All the Mothers- Domenica Ruta @randomhouse This book is for anyone who has ever experienced a mother. Whether you have had(a good or bad) one or been one, there is something in this book that lends to women’s relationships and how complicated they can be. Also, if you have ever known a really jerky man haha. A complex read, one with a lot of depth.

3.5 Stars

This is a book about motherhood. We meet a single mom named Sandy, just trying her best while raising her daughter Rosie. She's having a hard time of it because Rosie's dad isn't always there and isn't very reliable. Then Sandy finds out that Rosie has a half-sibling, and Sandy becomes friends with the other mom, Stephanie. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Stephanie and Sandy. It proves that it doesn't have to be all War of the Roses, and doing what's best for the kids and not ourselves is the important thing.

The writing and storyline were engaging enough, and I always appreciate books that have female friendships at the heart. The interactions and decisions between the female leads were realistic. I liked how the women became a support for each other, and it often made me think of Hillary Clinton and her "It takes a village" initiative. The characters were well-developed, and I kept reading on as there was little plot, so this is definitely a character-driven story.

The idea of a book about different family dynamics was refreshing, and the execution was spot on. My only niggle is the pacing of the story was a little slow and it began to drag on. Overall, the book was entertaining, and I enjoyed the community aspect of it. And even though it isn't a perfect book, it was a heartwarming look at what challenges mothers (single or otherwise) face.

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for this ARC! When Sandy finds out she’s pregnant, Justin doesn’t really stick around and she finds herself a single parent. While on Facebook she finds another woman who has a child with Justin and decides to find Steph. When the two woman meet they hit it off and decide to move on and co parent. Not eithout bumps in the road they make it work! Come in Kaya, mother number 3 and the unconventional family once again grows. With love and healthy dose of go with the flow they make this work and become the support they need that they don’t get from baby daddy. Heartwarming and funny, cute story! 3.5⭐️’s

I really enjoyed this story - so all encompassing of motherhood and sisterhood and found family. I had trouble at times with pacing, but ultimately stayed firmly planted in the story and needed to know what happens next!

We follow 3 mothers, Sandy, Steph, and Kaya who are all navigating being single mothers, they all come different walks of life, different ages, but they all share the same deadbeat father to their children. As they all find out about each other, and realize Justin's true colours they band together and support each other in motherhood and in raising children to the best of their abilities.

I actually really really loved this one. This was such a beautiful exploration of motherhood, women supporting women, sisterhood, friendship, and navigating pursuing your dreams. I have almost nothing in common with any of the characters but i felt so connected to all of them. I was rooting for all of them from the start, and their flaws were very present but they were such loveable characters. The author did such a wonderful job with this one. I only wish that the final chunk of this book did not feel so jam packed and the pacing was more consistent.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

When Sandy gets pregnant unexpectedly by the wannabe rock star/window washer that she is dating, she is unsure what life will look like post-baby. But when Rosie is born, she becomes her entire world. Trying to co-parent with Justin is a challenge. He already has one foot out the door, and he is rarely there to pitch in, much less help out financially. Then one day his mom accidentally lets it slip that Justin has another daughter, Sandy goes on an internet binge trying to find everything she can on this other woman. Despite Justin and his mom warning her to keep away, Sandy and Steph meet and hit it off immediately. They have so much in common, besides the deadbeat dad that their kids share. Now Sandy needs to figure out what her and Rosie’s family looks like with all these new additions. Could life in a “mommune” be the answer to her prayers, or just a new brand of chaos?

This book was so good. It highlighted how a chosen family can be just as important and close, if not more so, than a biological one. It also showed that families come in all shapes and sizes, and there is no right or wrong way to form a family. Families should be allowed to be as they are and people should be allowed to be who they choose to be - not forced to fit in the mold of girl or boy, just because that was the gender they were born into. This could be a very good book club book, because it has the potential for a lot of discussion in it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think you will too.

*Thank You PRH Audio For The Gifted Audiobook

**Thank You Penguin Random House For The Ebook

"This is not the life I dreamed of when I was a little girl."

“It’s totally safe for you and your partner to be intimate again.”
“Are you f$cking kidding me? My vagina literally ripped open.”
“You’re all healed now. The stitches have dissolved.”
“My memory of them hasn’t.”

“I’m taking the day off from self-criticism."

“Life’s not fair,” she says to the children, “but even when it’s not fair, we always have choices. And we can choose to be kind,” she says. “No matter what,” Sandy adds.

Reading and listening to the often funny, sometimes heartbreaking All The Mothers, by fiercely compassionate author Domenica Ruta, it's clear it's assumed that society shouldn't worry about its children; they have their mothers. No need to think about feeding, clothing and educating them. Or be concerned about a mother's mental and physical health. She's a Mom. She's resilient; she will always find a way. The thing is... it's true.

After Sandy gives birth to Rosie, Justin decides he will be a visiting co parent. He doesn't visit very often. How lucky he has a choice!

It all changes for a struggling Sandy when she meets the other mothers he has left alone to raise his kids. In a refreshing turn of events they decide that Justin is the problem not each other.

Voice actress Patricia Santomasso performances were phenomenal with distinct tones, accents and emotional states.

The Moms were too forgiving of Justin; but this is a story of a chosen family, and not a psychological thriller. Though, with a few twists...

It's also about harsh realities versus all the mothers' love. Love wins!

AI received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair & honest review. Opinions are my own.

Sandy Walsh unexpectedly becomes pregnant by a wannabe rock star from a dating app. In her mid-30s, she never expected to navigate parenthood alone. After all, the father, Justin, isn't very helpful and has a weird, codependent relationship with his own mother. But when Sandy finds out Justin has a child with a previous girlfriend, Sandy spends countless hours cyber-stalking Stephanie. They decide to meet; after all, their children are siblings. Sandy and Steph get on like a house on fire and end up being each others' salvation. And they're not the only women Justin may have had children with. It may not be what Sandy thought her family would look like, but life in a "mommune" is pretty sweet.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this digital e-arc.*

This is a terrific, heartwarming tale of the family we make. Sandy is in her early 30s and working as an editor at one of the last print food magazines when she finds herself pregnant by Justin, a musician. Her little daughter Rosie is wonderful but she's swamped as a single mom in Manhattan without financial support from Justin and only odd assistance from his mother Tara. And then she finds Steph, who was 18 when she gave birth to Justin's daughter Ashley. They form a tight union and then...Kaya. Kaya is pregnant with Justin's third child and raising her daughter Kayla. These three moms move in together, support one another, and well, no spoilers. This has wonderful scenes (Sandy's baby shower, Steph's Christmas Eve dinner, Ashley/Ash, Kaya in general) that will make you laugh and others that will make you want to give all of them a hug. Justin is just a slug and while Tara seems dreadful, there's more to her than it first appears. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this for the women and their love for one another.

When Sandy, a single mom, discovers the father of her child has yet again impregnated another woman she decides to befriend Steph, the other mother. The book shows the power of being a single women but too much of the book Sandy was just way too docile. It made me so mad that she let herself be walked on and I just couldn't get past all the woman who kept being with Justin.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is an unexpected, humorous, heartfelt novel about three woman who share the same “baby daddy” and become friends. Women supporting women!!! I loved this. Instead of the typical love story—this one was a love story about friends. Though there were some relationships mixed in. I really liked the non traditional family life because that’s real life now. Never a dull moment. Well written. Fast paced.

4 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Domenica Ruta and Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heartfelt and funny, this contemporary fiction novel effectively reimagines the traditional family unit. Sandy is a thirtysomething woman who is still trying to figure things out when she gets unexpectedly pregnant; after many frustrating interactions with the father, a man she was casually dating, Sandy eventually finds out he has a child with another woman. The mothers meet, and through trial and error, they end up building their own little family of moms and kids. This found family dynamic was the loveliest part of the book, seeing how the mothers co-parented half-siblings without much need for the deadbeat dad, as they leaned on each other and the love of the community they fostered. The flow of the writing was easy and fun, and reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld in its breezy insightfulness. I enjoyed spending time with this book, and while I’m not a mother myself, I felt the chaotic representation of raising young children was done very well, especially when navigating the journey of one kid’s gender identity. An immersive and thought-provoking read!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This feels like two different books, with two different characters. Before motherhood and during motherhood—which is actually how motherhood feels. Losing parts of yourself that you no longer feel obligated to hold onto and then becoming unapologetically the truest form of yourself-through survival and through lack of patience for people’s BS. This was so well written and genuine. A wonderful and honest read.

What an absolute unexpected gem of a book!! I literally devoured this book yesterday and have such high praise for both the concept and execution.

This was engaging, heartfelt and very well done. Two women figure out they have children with the same (deadbeat) father. They form a powerful, unlikely bond. Only to find out there is another woman having a child with him. They bring this woman into their life and learn that leaning on each other is the key to success. It is about the strength of women, the power and grit of mothers, and the different types of love between women. I loved this friend group and their kids, and was rooting for them the whole time.

Definitely encourage everyone to give this a try!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows Sandy Walsh, a thirty-something New Yorker navigating the aftermath of a painful breakup and the recent loss of her mother. An unexpected pregnancy with Justin, a charming yet unreliable musician, propels Sandy into single motherhood, a situation she did not yet expect herself to be in. As she embraces life with her daughter Rosie, Sandy discovers through social media that Justin has another child, Ashley, with his ex, Stephanie.

Anticipating animosity, Sandy is surprised to find a kindred spirit in Stephanie. Together, they forge a unique bond, choosing to cohabitate and co-parent their children in a supportive, non-traditional family structure they dub the "mommune".

This would be challenging I would think for most mothers but it was nice to see two women support each other and come together for the sake of their children. The author explores all the challenges of single mothers and the friendships between women. Women are traditional judged more harshly by society than men and being a single mom brings a host of challenges on its own. I really liked how the author portrayed the women with humor and compassion. It's an ode to found families and how having support and a shoulder to cry on is sometimes all you need to make it through life's challenges.

This was an unexpectedly layered and heartwarming read about three very different women, Sandy, Steph, and Kaya, who have one thing in common: the same deadbeat baby daddy. What starts as social media stalking turns into an unconventional but deeply moving tale of found family, resilience, and co-parenting in the most modern sense.

The story balances humor, emotional depth, and social commentary as these single moms, each navigating discrimination, chaos, and their own baggage, decide to team up and mother together. I especially appreciated how the author sensitively portrayed a nonbinary child and a queer relationship without making them feel like token plot devices.

While the pacing felt uneven at times and a few plot threads seemed unnecessary, I genuinely enjoyed the premise and the evolving friendship between the women. Their decision to put the kids, and each other, first felt both touching and empowering.

A quick and engaging read, this one’s perfect for fans of literary fiction who appreciate complex characters, contemporary family dynamics, and the messy beauty of unexpected connections.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️While a bit slow at first, the story eventually picked up and I enjoyed this often hilarious and touching story about women who make the best of the insanity of their lives raising children as single mothers. I really liked the unconventional take on what it means to be a family.

This book was a compelling story about motherhood and found family. In this story we have Sandy, Steph, and Kaya, 3 beautiful and unique women who all have one thing in common, they all fell for the same deadbeat guy. The book starts with Sandy in the throes of new motherhood, single exhausted, alone, and broke. In the fog of new motherhood she finds out that Justin fathered a child before and accidentally likes a photo while Facebook stalking this other woman. What follows is a beautiful journey of motherhood and connection. I loved the raw honest take on single motherhood, the look into the difficulties of the postpartum period, and the exploration of non binary characters and queer relationships. The main characters grew so much and had such beautiful journeys in this book; and the static and awful side characters really highlighted that. This was an interesting and beautiful story. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

This book was such a raw, honest examination of motherhood, and single motherhood in particular.

The author's writing style drew me in right from the start, and I found myself getting so angry on behalf of these women. Each of them had a baby with Justin, who never stepped up to help very much and treated them and their children like they were unimportant and trivial to his life. Yet they had all fallen for him and his charms. As they one by one meet each other and become a part of each other's lives, the story moves into a beautiful, messy story of found family.

The struggles that these women went through as they fought for themselves and their daughters was absolutely heart-wrenching. And the hits kept coming for them. Every time it seemed like they might be catching a break, another set-back arrived. But they had grit and tenacity, and most of all they had each other.

I loved how the author crafted this story, both beautiful and heartbreaking, and how she dove deep into what it means to be a mother and to be a family. Three women, who deeply love each other and their children, filling in the gaps for each other where their own families and the father of their children don't.

This story was powerful, and managed to pull so many emotions from me. I read it so quickly because I just needed to know that this family they created from one small thread of connection would be able to withstand everything life threw at them.

I recommend this one to anyone looking for a profound story of deep love, commitment and motherhood.