Grace, daughter of Lila and granddaughter of Zelda opens the Pandora's box of her family's past when she writes a book about her mother. This is a tale of women, of mothers and daughters and the changing views of women. Zelda was sent to a mental health facility by her abusive husband. Lila becomes a driven career focused publishing executive, and Grace well Grace feels she missed out on the childhood she should have had. There's anger here as well as humor. These are privileged women (and some of that might grate) but you also might well recognize their feelings. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An interesting read.

Grace is a character that I was a bit ambiguous about. I didn’t really feel sorry for her but I understood her needs. I am sure this is a design by the author. I did feel her sisters were cold and distant, like her mom, Lila.

Lila is a strong woman. Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. But she had a terrible childhood. She was told her mother died in an asylum and she was abused by her terrible father. So, I believe she could not mother her children the way most mothers do. But her husband was able to step in a take up the slack. Needless to say, Grace wanted more.

There is quite a bit that I enjoyed about this tale. I enjoyed the hunt for Lila’s mother. And no, it is not what you think. I also enjoyed Lila. No, she is not the mother she should have been. But, I truly believe her past is the reason why.

Need an intricate family tale which will have you passionate for all involved…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

First thank you to random house and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: in 1960s Detroit a family is struggling among abuse when the mother disappears after being committed by her husband. The oldest daughter Lilia strives to the top and has daughters of her own. Dies she make the same mistakes with her children that she experienced and will she look forward and forget about the past?

What I liked: this was a beautiful written book and I loved the family dynamics. There were a lot of characters so the family chart at the beginning was very helpful. Lilia is a very interesting character in that she comes from a very rough background to raise up to the top of the editor of a top newspaper and blends in with top politicians. She is a go-getter and is going to let anything stop her. She has children but still works and has her husband Joe do most of the child rearing. Grace her youngest writes a friction book based on her that is the talk of the town. Grace also pushed to find out what happened with her family. It was tough to read some parts but overall well done. I could see this being made into a limited series for sure.

Ruth was my favourite, but she was a side character. Not one of the three main characters in this multigenerational family drama could I say really "stood out" to me that i felt connected to.
Things felt somewhat unbalanced? Inconsistent? I'm not sure which would be the better word, but this just wasn't a hit for me - I can though acknowledge the writing was great and the story was intriguing for me to finish it. Part 3 was the best, I enjoyed the genealogy discovery/tie together.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher & Author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Like Mother, Like Mother started out strong and had an interesting premise but ultimately this book was not a winner for me.

It’s a multi-generational story that starts in the 1960s in Detroit, where young Lila’s mother is committed and sent away by her terrible father. Lila never sees her mother again.

Lila works hard, rising in the ranks to become editor of a powerful Washington D.C. paper. She gets married and has 3 daughters, but puts work above all else including family. Her youngest daughter, Grace, feels neglected and resentful of her (lack of) relationship with Lila. Grace also pursues a career in journalism and publishes a well-received fictional account of Lila’s life. This then prompts a quest to find out what really happened to her grandmother, Zelda.

I did not find Lila particularly likable, realizing she was likely intentionally written this way. Despite not caring for her as a character, I strongly preferred her portion of the story to Grace’s, and didn’t care for Grace much either. I also felt like there was a lot of time in the story spent on Ruth, Grace’s college roommate, and I’m not sure why so much of this was included, at least to the extent it was.

Like Mother, Like Mother had all the makings of stories I’m drawn to — family drama, a multi-generational family saga, and a a strong corporate atmosphere at parts, but I did not connect with it like I hoped to. I don’t need to like the characters in a story to enjoy it but these characters were a struggle for me and the length of the story felt too long.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing / The Dial Press for an eARC♥️♥️♥️


I'm utterly obsessed with 'Like Mother, Like Mother'! As a huge fan of family sagas, this novel captivated me with its intricate web of secrets, heartache, resilience, and legacy.
Lila's story, marked by the traumatic loss of her mother, unfolds like a wounded flower blooming into a powerful force. Her daughter Grace struggles to find her place, craving connection and answers about their family's past.
This masterpiece explores the complexities of family bonds, the weight of inherited secrets, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive. I laughed, cried, and cheered for the Pereira women as they navigated love, loss, ambition, and forgiveness.
'Like Mother, Like Mother' is a testament to truth's transformative power, a tribute to forgiveness's healing balm, and a celebration of love's unwavering strength. As a family saga enthusiast, I devoured this book.
If you're drawn to stories of family dynamics, ambition, and forgiveness, you'll love this novel. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Favorite quote: 'The stories we inherit shape us, but the lies we tell ourselves set us free” ♥️

Like Mother, Like Mother displays the complexities of motherhood as we follow three generations of intricate yet strong-willed women in today's political climate. The story is very character-driven and I appreciate how multilayered and multidimensional the characters are, especially the women in this book. I loved how Rieger explores generational trauma and its effects on families. It made me wonder what it means to be a mother and how family dynamics affect who we become.

There are a lot of different subjects covered in the novel, including social commentary, journalism, and politics. While I enjoyed the topics of journalism and the social commentary on motherhood, there were a few political topics that I wasn't familiar with, so it was more difficult for me to follow along with the story. One element that I also had a hard time digesting was the timeline as the novel often jumps across time, making the storyline confusing for me. While it was helpful to have the list of characters at the beginning of the book, there were a lot of characters to keep track of and to understand how they all relate to one another.

That said, I could easily see this become adapted into a film because of how well-developed the characters are, and how unique the concept is.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of Like Mother, Like Mother.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While I did enjoy some aspects of it – for instance, some of the sardonic humor – I didn’t really like majority of the characters (except for Ruth, who was pretty much the only character I was able to connect with). I had initially picked this one up because I thought the premise was interesting, for one, and two, stories about mother-daughter relationships (especially multigenerational ones) are very much up my alley – given both these factors, I definitely thought I would take to this one more than I did. Overall, I found this book a bit difficult to get into, which is probably why it took me so long to finish it – I kept putting it down after several pages and didn’t really feel compelled to get back to it (though I forced myself to finish this weekend so I could move on to the rest of my teetering TBR pile). Perhaps because I couldn’t relate to most of the characters, or maybe because the plot revolved too heavily around politics (a topic I hate discussing in real life, let alone reading about in books), I just felt like this was a tedious read from beginning to end. The ending was also predictable as well, which wouldn’t really be a problem given that this technically wasn’t a mystery / suspense novel anyway, but it did make me wonder what the point of the story was, especially with some of the characters being so unlikeable.

In any case, I don’t regret reading this one, since, as I mentioned earlier, I did enjoy some parts of it, but unfortunately, the “dislikes’ outweigh the “likes” in this case, plus the timing was bad. I would actually recommend that if you do decide to pick this one up, probably do it after the election, especially if you’re the type (like me) whose anxiety is through the roof right now just thinking about the state of our country and the political implications depending on the outcome...

Received ARC from Dial Press via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this immersive story about three generations of women with a messy, family history. There’s excellent character development and a compelling plot with a well executed ending. The main character is Lila. At the heart of the story is a speculative novel by Lila’s daughter about what really happened to Lila’s mother who had disappeared when she was very young. Another plot line is how Lila’s high powered career as Senior Editor of a major, daily newspaper affects the family dynamic. The story moved me from antipathy to empathy. Secondary characters are also well drawn. Some became my favorite people, some not, but the plot is moved more by rich people behaving well than rich people behaving poorly. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. of #LikeMotherLikeMother. This is my objective review.

Rieger did such a masterful job of writing a story about the complete complexity of motherhood. Following multiple generations of a family where the characters were all so flawed but so relatable, the story was a honest depiction of what being a mother is like instead of painting a rosey perfect picture like most books do. I loved the characters of Lila, a self-proclaimed “bad mother” who never quite got over the disappearance of her own mother as a kid. There is so much to this story that would be impossible to summarize here but it is definitely a story that will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy for my honest review.

I enjoyed this multi-generational story. The characters are interesting, yet sad, complicated and depressing. A real look at the struggles of motherhood. and how your own mother can completely shape your outcome. I found it mostly sad for all the women in the story but felt especially sad for Lila. A woman whose life could have been completely different if she had a “present” mother. Grace and Zelda’s storyline were real, emotionally raw, and lonely.

Overall I enjoyed this and will think of them often. I think it will make for great discussion at book club.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House for the ARC. like Mother Like Mother publishes 10/29/2024

This was such a beautiful and impactful story full of important conversations and experiences shared between multiple generations of women. Diving into these mother/daughter dynamics and emotions feels just so deeply impactful and important. I truly enjoyed the way the author wove these stories, experiences, and traumas together in a cohesive way for the reader to take in . Thank you so much for the eARC, The Dial press!

Like Mother, Like Mother is one of those books that takes you into a part of family dynamics that is often times the most difficult dynamic to understand. The conversations and interplay between the two main characters we first meet, Lila Pereira and her youngest daughter Grace Maier, are sometimes comical, sometimes frustrating, but mostly priceless. It is easy to see that these two are quite a bit alike - but also have some very strong differences. Lila shares much of her own dysfunctional family back-story; but the story of her own mother, Zelda, leaves Grace yearning to discover the truth....did she die or did she abandon her family? As the story evolves through the timelines of Lila's childhood and present, we pick up the peripheral family and other characters of their lives who add much to the story and character of the family dynamic. But Grace's friend, Ruth, becomes like a member of the family and in turn, sometimes is the drive behind the direction their story takes in discovering long-held secrets, and moving forward into relationships that at times may be surprising. A very enjoyable character-driven story. hank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - ,Random House | The Dial Press for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #LikeMotherLikeMother

This is going to be a very popular book, there’s some great hot button topics, a dynamic mother daughter relationship and some really excellent dialogue.

It’s broken into three parts and I devoured the beginning and the end but the middle was a bit of a struggle for me, there are alot of characters to follow and the glossary at the beginning is super helpful for this but in the middle we turn focus onto one character that I just didn’t quite care about enough and my engagement waned. However, it is all integral to a really interesting story and plot.

This is a great book about women, from all generation and it felt like a triumph in that regard.

Beautiful story of a multigenerational family saga. Left me thinking between readings and long after the story was finished.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a powerful story about mothers and daughters and the difficult choices we make as women that affect our daughters. The book is very character driven with very strong secondary characters (like Ruth- I loved Ruth). Once past the first third of the book, it was hard to put down especially as the mystery with Lila's mom unfolded. Equally compelling and heartbreaking, Like Mother Like Mother is a great read. I will say the political aspects of the story didn't really add much to the plot and could have used a little bit of a tone down. While one name in particular was changed (all the others were not), we ALL knew who this author was referring to. I get it was to show that Lila was a absolute rock star of a journalist and editor, but it might be a turn off for certain readers (but it wasn't for me).
Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for the ARC.

Like Mother, Like Mother is a complex generational story centered on three women and their maternal bonds. The author does a great job exploring multigenerational trauma and domestic violence, adding depth to this family saga. Admittedly, it took me a couple of months to read, as it was slow until near the end, and the timeline was occasionally confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for allowing me to read and review this eARC.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was very interesting. I did find it a bit heavy on the information and it felt more like a memoir than a novel. It kept me interested though. I will try more by this author.

Multigenerational story and one of the best books I’ve read this year. This book has been graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for a review .

2.5 ⭐️ read for me. This book was character driven, involving generational views from strong willed women. There were many political topics discussed that lost my interest in the book. It was a very complex story/plot but each character was fully represented.

Thank you NetGalley and Susan Rieger’s team for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC.