#BookReview: Call me Mummy by Tina Baker @TinaBakerBooks

Hi everyone. Today, I have a book review for you from debut author, Tina Baker. I discovered this book via NetGalley and received a free ARC of this book. I enjoyed this read tremendously. And this is definitely an author to check out.

About the Book:

* A NETGALLEY BOOK OF THE MONTH *

‘Brilliantly written and emotionally compulsive’ – HARRIET TYCE

‘A powerful and thought-provoking page turner’ – KATERINA DIAMOND

‘Disturbing and distinctive, this is a book I couldn’t put down’ – AMANDA JENNINGS

THIS MOTHER’S DAY YOU WILL CALL HER MUMMY

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want. Except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim – heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop – she does what anyone would do. She takes her.

But foul-mouthed little Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for. As Tonya fiercely resists Mummy’s attempts to make her into the perfect child, Kim is demonised by the media as a ‘scummy mummy’, who deserves to have her other children taken too.

Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media’s rules, Kim begins to spiral, turning on those who love her. Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle…

CALL ME MUMMY. IT’LL BE BETTER IF YOU DO.

My Review:

Many thanks to NetGallley and Viper for a free Advanced Review Copy of this book.

The cover, title, and book description all pulled me in. I’m so pleased that I requested this book. Call me Mummy is a great read, and even more special for being a debut novel. The author has hit the ground running with this offering.

The point of view moves between three main characters: Mummy (the abductor), Kim (the mother), and Tonya (the five-year-old girl). Sometimes, I felt the dialogue a bit too adult to feel true for a five-year-old. However, the characters were well drawn, otherwise, and I found the plot entirely believable.

For some readers, some of the content may prove challenging as historic abuse is a common theme for both women. Even though Kim wasn’t a likeable character, I really felt for her. First somebody kidnaps her little girl, and then the online world villifies and hates her for who she is. She’s too common, swears a lot, and just isn’t the ‘nice little victim’ that everyone wants. Nobody sees the mask she’s adopted for self-protection or the pain she’s in.

Mummy is about as messed up as they come. The author did a fantastic job of showing this woman’s fall into further confusion and alcoholism. And her fraught interactions with Tonya were priceless.

Of all the characters, I adored Tonya the most. What a spirited little lass! Brilliant.

A heart-wrenching read and a gripping one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it gets a solid five stars from me.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.


I’d love to hear what you think of this review. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

18 Comments on “#BookReview: Call me Mummy by Tina Baker @TinaBakerBooks

  1. So happy to get acquainted with this new author, Harmony! Your thoughts on the book sold me! Thanks for sharing!

  2. A clever premise – it could be scarily easy to kidnap a child – since my teens I have had quite a few daunting experiences finding myself with a lost child. But a couple of times have just kept watch as a little one wandered out of a shop and back to the mother without her even realising.

  3. This sounds like a clever premise, Harmony. Thanks for sharing your review.