Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway: The Mother's Promise

By Melissa Amster

All their lives, Alice Stanhope and her daughter Zoe have been a family of two, living quietly in northern California. Zoe has always struggled with crippling social anxiety and her mother has been her constant and fierce protector. With no family to speak of, and the identity of Zoe's father shrouded in mystery, their team of two works until it doesn't. Until Alice gets sick and needs to fight for her life.

Desperate to find stability for Zoe, Alice reaches out to two women who are practically strangers, but who are her only hope: Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker. As the four of them come together, a chain of events is set into motion and all four of them must confront their sharpest fears and secrets secrets about abandonment, abuse, estrangement, and the deepest longing for family. Imbued with heart and humor in even the darkest moments, The Mother s Promise is an unforgettable novel about the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, and the new ways in which families are forged. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I'm a fan of Sally Hepworth's writing and her third novel is equally compelling to her previous two. I normally shy away from books about women who are potentially dying, but I've made exceptions here and there. I knew that with Sally's name on the cover, the story would be sensitively written, but also would tug at the heartstrings. She did not disappoint in that regard. I even got teary-eyed a few times.

What I loved most about this book was Zoe's narrative. I tend to flock to the teenager's point of view in a novel, whenever that is available. Zoe was especially interesting to read about with her social anxiety and how she deals with some new situations in her life. She was the easiest to visualize and the one I wanted to give a big hug to when I was finished.

There was one aspect that reminded me of a book I read a few years ago, which made it a bit predictable. I won't say which book as to not spoil things, but if you also read that book before reading this one, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. There were still other surprises in store, so having this parallel didn't bother me too much.

Overall, we have another winner from Sally Hepworth and I already can't wait for her next novel.

Dream cast:
Alice: Jennifer Morrison
Paul: Breckin Meyer
Zoe: Oona Laurence (I pictured her from the very beginning.)
Sonja: Robin Wright
Kate: Ginnifer Goodwin

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have TWO copies for some lucky readers!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

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Giveaway ends February 26th at midnight EST.

24 comments:

Janine said...

The last promise I made to someone was last night on Facebook. I am selling a bunch of clothes on a group and one girl doesn't get paid until Wednesday so i promised to hold a top for her until then instead of continuing to try to sell it to someone else who could pay sooner.

Melissa said...

The last promise I made was to my mom, promising her that I will never give up on pursuing my dreams and goals, no matter how challenging they may be.

Linda May said...

I promised my Husband when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer, I would be there for him & never leave his side. He passed away 2 months ago & I'm so lonely without him, but I promised him I would go on & live a full life. Thanks for this generous giveaway.

traveler said...

I haven't made any promises except to myself about my health problems, how I can face and overcome them with a positive attitude.

Aire para respirar said...

To the doctors, that I would try to walk and exercise more, I have to keep my promise

Tatum Rangel said...

I made a promise to myself to devote my time to my personal goals. :)

Elizabeth said...

I enjoyed this book, and I fell in love with Zoe.

Thanks for your review.

I don't think I have made a promise to anyone.

Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Blog

Bonnie K. said...

I haven't really thoughtfully or out loud made any promises to anyone. I have mentally told myself to work hard at withholding my views on food nutrition to someone that doesn't eat well nutritionally in my opinion. I've just remembered that I have made a few promises not to tell someone something that I was told in confidence. The one major promise I've made would be my marriage vows to my husband.

djnbjnon said...

The last promise I made was to read the Bible everyday and to try harder with my personal goals.

Book Worm said...

The last promise that I made was to my Dad before he died. I promised him that I would be okay and if he was too tired to fight cancer anymore, that he could go and be with Mom in Heaven.

Jennifer C said...

I promised my dad that I would go to the dr if I wasn't feeling better, so I had to go last week. Now I'm not better (or as well as I should be), so my mom is wanting me to go back to the dr.

diannekc said...

I promised my best friend's daughter that when I was ready to add a kitten or two to my family that I would let her go to the shelter with me. So when she was on Christmas break, we went to the shelter and I now have Hamilton and Jefferson as part of my family.

diannekc said...

I promised my best friend's daughter that when I was ready to add a kitten or two to my family that I would let her go to the shelter with me. So when she was on Christmas break, we went to the shelter and I now have Hamilton and Jefferson as part of my family.

susieqlaw said...

I promised someone that there would be an opportunity to speak with my guest and kept my promise.

Rita Wray said...

I promised my doctor to cut back on sugar and I did.

Melanie Backus said...

I made a promise to myself to take better care of myself and eat right. That is exactly what I am doing!

Mary Preston said...

It's been a while since I made any kind of promise, but once made I always keep them.

rubynreba said...

My grandson promised me that he would be good if I took him shopping with me and he was!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the opportunity!! I requested this on Netgalley and got denied. I'm so happy for another chance!

Chrissy said...

I made a promise to myself to try to change the things in my life that have been causing me stress for far too long....it's a work in progress. ;)

ArtemisG said...

I made a promise to myself to take my degree this year.

Raffle name: Artemis Giote

tarafarah7 said...

I promised my 6th hour (I'm a high school teacher) that I would buy them pizza bc they won a 30 day challenge...I came through on that promise today! They loved it! :-)

Unknown said...

I promised my 17 year old daughter that I would take her to see Ariana Grande if she was ever close by. I'm really not crazy about her so this is a big deal. Well she's coming to Atlanta in April. We're 2 hours away so we are going. I'm looking forward to 2 nights away, dinner at Cheesecake Factory and shopping!!!

bn100 said...

no one