Sins of the Mother by Tara Hyland

Sins of the Mother spans a few generations and is a family saga that will entrance you.  Frances "Franny" grows up in a small farming village in Ireland but she dreams of being a movie star.  She feels she deserves more than marrying a local farmer and raising a gassle of kids.  When her father hires someone to help them out, Franny is besotted with him.  But when she ends up in the family way, he runs off and she doesn't want to stay and marry that man down the road.  She takes off in the middle of the night and never looks back.

Franny's travels take her to London where she meets Annie.  The two become quick friends and Franny's daughter Cara plays with Annie's children, but namely Danny, who is nearer her age.  When Franny gets the opportunity to make a picture in Hollywood, she is beyond thrilled that her dream could be coming true.  However, she can't take Cara.  So, Franny contacts her mother that she hasn't seen in years and queries if she will take Cara until she gets settled. She agrees and Franny is off to Hollywood.

There, she makes a name for herself and becomes famous.  But she still hasn't sent for her daughter.  When she meets and marries millionaire Maximillian Stanhope, she thinks maybe now she can send for Cara.  But she waits to tell him about her, thinking he won't want her anymore. 

Cara is raised on a small farm with her granny and no one knows about her.  She hates living with her granny and wishes her mother would come and get her.  But her mom keeps promising and not delivering. When granny gets sick, Cara isn't sure what to do.  However, she is taken by the authorities to an orphanage where her life is even more brutal.  She escapes and makes her way back to Annie, and Danny. 
When she hears about the tragedy with her mother, Cara shrugs it off.  But as time goes by, she begins to investigate into what her mother had been doing while she abandoned Cara.  The journey takes Cara into buried secrets and finding out about herself and matters of the heart.

I couldn't put down Sins of the Mother! This novel swept me up into it's embrace and never let go.  I found myself immersed into the lives of the characters.  From the small town of Ireland to the big city lights of Hollywood, with romance, crime, love, abandonment, abuse and more, this page-turning epic drama is sure to please fans.  I highly recommend this novel and can't wait to see what Tara Hyland has in store for us next!