The Mother-Daughter Book Club ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Susan Patterson, James Patterson

Lovely cover, save me a seat!

G👀dreads About Summary

Secrets, spritzes, and second chances

“An entertaining book ... As friends talk books, hopes, dreams … and dishy revelations … it’s romantic love—both old and new … that drive[s] the story forward.” —Kirkus Review

Between their busy lives and their far-flung residences, the Mother-Daughter Book Club—four longtime college friends and their five daughters—more often discuss the books on their nightstands via 2 a.m. texts than in-person meetings. And maybe it’s just as well, after what happened at their last get-together ...

So it’s an emotional reunion when they finally gather again, this time on the spectacular shores of Italy’s Lake Como. Sightseeing excursions, reminiscing fueled by “Como-politans,” and a hint of vacation romance all build toward the book club’s trademark “Night of Secrets.”

These friends, and sometime rivals, are close readers—of novels, memoirs, and of each other. But as the years and the distance cast shadows and doubt, confidences and sympathies turn into surprising revelations.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Books About Books, Chick Lit, Italy

The How/Why: First was the title and all it implies. Second was Italy! I love Italy although I haven't been to Lake Como.
I'm not the biggest fan of James P however my sister is a huge fan. Google says the Conceptual Framework is Susan; The Structural Outline is James. Which basically means she wrote the story, he tweaked it. Equals name recognition on the cover.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Maybe 🤷 Not necessary but I enjoyed all the characters so I wouldn't mind a continuation as the daughters become mothers. 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕ If Susan wrote on her own. See reason below for deducting half star.

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Not really. Google says Car Accident, Infidelity, Alcohol Consumption. I personally don't consider those TWs, especially since the car accident details were not graphic and infidelity was barely discussed.

🌶 Spice? Google says PG-13. Mentions of romance and marital drama. Pfffft, that's not spice!

🌪 Plot Twist? Yes

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ I enjoyed this story about longtime friendships and secrets and eternal bonds with the message that things don't always turn out the way you think they will. Is it fluffy? Of course it's fluffy, I expected it to be, I expected there would be a HEA. However they also discuss some serious situations. 

There are a LOT of characters with four mothers and five daughters. The book starts off introducing each mother and daughter including who their favorite authors are. Cuz... book club, but TBH it felt a little name-dropping-ish. I was listening to the audiobook and not able to flip back to the pages so I made a little cheat sheet from the get go. I highly recommend, especially since it seems to be a common complaint "too many characters to keep straight". Here's a snippet: 

Mariella, Opera singer, extravagant hostess of the get-together at her Lake Como vacation home.
Her daughter is Zoey, a social media influencer living in Brooklyn.

Elin, a corporate lawyer in Chicago.
Her daughter is Brigid, neurologist.

Grace, a minister, never married, had her daughter (and a son) via IVF.
Her daughter is Merry (Meredith), social worker.  

Jamie, Fitness instructor. Unlike the the other three she didn't meet them in college, she met while working as a Nanny for Elin's daughter. 
Her twin daughters are Meg (aspiring writer) and Kathleen (law student) on the outs since their accident and the core of the mystery. 

You're welcome. 

Everything builds to the last night: The Night of Secrets. Oh Boy. Be cautious if you add this to your getaway plans with friends! 

I figured out the source of the post-accident trauma between the twins early on. However there is still a twisty twist at the end. 

Favorite Character: It was hard to pick a favorite character because I liked all the mother-daughter stars although I gravitated towards Mariella's diva persona. I'll pick Mariella's husband Mike. He was welcoming to her friends, fussed over them, served amazing sounding food for them, with a side of quirky. Kudos to him in that villa full of outspoken women. 

I deducted half star* for the sudden, highly unrealistic sci-fi turn of events. Not sure why the Patterson's chose to throw that in but definitely deducted from my overall feel good vibe. My personal opinion: I think that was the JP contribution to the novel. Taking fiction over the edge into pseudo/techno-science.  Why James, Why? 
*I was going to deduct a full star but I enjoyed the rest of the book and narration so much that I'm just chiseling off a little that made it not a five star for me. 

Bottom line, I would adopt any of their daughters to become a mother-member of TMDBC. 

🎧 Narrator: Full Cast ~ Ellen Archer (Elin), Elisabeth Rodgers (Grace), Barrie Kreinik (Mariella), Brittany Pressley (Brigid), Lauren Fortgang (?), Chloe Cannon (?), Stephanie Nemeth-Parker (Jamie), Jennifer Pickens (?). 

🎧7.35 hours 🕮 352 pages

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