The Accidental Mother

by Rowan Coleman

Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella, this is a funny, warm-hearted novel from the author of The Memory Book, which was featured in the Richard & Judy book club 2014. "I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ...I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist". (Marian Keyes). Sophie Mills has worked her Manolo Blahniks off to reach the near-top of her profession. And she's very happy with her priorities in life - her job, her neurotic cat Artemis and her passion for shoes. After all, relationships only get in the way. And as for children? She hasn't even begun to think about them yet. Until one day an unexpected visitor brings news of a strange inheritance and Sophie is suddenly, out of the blue, in sole charge of two children under the age of six. But motherhood can't be all that hard, can it? Within twenty-four hours, her make-up is smeared all over the bathroom, Artemis has taken up residence on top of her wardrobe, and Sophie is in despair. And all her unconventional mother can suggest is Dr Roberts' Complete Dog Training and Care Manual.
Determined to rise to the challenge, Sophie soon realises that she'll need more than a business plan to cope with all this...

• ISBN10: 1416545883
• ISBN13: 9781416545880
• Publish Date: 4 September 2007 (first published 24 November 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

I first read The Accidental Mother a few months ago but I managed to find The Accidental Family, which is the sequel, a few days ago and so decided to read The Accidental Mother again. I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time around.

The story is a unique one, a woman, Sophie, who made a pact with her best friend, Carrie, that if anything happened to her (Carrie) then Sophie would be the legal guardian of Carrie’s 2 children. Having made that promise when she was a bit drunk she forgot all about it until the unexpected happened and she found herself with two kids under 6 to look after.

It was a great read and I just had to read one more chapter. The whole cast of characters were brilliant but the story belonged to Bella and Izzy, the two children. Sophie and Louis were important and a huge part of the story, as with all the minor characters, Cal, Jake, Sophie’s mum, Carrie’s mum and Tess the social worker but it was all about the children. They carried the story along and made it what it was.

I enjoyed how Sophie got to know the children and how her maternal instincts kicked in eventually. I loved that even though she came around the idea of having kids and really didn’t want them to go with their father, Louis, she helped Bella like her father again. Louis was well-written – started out the villain but once you heard his side of the story it all became clear just what went on in his and Carrie’s marriage.

Izzy and Bella were hilarious. I’ve got no idea how three-year-olds (Izzy) and six-year-olds (Bella) really act but I thought Rowan wrote the children really well. Izzy was hilarious and how I would expect a three-year-old to be. Bella was a different story, she was far more mature than six.

I liked Sophie’s mother, her advice was to give Sophie a dog training manual. Cal, Lisa and all at Sophie’s work were great particularly Cal with his fake language skills.

Overall it was a well-written story that I really enjoyed. Who knew a chick-lit book could involve death and still be amusing but also sad, too? I also enjoyed the romantic element between Louis and Sophie and cannot wait to read The Accidental Family. A brilliant read and I can add Rowan Coleman to my growing list of favourite authors.

Rating: 5/5