This was a sweet book about two strong women whose life intersected when a pregnant Saskia came to Verity’s home with a declaration that her husband was Saskia’s father. And the story moved parallel with both women adjusting to a new reality especially when there was an impending new birth.

My first book by author Minna Howard, the writing moved swiftly with lives unfolding. There were few moments of stress which added to the overall spiciness of the prose. Both the women were strong with hardly any input from the actual father. It was actually Verity who held the book together.

The story meandered intermittently where the emotions were sedate and portrayed with a stiff upper lip. Resolutions were found and life joined back together for Saskia and her newborn. Overall, a good read.

A great read about how a secret threatens to undo one family's future. Verity's life is forever changed when a pregnant young woman shows up at her door and claims to be her husbands daughter. Nathan had no idea he has a daughter, and the daughter has only recently been told who her father is. Verity takes Saskia under her wing as the family determines a new future.

What would you do if you opened your door one day and found a pregnant young woman claiming that your husband of many years is her father? Verity invites her in. Saskia has had a very bad time of it lately but her mother, as she lay dying, finally revealed that Nathan was Saskia's father. There's a whole drama in just this scenario but add in issues from Verity's marriage (Nathan's in the US working as the book opens) and her job and you've got a page turner of a story. Howard's a good storyteller and she's taken a familiar plot line and made it something different. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Interesting, but also easy to skim story about Verity, a mother who has just sent her two sons off to college, and opens her door to find her husband's pregnant daughter from a previous relationship. I would give this 3.5 stars, just for the skimmable nature of the story. I liked the concept, and wanted to see how it ends, but really didn't feel overly in-depth with the characters. Really didn't like the mother-in-law either. Still though, would recommend, and it was a quick and easy read.

This is predominantly the story of Verity, who has just seen her boys off to university and her husband abroad to manage difficult business affairs. When her doorbell rings and changes her life from an empty nest to perplexity.
Saskia has just lost her mum, and feels lost and alone.
The main storyline is good, the characters are good, and do hold your interest to the end. I did however find that the dialogue, the text editing errors, and mising detail in places (meals and descriptions were lacking) became annoying and spoilt my enjoyment of a potentially great book. I did enjoy this book but also felt flat and underwhelmed. The ending was meh! Hence 3 stars....I am hoping many of the errors- Marcus or Marius??? Will be corrected before publication?

I found this book somewhat lacking depth. It seemed to go off at all sorts of tangents with all manner of dramas and problems many of which were solved in just a few sentences. The story and characters were a little wooden and apart from Verity, who seem to hold it all together, a little one dimensional. There was a point where everything seemed to descend into farce with several different people arriving at Verity's door but quickly dispensed with. A reasonably quick read but for me it didn't really work.

Well what can I say about this book..... basically the drama starts from the very first few pages when Saskia finds out from her dying mother who her father is so when she unfortunately passes away, Saskia sets out on her quest to find her father and his family. I wish I could go into the specifics of Saskia’s journey but what I can say is that it’s definitely turbulent with so many twists and turns! She is also pregnant so she has some challenges regarding that.

Once she meets her father’s family it’s Verity who steps up to take on Saskia (until she finally comes face to face with her father) I honestly don’t know what I would do in Saskia or Verity’s individual circumstances but Verity is brave and so lovely to Saskia. With what Saskia faces she is so strong. Verity also faces some of her very own challenges at the college she works at for children who would otherwise struggle, I completely commend her for doing that job 😊

This is my first read by Minna however it definitely won’t be the last. ‘A Mother’s Secret’ takes you on a wonderful journey of discovering secrets, meeting new people and dealing with some very difficult feelings and circumstances. I really wish I could say more but please go and read it for yourself, you won’t be disappointed. I give ‘A Mother’s Secret’ 4*/5* 😊

Thank you to Aria Fiction for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A rare domestic thriller that kept my attention. It turned into a binge read. Interesting characters but better storyline overall.

Have read something similar before. Love how one moment lives are happy and something or someone from a previous life can just wreck it

I loved everything about this book. I really enjoyed it. The ending caught me by surprise, but it really caused me to wonder and think of the possibilities. Great characters, an interesting and believeable story that is very relatable.
Thank you to #ARIA #partner for my copy.

A Mother’s Secret by author Minna Howard is a decent domestic thriller that I would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to write this review as I wanted to focus on the positives while providing constructive criticism. Firstly, I really liked the premise of an older, well-established couple that became embroiled in the drama of sorting out their new family dynamic as a secret lovechild is thrust upon them.

As told, it was difficult to connect with Verity, Nathan, or Saskia. Due to a heavy-handed narrative, characterizations were one-dimensional and lacked depth. Throughout the story, key character traits and plot points were repeated multiple times: Nathan's stressful job; Nathan's emotional withdrawal; Verity's problem student; Saskia's living arrangements; Saskia's heartbreak over Darren; etc.

One-by-one, all of the conflicts were easily resolved within a few sentences. Verity spent the entire novel worrying about Nathan's feelings toward her. All it took was a two-sentence apology by Nathan and once again, all was well with the couple. Mark, the father of Verity's problem student, was threatening her. The entire situation was laid to rest within the span of a few paragraphs. A man declaring to be Saskia's father showed up on Verity's doorstep. After a single conversation, that problem also vanished. Saskia and Nathan's bonding took placed in the background as well as Verity and Saskia's relationship. Finally, the ambiguous ending between Ivor and Saskia was confusing.

Dialog was very sparse, formal, and unnatural with much of the story being told through the narrative. Although I finished the book, I was disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria, and Minna Howard for an ARC of 'A Mother's Secret' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

I was drawn in from first bagels .Ahappy family everything looks perfect but there is a secret from long ago that could ruin everything.Very well written characters that come alive a page turner.#ariaboks#netgalley

I enjoyed this book. It flowed well and is a good take or difficult relationships and the load that women seem to just be expected to take on and manage.

Enjoyable story with good characters