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The Godmother
Unavailable
The Godmother
Unavailable
The Godmother
Ebook527 pages7 hours

The Godmother

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this ebook

Nothing scares Tessa King more than the thought she will never have children. It doesn't matter how good her life is, and it is, it never feels good enough. She has four godchildren and dozens of friends, yet love eludes her. She knows how good a mother she could be, if only she had the chance. And then one terrible day she does, and Tessa learns firsthand that life on the other side of that white picket fence is more complicated than she ever could have imagined.

Heartwarming, funny, and genuine, The Godmother speaks to anyone who has wondered about the next step and reminds us that happily-ever-after is just the beginning of the story.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateOct 13, 2009
ISBN9780061871504
Unavailable
The Godmother
Author

Carrie Adams

Carrie Adams is the author of The Godmother, which is being adapted for film. She lives in London with her husband and three children.

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Reviews for The Godmother

Rating: 3.5053191914893618 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

94 ratings13 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an interesting story about female friendship. Some would classify this as chick lit, but it tends to be a bit darker and less fluffy than most. As the author stated, this is a book about not knowing what lies around the corner. Life takes unscripted twists and turns. The characters are all very well written even if you don't like them all. I could picture this group of friends in my mind. This story takes a look into married life, all of its fears and doubts as well as what makes them tick.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fun to read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Of course I just realized that I have already read the sequel to this---but I may have to reread it! I do love how Carrie Adams writes and now that I know there really is more to the Tessa King story....I need to refresh my memories---I know I liked it, too!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Plenty of potential in this book, but you could almost feel the setup for TRAGEDY from the first page. The characterizations are uneven... it's almost as if Adams really wants to TELL US A STORY WITH A LESSON, but there's so much backstory to tell to make the story make any sense, that it's like she wrote the story, then went back and added STUFF to 'make it work' but it just doesn't. I felt let down, not because of the resolution, but because it felt so pre-fab. "I will write a book about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, and TRAGEDY will drive the point home." Blah.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I had to read this to complete the trilogy. The other two were Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” and Nicholas Coleridge’s “Godchildren”. Even if it was chick-lit I was quite happy to give it a go for the sake of literary completeness!Nothing wrong with chick-lit in my view, except that it tends to be a bit safe, and a bit predictable. There were stages in this book when I thought the rules were going to be broken, and a seismic shock dealt, but ultimately I felt it retreated into the literary safe zone. It was an enjoyable and entertaining read, though, telling the story of single thirty-something Tessa who has multiple godchildren but is running out of time to have children of her own. The sections where Tessa recounts the stuff she is able to get up to, having no ties, were like having a window opened on a whole other world. On the other hand, it was hard to get a hold on who she was, essentially – she can’t make up her own mind whether she enjoys her freedom or whether she would rather give it up to have a family. As a result she came across as a mish-mash of conflicting emotions, rather than a character I could picture. On the other hand, some of the male characters seemed to have two-dimensional personalities. Al and Ben were interchangeable (they even swopped surnames a couple of times in what I took to be a proofreading error) – just a couple of all-round good blokes. Neil had practically nothing to recommend him at all.As a story, it carried me along very happily on its tide of well paced events, and though I guessed the main plot “surprise”, I suspect it was intended, as the strongest of hints were dropped along the way. I will certainly remember it for what it taught me about ‘how the other half live’.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    From my blogThis is a really great friendship story. Tessa completely lived through her friends and godchildren at a level that was almost inappropriate only because she was clueless that she didn't have a hold of her own responsibilities. The great thing is that all of her friends knew her to a T and because she was such an amazing friend it balanced out everything else. I think this book will affect women that are moms and women that haven't decided if they want to be a mom. Some very real issues in this book and it makes you wonder how often people pretend, so much so that they forget what is reality or fantasy. And the saying always a bridesmaid never the bride, lol, well this book is always the godmother never the mother, sweet but scary thought when you meet Tessa. I loved that this book not only had female friendships, but males friendship and couples as friends also, you got a feel for the true circle of friends. I felt like I could be a part of this circle, that added to the enjoyment of it also. And the children, all adorable, even the teenager.This book was long though, it had so much in it but everything made sense it just was to long. It never lost my attention mind you but it does stand out to me that I thought it was to long. There is a sequel to this one and I love the characters, so defintiely will continue with this story.This was a fun, light but dark story, a serious spin to chick lit. If you enjoyed Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah you will enjoy this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I picked up this book not really knowing what to expect. What I got was a book that I could not put down. The main character Tessa is someone you fall in love with as are all the characters. I found myself laughing, crying, getting frustrated and in the end sad because I had reached the end and had to say goodbye to these wonderful people. Then discovered that Carrie Adams had another book out called The Stepmother and is kind of a sequel to this book. Highly recommend this book to everyone.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was recommended to me and, all-in-all, I liked it. Nothing too earth shattering, but it was an interesting take on the "grass is greener" concept. Tessa King, an attorney in London, starts the book by returning from a five week vacation in India. Due to a mental breakdown of her boss, being stalked and harassed, she needed to get away. She's back and ready to be a part of her rather large group of friends and godchildren.Caspar, Cora and twins, Bobby and Tommy -- her godchildren, are different ages of different parents and friends. Each set of friends is married; Tessa is the only single person. She's not sure what she wants to do or how to live but she wants to have children and a life. There is a LOT of angst, self-doubt, anger, bad feelings and drama in this book -- some self-generated, some thrust upon Tessa. One would think that once you get to a certain age, you would stop behaving badly. Not so in real life, not so in this book. At times I think Tessa is a good person who means well and tries very hard to be a good friend and godmother, but there are times when she is so self-consumed that she cannot see past what she wants. It's a good chick lit book, if you are wanting to read a chick lit book.The big bow at the end kind of bugged me, as it does with most chick lit, but that's the genre.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I have been given this book to read for book group. I don't like chick lit books but gave this ago because it was the book group choice. I was right, I still don't like chick lit. I don't like to give bad reviews about books becuase I feel the author has done something which I haven't and that is to write a book. In general I feel the female main characters are always pint drinking, chain smoking, bed hopping modern women with a dizzy lifestyle. Nah, life is too short to read this. In this case our heroine is a godmother to many children but not a mother, whether she becomes a mother I don't know I gave up after 100 pages. Saying all this me being anti chick lit I have read Sophie Kinsella which I thought were fun.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't usually read chick lit. I find the characters too self absorbed and hard to relate to (partying, rich friends, etc.). And in the beginning I expected a shallow story. But the characters developed into likeable (or like to hate) individuals. The friends changed as the grew older and faced different challenges. I couldn't put this book down. Definitely worth the read.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Total chick lit...I was fooled by the book jacket..thought it was going to be a "serious" book..not an over the top witty, self-deprecating british waste of time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It took me awhile to get into this book, but about 1/3 of the way through, it sucked me in! I really liked it, although the author's constant foreshadowing got irritating really quickly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Godmother is a bit different from the usual chick lit fare. It starts off typically, with Tessa King returning from a yoga retreat to her happy circle of friends in London. But all is not what it seems. Tessa has job troubles (indeed, she left her job), Billy is a struggling single mom with an oft-sick daughter and neglectful ex, Francesca has a pothead teenager, Helen is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a controlling man, and the love of Tessa's life (Ben) is married to Sasha. Claudia and Al have been trying to have a kid for years, but IVF is not working out for them.Thus the stage is set for all kinds of interesting conflict and the occasional heartbreaking event. Some of the book was a little graphic and disturbing for my taste. And also, Tessa is an ambiguous protagonist. Sometimes you think she's really helpful and giving and sometimes she comes across as a meddlesome pain in the neck. She was, however, smart and often entertaining.But it's apparent that the author put a lot of thought into the book, as the plot developments are unexpected, but not unearned. Most of the characters are fully developed, nuanced and compelling. I liked Tessa's friends enough, and usually Tessa herself, to plan on reading the sequel when it comes to the United States.