Mommy by Mistake

I feel like I just "discovered" Rowan Coleman, and my only disappointment is that she doesn't have 20 or 30 books that it will take me years to devour. This book is very British (except it uses the word "mom" instead of the word "mum"--is that just for the American market?), which I love. And while I don't relate personally to being a single mother who lives in a big, beautiful old house and who doesn't have to worry about money, the experiences Coleman describes are absolutely accurate: the boundless love, the frustration, the fear and anxiety, the sleeplessness, the effects on relationships. This could have been a silly, superficial bit of fluff, with some funny one-liners tossed in for laughs, but I actually got teary in several places. The characters are very human and very real; I was surprised by the depth of the emotions in this book. My kids are 8 and 10, so I'm well beyond the "baby bliss" of having a newborn, and I don't have the exhaustion and sleeplessness anymore (not as regularaly, anyway), but this book brought it all back in a fun, nostalgic way for me. If you like Jane Green's earlier works, Katie Fforde, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella--the edgy, funny, Brit chick lit--then try Rowan Coleman.

Reminiscent of characters in the "Shopaholic" series, Rowan Coleman's Mommy by Mistake follows the adventures of a thirty-something woman as she embarks on child rearing - unexpectedly. When Natalie Curzon impulsively connects with a charming man - Jack Newhouse - and agrees to a weekend in Venice, she has no idea of the consequences that will unfold. After the weekend is over, she hopes to see him again. But he doesn't call. And then she discovers she is pregnant. Fortunately, she is part-owner of a successful lingerie business and has a lovely house of her own. Despite these blessings, however, she finds herself sinking into despair during the initial few weeks after her son's birth; she has decided by then that she will never see or hear from Jack again. And this new adventure is more difficult than she expected. Then her life begins to change again when her home's electrical system needs revamping and through her new electrician, she meets a whole series of new people - some of them other mothers - and a sisterhood connection develops. But a seemingly harmless fabrication, followed by her embarrassingly flawed mother's unexpected visit and the surprising reunion with her "baby daddy" - all will turn everything around. Will she rebuild her relationship with her mother? Will she be able to tell Jack about her baby Freddie? And when will she be able to confess her cover story to her new friends? This is a light-hearted book about serious topics. Just when it seems depressing, the humor of the characters and the situations in which they find themselves creates a warm and funny tale of the unexpected twists and turns of life and new parenthood. I deducted one star for the predictability of the plot, which was enjoyable, but held no big surprises. Laurel-Rain Snow

She is stuck on a train when she meets him where they talk. The next thing Natalie Curzon knows is that they are in Venice enjoying the sights in between making love. Jack tells her he will call her soon, but does not; breaking her heart. She soon learns she is pregnant and keeps her baby Freddie. When her electricity fails, she tells Gary the electrician that her spouse Freddie's daddy is in Dubai. Natalie meets Gary's assistant teenage girlfriend Tiffany, also as a single mom is raising a child who black and tells her the same lie. The pair attends a first aid class where they meet Meg who believes her husband is cheating. They begin to form a single moms' group with two other women. Jack is back and wants to be a father to Freddie, but shows no interest in Natalie, who detests the word platonic because she loves Jack. She also wonders how to tell her new sisters that she is single having made up a spouse in Dubai. The latest Rowan Coleman mommy lit (see THE ACCIDENTAL MOTHER and ANOTHER MOTHER'S LIFE) will remind the audience of family dramas by Eileen Goudge and Barbara Delinsky. Natalie learns the hard way that raising a baby nukes the parent's lifestyle as does her new friends who forge a support group to help control the nuclear waste. Points of view rotate so the audience knows what the prime characters are thinking and feeling, but Natalie is the focus as a likable vulnerable single mom. Harriet Klausner