Book Review: The Self-Made Saint by Alexandra Addams

It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Alexandra Addams to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, The Self-Made Saint.

Judith Drainger has always played life by her own rules. But these days life seems to be playing her right back.

Divorced, orphaned and forcibly retired, 59-year-old Judith is determined to seize the opportunity to leave her broken home in London and move across the world to Australia. Here she reunites with her estranged adult daughter Cassandra – only to land smack bang in the emotional quagmire of her daughter’s anger and abandonment issues. To make matters worse, Judith can see her new granddaughter Emily has a serious health issue, but her offers of help are ignored and rejected.

When an accident knocks her off her feet, Judith is swamped by the kindly care of her nosy new neighbors. Yet, when given a chance to become a part of their community, Judith shocks even herself by making a series of unforgivable blunders. Realizing if she’s to have any hope of reuniting her family, this well-meaning but stubborn curmudgeon must learn the power of saying ‘sorry’ – and what it actually means to be a good person.

A tender and uplifting novel championing the complex realities of family, solidarity and friendship.

*****

Judith is not where she’d thought she’d be at 59 years-old. She’s divorced, recently lost her mother and finds herself retired from the humanitarian work she loved. In an attempt to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Judith moves to Adelaide, Austraila. Will life be any better there?

The premise for this book sounded interesting so I couldn’t wait to get started on it and was pleased to be on the blog tour for, The Self-Made Saint.

The first thing I will say is that I believe this book will be very relatable to many people and it wasn’t hard for me to get invested in this book and the characters within.

Judith…oh Judith. I found in her a person who is sometimes her worst enemy and at times I wanted to hug her and then other tiimes, i wanted to shake her. She is a very good study on generational expectations and guilt and I feel is the product of her environment in some ways. Judith has a belief that she should be where she’s needed – she just doesn’t always make the right decision when it comes to that.

Her daughter, Cassandra is therefore suffering from adbandonment issues and is very angry with her mother as a result. I could see both sides as these women try to navigate motherhood, a job that doesn’t stop the moment the child becomes an adult. A daughter’s need for her mother is there, Judith just needs to choose her daughter and to accept Cassandra’s life choices rather than measure them to her own standards. Judith’s relationship with her own mother had its own issues which then had a knock on effect. It was very interesting to see the patterns emerging as I made my way through the story.

The supporting characters, especially the ones in Rowntree Street, are a delighful mixture of complex, funny and, in some cases, badly behaved. Martha is the kind of person I want to be. She’s someone who takes life in her stride and just does what she can for people. Paul – well, I don’t want to say too much about him. Billy is adorable despite his actions to the contrary. Again, he’s a young person who is looking for family and doesn’t see what’s in front of him.

The plot moved well and is really driven by Judith and her actions. There are themes such as family, complex grief, adandoment, expection and a journey of self-discovery. It’s a reminder that there is always another side to a story and experiences. Sometimes, we just have to be listening.

The Self-Made Saint is a delightful, insightul rollercoaster of a novel with a message that we simply have to get out of our way.

About Alexandra Addams – 

Alexandra Addams is an Australian writer living in Switzerland by a large lake in an old, crumbling house. She has one less than half-a-dozen children and they bring her both great joy and intense angst in equal measure.

A novelist, Addams writes character driven fiction about families and the dramas that can upend their lives. She particularly enjoys delving into the relationships between mothers and daughters and writing stories about women finding their place in the world again after a giant upheaval.

Say hello to Alexandra via her website, X and Instagram. 

The Self-Made Saint was released by High Frequency Press in Augusy 2025. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones and Amazon Au. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.