Mom Com by Adriana Mather

4.5* 

 

Despite the ill-chosen title, this is NOT a romantic comedy. There is no humor to be found in this painful second-chance romance. In fact, reading about the teenage friends-to-lovers relationship between Maddi and Wilder and the lengths his mother went to separate them is incredibly triggering and anxiety-inducing for anyone who has had a toxic relationship with a parent. It’s a tribute to author Mather’s skill that she is able to elicit such a reaction from readers.

 

Set in a small town in MA at Christmastime, the misnamed Mom Com opens with Maddi and her 9-year-old son Spence traveling cross country after she humiliated herself on TV upon losing a baking competition and then was summoned by her estranged mother to discuss an issue with her late father’s will. In a surprising twist one year after his death, she learns that he actually left his bakery to her and Wilder with no explanation and with stipulations that will require her to run it with him for a year or lose her share. Given how devastated she was by Wilder’s rejection of her at age 17, she feels betrayed by her father’s decision. How can she possibly give up Spence’s and her life in LA (one she struggled to build on her own as a teenage single mother) to live with her cold, judgmental mother and work side-by-side with a man who she can’t trust but is still drawn to? 

 

Over the course of two weeks, poor Maddi not only has to deal with the grief over her dad and the stress of being with her mother and Wilder, but she also has to face the judgment of the town’s citizens, the unwelcome attention and jealousy of her sperm donor Jake, and the viciousness of Wilder’s mother and on-again, off-again girlfriend. The bright spots are her precocious son Spence and her renewed friendship with Wilder’s older sister Liv, both of whom provide much-needed levity to this oft-times heavy narrative.

 

This is a worthwhile read, but don’t let the extremely poorly-illustrated, off-putting cover and title fool you into thinking that this is a fluffy holiday offering. It’s not tragic, but this clean, slow burn romance isn’t the least bit lighthearted. 

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Blackstone Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Road Leads Back by Marci Bolden

3*

Almost 30 years ago, dorky Harry Canton left artsy Kara Martinson after one night of fumbling sex. Twenty-seven years later, he shows up at her art show and discovers he has both a son and a young granddaughter with Down’s Syndrome. Bolden, in the first book of her Stonehill Series, has written an emotionally-wrenching story of betrayal, forgiveness, and a love that can’t be denied. Kara, after a lifetime of running from commitment and the fear of abandonment, has to find the strength to face the past and forgive not just her parents, but herself so that she can embrace the future. It is impossible to read Bolden’s depiction of the incredible damage that parents can do when they put their own selfish needs ahead of their children’s without wanting to crawl into the pages and throttle them. Regrettably, this second-chance romance relies on too many plot devices that stretch plausibility. Kara never outgrows her penchant for running away, Harry pushes too hard and fast for a commitment, son Phil instantly embraces a relationship with Harry and freely criticizes Kara for his nomadic upbringing, and Harry’s mother and Kara’s father refuse to take full responsibility for their cruelty towards their children. As a result, the book is frustrating and somewhat underwhelming. Not the best of the genre, but it will find its audience.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Pink Sand Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.