THE GODMOTHER (Carrie Adams)

It can be disconcerting to read a novel when you have already read the sequal.  In this case it did not distract from the enjoyment of the story (when will she meet James?), but there were a few inconsistencies in names and ages that threw me off a little.  Lainey, Martha, and Barbara  in this book become Lulu, Maddie, and Bea in The Stepmother, while Amber, who figures so prominently in the other, seems to not exist at all here.  I think Caspar aged quite rapidly from novel to novel as well!  I shouldn't be nitpicking, though. Adams is a writer who can carry off a few name-changes and inconsistencies.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Godmother.  Adams gets right into the heart and soul of a wonderful young woman who loves her godchildren with all of her heart but is tired of being on the edge of everyone else's  family and longs for a "life" of her own.  Tessa is the kind of friend everyone would like to have - level-headed in a crisis, consoling when tragedy strikes, always there when she is needed.  She DOES make mistakes in judgement, but she can be forgiven because her heart is full of love for her friends and her parents.  I hope that Adams continues with Tessa's story in the future.