A funny, emotional novel full of southern charm about a mother and daughter ready to start over.“Liz Talley delivers. Her dialogue is crisp and smart, her characters are vivid and real, her stories are unputdownable.” —Robyn Carr, New York Times bestselling authorFor a good part of Daphne Witt’s life, she was a supportive wife and dutiful mother. Now that she’s divorced and her daughter, Ellery, … she’s divorced and her daughter, Ellery, is all grown up, Daphne’s celebrating the best part of her life, a successful career, and a flirtation with an attentive hunk fifteen years her junior…who happens to be her daughter’s ex-boyfriend.
Ellery is starting over, too. She’s fresh out of college. Her job prospects are dim. And to support her fiancé in med school, she’s returned home as her mother’s new assistant. Ellery never expected her own life plan to take such a detour. With no outlet for her frustration, she lets an online flirtation go a little too far, especially considering her pen pal thinks he’s corresponding with her mother.
As love lives tangle, secrets spill, and indiscretions are betrayed, mother and daughter will have a lot to learn—not only about the mistakes they’ve made but also about the men in their lives and the women they are each hoping to become.
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Get ready for some sizzle and a lot of angst as Daphne and Ellery go head to head to find their footing and their identity. Like a Hallmark movie, the characters are passionate and beautiful, but unlike Hallmark, the women are flawed and make regretful decisions and need to claw their way back to neutral and beyond. And they do that with some gorgeous, strong, and compassionate men. Some of the mother-daughter scenes are ugly, even vicious, but so is life, and the author shows us that it’s not what life deals you that makes you who you are. It’s how you choose to deal with it. The path these women take may not be the one you would choose, but I found it touching and satisfying.
Funny and heartwarming. Talley captures the feeling of being trapped in our expectations of ourselves and finding the strength to learn who we really are.
Moms with grown daughters will love this book. The dynamics and interactions between Daphne and Ellery were so familiar and on-point. Their struggles to understand and work with each other and spread their own wings.
When should a parent step back from parenting?
When should a child break free of parental protection?
Room to Breathe is a lovely, lovely book that deals with that complicated thing called family.
Smart, funny well written, with wonderful characters and a believable story line, especially for mothers of daughters. Highly recommend! Looking forward to the next book.
A good story about how a family learns to deal with life’s changes. Married young because she became pregnant, Daphne has always tried her hardest to be the best wife and mother she can be. Maybe even giving too much. When an opportunity to make her hobby a successful career was presented, she took it. But her family had trouble dealing with her turning her attention to something other than them, which then ended her marriage and the family unit. There were some lies told and plenty of hard feelings. When Daphne decides to move on and start a life for herself, her daughter has a difficult time handling it. Maybe because she still is bitter about her mom’s career and the breakup of her family but there’s also the fact that her life hasn’t gone as she had it planned out. Ellery has so much growing up to do and she’s just turned 23! When the truth about many things start to come out, they are finally able to move forward and start to grow and heal. I’ve read several books by this author and I feel this was a different story for her. Took me a bit to get into the story but after a couple chapters, I wanted to see where it was going. Definitely some challenging subjects tackled in this book.
Great fun read
Room to Breathe by Liz Talley was an interesting story about a now divorced mother and her adult daughter and where life and choices have taken them. It’s a story about second chances and finding who want to be.
Daphne has been the good wife and mother she needed to be. Now divorced and having raised her daughter, can she revel in the woman she wants to be now? Then there is her daughter Ellery. Done with college, she should be embarking on a new life, but when the unexpected happens, where will it lead her?
While Daphne is ready to live on her own terms, her daughter just wants her to be her mom. But she can be both right? Daphne, like most newly divorced women, is finding her new normal, but will others stand in her way? Ellery has always been loved and spoiled, as the only child, and now resentful about what is happening in her life, is not always a nice person. So begins the journey of Daphne and her daughters, as choices are made, love entanglements begin and each finds their way to what they truly want.
Read and reviewed for Reviews From the Heart.
Happy reading!
Didn’t want to put it down. Captured my interest immediately and held it. A “beach read” for the fall!
If you are looking for a feel-good book with a powerful message about connecting with those you hold most dear, then this is the book for you! Room to Breathe by Liz Talley is a phenomenal read and here we meet Daphne Witt whose moving on from a rocky divorce, she’s entered a new phase in her life, starting a new career and found another to love, who happens to be 15 years younger than she. Her daughter Ellery recently graduated from college and in order to help get her fiance through med school, she moves back home to assist her mom in her business. As the story unfolds, Ellery begins flirting with a man online, the only problem is, he is infatuated with her mother and vice versa. So a love triangle ensues and both women must learn a hard lesson about men but also through their struggles they have a lot to learn about themselves and the women they are meant to be. Can this mother and daughter recover from the lies of the men and the secrets between themselves? Or will they part ways and never know what could have been?
Talley’s writing is impeccable, she writes with such conviction and deep emotion that the reader can’t help but feel for Daphne and Ellery. The theme of love, lies, secrets, as well as the deep relationship between a mother and daughter and how the smallest thing could push it in the wrong direction, are so well done. Beautifully written and with such an understanding of the mother/daughter bond. A truly delightful read with so many deep messages to all of us mothers and daughters.
ROOM TO BREATHE by Liz Talley is a new women’s fiction novel focusing on a mother/daughter relationship that is struggling with shifting roles.
Daphne Witt was pregnant and married all before she finished high school. She made the most of her life and for years was a supportive wife and mother. While working part-time at a pre-school, she shares a story she wrote and illustrated. It is sent by one of the other children’s mother to a publisher and suddenly she has a new career. As Daphne finds herself flourishing, her husband and daughter are not happy to no longer be the sole focus of Daphne’s attention.
Divorced and moving on with her life, Daphne attempts to keep her close relationship with her 22 year- old daughter, Ellery, but it is not working. Ellery is Daphne’s assistant to help with bills as she takes a year off after not receiving the internship she dreamed of and she resents it.
Ellery has a plan that is piece by piece falling apart. After the disappointment of losing the internship, she decides to come home to live with her pre-med student fiancée. Ellery has been spoiled her whole life and she is overspending, living on her father’s money and not happy in her relationship or with her life in general, but she continues to deny there are any problems.
Everything comes to a head on Ellery’s 23rd birthday weekend at One Tree Estates Winery.
This story is easy to read and the narrative flows effortlessly while the characters all go through serious issues. The focus is on Daphne and Ellery’s relationship, but Daphne’s ex-husband and best friend all play pivotal roles is the misunderstandings and eventual healing. I felt the emotions and dialogue were realistic and believable for each character.
I enjoyed this story and all of the memorable characters.
Grab a glass of wine and prepare to relate. Mothers and daughters and our complex relationships are on full display in the latest novel by Liz Talley. Everyone will find something to relate to, even as they realize that everyone needs to find some room to breathe.
Liz Talley has written a love story between a mother and daughter that captured me completely. By turns tender and astringent, sexy and funny, heart-wrenching and uplifting, Room to Breathe is an escapist and winning story that will carry you away with an imperfect pair of protagonists who just might remind you of someone you know. A delight.
Room to Breathe is an amazing story about family, self-discovery, and forgiveness. I absolutely LOVED this book. Liz Talley blew me away!
The story follows the Witt women, Daphne and her daughter Ellery, as they are both facing personal challenges in their lives. Daphne has always been the fixer. The one her husband counted on to make everything okay. After her career as an author takes off, her husband decides it time to separate and divorce. She feels so much pressure and assumes that everything is her fault. She has to find herself again and figure out what she wants out of life. Her daughter is a twenty-something young woman who has pent up hatred and anger in her heart. She hasn’t been able to look at her mother the same way ever since her parents got divorced. On top of dealing with her parents ‘failed relationship,’ she is struggling both personally and professionally.
I thought the way Liz Talley gave us perspectives from Daphne and Ellery was perfect and essential for this story! She also highlighted the ups and downs of a mother/daughter relationship. I think we can all agree that a relationship between a mother and daughter is unique. There were so many times that I was frustrated with both characters because I knew they were worth so much more. But their self-doubt was necessary to get them to truly find happiness.
Liz Talley also brought up two important topics that stood out for me: living up to other’s expectations and ageism. Both of the Witt women dealt with living up to the expectations set by others. Daphne dealt with that pressure from her husband and Ellery felt pressure from her parents. I thought it was insightful to see that they were experiencing some of the same emotions even they were different ages. Ageism was a big one in the book too. When Daphne is trying to get back in the dating game, she feels guilty for being attracted to a younger man. The way the author handled these topics was excellent!
By the end, we really see Daphne and Ellery working on their relationship. They do have plenty of obstacles to face but I think they finally understand each other’s reasoning which leads to greater respect for one another as individuals!!
I give Room to Breathe 5 stars. It was beautiful to see the growth of each of the characters and fulfilling to see where they ended up. I loved this whole journey and I got to witness their evolution into the women they envisioned for themselves!! Room to Breathe Liz Talley
I started Room to Breathe and wondered if I’d be able to finish it. I didn’t love the characters at the beginning. I found Daphne to be odd. It seemed all she thought about was the hot contractor that was fixing up her childhood house to sell. I’m not all that into cougar romance books so I was doubting if I’d like what I was reading. Yet, I continued reading and I quickly realized that there was so much more to Daphne. She started as a young mother and bride, a mostly stay at home mother who did everything for her daughter and husband, and then found a new way at life. She became a successful author and her entire life changed. I was in awe of all that she accomplished without the support of her family and how she embraced her new life.
The rest of her family left something to be desired. Her ex-husband is a trip and doesn’t deserve how much Daphne did for him. Ellery is a spoiled brat. She was given everything in life and now doesn’t know how to stand on her own two feet without her parents giving her money. I didn’t feel any compassion for them and was hoping that Daphne would call her out on the lifestyle she felt like she was due to live, not the lifestyle she could afford to live.
I ended up admiring Daphne and wanting to kick Ellery in her booty. Room to Breathe is a fun book to read. The story flowed easily, the characters were not all likeable but they were interesting.
If anyone needed room to breathe in their life, it was Daphne Witt! With an ex-husband who had expected her to fix everything in his life and do everything for him since she had married him at age sixteen and a twenty-two year old daughter that had always, always gotten everything her little heart desired, Daphne had never taken time for herself until she had accidentally become the author and illustrator of children’s books not too long before her divorce. As her popularity and income grew, her husband’s jealousy, snide comments, and put-downs multiplied proportionately, and he walked out, requesting a divorce.
I won’t say a lot more about the plot, but there were many times during this novel that I wanted to really have a good sit-down talk with Daphne and tell her to back off taking such wonderful care of her snarly, witchy, hateful daughter and give that holier-than-thou little snot room to hang herself. Then to find out later how devious the ex-husband had been after the divorce was fuel to the flame.
Yes, Daphne makes mistakes, but not the kind you can’t forgive, and she was never trying to hurt anyone else. I definitely suggest you read this novel if you’ve ever been made to feel like a doormat, like the family servant, or just the odd-man-out in a family. Liz Talley delivers a novel with lots to think about!
This is the first book I have read by Author Liz Talley and it definitely will not be my last! I was immediately drawn into this book from the first page. Daphne Witt was always a complacent wife to her husband Rex but when she decided to fulfill her dream of becoming an author of children’s books, Rex refused to give her the support she needed. Filling their daughter, Ellery’s head full of lies, Rex succeeds in driving a wedge between mother and daughter. that will last for several years.. After many lies and deceptions are revealed, Ellery no longer wants anything to do with her mother. But Ellery has more to deal with as her relationship with her fiancée Josh hits a sudden brick wall. Will Daphne and Ellery be able to overcome the past and present hurts and repair their relationship or will there be no chance of a reconciliation? Will Daphne finally find the love and support that she has always craved? Will Ellery find love from an unexpected source, or will her spoiled and petty behavior drive him away? This was great book that shows how being controlled and living a life with so many lies between a couple, it can destroy the love and trust. Author Liz Talley has a magnificent talent for writing a story that is so realistic, I could feel each emotion of Daphne and Ellery and sense the underlying sadness and anger. I am eager to read more of this awesome authors books and found myself asking, “What took me so long to discover such an amazing writer”? I was given this ARC by NetGalley and the publisher and all opinions are solely mine.
What can I say, I liked all the characters and then she introduced the ex-husband and I wanted to get right into that book, I can’t say what I said but it wasn’t nice. There aren’t many books that get me so riled up. I sure could relate to the mother and daughter and starting over. Mistakes were made and yes, running away or as I learned, running toward something, I liked that is part of life.
The book had an impact on me. Some of the people I cheered for, some I laughed but that ex-husband what he did was unthinkable. It was a journey we went on because a wife/mother wrote a book that people fell in love with and the husband and daughter had a hard time adjusting to their needs not being catered to. I don’t know about you but I have felt a time or two that my husband and kids thought I shouldn’t do anything for me, just do for them. It was nice to see the daughter grow up and become the woman she was meant to be and as she told her mother, she put the time into making it happen just like her Mama did. I loved this book, it was nice to read a book that could make me smile, get me riled up and inspire me.
4 1/2 STARS!
ROOM TO BREATHE by Liz Talley is light, refreshing and filled with southern charm! Though some serious matters are tackled between a mother and her grown daughter, the dialogue is kept upbeat throughout with moments that have you laughing, while others pull at your heartstrings. I found the characters believable and their stories quite interesting.
Daphne is a complex character. As a reader, I found myself cheering for her and her side of things more often than not because though she’s a strong, independent lady, she hasn’t been treated fairly much in her life. She’s easy to connect with, easy to forgive her faults, and an inspiration to us all on how to enjoy the life that comes along when we least expect it.
Ellery is a character that it’s hard not to try to reach into the book and shake some sense into on occasion because she’s the very definition of a spoiled brat. The hard knocks of life come visiting her door though and she’s going to have to learn how to pull herself together and achieve greatness on her own.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a story that draws you in and holds your attention through. I didn’t want to put it down because I just had to keep knowing what was going to happen next. The characters catch your attention in immediately and don’t let up on their drama filled lives. I really enjoyed Daphne and Ellery’s stories!
I fell in lovIe with this beautifully written book that has characters and a storyline that I can totally relate with! I loved the main character Daphne and her struggle to evolve as a mother and a woman. Her struggles made her stronger and I loved seeing her find herself. I also enjoyed what I felt was the real life mother daughter drama between her And her daughter Ellery as she too struggled with life herself. This book had me page turning with many emotions as it was so very well written and drew me in. I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more from Liz Talley who obviously has a talent that goes from beautiful hallmark books to this totally new southern fiction that I adored and can’t wait to read everything she has written prior to this and everything to come ! A must read and I’m going to get another copy for my mom to read as I think she too will love this!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Mother and daughter issues, divorce and rebuilding your life the way you want it, a daughter that was brought up with anything she wanted and has to wake up and smell the roses. This book had a little of it all and a lot of humor. This was my first time reading this author and will be reading more. My Amazon First Reads pick for October.