From Mum With Love - Louise Emma Clarke

Date of Reading: 26/01/2019

Author: Louise Emma Clarke

Publisher: Aria

Publication: February 5, 2019

Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

About the book:

Mum of one, Jess has had enough of endless diaper-filled days and her husband Chris has just the solution to vent her frustrations – a blog.

Jess loves her daughter more than anything, but sometimes she just wants a little bit of freedom – some time for herself. Cue a laptop, a glass of wine and the beginning of a life-changing journey.

Overnight Jess's inbox is full of notifications and before long she is officially a 'mummy blogger' but this new life comes with its own set of rules and regulations. With Queen of the Bloggers, Tiggy, blanking her in public, people recognizing her on the street and her life decisions suddenly judged by strangers Jess's idea of 'me time' is slowly becoming a full-time job.

Will Jess be able to find the right life/work balance? Or will she wish she'd never turned to a world online?

From the award-winning blogger behind 'Mum of Boys & Mabel'.

My Review:

        This book was an unexpected find in one of my random NetGalley searches and was refreshingly honest. I never believed in the so-called romantic picture of motherhood, but sort of thought that the greatest trouble is giving birth itself. Looks like, it is just the beginning of a whole lot of sleepless nights and pent up emotions.

       Anyone who is in the blogosphere can pretty much identify with Jess' new venture into writing and what I loved most about this book is her blog posts (not that surprising since the author is an award-winning blogger). In the form of letters to her daughter Bella, they talk about her initial struggles as a mother, but it all ends irrevocably in a positive note. I won't be human if I am not jealous of Bella. 

        It is with the conflict relating to Tiggy, the novel picks pace. I haven't met anyone like that before in this field, and I don't wish to be. Most of the time I was really happy to see Jess rising up to the challenge with the help of her sister and female companions. And that is what this whole book is about; motherhood is no bed of roses, but help is always there for those who ask for it.

        Altogether an enlightening read that hooked me from the very beginning . . .

Meet the author:

From Mum With Love is the debut novel of Louise Emma Clarke; the award-winning writer behind the blog 'Mum of Boys & Mabel'.

Louise was educated at Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School and the University of Southampton, before moving to London to begin a career in publishing at magazines and newspapers including Daily Express, Take a Break, That's Life, Best Magazine, and Woman's Weekly.

After getting married in 2010, Louise moved to Dubai and worked as a freelance journalist for publications including Time Out Dubai, Time Out Kids, Aquarius Magazine, Gulf News, Baby & Child Magazine, and Dubai Confidential.

She started her blog in 2014, a few months after the birth of her second baby - and it quickly attracted a loyal following of over 100,000 mothers across the globe and won numerous awards for its relatable, humorous content.

Now living in the UK countryside with her husband and three children - Stanley (6), Wilfred (4) and Mabel (2) - Louise is moving into novel writing with the publication of From Mum With Love in February 2019.