The Accidental Mother

by Rowan Coleman

[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