In Her Mother's Love, Rivers tells the story of Marta Schneider, a young woman who leaves her home in Switzerland to forge a new life in America. This sequel focuses on Marta's descendants. When Marta's daughter, Hilde, is quarantined with tuberculosis, Marta moves in to care for her granddaughter, Carolyn. The two form a special bond, even as tensions arise between Marta and Hilde. When a family tragedy threatens Carolyn's newfound freedom as a college student in San Francisco, she disappears for two years, returning home later with a daughter of her own, determined to help heal the deep hurt that has plagued her family for years. VERDICT Librarians new to the genre should become familiar with this popular and best-selling CF author. Her latest will appeal to those readers who like "clean" fiction with a romantic tone and well-developed characters, as well as those who enjoy family sagas. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Best-seller Rivers completes the five-generation Christian family saga she began in Her Mother's Hope (2010). It's 1951, and Hildemara is back in the hospital with recurring tuberculosis, so her mother Marta moves in to care for her grandchildren Charlie and Carolyn. Charlie is the light of their lives while Carolyn is neglected, with unfortunate consequences in her college years, including alcoholism and pregnancy. Single, unemployed, and with a baby to raise, Carolyn moves back home, where the past repeats itself. Her mother lays down the law for her daughter and takes over her granddaughter Dawn's care, selfishly arranging matters to suit herself and pushing Carolyn away, much as her mother had abused her. It isn't until Dawn is an adult, heavily pregnant and missing her beloved army husband, who is serving in Iraq, that she realizes how each new generation of women has hurt her forebears. With her stepfather and mother-in-law's help, Dawn resolves to stop the vicious cycle. The concluding book in Rivers' drama examines mother-daughter relationships in the context of faith, juxtaposed against a backdrop of world events.--Welch, Lynne Copyright 2010 Booklist