay with me for a long long time and I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to read this.