It's a page turner!

The Mother I Could Have Been is beautifully writen and I love that the author offers the point of view from a daughter and mother. 
As a daughter and mother myself I can fully sympathize with Vicky, I also understand Caro point of view, but not so much about India, Caro's daughter. 

I would recommend this book for daughters, and also mom with teens and adult daughters as a refresher and also offering other point of view. 

Thank you netgalley for the arc.

Wow, this was such a great read.  What an awesome storyline.  This book grabs you at page one and doesn't let you go.   I really like her writing style.  This is an author I will definitely continue to follow.  I highly recommend this book.  You won't be disappointed.

The Mother I Could Have Been is SUCH an emotional-filled novel about relationships and communication and how important it is between those you love - especially mothers and daughters. It also involves how we allow our self worth to be determined by other people's opinions and views. Focusing on two mothers, Vicky and Caro, this is a well written story involving innocence, jealousy, heartbreak, forgiveness and ultimately hope. It kept me turning the pages until the very end!
Thanks to Kerry Fisher, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Readers should know The Mother I Could Have Been is not what you call an easy read. There is so much heartache in this story, but it is beautifully written. There is pain and loss and you will most definitely feel every single bit of it.

Vicky Hall is twenty-one when she travels to Greece and falls pregnant with Theo. Estranged from her family, she vows to always be there for her son. But Vicky is insecure and life as a new mother is tricky, failing to work out as she planned.

Meanwhile, Caro is a grandmother desperate to see the grandchildren her daughter, India, is equally determined she will never share. The Mother I Could Have Been by Kerry Fisher is an exploration of the mother/daughter relationship and how easily words misconstrued lead to tension and heartbreak that last years.

Fisher is skilled at conjuring believable characters with snappy dialogue that rings true, and I immediately recognised and understood Caro, with her heart-wrenching story. However, at times, I became a little frustrated by Vicky and her reluctance to reach out to her vulnerable young son, who endures so much. Despite that, the two halves of the storyline blend expertly, creating a touching examination of family feuds, loss and forgiveness.

A very interesting book. I  really enjoyed reading a book by this author for the first time. I would recommend this book to anyone

A lovely heartwarming story of Vicky, who is estranged from her mother and goes on to have a son, and then ends up estranged from him.  So  well written with characters I loved to get to know and loved reading their journey

‘The Mother I Could Have Been,’ is another solid novel from Kerry Fisher. It tells Vicky’s story as her upbringing shapes her choices in her adult life. I did find it difficult to relate to Vicky however Vicky’s story is interwoven with Caro’s and is much more relatable.

I love Kerry Fisher's work, her books are so well-written with stories that really resonate and echo real lives. This is an emotional and sensitive story with characters that jump off the page. Highly recommended!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read an ARC.

Unfortunately I didn't have opportunity to read/review this one due to other commitments, but I will feature it on my page. If I get the chance to review this one I will make sure to come and update it here. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for my gifted copy.

What a lovely storyline covering a flawed and broken relationship, love, loss and the fragile relationship between a mother and her daughter.  Vicky’s father died and her mother remarried and went on to have two more children.  When Vicky graduates and her mother rings to say she can’t attend as one of the other children has been admitted to hospital, Vicky then decides that her mother doesn’t love and want her and decides to have her own family in a few years time.  After her graduation Vicky goes on holiday with a friend and her family and decides to stay there where she meets William and falls pregnant.  They move in with his family and Barbara, William’s mother, helps out by looking after Theo, their baby.  But Barbara takes control and Vicky is convinced that Theo doesn’t thinks she is a good mother as he screams every time she goes near him,  so she decides to walk out of their lives.  The story then turns to Caro and her daughter India, who decides that Caro is unfit to look after her children and cuts off all ties with her.  The stories are then combined when Vicky comes to work for Caro and becomes one of the family.  The characters in this book are amazing and the story takes us on an emotional journey .  Kerry writes  with compassion and with a deep  understanding of the complex relationship between mothers and daughters.  I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down and will certainly be reading more books by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.l

What a story! I was drawn into it from the very beginning and could not put this down. The twist and turns will have you charging through the pages to see what happens.
 
The Mother I Could Have Been is an emotional psychological novel about relationships between mothers and daughters. This story is an emotional roller coaster, and you will want a box of tissues nearby.

OMG, another phenomenal book by Kerry Fisher, the story is well written and the characters are so real. This story will stay with you long after you finish it.  

There are no spoilers from me as you have to read this book yourself!!!

I highly recommend this book and it is going on my top books to read this year.

An emotional story of how family ties can break, never to be repaired.  Kerry Fisher keeps the story moving, showing how you cannot tell what goes on in a family while looking from the outside.  From highs to lows are shown from several different families, they all become linked in the end.  The Mother I Could Have Been evolved from a neglected child's pain filled proclamations to an all inclusive ending that was a very good read.

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I've read by Kerry Fisher,  although I have The Silent Wife lined up next on audio. 
This book really tugged at my heart strings.  As a mother of 3 and stepmother of one, I have definitely asked myself too many times if my kids would be better off without me, especially in those sleep deprived post partum stages. This book really makes you see just how delicate families relationships are. 
I loved every minute of this book, and highly recommend it. Thank you to netgalley,  Kerry Fisher and the publisher for the arc of this book.

This is the first Kerry Fisher book I have read and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. I really and truly enjoyed it. An nice and easy read, the pace was steady, the story emotional and the ending heartwarming. Although I wouldn't classify THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN in the Mystery/Thriller genre, it does has an element of mystery to it. But I would shelve it with the contemporary, general fiction or even chick lit.

THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN is Vicky's story. She grew up not knowing her father and when her mother remarried to a man who didn't particularly like his new wife's daughter then went on to have two more children. Whilst her mother played happy families with husband Ian and children Joey and Emily, Vicky felt like the odd one out. Her mother always seemed to have more time for her new family rather than she did for Vicky.

2009. When Vicky graduated university, her mum rang at the last minute with the excuse that Emily had taken a fall and she was at the hospital; that she was sorry but wouldn't be able to make her graduation. Angered that once again her mother proved she didn't really want her, Vicky decided that when it came time for her to have a family she would show them the love and attention she had always wanted but never received. She would give her children what she had missed out on.

Then when her flatmate's family invited her to join them on a trip to Corfu, Vicky jumped at the chance to escape her troubles with her own family. But two weeks into the holiday, she begins to feel her presence really isn't wanted particularly when she overhears her friend Liv tell her mother she "didn't think she would be spending the whole holiday with us"!

So Vicky makes her escape and finds herself at beachside bar run by the charismatic Freddie. On a whim, she asks him for a job in exchange for board and lodging and by the end of the day Vicky had moved herself into the attic room overtop of the bar. The locals loved her, the tourists also loved her and soon Freddie did too. It wasn't long before Vicky left the attic room and moved in with Freddie. Together they enjoyed a free spirited relationship and when Liv's family left Corfu, Vicky found herself not wanting to go back home. So she stayed.

Then one day, Vicky is enjoying the solitude of a secluded beach the locals frequent...but not generally tourists...when she meets William. They spend a glorious day and evening together and he walks her home to the bar, giving her his number should she ever wish to see him again. Despite being with Freddie, Vicky can't stop thinking about William and before long she moves out of the room she shared with Freddie and moves in with William.

Vicky and William fall madly in love and they love their life in Corfu, and aren't looking to return home to the UK in the foreseeable future. That is, until Vicky discovers she is pregnant and everything changes. After a scare in her second trimester, Vicky and William decide to move back to the UK with William's family where she is welcomed by his mother and father.

When Vicky gives birth to baby Theo, she is filled with doubts about her abilities, which are more often than not, highlighted by William's mother Barbara. Vicky trusted Barbara to know best as she hadn't a clue on how to raise a child, but soon those subtleties turn into nastiness and Vicky finds herself at loggerheads with not just Barbara, but William too, who doesn't seem the least bit interested and tired of her constant complaints about his mother. Not only that, Theo didn't seem to like her and would scream whenever she came near...and yet he would calm in Barbara's arms.

But one Christmas, when Theo was 2, was the last straw. Barbara once again asserted her authority over Vicky for little Theo's attention and when he took a tumble with his new gift, Vicky was shocked to hear Theo cry "Don't want Vicky! Want Mamma!" Vicky was incensed and confronted Barbara about teaching him to call her "mamma". But Barbara brushed it off as "Theo's choice...short for grandma". When she tried to talk to William about it, he was more interested in his phone than what was going on and told her to calm down. Furious, Vicky changed into more comfortable clothes, jumped in her car and left...and she never went back.

She had intended to return...but every time she tried she found she just couldn't face William or his mother in what would be another "battle of wills". In the end, she stayed away for about six months before she decided to speak to William face to face. But when she approached the school where Barbara had insisted on Theo going to, she saw William kissing a tall blonde woman...and even worse, Theo seemed to love her too! It seemed their lives had moved on without her...and she wasn't even missed. Not even by her son.

So Vicky turned her car around and drove away.

Devon, 2016. Caro Campbell and her husband Gilbert ran a small holiday business with their son Fergus. Caro had a daughter India who, for all intents and purposes, was a complete pain in the proverbial! That woman would find fault in anything and everything! Caro loved both her children but India could never see it.

On New Year's Eve, India had left her three children - Ivy, Rowan and Hollie - in Caro's charge with strict instructions that she must follow to the letter. However, it was New Years and Caro was entertaining guests whilst the children were watching television in the den. By the time India and her husband returned early, Ivy was drunk and Rowan and Hollie had fallen asleep in the den in front of inappropriate TV programmes. India was livid and accused her mother of being disrespectful to them and their wishes. Some weeks later, Caro received a letter from her daughter cutting off all ties with them since they "could not be bothered to respect their wishes". Caro is gutted. India has always been difficult but she still loves her, though India fails to see that.

However, the business has been suffering recently and Fergus suggests hiring someone to manage it so he can get on with doing the hands-on work of redecorating the cottages. Enter Vicky her and dog Lionel.

Vicky is soon at home at Applefield Cottages, and although she says little, she is good at her job and it isn't long before Caro finds they cannot do without her.

When an investigator knocks at Caro's door one day looking for Vicky, bringing news she does not want to hear, Caro begins to see the cracks in Vicky's demeanour as the young woman breaks down and opens up to her. Soon the two women become fast friends and while both of them are mothers, both find themselves in a situation they can see no way out of.

THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN begins as Vicky's story but ends up Caro's as well. It is moving, it is tragic, it is heartbreaking, it is emotional. A story about life, love and loss. About motherhood and relationships. It is filled with raw emotion, devastation and heartbreak but by the end it is so heartwarming you will be left with an afterglow.

There were times I could have gladly slapped Vicky, but for the most part, I could understand where she was coming from as for much of my life I have felt like the odd one out or unwanted. So I could relate to how she was feeling...and although I didn't agree with her walking out on her son, I could totally get why she did. Had I been in her situation with a mother-in-law like that I probably would be tempted to do the same thing. Vicky had no self-esteem, no confidence and no real value of herself. Is it no wonder she could easily be manipulated?

The two people I could not stand the most were Barbara and India. Both were filled with a jealously so fierce though they reacted in vastly different ways. Sometimes I wondered how Vicky could not see through Barbara's subtleties...but then she had no self confidence and she trusted Barbara. And William? I could have gladly throttled him for being so indifferent and uncaring to Vicky's emotions. So what if he thought she was being over-the-top? His job was to protect her and Theo. He only served to drive a wedge between himself and Vicky.

I really loved the backdrop of Corfu and found myself wanting to stay there! But the story I really enjoyed was Caro's. I don't know...I think I found Caro an endearing and heartwarming character. I could feel myself enveloped in her arms and the love radiate from her...I don't know why her own daughter couldn't.

THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN has such heartwarming moments it made this book such a feel-good read, despite the heartbreak at the centre of both stories. Vicky may not have been entirely likable all of the time, she wasn't an emotional person and kept her feelings hidden, but she had a deep love for her son that she truly thought he would be better off without her. She had so much love but didn't know how to show it.

As Vicky's and Caro's stories intertwine, THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN draws us in from the first pages and keeps up engaged right up until the last, as we journey through tears and joys, regrets and heartbreak, loss and second chances.

I thoroughly enjoyed this journey and will not hesitate to take up another of Kerry Fisher's. I urge you to pick up a copy of THE MOTHER I COULD HAVE BEEN - you will not be disappointed.

I would like to thank #KerryFisher, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMotherICouldHaveBeen in exchange for an honest review.

The Mother I Could Have Been by Kerry Fisher is really a contemporary story that does have some romance here and there. The book is an emotional one that follows the life of a young women over the course of more than a decade.

As Vicky Hall is about to graduate her family is not around yet again. With a mother who had remarried and is now involved with her step siblings Vicky has felt like she is an afterthought for years and vowed to herself to form her own family in adulthood.

Instead of heading home after graduation Vicky decides to take off on a vacation where she meets William. The two have a wild fling that ends up in pregnancy that sends Vicky home to the UK with William and his family.

I have to say I think I was most impressed with this one after starting off not thinking highly of the main character and coming full circle by the end. The ups and downs over the course of the years passing kept the pages turning and wondering how it would all work out in the end for the characters.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Mother I Could Have Been is a heartbreaking story by Kerry Fisher. This novel will totally consume you and have your emotions scattered all over the place. This novel examines the relationship between a parent and child and how their decisions and actions impact the future. 

As a child, Vicky Hall never had the sort of family she wanted. The least important person in her new step-family, ignored by her mother in favor of her two younger half-siblings, Vicky was always an afterthought. Sitting alone at her graduation ceremony at the age of twenty-one, she vows to create her own family and her own life, one which is full of the love and attention she has always craved. 

Vicky messages her mum with, “going travelling this summer, will be in touch.” So off to Greece with her roommate, Liv and family for the summer. Liv would be staying in Greece for two weeks and then going back to the UK to start her accountancy job.

A meaningful quote from Vicky: 

“I’d discovered that breaking off contact with people I cared about was less painful than living with them loving me less.”

Then at twenty-two, Vicky meets William and falls pregnant in Greece that summer, it isn’t planned. But the two of them believe they can make it work, showering their child, Theo with the love which they believe should be enough. They move into William’s home with his mother and father to save money. Both William and Vicky find work, and William’s mother, Barbara becomes Theo’s nanny.

But Barbara encourages Theo to call her Mamma, and to cry and scream when Vicky comes near the baby. Vicky soon believes she is not a good mother, and does the unthinkable… She leaves, walks out on her two-year-old son.

“He was better off without me.”

What kind of mother does that? 

The novel then alternates to another mother Caro, and older mother that has problems with her grown up married daughter, India, a selfish demanding woman that only wanted things done her way.

The Mother I Could Have Been, is a story of dysfunctional families, painful memories, actions and consequences, love and loss and finding your way out where you can be at peace with yourself. The characters are so well-developed and give emotional depth to the scene. This novel is so well-written and will have you re-evaluating your own life.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy of this novel.

The Mother I Could Have Been
by Kerry Fisher
282 pages 
Publication date: November 22, 2019
Publisher: Bookouture
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

First off let me start by  warning you that before you start this emotional read make sure you have a box of tissues ready. Because you are going to need them as you dive deep into the mother daughter relationships. The author has such a way of writing that you feel all of the characters emotions as you alternate chapters with the pov from Vicky and Caro.I hated a lot of the characters but they are what makes this story what it is. I really struggled getting into this story at first. But it does get better, alot better so hang in there. I think this book would make a great movie with all of the explosive family drama it has . I wanted to drag Barbara , Vicky's very mean and controlling mother n law through the book and punch her in the face. As like most people when I first started this book I was like how can any mother just up and walk away from their child . But between Vicky's mother and her mother n law the poor girl didn't stand much of a chance. Many thanks to the Publisher , the Author , and NetGalley for a ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And as with any book you read PLEASE leave the author a REVIEW. Reviews are very important to authors and is what keeps them writing.
#TheMotherIcouldHaveBeen #NetGalley

First of all let me start . This book was so emotional . It touched me so much. I found her writing to be like Jodi Piccoult.. I felt emotionally connected to the characters and I highly recommend this book. Well done.

Kerry Fisher gets better with every book. Her characters are so well described that I felt I actually knew them . Highly recommended