A beautiful story proving we never know as much about a mother as we think we do. Lots of lovely details about life on the barges and canals

First of all I'd like to thank Netgalley and Random House, UK for sharing an ARC of this book.in exchange for review.

This book was a lovely story of woman's personal search of herself as a part of a family and a human being. The story starts with her in Thailand where she's been for a year or so after fleeing fleeing her family and relationship when she felt she couldn't stay. She's contacted by her sister in England to say her mother is sick and she should come home. She left under what she felt were bad conditions so her return is uncomfortable at best. She doesn't make it home in time but it seems her mother has left her a boat and her sister some money. which is a shock since her mother seemed to have no family, having come from Norway when she was young.

The story unfolds slowly as Charlie takes on the boat and learns more about her mother on this journey of sorts. She faces the closeout of her previous relationship and makes new connections along the way and discovers more about her family. It's truly a story of growth for Charlie as she navigates her way through some of the mysteries she's discovered. This all takes place with a fairly gentle story and no major excitement along the way. Well there is a bit of adventure included and some of it is a bit scary but mostly in a good way.

I really like this story and hope to read more from this writer.
I give this a solid four stars and will publish this review on its publication date.

A lovely story of family relationships and their history this book has great characters that blend so well with the plot.5*

A gentle book delving into the complexities of family relationships and the difficulties in really knowing other people and their histories. I enjoyed the mystery element and it was interesting to find out about life on the canals. Without putting in any spoilers I found the ending of the book a little disappointing since I would have liked to have known more about the final search for answers.

This was a beautiful novel with a bewitching group of characters. The storyline flow was seamless. Highly recommended.

Another new author for me!
This book illustrates the fact that sometimes we never really know someone even if that someone is you mother! Charlie and Eleanor have a mum known as britta, but after her unexpected death, they discover that britta wasn’t who they thought she was and go on a voyage of discovery to find out the truth about their mother’s past! Lovely to hear about life on the canals and in the barges and the great travelling community amongst the boat people! A lovely easy read that delves into the complexities of human relationships and family dynamics!
Thank you net galley for this early read.