A Mother's Confession: A heartbreaking story with a breathtaking twist

How do you move on when the person you’ve built your whole life around is no longer living. That’s what these two women, Olivia and Ivy, struggle with throughout the whole book. Ironically, they have built their lives around the same man–David. But they’ve built their lives around him in two different ways. The story is told from two different perspectives, one a mother and one a wife. One can see absolutely no faults in David and one gets to see the ugly side of him way too frequently.One thing this book made me realize was that there’s a very, very thin line between jealousy and protectiveness, but also protectiveness and possessiveness. Abuse and manipulation is not an overnight thing, but a gradual change in behavior that leaves you wondering how exactly did I get here and why have I let it get this far. This book was definitely an eye opener for me.It’s ironic that Ivy’s situation and choices as a teenager are very similar to the situation Olivia faces after college and yet Ivy doesn’t really sympathize with Olivia. Even though Ivy knows that she settled for a life with her husband (and son) and refers to her life as a prison. How could she want that for another woman in the same predicament. Even though she really doesn’t because she’s never been supportive of David and Olivia’s relationship and is constantly praying for their downfall. Once Ivy realized that Olivia was a permanent fixture in David’s life, she made it very well known that she was on her son’s side no matter what.Ivy isn’t exactly an enabler but I think she knows deep down what her son is capable of and she writes it off and makes excuses for him. Ivy and Wyatt, David’s parents, learn the hardest lesson imaginable–turning a blind eye can prove to be fatal.The Tradegy, as it is referred to by Olivia, is mentioned pretty much on the first page and you’re left wondering exactly what happened and through the 317 pages of the book, very slowly bits and pieces of the events that took place that day are revealed.The big reveal of The Tragedy was not even remotely close to what I was expecting. I would have never guessed that. It’s so much worse than I could’ve ever imagined. I was seriously blind-sided by the reveal, but it just added to the depth of the story.I don’t know the words to express how incredibly brave Olivia is to rebuild her life and take back everything that was taken away from her. It’s amazing to watch her transformation throughout the book. She definitely proves just how strong of a woman she truly is, regardless of what her past looks like. Olivia sets out a plan to get her life on track and she accomplishes it rather quickly, with a few setbacks.But when Olivia finally gets that puppy she’s always wanted that is the true representation of just how far she has come. That scene seriously made my heart melt and the biggest grin came across my face. That puppy represents so much and it was the happiest moment of the book (almost).Ellen is seriously a godsend, in more ways that I can explain. She plays a pretty significant role in helping Olivia find her way again, even though it doesn’t seem like it.The bomb dropped at the end is heartbreaking and goes hand in hand with The Tragedy. It took me a minute to really process what had occurred. The pink teddy bear is all I can tell you about The Tragedy. Please, please preorder and read this book. The light it sheds on so many aspects is truly amazing.Thank the book Gods above and mostly Kelly Rimmer for that Epilogue it was everything I needed and more! It provided the exact amount of closure that I needed. My goodness this was an amazing book that I almost can’t form words!Kelly Rimmer is officially a must read author of mine and if she’s not one of yours… Well she should be!

** Mild Spoilers** First time reader of Kelly Rimmer. There is no way around it- this novel is painful and eye opening. The thought of a human being suffering so much abuse at the hands of another human being is mind-boggling. A Mother's Confession is told through the eyes of Olivia and her mother-in-law Ivy. We are taken inside the painful life of Olivia as she gives detailed accounts of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband David. The story can become confusing at times because the novel slips from Olivia’s story directly into Ivy’s (make sure you read the name at the beginning of each chapter). In addition, I could not understand why Olivia put up with so much pain. I understand how a woman/man may become trapped in an abusive relationship. On the other hand, Olivia admitted (in one of the talks with her therapist) she did not have a way out of the relationship (before they were married). I immediately went back to a chapter in the book and reread the part about David spitting in her face Before the marriage took place. I do not know about you- but if a man spits in my face, behaves rudely to my family, and yells at me in public… He will have a “Coming to Jesus” moment. That situation was her red flag signal. The twist towards the end was predictable because some of the things she did in front of Zoe would have received some type of reaction from the child (the breaking of the bookshelf, her screaming matches with certain people, etc. Overall, a novel that sheds light on abuse, suicide, and what can happen when a mother-in-law ignores the warning signs of an out of control child. I appreciate you for taking time out to read my review. Thank You.

Found this book interesting & had to stay up to finish it. I always try to figure out the next chapter in a book before I get to it. This book.was well.written and.delivered the little twist of entertainment that so many other stories lack. Hit an emotional chord without insulting your intelligence. Looking forward to reading other books that Kelly Rimmer has published.

I haven't read a book of fiction in many many years. I'm to busy reading work related materials. Somehow an excerpt of this book ended up in my email. I logged on to Amazon to read a sample from the book. I was surprised at myself when I finished the sample that I clicked the "buy" button because I knew I didn't have time to spend reading a book of fiction as I had other things I needed to do with my free time. However I found myself continuing to read and losing myself in the story. I have never read any Kelly Rimmer books and until I saw the book titke in my email, I hadn't heard of her. The book was an excellent read and the author knows how to capture the reader from the first few lines. Kelly is an amazing writer and I cant believe Ive never heard of her. She is an incredibly gifted writer and has the special gift of drawing the reader deep into the story, I cant wait to read anorher one of her novels! This book should be on the NY Times best sellers list, if it isn't already. I'm purposely not discussing anything about the story as I want other readers to enjoy it as I did without any spoilers or too much information. I will add that as noted in other reviews, there are many editing errors but the errors _do not_ take away from the enjoyment in reading this book. #NYTimesBestSeller

This book is told from two different points of view and experiences, both Olivia, a woman trapped in a marriage to a man, David who is manipulative, possessive and abusive, and also Ivy the mother-in-law who looks at her son only through rose tinted glasses. As the story progresses, it gets darker and darker until the inevitable tragedy unfolds along with an unexpected twist towards the end that had me in complete shock as it was so unexpected.Simply wow. This is an exceptional piece of work and my favourite Kelly Rimmer book so far. I can't recommend it enough

This book is not what I expected it to be from the description - if anything it was better. It’s hard to leave a review without spoiling the story for anyone who is yet to read it. So I will just say that this book was brilliantly written tackling some delicate subjects including grief, suicide and abuse.Written from the perspectives of both Ivy, David’s mother and Olivia his wife who clearly know different sides of the man.I’m not sure which character I blamed for what happened. What caused David to become the type of man he was. Was it just his predisposition or was it due to Ivy’s over the top, pushy, possessive to the point of obsessive mothering. Her refusal to admit her son was anything but perfect even when all the evidence showed otherwise was as infuriating if not more than the appalling way David treated Olivia.At no point in the book did I expect the ending of this story, but once it was revealed all the pieces cleverly slipped into place.I think this is one of Kelly Rimmer’s best novels. Definitely recommend it.

Nothing really new about this story to make it stand out. Three main characters, Ivy, her son David and Olivia his wife. Alternate chapters are from the perspective of the two women. David grows up being over protected and indulged by Ivy, he can do no wrong. His father's only input appears to be encouragement in sporting activities and the odd comment about being tough and manly.Not surprisingly David becomes an adult with serious issues which manifests in his appalling behaviour towards his wife.In the first chapter we learn that control freak David is dead leaving Olivia with their baby daughter (age unspecified). I wondered whether she actually is a real baby or maybe a doll because she never seems to utter so much as a sound and is carried around in a sling by Olivia for most of the day. Any readers who have experience of babies will know that they are certainly are not silent all the time! Despite mother and baby living alone with the doors locked (she only lets the doctor in) she is given a lot of medication which includes sedatives! The tight knit community they live in and where she has grown up seem a strange bunch, who when she does eventually venture out just stare at her. David's mother Ivy's voice in her chapters are so annoyingly repetitive I was losing the will to live. It all seems dreary and quite unbelievable although all the five star reviewers clearly enjoyed it. Maybe I have a low boredom threshold!!

In all the thousands of books I have read over the years, that I have ever actually hated a character as much as I hated Ivy in this book. The story telling is so incredibly written to have induced such depths of feeling.The book is written from 2 different women's perspective. Ivy, the mother, and Olivia, the girlfriend/wife. I found myself actually talking to both characters, at times, which I don't ever remember having done before. Total anger directed at Ivy, and despair and fear for Olivia.It's hard to say too much without giving the story away but I would 100% recommend this book and will definitely be looking for more by this author.Read and enjoy.

Ok so I give this a 3* as I did enjoy this book and I would recommend but it's definitely not one of my favorites, the actual story itself is very sad and you get to understand the characters but for me there was to much going back and then coming back to the present time not only the actual story itself but multiple characters p.o.v. The mother of the abuser is totally in its of her son believing him to be so good at everything he does and not seeing the bad or wrong in him ever or when she does she's in denial her son could do wrong and this is what much of the book concentrated on. You felt angry at her when reading it because she was to blame for her son's behaviour to a degree but also got very boring after a while reading the same excuses and mistakes she made with him from him been a small child, when really you just wanted to get back to the story at hand. And then I will not spoil it but at the e,nd it was very strange. If you read this you will enjoy it but you will be pleased to finish it and move on to next read, such in my case now is Sandi lynn ..