Member Reviews

I love a multigenerational story and this one is no exception. It would be great for a book club discussion.

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I loved this…a lot. This multi-generational family story centers around Lila and Grace, and how looking for a connection and trying to figure out the past can lead you to information you might not want to find.

The supporting characters on this story were amazing, also! I chuckled every time “The Starbirds” made an appearance.

Read this!

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I started out liking this book a lot. The characters were interesting and different than normal. However, nothing really happens. The book is mostly people talking and telling about their lives. It was repetitive and I thought the ending was a letdown.

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If you are a working mother with any type of career—from the mundane to the impossibly powerful— this book will be your most thrilling dream and your worst nightmare. It will be validation and excoriation of the path you have chosen, but in the end, it will be so well worth the ride. Rieger, in a stunning debut, has brought to life generations of women who have been shaped by raw ambition and punishing circumstance. I loved them all.

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What a great story! Like Mother, Like Mother is a story about what happens when spouses and children are abused and when women without maternal instinct become parents. Lila Pereira's mother disappears when Lila is two years old. Her mother was the victim of spousal abuse and Lila then becomes the victim of child abuse. Lila has it all- beauty, charm, intelligence, wit. She eventually becomes the Executive Editor of the Washington Globe newspaper, with all the perks and salary that come with a position of status and responsibility. But, like her own mother, Lila does not have maternal instinct. Lila has one set of twin girls and one additional daughter, Grace, with her husband, Joe. Over time, Grace searches for the truth about her mother and why her grandfather sent Lila's mother away. Ultimately, the truth is found. This is a complex story. At times I had to work to keep up with who the characters were. I forgot there was list of characters available at the beginning of the book. It certainly would have been helpful if I had remembered it was there. This is a complex story, but so worth reading, written with intelligence and sincerity. I recommend it.

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Like Mother, Like Mother was a book spanning 3 generations of women. I found this book to be very dark. None of the women were particularly likable. Lila, the main character, has her mother removed from the family by the father and supposedly put into a mental hospital where she later dies. Lila grows up always wondering if her mother really died but never pursues looking for her. Lila marries and has 3 daughters where the youngest one decides to pursue looking for Lila’s mother. I never got a good picture of any of the characters.

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Susan Rieger’s Like Mother, Like Mother is a sharp, engaging, and deeply moving novel that spans multiple generations, unraveling the complexities of family dynamics, ambition, and the haunting power of secrets. This enthralling family saga takes readers on a journey through the lives of three strong-willed women, each unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past, all while examining the legacy of these hidden truths.

The story begins in 1960s Detroit, where a two-year-old Lila Pereira’s life is irrevocably altered when her father has her mother committed to an asylum, never to be seen again. Lila grows up with a deep sense of abandonment, determined to make something of herself, and ultimately rises to the top of American media as the powerful executive editor of The Washington Globe. She is unapologetically driven by her career, often leaving the nurturing of her daughters to her husband, Joe. However, Lila's professional success comes at the cost of her relationship with her youngest daughter, Grace.

Grace, feeling neglected and resentful of her mother’s absence from her life, yearns for more than just material success. As she grows older, she becomes a successful reporter and even pens a bestselling book about her formidable mother. However, her journey to understand her family’s history uncovers startling revelations that shake her perception of the past. As Grace delves deeper into Lila’s life, she begins to question the legacy of secrecy that looms over them all, including the mystery of whether Lila’s own mother really died in that asylum.

Through Grace’s eyes, we are invited to witness the tension between the powerful pull of family history and the desire for independence. Rieger deftly navigates themes of motherhood, ambition, and the lies we tell ourselves and others in order to become the people we aspire to be. The book explores how the past—particularly the secrets we refuse to confront—can shape our identities and relationships in ways we may not fully understand.

Rieger’s writing is brisk yet poignant, with an effortless blend of wit and wisdom that keeps the reader engaged. Her portrayal of the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters is both heart-wrenching and relatable, capturing the nuances of love, resentment, and the complexities of personal ambition. Lila’s drive to succeed and her reluctance to look back are compellingly juxtaposed with Grace’s desire for answers and the painful realization that knowing where you came from might be key to understanding who you truly are.

In Like Mother, Like Mother, Rieger has created a story that is as much about the burden of family history as it is about the strength and resilience of women. The novel is a brilliant exploration of the ways in which we are both shaped and constrained by the stories we inherit—whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. The tension between ambition and familial loyalty, the fear of facing uncomfortable truths, and the exploration of identity through generations all make for an exhilarating and unforgettable read.

Fans of literary family sagas will find this novel to be a captivating and thought-provoking read, filled with rich, complex characters and an unflinching look at the ways we shape our own destinies—sometimes at the cost of what we leave behind. Like Mother, Like Mother is a testament to the power of stories, both those we tell and those we hide, and how they shape our journey through life.

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I wanted to like this one. The multigenerational drama/generational trauma aspect was interesting, but the execution wasn’t there. The timeline was at times confusing and I didn’t really care about the characters as much as I should have by the end. I get where the author was going, but it fell flat for me.

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In Susan Rieger’s recent novel, Like Mother, Like Mother, three generations of women grapple with what it means to be a woman: wife, mother, and professional. Driven by aspirations beyond the home yet burdened by the poor role models they believe shaped their understanding of motherhood, they must decide whether to draw inspiration from the past or chart a new path forward.

Lila, the youngest of three siblings in a single-parent household, endures her abusive father’s wrath as his primary target. She grows up hearing a repeated story: her mother, Zelda, was institutionalized when Lila was very young and died while in the asylum. Now married, Lila reluctantly agrees to have children, but only on the condition that her husband, Joe, shoulders the bulk of the parenting responsibilities.

Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter, battles her own demons of abandonment. She wrestles with whether Lila’s brand of maternal love provided her with the tools to balance a fulfilling career and a meaningful home life.

Grace is further haunted by Zelda’s story, recognizing how Lila’s sense of abandonment by her mother might explain her approach to parenting. When Grace publishes a semi-autobiographical novel, “The Lost Daughter“, she inadvertently opens a Pandora’s box, inviting speculation into her family’s most protected secret.

Lila and Grace are richly developed, complex characters. The novel delves into a variety of familial relationships while examining the impact of education, wealth, religion, and even regional differences across the U.S. And many of the secondary characters – Joe’s mother Frances, Aunt Hilda, Lila’s brother Polo, and Ruth’s mother and grandmother to name a few – warrant their own analysis.

This novel combines the hallmarks of a multi-generational saga without feeling overly heavy. And whether read in solitude or discussed with others, Like Mother, Like Mother is thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining.

This review as well as additional Book Club Discussion Questions, are available on my blog - Lit&Leisure.com.

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Lila is just a toddler when her father has her mother committed to an asylum, never seeing her again Growing up with a cold, angry and abusive father, Lila works hard to rise up it, becoming in time the editor of one of the nations most prestigious newspapers. She marries and has a daughter, Grace, with her husband Joe. Joe has done the majority of the work raising Grace until he decides he has had enough. Grace grows up always being under the shadow of her mother and wishing she could be more like other people's mothers. Grace becomes a respected reported and writhes a book based on her mother. This leads to tension between the women and Grace decides she needs to look into her family's past and what made the women the way they are. Strong female characters, good pacing and an intriguing storyline make this a riveting read.

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Like Mother, Like Mother was my last book in 2024 and I give it 4.5 stars out of 5. It was an immersive read for me to the extent that at one point I had to remind myself that this was fiction and not biography. Granted there is a fictionalized US president named and I was not confused by that but at one point in the story it just seemed real. I enjoyed the structure told in three parts with the focus on three different characters but also appreciated that the author did not make us run through every single year/incident for each character. The reasons it’s not quite a perfect 5 for me are that stories with ultra wealthy families feel a little contrived and make for some convenient plot points and the ending felt a tad anticlimactic, partly because I didn’t want the story telling to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House | The Dial Press for a copy to read and review. This book came out October 29, 2024. If you’re reading this review when I post it (December 30, 2024) I noticed this book is only $5.99 for Kindle or the B&N eBook.

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I'm so glad I read this novel before the end of the year. It turns out to be one of my favourite reads of 2024. The story, set in Detroit and the DC area, follows the family drama of three strong-willed women, each portrayed with brilliant character depth by author Susan Rieger. There is newspaper editor Lila Pereira and her three daughters, focusing on the youngest, Grace, who feels abandoned by a mother whose ambition always takes priority over her family, and Zelda, the mother Lila never knew. While Lila is content to let the past remain a mystery, Grace longs to uncover the truth about her Grandmother. Did Zelda really die in a fire in a mental institution, or was it a rouse to escape an abusive marriage? Would a mother really desert her own children for her personal safety, leaving them with the ramifications of a violent home? Despite these tough questions, 'Like Mother, Like Mother' is a very enjoyable, light read that poses significant questions about mothering and 'fathering,' how generational trauma impacts the relationships between mothers and daughters, the stories we inherit and pass down without our knowledge, and the sacrifices women make as mothers to survive their own truths and build a life where they can flourish from the secrets of the past. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I loved this book. I knew I would love it from the first 10 pages, the way it depicted a death in a lighthearted, non-tragic manner. I loved following the two main characters, Lily and Grace, as they navigated similar circumstances and still judged each other's choices. And then the final act (no spoilers here!) is everything you hope it will be, without the sappiness that you might expect. A wonderful book.

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I loved this story about 3 generations of women. Zelda, Lila and Grace are each a product of the environment in which they are raised. The character development in this story is amazing and I absolutely love how the story tied together and ended. Highly recommend for anyone who loves a family saga!!!

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The old saying that you will grow up to be just like your mother is put to the test in this story about mothers and daughters. There are three women - grandmother, mother and daughter. Each has their own story to tell and truth to reveal and the way the author peels back the history leads to an interesting and intriguing read.
Lila's mother is committed to an asylum when she is just a child which leaves her without a loving mother to guide and love her. She knows very little about her mother but is told that she was very ill and died while in the asylum. Mother is forgotten and Lila moves forward to become a very successful editor with a loving husband and children she barely has time for. She lives for her success and as her young daughter, Grace grows up she yearns for a mom like all the other kids have. Grace and Lila are never close and as the years go by Grace develops a strong resentment towards her famous mother. She eventually decides to write a tell all book about life with her mother - a not so flattering tale. But how can you write a story about someone you don't really know or understand? The shift in the novel to discovering the past helps both Grace and Lila reanalyze their relationship and really get to know each other and in turn get to know Lila's mother.
I enjoyed this book even with the unlikeable characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

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Like Mother, Like Mother, is the kind of book you really dig into-- there are quite a few characters, & they're complex-- you know, like real people. The mothers in the story are deeply flawed, but not unlikable, and the children they create have their own layers. I can't say that I couldn't put this book down, but I never wanted to abandon the characters, either. There wasn't a lot of big drama, but the quiet dramas kept me interested to see how it would end.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!

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Ultimately found myself not gripped by these characters. Made it just to 60% and wasn't connected. Writing was well done, cover was excellent - but the story is just not for me.

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Thank you Netgalley for an arc of Like Mother, Like Mother. I have never heard of this author before, but by the synopsis of the book I wanted to check it out. I'm so happy I chose to read this. Not only was the cover beautiful, the story was very moving and I really enjoyed it. I rated it 4 Stars.

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Huge thank you to @prhaudio for advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review. This amazing audiobook would be the perfect book club book. It is exactly the kind of book that requires discussion!
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Three generations of women are now haunted by their past. Lila overcomes a difficult childhood and rose to fame as the editor of the Washington Globe. She didn’t have a relationship with her mother, who she was told died in a mental asylum. When she becomes a mother herself she does the best she can but how much is enough? Even though Lila is present, her youngest daughter Grace feels abandoned. Lila’s job is her top priority and Grace feels resentful. this is a fascinating portrait of complicated women and nothing is as it seems. I was totally sucked into this one.

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A messy multigenerational family drama? And one that centers on the newspaper industry? Sign me up! I loved this book about newspaper editor Lila Periera and her daughters growing up in the DC area. The mystery of the novel is about Lila's mother, Zelda - did she really die in a fire at a mental institution or was that all a ruse for her to run off? Lila's youngest daughter, Grace, tries to unravel the mystery and i was hooked from the very beginning

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