This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

This is a great book. The settings are lovely. The story is compelling. The characters are well developed and relatable. It is quite an emotional read

The book is about single mother with 2 adopted kids who complicates her life trying to please everyone around. For me the transformation from the woman who never wanted kids to the person who sacrifices her life to all people around and never thinking what's good for her, is unbelievable.

Carmel Harrington never disappoints!

This story is all about motherhood, in the midst of pain and tragedy. But it's also about mending relationships, hopeful futures and blended, messy families.

A. Great read

This is a beautiful, heartfelt story of family, loss and love. The settings of Ireland and New Zealand were dreamy. The characters were (mostly) loveable, and the children were adorable. I really enjoyed how the story unravelled and there was just enough tension to keep you guessing and hoping.

I laughed, gasped, and cried.

This was an enjoyable read, not too taxing, but sad at times. I actually hated Sheila, she made me dislike the book at times, and I thought there was no way that Rachel would have put up with it, I thought she was a bit OTT. But on the whole I enjoyed the story. Carmel Harrington always writes from the heart, human interest stories that really hit home. This.was another good one!!

Such a beautiful story, that I was soon engrossed in to the point of forgetting there was a real world out there. Carmel Harrington has once again written a brilliant book, of incredibly real characters, and with some big topics being discussed within its pages.

This time it involves a custody battle for two of the most loved children everywhere. Unfortunately in Olivia and Dylan's short lives they have lost their birth mum Niamh and their father Lorcan. But Lorcan in those intervening years since Niamh passed away, did meet the love of his life Rachel and they were married and she is the children's mum.

Well except that Niamh's parent's can't accept that and are determined to bring it all to a head.

It's a beautifully written, sensitive look at just what rights grandparents and step parents have, if the children's birth parents have both passed away, made more tricky by the fact that Rachel is clearly a wonderful mother to these children.

The characters are all portrayed in such a way that I could easily see myself hopping on a plane to Dublin to see them for myself. I could picture everything very clearly and really grew to love believe it or not all of the characters. Some are flawed but the all felt incredibly realistic and although emotional at times, I was left with a really heartwarming feeling from the story.

Another triumph from an always incredibly talented author.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

What a fabulous book. Loved how the story unfolded and how the different characters reacted. This was a really interesting insight into blended families. Would highly recommend

I just finished this book last night.A lovely easy read about a mothers love.For anyone interested in blended families this is a great story.

Carmel is becoming one of my favourite authors! I have read one previous book and really enjoyed it but this book surpasses the first .
She is one of the queens of family dramas !
This book is mainly set in Ireland, with a brief part of the book being set in New Zealand as the main character Rachel is from New Zealand. This book is all about family relationships with a glut of grandparents!
A fantastic read which is highly recommended. It is beautifully written , an emotional rollercoaster of a book !
Loved it !
Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Uk and Carmel for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Rachel found the love of her life in Lorcan. Along with his two children Dylan and Olivia she was blissfully happy. They made the best family unit and did everything together.
Or so she thought. When the worst happens and she loses Logan, she also loses a part of herself but for the sake of their two kids she must go on.

The only issue it seems is that Olivia and Dylan aren’t biologically hers. Having lost their mother a few years previous to breast cancer and then their dad. Rachel may only legally be their step-mum but both Dylan and Olivia view her as their mother.

Rachel wants nothing more than to run back in to the arms of her family in New Zealand.
However Rachel has the children’s both sets of grandparents in living in Ireland to consider.

Olivia and Dylan’s maternal grandparents in fact live only a couple of doors down from them. This to Rachel is somewhat claustrophobic, living in the house that Lorcan and Niamh bought together for their happy ever after.

An incredible story from start to finish. Set between Malahide, Dublin and Hawkes Bay, New Zealand and told from multiple perspectives.

I particularly disliked Sheila, the children’s maternal grandmother. She was very harsh and cold towards Rachel. It was almost as if she didn’t think Rachel had their best interests at heart. I do understand it was probably a form of grief for her own daughter.

I loved the scene setting in New Zealand and also in Dublin. The Yellow Walls road only being down the road from where I’m living it was lovely to relate to the area.

I found this to be a poignant story with a lot of tragedy but also an uplifting tale of survival.

My first of Carmel Harrington books and certainly won’t be my last. I’m ready to head in to the autumn/winter and #curlupwithcarnel

Never read a book set in New Zealand before and i really enjoyed it. I loved the descriptions of the places in New Zealand and could easily place myself there. Beautiful and descriptive, i enjoyed the contrast between Dublin and NZ. Would happily read other books by this author.

A Mother's Heart is a novel that deals with some difficult issues, including step-parenting, adoption, conflict and forgiveness. Beautifully written by Carmel Harrington, in a very understanding and empathetic way.
I particularly liked the way the characters were three dimensional, not all bad, nor all good, but real and changing.
It was maybe easy to read, but not always an easy subject. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book for review.

This was a really heartbreaking story with a heartwarming end.
I had guessed all of the "twists" well in advance but when they were revealed I still felt emotional for them all.
The children had been through so much in their young lives and Rachel too.
What this beautifully showed was that blood is not what makes a family, love does.
This is a beautiful read for those who love a family drama.

Carmel Harrington has made me cry in the past, and so I went into this book expecting to cry, and I did. I went through a whole rollercoaster of emotions reading this book. In this story we follow a mother a woman and her step children, though I don't like describing them as that and will refer to them as her children for the rest of this review. Our main character is a strong woman who only wants the best for her children and is willing to sacrifice anything for their happiness and what's best for them. These children have relative in Ireland, and our main characters family are in New Zealand.

This is a story about how mothers always have their children at the heart of everything they do. It is also a story of how blood isn't always thicker than water. Most importantly it's a story of how you should never make judgements without knowing the full story. As I have already said, expect a need for tissues when reading this. As always Carmel Harrington has given us a page turning emotional rollercoaster of a read which you won't want to miss. The various locations and settings in this book are also beautifully described. I felt like I was there throughout it all at all these places. I don't have children and have no plans to have any, and this book was still a fantastic read for me, so don't let that put you off from reading either.

I feel like I say this about every book that Carmel Harrington writes but A Mother’s Heart truly is her best book yet. It’s a stunning read from start to finish packed full of family drama, raw emotions and difficult choices but all presented in a very balanced way that leaves the reader guessing the outcome until the very last moment and even at that there was a surprising twist or two that worked so well with the overall themes and development of the book. Set between New Zealand and Ireland the reader is taken on a journey that will leave a deep and lasting impact. I inhaled the story in one go and really didn’t feel like leaving the memorable characters behind once I read the final word. Quite simply, Carmel has written a book that is thought provoking and gets deep under your skin as the broken fragments of a family need to be put back together following the tragedy that ripped their lives into pieces. The book questions what is family and as Carmel herself says family is family, whether it’s the one you start out with or the one you gain along the way.

Rachel is back in her home place of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, the descriptions of which were absolutely breathtaking. She is revaluating her life following the death of her husband Lorcan two years ago in a car accident. The love Rachel felt for Lorcan is felt in her every word and action throughout the book but she would give anything to have him back by her side. Things were easier then and navigating parenthood is even more difficult when you are now a single mother to her step children Olivia and Dylan as they lost their mother Niamh at a very young age. It’s a complex situation but Rachel will always stand by the children and do what she feels is best for them and that is the crux of the story. Should she stay in Hawke’s Bay where her family are and where she feels supported, especially when a stunning property has come up for sale? Or should she return from holidays to Dublin to where the children are settled and have their grandparents living in the same country? Rachel comes back to Dublin with a lot on her mind and a challenging time ahead. If Rachel hadn’t had the children to think about I feel her decision would have been a no brainer but if she chose to stay the guilt that the children would be missing out on their home place would be so intense not to mention it’s where she feels connected to Lorcan and she is not ready and willing to give up that connection just yet if ever. ‘Was she giving them their best childhood in Dublin? Or were they threading water, not getting anywhere, because they were all drowning in sad memories?’

I really felt for Rachel. She was only attempting to strengthen the family unit in a more permanent and solid way but it backfires spectacularly on her and stirs up a hornets nest in a big way. She was still drowning in her grief but doing her best to move forward for the sake of the children. Her every thought and action had Olivia and Dylan at its centre and she provides them with a home filled with love. She came across as kind, patient, caring, loving and fun but deep down the reader can tell that she is grappling with a wide range of emotions not helped by the actions of her in laws. Her family are always on her side in the battle that ensues and to be honest I don’t know how she held her patience as much as she did the further the book progressed and Sheila and Adrian (Niamh’s parents) and Belinda and Oscar (Lorcan’s parents) start to air their views and opinions as to what would be best for the children’s long term future.

Rachel’s position as stepmother starts to be questioned and here is where the story really took off and Rachel doesn’t know whether her ‘outlaws’ were friend or foe? What ulterior motives do they have? Will the children be taken away from her even though Lorcan had wanted them to stay with her? Rachel has been involved long term and is a committed and competent parent and why should these be even challenged or called into doubt? You wonder this yourself but thanks to the brilliant writing throughout this book your opinion on what the permeant outcome should be sways back and forth endlessly. Nothing is clear cut and that’s what I really loved about the book. Such thought and effort went into every word written in order to present the most balanced viewpoint possible. So that every characters thoughts were taken into consideration and not at any stage did things become very one sided and that was that. One firm opinion is never forced upon the reader which would have made the plot and characters very one dimensional. Part Two of the book delves deep into the main issue of the book and the scenes set in an office between Rachel and Sheila were so powerful and brilliantly executed as they went back and forth between each other. I found myself welling up at this point.

Sheila is a tricky character, she doesn’t particularly like Rachel and is filled with resentment that her grandchildren are in the care of someone else when her daughter should still be alive to look after her own children. When Rachel sets the wheels in motion with a momentous decision Sheila’s hackles are raised and the tiger in her comes out in a big way. She became such a control freak and was so petty in her actions and words. She wanted to undermine Rachel at every turn and tried to curry favour with the children at every given opportunity. I didn’t particularly like her as a character but the further I moved into the book the more I could see where she was coming from. But no doubt about it Sheila played a very dirty game and she wasn’t backing down in a hurry. Would she get the outcome she wanted? As for Belinda she feels guilty that her relationship with Lorcan was virtually none existent thanks to her dislike of Niamh and she never got the chance to make things up with him. Is now the time that a connection can be forged with her grandchildren or has she left things too late? Will Rachel do the right thing and find the contentment she so desperately craves or will she continue to make self-sacrifices?

A Mother’s Heart starts slow and steady and then finds its rhythm and establishes itself and then just builds and builds to a fantastic finale. It’s a riveting family saga that brings you on an emotionally rollercoaster that you are reluctant to get off because you have become so invested in the themes and the characters. It’s packed full of incredible highs, devastating lows, love, loss, heartbreak and tumultuous times but at the centre of it all is family and motherhood and doing what is best for those we love deeply at all times. If I could give it more than five stars than I would because it deserves every accolade and words of praise that is heaped upon it. It’s a marvellous book which shows Carmel Harrington is at the top of her game and long may this continue.

Absolutely brilliant book. A heartwarming tale of blended families and the issues faced. Set in two locations that you could almost picture when you were reading. A great ending as well

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This is the first book I have read by this author and the start ('sitting at the comforting kitchen table' - how can a kitchen table be comforting?) made me think it was not going to be well-written and would be full of schmaltz. How wrong I was! The subject matter was contemporary and the storyline was full of strong emotion. I do not intend to deliver any spoilers but each character is described so well that it is possible to understand their actions even if you don't sympathise with them; at times I felt furious with the behaviour of selfish Sheila! Each character and the story is completely realistic and believable, and whilst I had guessed the outcome of one of the final twists I had not anticipated Rachel's reaction.
This is very good contemporary women's fiction and I have signed up to follow this author after reading this book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. After reading and enjoying a previous book of Carmel Harrington’s I was excited to see what this one would be like.

Well what can I say except wow! This story was so unique in it’s premise and so emotional that I flew through the audio. We start the story in New Zealand where Rachel is visiting her family with her two step children. During this visit Rachel starts to fantasise what it might be like to uproot from Ireland and move her and the children back to her hometown in New Zealand.

When Rachel returns to Ireland she quickly realises that moving may not be the best option and decides to stay put, despite feeling that she lacks the emotional support from her dead husband’s family and in laws. Things quickly escalate and soon Rachel finds herself in a custody battle with her step children’s grandparents!

My first reaction when listening to this story was those poor children. Not only did they lose their mum at a young age but they then lost their dad too. I can’t begin to imagine how they must of felt but their relationship with Rachel was beautiful. You could feel the love and trust they felt for each other and both children felt safe with Rachel which made the custody battle even more heart breaking.

On the other side I could also see Shelia’s point of view. She had lost her daughter and felt that Rachel was trying to take Niamh’s place. I could understand why she felt that she needed to fight for the children but some of the things she did really frustrated me.

Like I said at the start this is a unique case with plenty of characters involved. It asks the age old question of what classes you as a mother? It dives deep into complex family relationships and how grief effects us all differently. I found myself welling up on more than one occasion so make sure you grab the tissues!

Thanks @netgalley for arc
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book I have read one of Carmel’s previous novels and really enjoyed so expected to like this one too and it did not disappoint
It follows the life of Rachel and her two children Olivia and Dylan except they are her stepchildren and her husband is dead as is the children's birth mother. Making things a little complicated as Rachel’s family live in New Zealand and they go to visit them and the children get hold of the wrong end of the stick and tell their grandparents that Rachel is moving to New Zealand
This enrages the grandparents who immediately take legal action demanding shared custody just as Rachel has a party announcing that the adoption papers have come through for the children at last something that was started before her late husband died
This enrages the grandparents more what can Rachel do they live only a few doors apart and the atmosphere is decidedly frosty how is this going to improve??