We Were Mothers: A Novel

As it concluded, I was hoping there was something yet to unfold. To surprise me. I felt all the plots were ones that should have come out sooner, perhaps no investigation into the death ever occurred..? Unlikely.

This was a fast read and entertaining. I would have given it a 5 if it wasn't for the plot line with one of the characters "Laurel". It was hard to believe a woman could be so weak to put up with her abusive husband, altho it's probably true. When this charactor finally took a stand , it was a bit too late for me. That part of the book was disturbing.

How many characters can you keep track of? This book will put you to the test. Let me help you: there's Cora and Sam O'Connell with their twins George & Lucy, Cora's mother Sarah Ramsey, Cora's father and step-mother Clark & Abby Ramsey, Jade & Jeremy Moore, Laurel & Dash Madsen with their girls Mira and Anna, the Finch family, Isabella and Terrence Washington, and Cora's dead sister Maggie who ties them all together.

Think Desperate Housewives, but instead of living on Wisteria Lane, four of the families (the O'Connells, the Moores, the Finchs & the Madsens) live in the Ravendale neighborhood. They all have secrets that others never would guess. Told from 4 points of view ( Jade, Laurel, Sarah and Cora), Katie Sise paints all of the characters with a bold and talented brush which makes them come alive in this book about marriage, friendship, the secrets we keep and the lies we tell.

There's nothing new here, but that doesn't make it less entertaining to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little A for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This story was crazy good. I was hooked once Mira’s disappearance set off a chain of events. I liked reading about how these perfectly upstanding men had dark secrets. Also, I thought it was really nice that even after Maggie’s death, Jade was another daughter to Sarah. It was interesting to read about each individual’s struggle especially when it was mirrored by their “perfect” outside lives. I enjoyed that in the epilogue they all moved on and were adjusting to their new lives.

This book hooked me from the very beginning. What seemed like a retelling of juicy gossip (and who doesn’t love juicy gossip), turned into so much more, and I couldn’t put it down. If you’ve read and enjoyed Big Little Lies, you will love this book as well.

I started this book before I went to bed. By the time I turned out my light I was nearly halfway through. It is a well told tale of what goes on behind the doors of the people next door, across the street, and all around the town. It's a town very much like mine, and makes me wonder if every household around me has its dark secrets as they do in this book. The emotions and dialog ring very much true. I highly recommend Katie Sise's book!

I haven't been reading since awhile, but decided to finally. This was my first book I decided to pick up and read and boy am I glad I did. This book is a great read! It kept me on my heels each time, and every new discovery was a shocker, like I felt the same impact the characters did. Definitely recommend this, great story!

I’m a male Clark’s age. I struggled through the first half of the book wondering “what am I reading “ but then the author made it worth while a real page turner that I couldn’t put down. I think she has the knack for more.

I read it in one day! I could not put it down. Even though the book was mostly about Cora and her family I felt a strong pull to Laurel for finally standing up for herself! There are too many men in this world who feel they can treat women poorly just because they are women.

A nice 4star book. One of those books that you had to keep turning the pages to unfold more and more information. Was easy to get sucked into the lives of these four women and reading from each of their points of view! Overall enjoyed this read, and Side's way of writing.

This book displays the struggles and strengths in the relationships between mothers, their children and their spouses in an amazing way. Loved how it unraveled and couldn't put this book down. If you liked Big Little Lies, you'll love this book.

Easy to get caught up in this suspense driven story about all kinds of relationships. The author really develops the characters fully so that by the end, you are emotionally connected to all of them, good or bad. Can't wait until your next adult book, Katie!

I'm not a big suspense novel reader. I couldn't stop reading this one. It had twists and turns that were unexpected. I liked that there wasn't a lot of violence, blood and gore in it, at least not until the end.

I had some trouble starting the book keeping all the characters straight but now I feel like I know them better than some of my friends! Definite page turner with twists that will make you gasp and hold your breath.

I love a book I can't figure out! This story was filled with realistic, sympathetic characters. Too many coincidences..maybe not. A group of friends whose lives were so tangled together was bound to include some secrets.

Looking forward to the author's next adult-audience novel.

I really liked this book. It wasn't trying too hard to keep your attention and did anyway. Nice combination of home town family and secrets behind closed doors. At times, the writing was a bit vivid for me but overall I loved it. Will look for more by this author.

Cora and her husband host a birthday party for their two year old twins, and things go downhill quickly afterwards. Cora discovers a journal of her neighbor’s daughter that reveals a secret. Soon after, the neighbor’s daughter goes missing.

As one weekend’s events unravel, the lives of multiple families are changed. The story opens with a birthday party for toddlers, where Cora has invited family and friends to celebrate her young children. The guests include Cora’s mother Sarah, her friend Jade, and her neighbor Laurel. Each of these women has something going on in her life that they haven’t been able to discuss with anyone else.

Central to the story is Cora, a married mom of toddler twins. She lost her sister, Maggie, in a tragic accident years earlier, and still has trouble dealing with that loss. The loss of Maggie also greatly affected her mother, Sarah, and friend, Jade. The current emotions and actions of these women can be traced back to the night they lost a loved one.

This book uses multiple points of view from Cora, Sarah, Jade, and Laurel to tell the story. This book is part women’s fiction and part suspense. Some of the issues the women are dealing with are very real, as is the feeling of having no one to talk to about those issues. One of the things I liked about this book was the women’s desire to protect their children, and how most of their actions are related to the fact that they are mothers. We Were Mothers is a fitting title for the book.

The suspense part of the story comes from Laurel’s missing daughter. There are, of course, other events going on, but it seems one missing college student starts the unraveling process.

Some of the topics throughout the book deal with motherhood, domestic abuse, and adultery. A good read for fans of family drama and suspense. This book does have a bit of a slow start, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but it was still a good, light read.

This was my pick for the store’s First Reads in September 2018.

Sise wastes no time in building suspense. At first, I had a hard time keeping track of all the different characters, but none were superfluous. The plot is drawn carefully and thoughtfully, many layers deep. All in all, this was a fun read, and I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep, especially once I got to the second half.

Y’all—— this should be a movie. I haven’t picked up a book in a while and let me tell you. This was one I could not put down. Oh emmmm geee the suspense. You love to hate all characters at some point and find yourself dying to turn the page! (Or swipe)

This book would be a total guilty pleasure, except for the fact that it's actually well-written and substantive! It reads like a cross between Page Six and a mystery novel--a quick and easy read that I couldn't put down--but it actually addresses some important topics and left me thinking. Highly recommend.

I was glued to this book! My only child is a freshman this year in college so I laughed and cried while reading about Mira and Anna.. truly young adults in this World attempting to figure out where they belong. I saw myself in Laura.. Sarah and Jade. We are Mothers definitely was worth every word.. every sentence and page. I found myself laughing out loud.. gasping and furious all at the same time. You will definitely enjoy this book!

Loved the book! The emotions were so well written, and complex. Reading a book from the perspective of so many caracters took a lkttle time u til i kept them straight, but once i got into the story, it was a page turner.

This was a great book. Seemingly normal people, with not so normal lives. I loved the unexpected twists and turns. After reading this book, i went to look for other books by this author. I hope she writes more mysteries in the future!

Liked the topic and the characters, liked the idea that having material things isn't always the answer to your dreams,. Also liked that the characters showed that the truth is important and when we hear the truth it isn't always easy to accept or come to terms with!

It all starts off with a birthday party for Cora and Sam O'Connell's twins. The adults are mingling while secrets sit between them. Secrets that are about to come out and no one will ever be the same.

This was my the store First Reads pick for the month of September. It did start out slow and I almost decided to bag it completely. There was a lot of confusion as I tried to sort out who everyone was. The story is told from multiple view points so you really need to be aware who is who. As it went on though, I finally started to get into it. The story is fairly well written and the plot is interesting. However, I'm not sure if it's just because it's not my preferred genre or if these people were just truly terrible, but I found the characters to be immensely unlikable. I can honestly say I detested each and every one of them. Even those who I think were supposed to come off as victims were hard to like. I couldn't find a redeeming character in the entire story. It still held my interest and it was a quick and easy read but a bit too soap opera for my tastes.

(3.5+ a little to push the rounding up to a 4)This book is different from most thriller type books. For a bit there isn't really much "thriller" about it but you do start to realize that, for one thing, you don't want to live in this town because these people harbor some mighty secrets!
The writing in this book is terrific. The story is being told over a very short period of time and by multiple POVs. Each time a different persons perspective is used it shows what time it is occurring. If I mangled that up, you'll catch on if you read the book. I just word funny. Anyway, there are a group of women that are the main characters that the story revolves around. They all have things that aren't as perfect as they try to have others see them as. The men in their lives may also be harboring some secrets as well. Some quite damaging perhaps from either party? It's a fun book to get into and one that you really shouldn't know very much about when you decide to pick it up. Everything builds on other things and the accumulation of these things meet up at the end. I enjoyed this book for the most part (sometimes I did find myself drifting out of the story just a bit) and will read more from the author in the future.

This book was so open to characters and the public and private lives of people, and the contrast between the two. I try to write my reviews to give enough for people to want to read it, without giving away the entire story. The main undercurrent of the story is the death of the daughter, sister and dearest friend of the main characters. It also goes into the neighbors lives and few as well as what goes on behind closed doors. This book was an incredible read and not shy about exposing stories way too true in our country today. Well worth reading, he ready for some unexpected revelations, but also the depth and resilience of human friendship and love.

I'm not a big suspense novel reader. I couldn't stop reading this one. It had twists and turns that were unexpected. I liked that there wasn't a lot of violence, blood and gore in it, at least not until the end.

I am starting this review off with my overall rating. 5 stars. This book was jaw dropping with its twists and turns. Just when you thought the book was going in one direction it did a complete 180 and left you reeling in what was happening. I reached out to the author on Facebook just raving about this book and stating what I just did. I want to share with you her reply; “I’m so glad you liked it ? that’s what made it so fun to write – I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next ? this book really was so much fun to do!”

You can absolutely tell that Sise wrote this book and did not force anything. Some books you can tell the author penned the novel with the twist in mind. You can clearly tell that Sise let her creative juices flow with this novel. If you can predict what happens next then you are a psychic and I would like to know what lottery numbers to play this week.

We Were Mothers is an intricate story which houses the story of two families that live across the street from each other. The main family (and their best friend) is dealing with the loss of a daughter/sister in a drunk driving accident in which she was the driver. It was the night of the living daughter’s engagement party. This family is carrying a lot of baggage with this loss and this development within the characters with respect to this is absolutely amazing.

Now we have the family across the street that has been married since college and have two grown daughters. The husband is a successful doctor in town and the mother dropped out of medical school when she became pregnant and has been a stay at home. What deep, hidden, and dark secrets this family has.

The eldest daughter from across the street disappears and all I will say is that you will think that this book is about, but, it’s a far cry from it. We go on a journey through each character and when you think you understand what is happening, Sise takes the wheel and jerks you around (in a good way). I was left with my mouth wide open for the last quarter of this book. I am still in shock!

So again, this master mind of a twisty, turny novel has earned a 5 star badge of honor from me. This was just one of the best books I have read in a long time and makes any book I recently rated 5 stars seem like a 3 star novel now. If you read this PLEASE let me know and comment here, I am DYING to talk about this book with someone!

Four women share their individual stories about motherhood and the effects is has on their marriage and children. Men, women, and children take on different roles in a family. This story follows four families with distinct differences.
We Were Mothers follows the lives of four families. From each family one person is the spokesperson stating the dynamics of their family to the reader. One woman in particular faces life without her twin sister while another faces life without her best friend and another faces life without her daughter. While two men hold the cards to the faith of these individuals. As the lives of these families unfold the backstory about the missing female is woven into the lives of these families coming into contact with each and everyone in a unique way.

My curiosity is high in uncovering the secrets, yet sorting through all the nonsensical details is tiresome. I hate having to skim a story, yet it’s the only way to filter through all the intricate unnecessary details of each character.

The concept is phenomenal. However, the delivery needs some work in which minute details could be eliminated to clean up the context by allowing smoother transitions from one family to the other. Bridging the connection of this missing female has many details that could be skimmed down to help clarify the circumstances leading up to this unfortunate situation.

This story has a Desperate Wives vibe to it. Located in a town known as Ravendale these families live in close proximity to each other.
I liked the conclusion and resolution for these families, yet I wish the delivery had been more interesting. At some points it was information overload.

Extremely well-written book with compelling characters and an intriguing story. Story is told from perspective of different characters and that adds dimension to the overall storyline. I would highly recommend to readers of contemporary fiction.

We Were Mothers is a MUST read. I read it in less than a day because I was so quickly welcomed into a world of unexpected twists and complex characters. Every time I thought I had a grasp on where it was going it took me somewhere else. The writing is fabulous and the chapters are rich. READ THIS BOOK!! You won't regret it.

There are not many books that capture me from the first few pages. I read this one in about three days and would have been even faster if I didn't have to be a mom and go to work. Very fast paced, lots of twists I didn't see coming.