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A review by lucyp747d4
A Mother's Heart by Carmel Harrington
5.0
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. After reading and enjoying a previous book of Carmel Harrington’s I was excited to see what this one would be like.
Well what can I say except wow! This story was so unique in it’s premise and so emotional that I flew through the audio. We start the story in New Zealand where Rachel is visiting her family with her two step children. During this visit Rachel starts to fantasise what it might be like to uproot from Ireland and move her and the children back to her hometown in New Zealand.
When Rachel returns to Ireland she quickly realises that moving may not be the best option and decides to stay put, despite feeling that she lacks the emotional support from her dead husband’s family and in laws. Things quickly escalate and soon Rachel finds herself in a custody battle with her step children’s grandparents!
My first reaction when listening to this story was those poor children. Not only did they lose their mum at a young age but they then lost their dad too. I can’t begin to imagine how they must of felt but their relationship with Rachel was beautiful. You could feel the love and trust they felt for each other and both children felt safe with Rachel which made the custody battle even more heart breaking.
On the other side I could also see Shelia’s point of view. She had lost her daughter and felt that Rachel was trying to take Niamh’s place. I could understand why she felt that she needed to fight for the children but some of the things she did really frustrated me.
Like I said at the start this is a unique case with plenty of characters involved. It asks the age old question of what classes you as a mother? It dives deep into complex family relationships and how grief effects us all differently. I found myself welling up on more than one occasion so make sure you grab the tissues!
Well what can I say except wow! This story was so unique in it’s premise and so emotional that I flew through the audio. We start the story in New Zealand where Rachel is visiting her family with her two step children. During this visit Rachel starts to fantasise what it might be like to uproot from Ireland and move her and the children back to her hometown in New Zealand.
When Rachel returns to Ireland she quickly realises that moving may not be the best option and decides to stay put, despite feeling that she lacks the emotional support from her dead husband’s family and in laws. Things quickly escalate and soon Rachel finds herself in a custody battle with her step children’s grandparents!
My first reaction when listening to this story was those poor children. Not only did they lose their mum at a young age but they then lost their dad too. I can’t begin to imagine how they must of felt but their relationship with Rachel was beautiful. You could feel the love and trust they felt for each other and both children felt safe with Rachel which made the custody battle even more heart breaking.
On the other side I could also see Shelia’s point of view. She had lost her daughter and felt that Rachel was trying to take Niamh’s place. I could understand why she felt that she needed to fight for the children but some of the things she did really frustrated me.
Like I said at the start this is a unique case with plenty of characters involved. It asks the age old question of what classes you as a mother? It dives deep into complex family relationships and how grief effects us all differently. I found myself welling up on more than one occasion so make sure you grab the tissues!