Reviews with content warning for Car accident - All My Mother's Lovers

Found this book through my Storygraph recommendations and I enjoyed it. The amount of times I cried….hit a little too close to home. Was a little cringe at times (also has one of the worst closing lines I’ve ever heard) but I honestly like it.

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sophiebv's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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goldenjunegem's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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meemawreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I thought I was going to like this book more than I did, which is surprising considering I know road-trip fiction isn’t really my thing. A queer woman with a strained relationship with her distant mother finds herself responsible for delivering letters to that mother’s lovers after she dies in a car accident. (All of that is on the jacket, I’m spoiling nothing.) I expected to find it more compelling but the protagonist’s motivation didn’t make sense to me. I know this is a personal gripe other people might not have, but her reasoning behind choosing not to open the letters then deciding to hand-deliver them was flimsy to me. And the kinda-but-not-really surprise ending didn’t grab me. The storyline involving a trans character felt glossed over, the relationship between the protagonist and her girlfriend felt like an afterthought, and nothing felt especially true to life, possibly because I felt the author kept us at arms length from the protagonist even inside her own head. I dunno, I finished it, which as always, is saying SOMEthing. 2.5 taters 🥔🥔🍠/🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

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jlboro's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was the best book I read in 2021 for me. I unexpectedly lost a parent in 2020 and this book helped me heal, forgive, and process when I needed it, without realizing I needed until I had finished and was able to reflect.
There were some pacing issues where I thought it took a little long to get to the first letter delivery and Maggie’s uncertainty surrounding her relationship with Lucia gets a little taxing in that it’s a repeat of the same feelings throughout most of the book. But those are not deal-breakers, especially for a debut author.
This is a tough book to tackle, it should not be approached lightly, and just remember that people are not at their best or most charming when dealing with grief. They are often at their worst, most raw, annoying, frustrating, and exasperating selves. And I think this book captures this completely and authentically.

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lovinglyread's review

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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