A Song for My Mother

 Book 65 of my 2025 Reading Challenge

read on September 2

A Song for My Mother by Kat Martin

published 2011

Summary (via the book jacket)

Years after running away with her boyfriend in high school, Marly Hanson returns to Dreyerville at the request of her daughter, Katie, who has recently been treated for brain cancer. Katie has never met her grandmother Winnie. The homecoming is bittersweet, but reuniting is crucial if Marly and her mother are ever to rediscover the bond they once shared.

To complicate matters, living next door to Winnie is handsome sheriff and widower Reed Bennett, and his son, Ham. Ham and Katie become fast friends, while their parents find themselves attracted to one another. But Marly's time in Dreyerville is limited and risking her heart isn't something she's willing to do.

Can she risk loving the handsome sheriff and give up the future she worked so hard to forge for herself and her daughter? Can she make a life in Dreyerville after what happened all those years ago?

Will Marly finally realize that her true destiny and ultimate happiness lie in coming to terms with her past?

My Opinion

3 stars

You already know before reading the book what the answers to the questions in the summary are and that's ok.  I enjoy a palate cleansing "safe" book now and then and this small paperback novella fit the bill.  I appreciate that it's 150ish pages because the shorter timeline leads to less of the miscommunication tropes that have to happen to move the story along.

I picked it out from the library because of its small size and innocuous vibe as something to take on vacation...you know the jokes about packing extra underwear "just in case" you shit yourself every day?  That's me with books...I always pack way too many "just in case" and picking smaller, lighter books as extras is a way to compromise with myself.  Then when I didn't read it on vacation I took it with me to the doctor's office this morning; again, it's small and benign enough to not draw attention like I might have with the other book I'm currently reading that says "My Ex, The AntiChrist" in large red letters.  Between the time at the appointment and the time eating breakfast after, I was finished.

Even though it's pretty much as advertised and expected, I went with 3 stars because I think some pretty heavy topics were glossed over.  It's tricky to find a reason strong enough that the main character would stay away for twelve years but also something that could be resolved fairly quickly once she returns, and I don't think the final straw in this case that made her leave was that reason - either take it seriously and continue to stay away or at least address it before moving on, or brush it off twelve years ago like she did when she returned.