A MOTHER'S LAMENT by @NikkiRodwell #Poetry #TuesdayBookBlog #RBRT

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Poems about the trials and joys of motherhood.

I've never considered myself one who appreciates poetry, but lately I've found myself liking the type featured in this book - short pictures of an emotion, many of them free verse.  A Mother's Lament is a raw look at some of the realities of the state of motherhood, straight from the heart.  I've read a couple of Nikki Rodwell's poems on social media, and think she has a definite talent for encapsulating a situation and plumbing its joys and depths, in just a few words.  'The Swamp' so articulately describes the pain of deep family rifts, with the end verse telling the child that behind all the difficulty, the mother's love still remains. 'Peace', which comes next, is like a sequel to this.

Other favourites:  'Overboard', three short verses about the carrying of and giving birth to a child, alienation as the child grows ('Mid voyage your compass went awry' - love that), and an image of the mother treading water, 'hands clutching to driftwood' as she waits for the child's return.  I think this was my favourite of all of them.  'Broken Pieces' is in a similar vein.  I smiled at 'I love you but I don't like you' - I heard my own mother say similar about my sister and me on more than one occasion!

Then there is 'Brave' - a real gem; motherly advice about not following the crowd.  I also like 'Mirage' - sad and beautiful.  The collection ends with 'A Mother's Prayer for her Children' - but what is 'the golden rule'?!

Most of the verses are topped by a small, relevant graphic, which adds so much to them - these little pictures somehow give them all more meaning, and I think the cover is perfect.  It's a fine collection; Nikki Rodwell, you are a poet!

A KIND OF MAD COURAGE by Francine La Sala, Wendy Janes and others

5 out of 5 stars

Short Stories, Mothers and Daughters

Originally posted on Amazon HERE on 15 June 2014

Get this book!

Aside from the fact that it benefits a charity, and is terrific value - NINETEEN short stories, and they're all a very decent length - it's one of the best short story collections I've come across.

It starts off with a perfect choice for opening act - HIDE AND SEEK by Samantha Stroh Bailey is an interesting look at the mother-daughter relationship from two angles, as the mother discovers much about herself as a daughter, as well as a mum, when the three generations spend some leisure time together... (no spoilers here!)

Hide and Seek was one of my favourites ~ the other highlights for me were:

AUTUMN'S EYES by Regina Cash-Clark ~ the tale of a reluctant mother; I think this was my tie for first place!
THE SACRIFICE by Elke Feuer ~ a jolly tale about domestic violence.....
VERITY by Wendy Janes ~ my other joint favourite! So touching, really moving, I loved it.
LADY IN RED by k c wilder ~ just something about this one. Very atmospheric, and stayed with me for a while afterwards
BECKY'S MUM by Louise Wise ~ A first person tale from the point of view of a rebellious teenager, very clever because the reader can see immediately that what's really going on is, like, SO not how Becky tells it (addition of teen speak there for extra effect!)

They are all very good, though, with not one single weak one, and I think your favourites will depend on which aspects of the mother-daughter relationship interest you, and your own experiences, I imagine.

Well done, ladies, highly recommended!

MOTHER OF THE YEAR by Karen Ross

5 out of 5 stars

Chick Lit

Originally posted on Amazon HERE on 17 March 2014

Contrary to popular belief, there is more to writing a good chick lit novel than sticking in a few mentions of cupcakes and Jimmy Choos, and having a ditzy girl breaking her heel on the first date with the lush guy you just know she'll end up with - with Mother of the Year, Karen Ross shows how it's done!

It's INTELLIGENT chick lit - not predictable, and a storyline based around so much more than romantic disasters. The parts about heroine JJ's copywriting, and about Rob's business were interesting as well as being amusing. I came across none of the cliches of plot or dialogue so often found in this genre; it's all new, fresh, really 'now', and the popular culture references were all spot on rather than seeming self-conscious, as they so often can. The humour worked, too - wait for the Molotov cocktail....!!

I liked very much how Ms Ross showed the points of view of both JJ and her mother, Beth; Beth's outlook was unexpected, and gave more depth to the story. I'm finding it difficult to say more without giving spoilers, so I won't - I'll just finish by saying that if you're an avid chick lit fan you will LOVE this, and even if you're not you'll probably still like it as much as I did!