Like Mother, Like Mother (2025)

This is the story of three generations of very strong women. This is a complicated story, the characters are well developed each with their own story to tell. Is a thought-provoking novel that will get you thinking about motherhood. Would you follow the path? Perfect book for book clubs.

Lila Is abandoned by her mother who is put into an institution when Lila is a young child. She is left in the care of her abusive father and grandmother.
Later, she is told by her father that her mother has died. Lila never saw her mother after she was institutionalized.
Lila becomes a journalist. She marries her college sweetheart, and has three children. Lila wants a career, and is not around much for her children. Grace, her youngest child resents this very much and wishes she would spend more time at home. Grace writes a book about her mother and investigates about what happened to her grandmother Zelda.
This is a beautifully written book about family dynamics. It is at times humorous and emotional. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House for this invitation to read this arc copy of this book. I truly enjoyed it.

ARC for review. To be published October 29, 2024.

Interesting, but a bit uneven story which begins in 1960 when Lila Pereira is two years old and her father has her mother committed to an insane asylum. Lila never sees her again.

Cut to thirty years later. Lila is the executive editor of the Washington Globe and has the world at her feet. She has three daughters, Stella, Ava and Grace, but she largely allows them to be raised by her husband, Joe. This arrangement works fine. Until it doesn’t.

Daughter Grace resents Lila and longs for a hands on mom who will do PTA meetings and be there for after school talks. However, Lila’s life also shapes Grace’s and she becomes a writer, eventually writing a roman a clef about her mother, which posits that Lila’s mother did not die in the asylum as Lila has always understood.

So, lots going on here, and while the author is generally successful with keeping all these balls up it can be choppy at times. The book also focuses on Grace, and I found Lila far more intriguing. Also, this is one of THOSE books/authors who believe that only a few cities, a few schools, a few people actually matter; if you don’t live in/didn’t go to/are not one of them you are a useless mouth breather. I hate those people.

Oh, and Ruth? Far too good to actually exist. I preferred Grace in her unlikeablity. So, it was, OK, I guess. But I didn’t go to Harvard, so my opinion doesn’t count anyway.

An incredible multigenerational story, I’m going to be thinking about Lila, Grace, and Zelda for a long time.

This book caught my interest because of its exploration of three generations of women. The story follows the stories of Lila (mother), Grace (daughter), and Zelda (grandmother), and how not only physical traits are passed down, but so many character and personality traits, even when we don’t realize it.

I enjoyed the mystery to this book to find out what really happened to Zelda, and that kept me going. I found the characters very interesting, but I personally felt that the dialogue was written in a very strange and unnatural way. The conversations held by characters felt very odd and impersonal, and I felt like I was reading a story from the 1950s, not from the 2020s. Sometimes questions were asked with a period at the end instead of a question mark, which also confused me. These things slowed down my reading quite a bit.

The book is very open about leaning towards the left politically, just something to note as well.

Overall, was it my favorite book ever? No. But it was totally different from any other book I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed going through the women’s lives to see where they ended up, how they got there, and how they were connected to one another.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you!

Once I saw the author’s blatant “borrowing”, it was difficult for me to give this book a fair chance. The author says she paraphrases quotes from other authors throughout the book, lists a few of the authors she paraphrased but doesn’t connect the credit to the passage, and says she cannot remember them all. Maybe this “borrowing” was actually intended to be little Easter eggs for the readers. Or maybe that’s one way to explain it. My issue is - if I quoted from this book, I would attribute those words to Susan Rieger, when there’s a good chance they were not her original creation. I might catch this with well known quotes from Shakespeare, but not with quotes from the lesser known authors and playwrights on her list, much less the works she herself cannot remember.

The example I shared below is from the advanced ebook copy. I will update once checked against the final published copy.

Dixie Carter, as Julia Sugarbaker in the TV series Designing Women - “I’m saying this is the South. And we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring ‘em right down to the living room and show ‘em off. See Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.”

Susan Rieger in the arc of Like Mother, Like Mother - “Southerners don’t hide their crazy people in an attic. They bring them out. They show them off. No one cares. They only want to know whose side of the family, mother’s or father’s.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An engaging family story by @susanriegerwrites about three generations of mothers. We start with Zelda in an abusive relationship and marriage in 1960’s Michigan. Lila is two when she loses her mother, Zelda, and is left with her terrible father Aldo. Lila grows up fiercely independent, marries the Jewish elite of Detroit, and then Lila and Joe move to Washington DC. They have two daughters, but Lila leaves the parenting to Joe and several nannies. She spends most of her time as a workaholic reporter, reporting on politics and intrigue through a lengthy career. Lila‘s daughter, Grace, is also a writer. She writes a fictionalized memoir, called the lost mother. The book does very well and is quite popular, her publishers are worried that Lila will sue, but of course she doesn’t. Grace knows that Lila won’t take this personally. She very much owns her life and is unapologetic about her choices.

This was a riveting story, from start to finish. There is so much witty dialogue, the stories that we inherit, and how we change those stories over time. As mothers, we are all doing the best that we possibly can. We are willing to let our husbands and our children think of us as the villain, even though we probably aren’t. Three generations of brave, wonderful women.

If you like women’s book club fiction, historical fiction, and generational family stories, you will love this book. Although Grace seems to think that Lila wasn’t a good mother, throughout the book, there are many pieces of advice that Lila gave her daughters that have shaped them Completely. Perfect for fans of blue sisters and Long Island compromise and any of Claire Lombardo‘s books. No romance at all in this one, the male characters are genuinely usually flawed but kind people. It’s just that the story centers around the women.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @randomhouse for the ARC. Book to be published October 29, 2024.

#booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #booklover #arcreview #booktok #netgalley #bookrecommendations #LikeMotherLikeMother

As the title implies, this is a story about mothers. Mothers and their daughters. The narrative is character-driven and broken down into three parts.

This book really didn’t work for me. There was so much politics in this book, talk about actual politicians and a very obvious heavy-handed political leaning from the author. That is one of my “red flags” in books and will never work for me as a reader. This was the case for the first 70% of this novel.

Let’s move onto characters. As previously mentioned, this is a mostly character driven novel and when this is the case I have to like/enjoy following at least one of the main characters and I couldn’t stand these women. One essentially all but abandons her children for the obsession of her job and the other was boring as cardboard. (Side character Ruth was a GEM and I loved her side story.)

Now, the last 30% (part 3 of the book) I enjoyed! Using DNA and geneology to find missing/ unknown family will always hook me!

But unfortunately overall I will not be recommending this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-galley!!

Something about this time of year puts me in the mood for a multigenerational family drama and this was such a good pick for that type of book. It starts a tiny bit slow, but stick with it because it just better the more you read. It’s character driven and you really get to know the complex women in this family very well by the end, the author did an incredible job crafting them. They’re the kind of characters that leave a lasting impression and I won’t forget them anytime soon, especially Lila. There are many themes but the one that resonated the most with me was motherhood and how that can look to different people. This was compelling, at times emotional and at others funny and would be such a great book club pick as there is a ton to discuss.

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

For anyone who loves a multigenerational family saga, you’re definitely going to want to get this October release on your radar. Rife with Jewish representation, LMLM snuck up on me as one of the best books I’ve read as of late!

And the hallmark of a good book for me? I’ve already forced my mom to start it 🤪

Be sure to get your pre-orders or library holds in now for October 29

4.5 stars!

Thank you to The Dial Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Favorite in a while. Easy 5 stars. Can’t wait for my mom to read.

I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars for this one. The beginning and end were definitely 5 star worthy but the rest was just meh. Lila's story initially reached out to me because I too was raised in the Detroit area in the 50 & 60s with a messed-up family, but for the most part, I thought the author was telling me things about her characters, with lists of traits, instead of showing me through their own words and actions. I guess the point of the novel is that what we do to our children is passed down from one generation to the next.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for offering me an arc of this novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I Riveting Story that Pulls You in to Keep Finding Out More. I love family dramas and books that cover large periods of time. This begins in the 60’s and goes to the current time. It involves 3 generations of women, so I found the idea interesting. The book was a fascinating story of Lila, an untraditional wife and mother, who has 3 children, but her true passion is editing her newspaper. She had a mother she never met. Her abusive father said her mother was hospitalized for mental illness and died. Clara, Lila’s youngest daughter, also a reporter, has always been eager to know the true story. Did her grandmother die or did she just leave her husband and children? Clara is determined to find out all the facts, but is it worth knowing? The relationships formed throughout the book worked very well and each character was well developed. I really enjoyed this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Susan Rieger, and Dial Press for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

Smart, tough, and complicated mother-daughter relationships are at the heart of this novel. Told from the point of view of three different women, the reader gets to connect with these women and what they went through.

Lila grew up without a mother and with an abusive father. She takes the brunt of the beatings to save her older brother and sister. She goes on to become an important person who is super successful and has an amazing husband but in the long run she is similar to her absent mother. Her daughter Grace resents the fact that her mother was never around. It is difficult because the two are so similar. The story looks at their relationships but also we get to know the people around them and how they shape their lives.

This book is filled with great characters who are unique and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and all of the intricate relationships. There is also a mystery element to the novel as the reader tries to figure out what really happened in their family. I really enjoyed reading about this family and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you to The Dial Press/Random House and NetGalley for this Arc.

Like Mother, Like Mother is an immersive, powerful read capturing the dynamics of families lost and found, broken and irreparable. The writing is brilliant; the characters are unique and unconventional.

Lila is a big shot media exec who escaped abuse and the damaging effects of her mother's abandonment. She then in turn "abandons" her own children, married to her job, while husband Joe (a saint!) takes over the childcare duties.

Before Lila dies, her daughter Grace writes a book which sets the stage for Grace to track down Lila's mom (presumed dead) to understand the family history.

There's a lesson here. Sometimes people do what they can to survive, and it may not align with our ideals, but it's all they have to offer.

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 her with little spare time. An emotional read.

I loved this wonderful novel. I was drawn in from the opening pages Lila the matriarch’s funeral.The three sisters touched my heart and as the story unfolds I fell in love with this wonderful novel.Second book I’ve read by Susan RIeger second five star for me will be grabbing The Heirs the one I missed I loved the Divorce Papers also,Thanks #random house for my copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/The Dial Press for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. Like Mother, Like Mother is a multi-generational family story, following three generations of women (Zelda, Lila, and Grace along with other secondary characters including their sisters, close friends, grandparents, etc.) who struggle with their familial relationships, with marriage, with motherhood, and with how these complexities ultimately affect their personal ambitions and paths forward in life.

I was hooked in to the premise of this story when I read that it was a female-centric, multigenerational story and I’m glad to say that it did not disappoint. The story was well written and well paced, which kept me engaged throughout the whole read and made me eager to return to the story. When I read family stories, the characters can often either make or break it for me; in this story, I found the characters imperfect, yet likable and in particular, I found Lila’s character to be fascinating. Her unconventional, relatively unapologetic approach to motherhood was really stunning to observe and although some of her stances may have been a bit harsh, I think it was so thought-provoking and awe inspiring to read about.

The hardships that these characters endure feel very real and there are difficult questions posed throughout this book, especially on the topic of domestic physical and emotional abuse. These topics are handled gracefully but, also brought into the spotlight and the reader is really forced to examine these situations to try to make sense of the situation and character motives.

Finally, the mystery element in this book worked well for me because it didn’t feel overwrought or exaggerated but, rather almost like this nagging question that you had to know the answer to. I think this element was woven so well into the story and was definitely one of the reasons why I was repeatedly drawn back to finish the book. I was satisfied with the ending and although I may have wanted just a bit more to feel like the story fully concluded, I can appreciate that the semi open-ended nature of it is reflective of reality.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this to contemporary fiction fans and readers who enjoy multi-generational stories! I look forward to seeing what others think of this one when it’s published!

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER by Susan Rieger is a multigenerational family drama that checked so many of my boxes. With themes of motherhood, marriage, and complicated mother/daughter relationships, it should have been my ideal book. Sadly, I didn’t mesh particularly well with the author’s style of writing. The novel is broken into three parts, and I think part two is what really soured my overall opinion about this book. There was so much random filler—just too many unnecessary details. All three parts had sections like this, but part two is where my interest really waned, and I even skimmed some sections. Also, there are a lot of characters in this novel that I found a tad excessive. However, the author does get a few extra bonus points for including a character list, which I referred to often. I did appreciate the hint of mystery throughout this story, which also included a touch of hope. Even with my few minor issues, I still recommend that you give this novel a go. It has some great bones, and a satisfying ending.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Family drama and dynamics
- Sisterhood
- Mother/daughter relationships
- Motherhood and marriage
- Journalist lifestyle
- Feminist undertones
- Politically-charged storylines
- Character-driven novels
- Slow-moving plot lines
- Mystery and intrigue
- DNA/genetic testing

If you enjoyed novels like Hello Beautiful or Blue Sisters, this one might pique your interest as well. LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER releases on October 29th! I give it 3.5/5 stars.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER follows three generations of women and their unconventional personifications of what it means to be a mother. After the death of Lila, a famous journalist, Lila’s daughter Grace seeks to find the truth about her grandmother who was reported dead after being admitted to a mental health facility in the 1960s.

In this character-driven story, each woman challenged society’s view of motherhood in their own way. This was an enjoyable family drama with a small side of mystery, but I did have difficulty connecting to the characters. A smaller focus of the story is Grace and her twin sisters. I don’t have sisters and oftentimes don’t fully resonate with sister stories. Overall, this story was a bit slower paced than I was in the mood for but think many readers will find it enjoyable.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-are intrigued by sister stories like Hello Beautiful
-appreciate Jewish representation in fiction
-don’t mind books set in the political scene

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: October 29, 2024

Many thanks to Netgalley and The Dial Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mother-Daughter relationships have always been complex . Like Mother Like Mother is a generational story with a focus on Lila and one of her daughters, named Grace. I absolutely loved both characters. Grace was so much like her mother in many ways and they would often butt heads. A family secret is ultimately revealed in this story and it definitely held my interest throughout the book. I was a little disappointed with the ending though. It seemed rushed and left me feeling like I was missing something. Still I will give this a solid 4 stars.

How do you describe a book that you think would be a perfect book club choice… not just because there’s a lot to unravel. But also because it’s one that will generate a conversation about so many different themes or life moments. It’s one of those books that I can see people identify themselves in or despise the way in which the “mothers” lived.

Leading me to wonder (and I took awhile to digest this one)… but can you hate and admire the same woman? And at one point do we stop blaming someone else for the life we have been given.
What makes a woman who struggles, one that never gives up? What makes another woman complain about everything she has or what she wish she had had.

This one was a little unsettling as a woman, mother, wife, daughter and sister. It bent its rough edges into me for empathy and then had me roll my eyes with the ‘poor me’ attitude.
As I said, it’s one that will get under your skin.

And yet, that same woman, who the reader loves to hate (and there’s a couple of them), are really the women I think I admired the most in the end.

It begins with Zelda, carried on by Lila and broken by Grace. What do I mean by that… guess you gotta read to find out.

Also, if you’ve read this, or if you read it in the next few months, come back and chat about the love I had for some secondary characters like Joe, Frances, Xander, Ruth and even the Starbirds.

I will note, my interest was lost when shades of current politics (hidden in plain sight-here’s looking at you Webb), entered the story. It wasn’t necessary for the storyline. And took the reader out of the emotional pieces.

4.5 ⭐️

4.75- Oh what a wonderful character driven family drama Susan Rieger has given us! Told in three parts from multiple third person views makes this book one of the most riveting books I’ve read so far this year.
Like Mother, Like Mother follows three generations of women, Zelda, whose husband put her in a mental hospital when her youngest child, Lila, was two. Lila, who grew up to be a formidable woman who found her place in a profession filled with men, and Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter who, for being or worse, is just like her mother. It’s a great look at the ties that bind and shows how the trauma of one in an earlier generation can trickle down to affect one in a later generation.
The book is broken up into 3 parts and while each part focuses on one of the women parts of the other women’s stories are their, told through the eyes of the one in whose part we are reading. While this is fiction, there are many politicians and current events that take place throughout the book, making it feel more real than fiction.
I absolutely loved how this was written and I loved nearly every character. I especially loved the realness of the characters. While I found them to be likable, they were definitely flawed. For a fictional story I found this to be one of the most real books I’ve read in a while.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House The Dial Press for an advanced copy of this. Like Mother, Like Mother hits the shelves on October 29th.

4.5 stars 🌟 This riveting multigenerational family saga follows three generations of ambitious women. Lila, the central figure, comes from a middle-class family with an abusive father and a mother who was institutionalized and died when she was very young. Tough as nails, she excels in college and marries Joe, whose family is wealthy Jewish royalty. Her success in journalism catapults her to DC, where she is a political correspondent and has a meteoric rise to become executive editor at the Washington Globe. Her success at works causes issues with her youngest of three daughters, Grace and, eventually, her husband. Themes of abuse, marriage, womanhood, motherhood, career, and abandonment are present throughout. I loved this book and the rich, superbly crafted characters who are all flawed, the intellectual prose, and the focus on female characters. The search for family is woven throughout the novel - both related by blood and those who are not but become family. This is thought-provoking in many ways, one of which begs the question, do we understand ourselves better by looking at our past or by looking forward? Also, is a woman destined to become like her own mother with her children? Like Mother, Like Mother has been optioned for the screen, and I look forward to watching it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Susan Rieger for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a complicated story of 3 generations of ambitious women who put themselves first to the detriment of their children. The story of grandmother Zelda, mother Lila, and daughter Grace relies heavily on character development, and unfolds across timelines that are not always in chronological order. There’s a detailed list of the many characters in the beginning of the book, and I was initially intimidated by their sheer number, but I came to appreciate all of them. Even minor characters are given a full and rich backstory. I found Lila to be the most sympathetic, as she was unapologetic about her lack of motherly instincts and loved her husband and children in her own way. The novel would give book clubs plenty to discuss, including: motherhood, marriage, abuse, lies, ambition, family. 4/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

What an interesting premise. A story of a very successful mother Lila, raised by a monster of a father who goes onto be one of the most successful news editor in history. She breaks a Watergate like scandal with a very Trumpish like president (I've seen other readers offended, but it's hard to not be offended when he mirrors the exact person). However, Lila is not a successful mother, and made it clear when she had kids, that she wanted a nanny to take care of them.

Grace, and her twin sisters go on to live successful lives regardless, but are still enthralled with the legacy left behind after Lila dies of cancer. We go back and forth, as if Lila hasn't passed away, reflecting mainly on Grace's life, and then who was actually Lila's mother. Is she still alive after being left in a mental institution? It becomes somewhat of a mystery by the third section.

However, while the premise is nice, the story was long and tedious. There were so many moments that just seemed like filler. I ended up skimming through the end as I couldn't take the over wrought and quite frankly, boring characters any longer.

A great story about the complicated relationship between mothers, daughters, and the sense of self. There were a lot of characters, so I’m glad I read this on my kindle and could search the names when I got confused. Definitely my favorite ARC read so far. Thank you NetGalley!

I loved this story which explored three generations of women. There were also secrets and fun, a perfect mixture.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up the middle was a miss but start and finish 👌🏼