Like Mother, Like Mother is an enjoyable family saga with interesting characters that took a while to get into. It focuses on three generations of women: Lila, a powerful career woman who neglects her youngest daughter Grace, and Zelda, Lila's own mother. I found the portrayal of Lila to be very good, Grace less so and Zelda barely there. The story begins with Lila's death and Grace's decision to find out about Zelda, her missing grandmother who was placed in an asylum when Lila was a very young child.

This novel is about mothers and their relationships with their daughters and how a parent's own childhood affects the parenting of their children.
If you enjoy generational family sagas, especially dysfunctional ones, Like Mother, Like Mother is a good read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was just a no for me. Chords were struck, and I just had a hard time finishing this one. That is why this is a 2 star read.

I had a hard time getting into this one at first but liked the characters. They have a lot to them; like real people. I liked the Jewish culture in it. We need more. books like that.

Like Mother, Like Mother, the latest book by Susan Rieger, is a family saga spanning three generations of women and the pain that each left in her wake. Equal parts drama, intrigue and strong female characters, Like Mother, Like Mother is an engaging read about what happens to families of absentee mothers by choice (as was the case with Grace, the daughter of workaholic Lila) or by mental illness and circumstance (as was the case with Lila's mother who was committed to an asylum when Lila was a small child). Either way, clearly the family suffers greatly from any-such situation. Although a sad state of affairs for a real family with a similar dynamic, when fictionalized, it makes for a fascinating story that is difficult to put down.

This is a five-star read and one of my top ten books of the year. A huge thank you to the publishing team and PRH Audio for the review copies. As a reader who loves literary fiction—especially intergenerational family dramas—this book is a master class in everything I adore about the genre.

Susan Rieger has crafted a masterpiece that illuminates the complexity of women's lives, exploring the delicate balance between success and motherhood, the lingering impact of past decisions on the present, and our universal yearning to be understood, wanted, and loved. Rieger’s writing is bold and unflinching, offering a raw and brave narrative about mothers, daughters, and the ties that bind generations.

While some may find Lila, one of the central characters, unlikable (a reaction that often stems from the limiting binary we force on women), I found her nuanced and multi-dimensional. Her persistence, pain, and internal conflict as a woman, mother, and daughter were deeply felt. She is a character I won't soon forget, as is her daughter, Grace, whose journey to understand her mother—and herself—is just as compelling.

I couldn’t put this one down. But that should surprise no one given my love for dysfunctional family dramas. This is a fascinating look at generational trauma, an abusive father, absent mothers. I loved Lila, a working mother who made no apologies for who she was and her drive for her career. There were so many layers throughout the story, connections, examinations of responsibility to others and to ourselves. The writing was superb. While this is definitely heavy on character development (my fave!), I think there’s enough going on in the plot that this will appeal to a variety of readers.

Terrific story about three generations of strong, independent women. Great character development and engaging plot, although it did at times move slowly and seemed longer somehow than its 336 pages.

Lila’s mother Zelda was committed to an asylum by her abusive husband when Lila was only two years old, and Lila never saw or heard from her again. Lila’s father told her that Zelda had died in that asylum, and he continued his abusive behavior, directing it toward her and her siblings. Though she marries as an adult, Lila views herself as not the mothering kind, and devotes herself totally to her career, leaving the care of her children completely to her generous husband Joe.

Her youngest daughter Grace both adores and resents her mother, feeling abandoned by her yet always seeking her approval. It’s Grace who eventually decided to learn more about her mother’s background, and through her that we readers come to know Zelda and her story.

I’ll be thinking about these characters for some time, and am glad I had the opportunity to “meet” them. If you enjoy a compelling family saga, check out Like Mother, Like Mother when it’s published on 10/29/24. Thank you to the publisher, The Dial Press, and to #NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an objective review.

You know how you are so sure that you’re going to love a book based on the synopsis and sometimes your instinct is spot on and sometimes it falls totally flat? Well… this book landed somewhere in the middle of that.

We are first introduced to Lila, then to Grace, and then to Zelda.

Lila Pereira is a true force to be reckoned with. She is a postmodern feminist. She is a powerhouse. She is undeniably headstrong, a career woman through and through, and unapologetically herself every step of the way. She meets Joe, reluctantly fell for him, and they ended up with a family that she wasn’t sure she wanted in the first place. She reminded me of a slightly softer female Logan Roy.

Grace, Lila’s daughter, has so many of Lila’s attributes but at the same time has never felt like she belongs to her mother. She is inquisitive and sardonic and intellectual. She is tenacious and witty and doesn’t settle. She forges her own path, just like her mother. But she struggles into her adulthood with her relationship with Lila.

Zelda, Lila’s mother, has her own interesting story that I won’t get into for spoiler purposes. But the three women’s stories are interwoven very well and I thought we got to know each of them closely over the course of the book.

This is a character drama all the way. There is plot, but not in a structured fashion. It spans lots of time, and jumps around from POV to POV and not always in a way that makes sense. My biggest struggle with this book was that I constantly felt like I was missing something. Checking to see if I accidentally skipped a chapter. I felt like all these characters were talking about things I should have been clued in on, or were acting in a way I should have been able to expect had I been given more information. It felt like I was jumping into conversations halfway through and it was disorienting. Also, the dialogue itself was largely difficult to believe. The conversations verged on formal and didn’t really reflect normal tones. But then again, the Pereiras aren’t your average family, are they?

It reminded me of Succession mixed with Hello Beautiful. Good, but not great. I’d recommend this book to fans of heavy character dramas who don’t need structured plot to see them through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

As the title implies, this is a story about mothers. Mothers and their daughters. The narrative is character-driven and broken down into three parts.

This book really didn’t work for me. There was so much politics in this book, talk about actual politicians and a very obvious heavy-handed political leaning from the author. That is one of my “red flags” in books and will never work for me as a reader. This was the case for the first 70% of this novel.

Let’s move onto characters. As previously mentioned, this is a mostly character driven novel and when this is the case I have to like/enjoy following at least one of the main characters and I couldn’t stand these women. One essentially all but abandons her children for the obsession of her job and the other was boring as cardboard. (Side character Ruth was a GEM and I loved her side story.)

Now, the last 30% (part 3 of the book) I enjoyed! Using DNA and geneology to find missing/ unknown family will always hook me!

But unfortunately overall I will not be recommending this book.

One of the best books I've read this year, easily. This multi-generational story is well-written and smart and presents a family history in an engaging and riveting way. I loved Lila's character and how it echoes in other members of her family. The mystery part of the story was done really well, but I felt that the ending was a bit rushed.
My only gripes are that everything ended very well for all the young characters involved, partially because of the family money and everything it afforded - I suppose after the horrible childhood of Lila, Clara, and Aldo, and the loss of Lila, the imaginary lives of these characters had dealt them enough of the heartache and they could now enjoy the remainder of their existence in relative peace and prosperity.
Some of the zingers of the book, especially "Lila's Rules," will stay with me for a while. I will share some highlights once the book is published, but one of my favorites is about whining in public: the story gets lost, but people will always remember you as a whiner. Taking this one as a new personal rule to follow.

A great read, hard to put down, inspiring, and full of amazing women characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on October 29.

I loved this book! As a mother of daughters and as a daughter myself, I really connected with the characters of Lila and Grace. It made me think of how the circumstances in our lives affect how we parent and how we were parented. Lila and Grace are both strong, direct women but with flaws as well.

The story spans several decades and includes a lot of characters but they are clearly defined and play an important part in the overall plot. I think this novel will appeal to mothers and to daughters. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and will be diving into the author’s back catalogue.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and The Dial Press for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A Riveting Story that Pulls You In to Keep Finding Out More. I love family dramas and books that cover large periods of time. This begins in the 60’s and goes to the current time. It involves 3 generations of women, so I found the idea interesting. The book was a fascinating story of Lila, an untraditional wife and mother, who has 3 children, but her true passion is editing her newspaper. She had a mother she never met. Her abusive father said her mother was hospitalized for mental illness and died. Clara, Lila’s youngest daughter, also a reporter, has always been eager to know the true story. Did her grandmother die or did she just leave her husband and children? Clara is determined to find out all the facts, but is it worth knowing? The relationships formed throughout the book worked very well and each character was well developed. I really enjoyed this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Susan Rieger, and Dial Press for a copy of this book. I always leave reviews of books I read.

Oh what a wonderful character driven family drama Susan Rieger has given us! Told in three parts from multiple third person views makes this book one of the most riveting books I’ve read so far this year.
Like Mother, Like Mother follows three generations of women, Zelda, whose husband put her in a mental hospital when her youngest child, Lila, was two. Lila, who grew up to be a formidable woman who found her place in a profession filled with men, and Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter who, for being or worse, is just like her mother. It’s a great look at the ties that bind and shows how the trauma of one in an earlier generation can trickle down to affect one in a later generation.
The book is broken up into 3 parts and while each part focuses on one of the women parts of the other women’s stories are their, told through the eyes of the one in whose part we are reading. While this is fiction, there are many politicians and current events that take place throughout the book, making it feel more real than fiction.
I absolutely loved how this was written and I loved nearly every character. I especially loved the realness of the characters. While I found them to be likable, they were definitely flawed. For a fictional story I found this to be one of the most real books I’ve read in a while.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House The Dial Press for an advanced copy of this. Like Mother, Like Mother hits the shelves on October 29th.

I really liked this multi generational family drama. The beginning of the book starts with the family tree of multiple characters and I was quite intimidated thinking I would never be able to keep them straight. But I needed not worry because the author put together a beautifully woven story that was easy to follow. When you think about this book after you read it you realize that you are never taught how to parent, you learn from your Mom and Dad. If those people are terrible parents you are stuck with either being a bad Mom yourself or leave the child raising up to your husband who came from a great family. That is what happened with Lila. Her Mom, Zelda, was abused by her Dad and he ending up putting her in a home for the insane and Lila and her siblings never saw their Mom again. They were told she died. But did she. The search and mystery of Zelda is brought up throughout the book and you will find out the truth in the end. All the characters had depth and I felt very likeable. Of course, Aldo, the abusive father was not. This is about the siblings who love each other and their children who are loved and love each other. It is a fun, very good read. I would highly recommend. I didn't want it to end.
Thanks to #netgalley, #thedialpress and @susanriegerwriter for an ARC of this great book. The comments are my own.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER follows three generations of women and their unconventional personifications of what it means to be a mother. After the death of Lila, a famous journalist, Lila’s daughter Grace seeks to find the truth about her grandmother who was reported dead after being admitted to a mental health facility in the 1960s.

In this character-driven story, each woman challenged society’s view of motherhood in their own way. This was an enjoyable family drama with a small side of mystery, but I did have difficulty connecting to the characters. A smaller focus of the story is Grace and her twin sisters. I don’t have sisters and oftentimes don’t fully resonate with sister stories. Overall, this story was a bit slower paced than I was in the mood for but think many readers will find it enjoyable.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-are intrigued by sister stories like Hello Beautiful
-appreciate Jewish representation in fiction
-don’t mind books set in the political scene

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: October 29, 2024

Many thanks to Netgalley and The Dial Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One man’s plagiarism is another man’s Easter egg.

Once I saw the author’s blatant “borrowing”, it was difficult for me to give this book a fair chance. The author says she paraphrases quotes from other authors throughout the book, lists a few of the authors she paraphrased but doesn’t connect the credit to the passage, and says she cannot remember them all. Maybe this “borrowing” was actually intended to be little Easter eggs for the readers. Or maybe that’s one way to explain it. My issue is - if I quoted from this book, I would attribute those words to Susan Rieger, when there’s a good chance they were not her original creation. I might catch this with well known quotes from Shakespeare, but not with quotes from the lesser known authors and playwrights on her list, much less the works she herself cannot remember. Given this author is an attorney & academic, this is sloppy work at best, and thinly disguised plagiarism at worst.

One example is listed below.

Dixie Carter, as Julia Sugarbaker in the TV series Designing Women - “I’m saying this is the South. And we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring ‘em right down to the living room and show ‘em off. See Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.”

Susan Rieger in the arc of Like Mother, Like Mother - “Southerners don’t hide their crazy people in an attic. They bring them out. They show them off. No one cares. They only want to know whose side of the family, mother’s or father’s.”

a fluid 3.5

This book wants to be an Important Book and i'm certain it will be perceived as such in many circles (especially judging by the fact that it's already been optioned for adaptation) and it is a very good book, but for me, being an Important Book is just out of its reach.

Rieger's story is the strongest in the first of its three sections. I feel like the whole story plays out in this section and the rest is just... there. This is in large part because the first section, all about Lila, is centered around a character that we rarely see in fiction: the working mother who is unapologetic in her career drive and ambitions. I love Lila. I love the way Rieger tells her story, unspooling it like a piece of reporting (which is fitting since Lila is a reporter). The following sections simply do not live up to the strength of the first, in large part because Grace, her daughter, comes across as desperate for attention. Grace is a better character when being reported about during Lila's section, rather than being the character with the spotlight on her. She seems to need to pull one over on her mother as if for revenge for not being the kind of mother Grace wanted, and in doing so leads her entire family down a path of pain.

Given the way the first part of the book is structured, I had hoped that each subsequent part would have a different tone or quality. Lila's was reported because she was a reporter. Grace's could have been more narratively sound. Zelda's... well. That hope didn't come to fruition. In fac, Rieger spends a lot of time focusing on Grace's friend Ruth, rather than Grace herself, and I wonder if this is not somehow telling.

In the end, Rieger doesn't even give the mysterious Zelda her own voice, not really. The past is told ABOUT Zelda, a character whose voice is already lost and muddled. It seems a disservice and, in some ways, callous. You do come to understand Zelda, in a way, but never from her own words, not really.

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger is a recommended generational drama following three women in a family, Lila, Grace, and Zelda. The novel mainly focuses on Lila and Grace as they struggle with the complexities of relationships and trauma.

Lila Pereira had an abusive father and no mother growing up. She ended up executive editor of a major newspaper, The Washington Globe. She marries Joe and they have three daughters, Stella, Ava, and Grace . Lila leaves the parenting of their daughters to Joe while she concentrates on her career. The older two daughters, don't mind but the youngest, Grace, resents her mother's lack of involvement in her life, and constantly takes notes concerning her mother. Grace ends up writing a novel fictionalizing her mother's life.

There is a guide at the beginning to assist readers in following all the characters. The novel itself is divided into three parts. The first focuses on Lila, the second Grace, and the third Zelda. The stories of the individual characters is not linear, but goes back and forth in time to develop the characters and their backgrounds. Starting at the end of her life, the narrative eventually jumps back in time to Detroit in 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. She never sees her mother again but is physically abused by her father until she leaves for college. Grace can't seem to understand her mother's hesitation to be the main parent and her toxic resentment influences her life. Zelda was always presumed to be dead, but Grace looks into what really happened to her grandmother.

While I appreciate the look into generational trauma, none of these characters were even remotely appealing or relatable to me. At times it was a struggle to continue reading, as Grace, the main character driving the plot forward, is a decidedly annoying. Adding to the disjointed feeling, the narrative seemed to lose focus at times and feels scattered, while the dialogue isn't always very well executed. Embedded in the novel is too much editorializing on social/political views on contemporary topics, which is always off-putting.
Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

How do you describe a book that you think would be a perfect book club choice… not just because there’s a lot to unravel. But also because it’s one that will generate a conversation about so many different themes or life moments. It’s one of those books that I can see people identify themselves in or despise the way in which the “mothers” lived.

Leading me to wonder (and I took awhile to digest this one)… but can you hate and admire the same woman? And at one point do we stop blaming someone else for the life we have been given.
What makes a woman who struggles, one that never gives up? What makes another woman complain about everything she has or what she wish she had had.

This one was a little unsettling as a woman, mother, wife, daughter and sister. It bent its rough edges into me for empathy and then had me roll my eyes with the ‘poor me’ attitude.
As I said, it’s one that will get under your skin.

And yet, that same woman, who the reader loves to hate (and there’s a couple of them), are really the women I think I admired the most in the end.

It begins with Zelda, carried on by Lila and broken by Grace. What do I mean by that… guess you gotta read to find out.

Also, if you’ve read this, or if you read it in the next few months, come back and chat about the love I had for some secondary characters like Joe, Frances, Xander, Ruth and even the Starbirds.

I will note, my interest was lost when shades of current politics (hidden in plain sight-here’s looking at you Webb), entered the story. It wasn’t necessary for the storyline. And took the reader out of the emotional pieces.

4.5 ⭐️

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger tells the story of two generations of women navigating complex family dynamics. The novel is split between the perspectives of Lila, the successful and absent mother, and Grace, her resentful daughter, exploring their strained relationship and the secrets that bind them - stretching back to Lila's own missing mother.

I loved the Lila sections—her voice was sharp and compelling. But Grace’s POV felt way too long, and the dialogue throughout the book just didn’t feel natural. Everyone sounded the same, making it hard to fully immerse in their unique personalities. While there are moments of brilliance, the unnatural dialogue and perspective imbalance kept it from reaching its full potential.