The plotline of this story is like any dual timeline historical fiction, which focuses on the secrets of the past and how it moulds the future. Two things differentiate this book from fitting that mould more appropriately. The first is that it is not a dual timeline story (I used that description because it gives off that ambience for some reason). The second is how the characters are described and how they fill out their roles and advance the story.
The story begins as a narrative being told from one person to another. Who either of these people is and what they are to each other form the bulk of the story. It has been a while since I actually read the book, and even as I think back and feel that the entire book felt very straightforward in what it wanted to offer, I remember the enjoyment I derived from the reading. The whole feeling is laced with sadness as there are some pretty heavy topics being discussed here, and not everyone has a happily ever after, but it was one that I engaged in quite enthusiastically and read the whole thing in very few sittings.
Our main protagonist begins at the beginning, with her own start at school as an ex-pat child, unsure of a lot of things except for her feelings towards her mother. This is further given form when she encounters a book that describes mothers in different ways, associating a type of mother to a colour. Now, I am a person who does not think there can be such clear cut boxes into which mothers might fit, but it works for the book. The author's skill lay in the way she convinced me of the impact this book had and how it formed the backbone that almost the entire story rested on. This is a rare occurrence, and just for that, I rated the book the way I did.
It is intense in parts, lighter in others and even serendipitous in some. It is, on the whole, a well-written work about women of varying personalities who harmoniously (or not) form a complete picture.
I think I liked it most for the narrative style as it was different from some of the other books that may hold a similar plotline.
I would recommend it to anyone who liked either my review or the synopsis and think it might appeal to them!
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Eva Martinez-Green is looking for answers - why doesn't she have any photographs from her early childhood? Why is her mother forever emotionally absent and why did her father leave them? Throughout her life, Eva has been searching for the elusive truth about her past, for the ideal mother, for a family to belong to. Her journey will take her to unexpected places, and the people who accompany her will leave their mark on her and her life. The author explores themes of motherhood, friendship, and roots, as well as women’s place in society. Her characters are flawed but believable, and the story will leave the reader emotional and hopeful at the same time.

I was not convinced by this book at first, but it got better as it went on.

Eva lives a privileged existence in London, the only child of wealthy, but distant parents. On joining a new school, she meets Bridget - lively, opinionated and the opposite of Eva in many ways - but they become firm friends. Bridget's family could not be more different to Eva's, with bohemian parents and several siblings. Bridget's mother is the opposite of Eva's - warm, funny and loving. She is one of the many mothers of the title. Then Bridget's mother dies, Eva's father leaves the family home and everything changes.

Eva is convinced that her mother is not her real mother, and that she was kidnapped as a young child by her parents. So begins her quest for her birth mother...

A delightful exploration of identity, relationships and what it means to be a friend, a daughter - and a mother. Well worth a read.

A beautifully written, emotional and powerful read exploring what it means to be a mother as well as a study of love, friendship and loss. Eva has suspected from an early age that her parents are keeping something from her about her birth and the book takes us on her journey to find the truth. As someone who was adopted I know how important the need to know about our roots is and the need for a sense of belonging and connection. All My Mothers conveys this insightfully and compassionately. A recommended read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

With thanks to #NetGalley for the advanced copy, and as always my faves at #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction, #TheBoroughPress

All My Mothers was a slow burn, but ended up being a title I really enjoyed reading.
It wasn't necessarily the most pronounced, groundbreaking or affecting novel of recent reading, but it developed a well-structured and consistent manner of storytelling which meant that the story flourished as the book went on.
Taking the experiences of Eva Martinez-Green, her worldly curiousities, and the entertaining, heart warming nature by which she presents herself, A rich vibrant and witty painting of decades of her life, All My Mothers begins and ends with wonderful musings about the cross sections of love we as humans experience, from childhood all the way through to adulthood.
The initial concept alone is interesting in its premise, considering the way, for daughters and females, the influences of the other women and females we surround ourselves with through our lives. All My Mothers really is an investigation of the women in our lives, (for better or worse), who become mother-figures. Suppressive, supportive, inspirational and offering in love in a multitude of ways, the book unfolds around the relationships Eva navigates as her life evolves.
The questions and emotional vacancies Eva is saddled with in the beginning help to create the subtle undertones of mystery about her origins, neatly setting up the narrative trajectory where readers are able to invest in her search for answers in the years which follow.
Characterisation in this book is simply a mastered art from Glen. We are constantly clear about the reasoning behind Eva's actions, we can empathise with her, relating to her want for understanding with ease because it is such a human plight. So again, without the profusion of the rather popular 'issue' driven contemporary novel presentation, this story is richly woven with tangible emotive discussion, description and action, meaning it has a shape of it's own that is becoming rarer in the literary fiction landscape.
The story that follows the initial exposition, when her parents’ relationship crumbles is the journey Eva begins to find where she belongs and answers about her life for herself. Thus the crux and beauty of the book is the way in which it spans a cross section of time and place to explore how the women Eva meets provide opportunities for her to change her ideas of what a mother is defined to be.
Gentle but powerful, All My Mothers presents to it's readers the chance to reconsider and think about the way love enters and leaves our lives. Some poignant moments which are very much accompanied by a joyfully warm narrative overall - this is a book so very much worth reading.

I got a little thrill when the publisher reached out to offer me All My Mothers, the newest work from Joanna Glen, as I was very impressed with ...Augusta Hope. Again we find ourselves exploring themes of family which on the surface may seem repetitive except that the author plumbs those depths so skillfully. I wasn't at all surprised to find such a detailed postscript revealing a real life love of Spain- that admiration is woven into the fabric of the book. Sometimes factoids are shoved into the mouths of characters in an unrealistic way which annoys me no end so I really appreciated how enjoyable it was to learn so many things in one sitting. All the awards for getting this one thing right, I was never bored and looked up several bits of particular interest.
A criticism is that I saw the path laid out before the ending was revealed- similar to the first novel I just felt things get a little predictable in the final act. Even knowing where the steps will lead I still very much enjoy what seems to be an uncanny ability to take the reader by the hand and go on a bittersweet journey.

MEET EVA MARTÍNEZ-GREEN, AN ONLY CHILD FULL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HER BEGINNINGS.

Eva Martinez is an only child full of questions about her beginnings. Between her emotionally absent mother and her physically absent father, there is nobody to answer them. Eva is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why are there no baby pictures of her? Why do her parents avoid all questions about her early years?

When her parents’ relationship crumbles, Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. Her desire to discover where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning decades and continents – and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever.

Beautifully written, emotional in places and a pure joy to read. I literally could not put it down. I will be recommending this book to my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK and the author for an ARC of this book.

I started crying at 25% and by 30 had to sit up and get the tissues out and have a good sob. I had a challenging relationship with my mother until I was middle aged and now we have a great one. Except now she has rapidly advancing dementia and I’m losing her again. No one understands this like Joanna Glen. In fact I’m not sure anyone understands the human condition as well as Joanna Glen. This is a beautiful novel beginning in an infant class of 5 year old girls listening to a story about mothers. If this book exists I will buy it for my future grandchildren and if it is another piece of Joanna Glen’s imagination then she needs to find an illustrator and make The Rainbow Rained Us a reality.
We follow Eva as in ever not as in evil throughout her life, slowly at first school year by school year then jumping ahead in larger intervals. I often long for detail in a novel that the author doesn’t give me. For a slow progression of the story that the author doesn’t give me. All My Mothers has this in spades. Eva and Bridget live a full childhood, not a few scene setting chapters at the beginning of a novel.
As Eva grows up and adds to her collection of mothers she begins to understand that Motherhood and mothers are messy, raw, chaotic, loving, kind, selfish, aloof and that all of that is ok. It is all part of being a human and in this novel where the female characters reign supreme it is all part of womanhood.
There have been so many good novels about women, for women and by women in the last few years but rarely do they speak so clearly about girlhood and how that leads to womanhood.
A total must read.

What is it about a book that makes the reader forget everything she is supposed to be doing, settle on the sofa and not get up until the book is finished? This book certainly has it whatever it is. Superb, fluid writing, check. Believable, wholly human characters, check. A fine sense of place with descriptions that make the settings so visible in the mind, check. A story that has the reader feeling every twist, emotion and relationship along with each of the characters, check. I really can’t fault this book and am so sad that I have finished reading it, but now I have of other things to do!

The story centres on Eva, a child of wealthy but troubled parents, and Eva begins to doubt that they are her real parents from a young age, especially when she becomes a part of her her best friend’s wonderfully vibrant and loving family. The narrative takes the reader through Evas search to find her roots as she matures and grows older, and it has all the elements of a human life - love, loss, joy, sorrow, beauty and ugliness, and the book is peopled with wonderful characters and settings. My book of the year so far.

Eva whose name rhymes with forever and the book she was read a book at school about mothers of different kinds, Eva is disappointed that she has a pink mother who is delicate and lies in bed a great deal. Her best friend Eva finds out has a blue mother, jolly and loving to Eva as well as Bridget.

This is at its heart a coming of age novel but one which is full of different kinds of women, mothers or not. It is about love and loss so beautifully constructed that the story flows from one episode to the next as Eva grows from a small child convinced her mother is not her 'real' mother to an adult where she has moments of great happiness, and sadness.

So rarely does a book move me as this one has. Highly recommended.

The life of Eva Martinez-Green, as explored in this novel, takes us from Eva’s first day at school through to her adult years. It is a beautifully written, lyrical tale which I completely lost myself in for the time it took me to read it. The characters of Eva, her childhood friend Bridget, and her Pink Mother are exquisitely drawn, as are the other players in Eva’s life story.
Her childhood loneliness and yearning for a proper family life is heartbreaking, as is her attachment to Bridget’s mother and her entire family. Her childhood search to make sense of her life, and to find some measure of affection missing from her own family, almost brought me to tears. Her sense of loss and longing as her story progresses is palpable.
The theme of love in its many guises is so movingly described; that of mother love; lifelong friendship; transient friendship; sibling love; romantic love; and love of places are encompassed in this beautiful story.
The author’s descriptions of Córdoba in Spain are so evocative, I almost felt I was there. And now I would dearly like to visit that place.
This is a difficult book to try to explain, it really has to be personally experienced. No review will really do it justice - so just read it for yourself.
My sincere thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.

Another powerful piece of writing from Joanna Glen, this really held me captivated from the start until the very last page. I loved her writing, her style, the language used and how fluid it is. This is about a voyage of self discovery, of questioning what we know and striving to find answers to questions. This questioning journey leads Eva on the mammoth journey of a lifetime where she meets people and leans things that will change her life forever. I loved this book and I still think about it. I highly recommend it!! 5 stars from me!!!

Eva Martinez Green seems to have everything a little girl could wish for. She lives in a big house in Chelsea with her mum and dad but when she starts school, she begins to realise that she has no memories before she was three and a half and that most of the other girls seem to have a warmer relationship with their mums than she has.

So, she sets our on a mission to find her true family (as this one must be fake!).

In the meantime, she forges connections with a whole other set of mothers. Her friend Bridget’s earth mother, her boyfriend's mother and the countless others she observes around her. .

It is only when Eva goes back to her roots in Spain everything falls into place and not in the way she expects.
This is a lovely read about love, family and coming of age.

I finished this book with a tear in my eye.
It follows Eva who longs for the perfect family, and finds it in her best friends family. It follows them over the years as their friendship changes over time. A rare gem of a find. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My favourite tropes in books are, in no particular order: 1) coming of age stories; 2) road trip/travel stories; and 3) family mystery stories. I was rather fortunate then to read All My Mothers by Joanna Glen which uses each of these tropes.

All My Mothers is the absolutely gorgeous story of Eva Martinez-Green. Eva does not feel right. Things feel off in her life and she cannot quite figure out why. When she compares her family to others she sees that there is a disconnect. This makes her desire for a "normal" family all the more intense.

Throughout All My Mothers we see Eva searching for her identity and in doing so she uncovers information about herself and her family that leads her down a path of self discovery. The book follows her from a small child to adulthood and we see her development physically and emotionally.

I adored this book. Joanna Glen is so good at painting a picture that you want to live in yourself and she had me hooked from the very first page.

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen is available now.

For more information regarding Joanna Glen (@JoannaGlenBooks) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Harper Collins (@HarperCollinsUK) please visit their Twitter page.

Beautifully tender, poignant and powerful.

Eva is an only child, introverted and lonely. Her parents, though wealthy, don't seem to have much time for her. When she starts school she doesn't feel like she fits in, especially with her brown skin, but is overjoyed to make a friend at last.

With these new points of comparison, Eva begins to feel the differences and shortcomings in her family more keenly, perceiving an absence of love and shared history compared to the other children, especially her new best friend Bridget. Eva adores Bridget and her family, realising her wonderful mother is exactly the mother Eva wished she had.

When photos of her childhood cannot be found, Eva becomes convinced that she is not with her birth mother and begins a quest to discover her history which she believes lies in Spain, finding many different mothers and many kinds of love along the way.

All my mothers
Where to begin with this beautiful and special novel?
Eva us the child of a loveless marriage - her mother is fragile and her Spanish father is largely absent. So Eva becomes part of the Blume (blue) family and adopts their mother as her own.
Through the novel, Eva searches for her mother and father, finding mothers who can satisfy her longing to be grounded and loved.
She also finds the truth about her own start in life.
The author - in Eva’s voice - writes real humour too. Christine Olson - her boyfriend’s mother - tries to mother Eva, and Eva’s response to this superficial woman is brutal and very funny.
The characters are beautifully observed and the writing exemplary.
This is a novel that will stay with me for a long time - thoroughly recommended.

Eva struggles with the mother she has and starts to question whether she really does belong to her. There are gaps in her childhood history and she want to know why. Why does she never feel she belongs? On her first day at school she makes a new best friend and is embraced into her family. Here starts her quest in discovering what a mother and family should be and finds that family isn’t always a blood connection.

All My Mothers is the story of one girl’s journey to find her birth mother, and her realisation that mothers – and family – can be discovered in the most unexpected of places. Eva Martinez-Green seemingly has everything a young woman could yearn for. Yet she has always felt like a part of her was missing and something she couldn't quite put her finger on was not quite right. We are first introduced to her as she attends her very first day at school. She's a bashful and quiet girl who inhabits a large house in Chelsea with her mother and father, but when she thinks about it, she wonders why she has no memories before the age of three and a half years old. She feels like an outsider even in her own home with her emotionally stilted mother who always holds back some of herself and never gives quite enough of her love and care to her young daughter. She spent most of her time in bed and is distant, cold and the mothering instinct certainly does not come naturally to her. She also isn't supportive of her daughter and when Eva meets her best friend, Bridget, she sees exactly how mothers usually behave in loving homes. She feels more loved and safe and at home at Bridget’s than she ever does in her own home.

She even receives hugs and kind, supportive words from Bridget’s mum, too. This makes Eva want to understand even more why her own mother is not motherly, so she sets out to discover the truth. She begins to believe that the Martinez-Green clan may not be her biological family, so she embarks upon a mission to either confirm her theory or disprove it and hopefully find a sense of belonging in the process. This is a captivating, heartbreaking and deeply emotional novel that asks the question: What would it be like to think that you’d ended up with the wrong mother? I loved this poignant, tear-jerker of a story: Eva's range of possible and impossible families, her risky attempts at friendship, her unexpected epiphanies, her passion for the ancient city of Córdoba — and the sometimes terrible, sometimes wonderful, always powerful, impact of love. Joanna Glen has returned with a tender and evocative examination of one woman’s journey of self-discovery. No one writes of the joy and heartache of life as thoughtfully and beautifully, and Eva’s story is entirely bewitching. Exploring yearning, grief and love in all its forms, it will leave you bereft but bedazzled. Highly recommended.

Throughout her life Eva has felt that there is something missing in her life. She feels the outsider even when people go out of their way to show her love. Her mother is distant, undemonstrative and spends most of her time in bed. She is neither a loving mother, nor a supportive mother – she is an absence. An absence that is hard for a small girl to understand. Her father is everything and she adores him. When school requires her to bring a photo of herself as a baby she discovers there are no photographs. As she grows she learns that there is nothing of her before the age of three and a half – another unexplained emptiness. An absence that is compounded when her father leaves and her mother is moved to hospital.

Eva gives and receives all her emotional support to her friend Bridget and they vow to be life-long friends. She is ‘adopted’ by Bridget’s family and forms a very strong bond with her mother.

And so it goes; we follow Eva as she forms relationships and seeks support from them but always aware of what is missing.

Reading this book was a little slow and I was a somewhat irritated that it was so much of an effort. However, slowly I became more and more intrigued by Eva and the surrounding characters. I marvelled at her resistance and fortitude and how bravely she confronted the future. I must admit I cried for her.

This is beautifully written, but somewhat anguished inasmuch as my heart felt her pain and confusion. After all, isn’t it the least we can expect, not only a mother, but an emotionally supportive person there for you no matter what?

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.