I REALLY enjoyed this book. It’s lighthearted and entertaining while also handling difficult themes with care and tenderness.

My eldest was born during peak COVID, so I never really got to be part of a mother’s group (it's hard to bond through a screen!). Reading this made me wish I had been part of this one.

What stuck with me most is how every motherhood journey looks different (even when facing the same feeding and sleeping battles) and how much easier it can feel with the right support around you

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for the opportunity to read this ahead of release on 5 March.

Wow! I’m riding the newborn wave at the moment and The Calendar Mums hit me in all the feels. It’s a beautiful story of mother- and womanhood, identity and the power of community.

“The mothers” chapters had me smiling.

And Rhea… from the person who still finds herself logging on to email, I feel you gf.

I would love to see The Calendar Mums become a series!

So appreciative of receiving an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: there are upsetting themes raised in The Calendar Mums which the author addresses in a reader’s note at the beginning of the book.

Such a beautifully written book. What starts as a story about a mother’s group raising funds to replace an air conditioner at the local community centre in their small town so they can continue to have their mothers’ group meeting turns into a tale about friendships and how strong people can be. It touches on the traditional role of a mother and a father and how one mother struggles with that, being a single parent with the other parent returning unexpectedly and domestic violence and how to escape a situation that seems to be inescapable. A beautiful story where you wish you had these strong women as your friend as they would do anything to support you in your time of need.

The Calendar Mums by Lauren K. McKellar is a beautifully written, heartwarming novel that captures the joys and struggles of motherhood, the power of female friendships, and the resilience of community. From the very first chapter, I was invested in the lives of these women, their personal battles, and their determination to save their beloved community center.

The story follows a group of mothers who come together to create a fundraising calendar, each of them bringing their own strengths, insecurities, and life experiences to the project. Their journey is filled with humor, raw honesty, and touching moments that make this book both uplifting and emotional. I loved how McKellar portrayed the complexities of motherhood—its messy, chaotic, and deeply rewarding aspects—without shying away from the challenges.

The friendships between the characters felt authentic, and I appreciated the way their relationships evolved throughout the book. While the pacing was steady, there were a few moments where I wished for deeper exploration of certain storylines. However, the emotional depth and sense of camaraderie more than made up for it.

The Hickory Creek Community Centre is used by new mums, here they get support with feeding and baby care, immunisations and chat to other mothers. When toxic black mould is found in the ceiling of the room they use and the only women's services available in their small town is going to close. The mothers explore how they can fix the issue and the entire air conditioning unit needs to be replaced, they decide to raise the money, and how? A calendar featuring themselves, to celebrate the glory of motherhood and in the ladies will be nude.

A couple of mums are comfortable in their own skin, others feel self-conscious, about their post-partum bodies, stretch marks and weight gain and have a mum tum and can’t remember the last time they had a haircut or washed their hair and no judgement from me.

The story focuses on three main characters, Rhea is a stay at home mum and former business woman, and while she loves her two children she feels guilty because she misses working. Single mother Samantha is recovering from a loss and her mum has dementia, she’s really anxious and wonders if other mum’s are as well? Tahlie's from Ireland and she’s just had a baby with her partner Hamish and is new in town, he’s a policeman and the district commander and she misses her mother and is lonely.

Everyone pitches in creating the calendar, twelve women will feature in it and others are in charge of design, looking for a photographer and printer, places to sell them and hair and makeup and taking care of the babies while mum gets her gear off.

II received a copy of The Calendar Mums by Lauren K McKellar from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. What a powerful story by Ms McKellar, it covers many topics and ones that are very relevant today. In the narrative friendships are formed, women start to feel differently about their bodies, and it explores how having a baby changes a couple's relationship, and how they balance their new roles and what society thinks about older woman dating a younger man and dislike cougar jokes.

Most of all it highlights how women can be groomed by their partners, at first it's seen as being caring, thoughtful and kind by the recipient and it becomes controlling and slowly they lose their confidence and identity and domestic violence is at epidemic proportions in Australia and when you’ve just had a baby it makes it harder to escape and especially in small country towns.

A funny and real, warm and caring story about being a mum and how important it is to have places like a community centre or a mothers and babies group and mothers need support, a shoulder to cry on and someone who understands to talk to and it really does take a village or a circle of friends and a supportive partner to raise a child. I highly recommend Lauren K McKellar’s debut women’s fiction novel and five stars from me.

It has been many a year since I have read a Lauren McKellar book, but what a way to get back into it!

The Calendar Mums is, as you may have guessed, about a bunch of mums who make a calendar for fundraising. However, that is just the catalyst that brings all of these amazing women together.

Each woman has her own unique tale to tell, yet they also band together to help each other.

It touches on the subject of DV and the power imbalance that can occur between the two people in a relationship. It shows how found family can circle the wagons to protect those in danger. All of these women are strong, are resilient, and are the types of friends we each need in our lives.

There was one thing that I didn't like the way it was resolved - not the way it was written, just that I didn't give me the satisfaction that I wanted. I am glad things happened, but I wanted them to suffer more hahahahah.

I wouldn't mind getting a novella down the track, taking us back to these amazing women.

A group of mothers decide to do a naked calendar to save their local community hub. I love how brutally raw and honest the story is, nothing is held back. It has a few tough topics namely grief and domestic abuse but they are dealt with kindness and generosity. I related to the characters and I loved each one of their own accord. It's funny, wise and the women support each other.