SHE GAVE YOU LIFE. WHAT IF SHE WANTS IT BACK?

The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family.

But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes – because the same day, she learns she’s going to be a mother too.

#MothersDay @AbigailBurdess @headlinepg @Wildfirebks #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour

Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna’s living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else’s? Now she will have to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for a real family – her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.

My Review

Get to the top of the list! This was totally bonkers and I loved it! It’s not even trying to be anything else (I hope I haven’t got that wrong). I’ve read a couple of reviews that said it rapidly spins out of control until it becomes utterly batshit crazy (latter are my words not theirs). I think that’s the whole point of the dark humour. To me it was perfect.

I read it in one sitting while I was off sick and my husband was at work, but I’d probably have taken the day off to finish it if I wasn’t (only joking work peeps).

Anna is so desperate to have a relationship with her ghastly mother Marlene, who left her in an orange handbag (yes a HAAANDBAAG – we get it) on a roundabout, that she is easily drawn into the madness that is Ma’s family. Ma wasn’t hard to find in the end and their ‘reunion’ just happens to coincide with Anna’s discovery that she’s pregnant.

Dermot is Anna’s boyfriend. Six foot five inches tall, Irish and scruffy, he’s a talented musician. Unfortunately he’s also an alcoholic. And I found him a bit dim (or maybe just too drunk to realise what’s going on). When Anna is in trouble he doesn’t rush to her aid. I wanted to scream at him. But he’s happy. Ma is stinking rich and some of it might just rub off.

Neil is Dermot’s fellow band musician. He is far too handsome for his own good and he has a bit of a thing for Anna. She knows it but doesn’t acknowledge the fact.

Marlene initially is all welcoming and generous with her fortune, but does she have her own agenda? Of course she does and Anna’s baby is central to it. But how accepting can Anna be about her mother’s plans for her?

Some readers may find some of the book quite shocking – her friend Layla’s cussing, graphic descriptions of rape and torture in war zones, intimate close ups of personal body parts (no pictures thank goodness), blood, gore and flying placentas – but don’t be put off. Keep an open mind – at times my mind was so open I thought my brain would flip out of the window.

It’s undoubtedly bizarre but it is officially now my favourite book of the year.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

Abigail Burdess has written for and acted in various comedy shows for the television, radio and stage. She also sometimes writes TV for kids, as well as plays and musicals. She lives in London with her husband, Robert Webb and their two children. Mother’s Day is her first novel. For book updates, follow Abigail online: @AbigailBurdess