BOOKISH FRIDAY: “JUST LIKE MOTHER”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC that will be released on 5/17/22:  Just Like Mother, by Anne Heltzel.

Beginning: (Prologue)

Mother with the lazy eye spoons soup into our bowls.  “Eat up,” she says.  She smiles, and the eye rolls outward, landing on the crow on the windowsill before it rolls back in.  My cousin and I lift our spoons to our mouths and swallow.

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Friday 56:

“Thanks, sweetheart.  Maeve?  It’s only Rob with the towels,” she said, but the heat of the water was getting to me.  I was so tired.  Too tired to respond, or even to open my eyes. I made efforts to nod.  My head felt leaden.

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Synopsis:

The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance.

When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory.

The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come…

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Would you keep reading?

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