All the Mothers

By Domenica Ruta


** Publication Date 6 May 2025 **


4 stars
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I remember what it was like to date. The difficulty in finding the ‘right’ one. The one that wanted  the ‘right’ things. The one that was going to be the happily ever after. As you get older you begin to realize there isn’t a perfect match, there’s the best match for that time in your life. In this novel, the guy does his best to be the right one. For as long as he’s possible.


Sandy is an editor for a food magazine. She is still hanging out with her ‘ride-or-die’ sorority sisters and the other women they’ve picked up along the way. One night she meets Justin. They hit it off. He seems right. They are compatible in many ways, and not in others. He owns his own company and is also a ‘nü metal’ musician. After a bit of time they become exclusive. And then they’re not. 


So when Sandy wakes up puking for several days in a row, she is not thrilled about the chances of being pregnant. But she is, and now she has to figure out being a single mom with an overgrown child as the dad.


In a fit of self-pity, Sandy starts searching social media about Justin. And there she finds it. Another ex-girlfriend with another ex-kid. Can the two moms navigate a relationship better than the father of their children did? 


An often hilarious and touching story about women who make the best of the insanity of their lives raising children alone. In many ways you have to admire the grit and tenacity of these women. Their courage to put their children’s feelings as siblings above their own. It is a really good read. Fast, funny, and heartfelt.