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‘An absolute belter of a page-turner’ HEAT
‘Kept me reading late into the night’ DAILY MAIL
‘Clever and compelling. I loved it’ JANE SHEMILT
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A MOTHER’S LOVE…
Ruth Furnival has built the life she always dreamed of: a stellar career in television, a lovely home, a lawyer husband and two grown-up daughters. But at 54, with an empty nest and the menopause behind her, she feels restless and dissatisfied.
After multiple rounds of failed IVF, her elder daughter Lauren is told that the only way she and her husband can have a child of their own is through surrogacy. So when Ruth discovers that, with the right dose of hormones, she could carry their baby, they agree out of desperation.
At first Ruth is buoyed by a new sense of purpose, but as her pregnancy progresses, long-buried events from the past resurface. Meanwhile Lauren can’t contain her corrosive envy. Isolated and alone, Ruth starts to unravel and what began as an act of altruism turns into one of atonement – for which she’s willing to risk everything.
‘A fantastic book club choice…well-researched and compelling’ PRIMA
‘A gripping read on an under-discussed topic for fans of Apple Tree Yard‘ COSMOPOLITAN
‘A brilliantly structured, fast-paced and addictively compelling read. I loved the ending most of all’ RACHEL JOYCE
‘Already tipped as one of the most gripping reads of the year’ HELLO!
‘An absolute “up-all-night” compulsive read’ KATE HAMER
‘A gripping exploration of femininity and motherhood’ BEST
‘Moving and exciting and moral – immensely intelligent’ TESSA HADLEY
‘Kept me reading late into the night’ DAILY MAIL
‘Clever and compelling. I loved it’ JANE SHEMILT
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A MOTHER’S LOVE…
Ruth Furnival has built the life she always dreamed of: a stellar career in television, a lovely home, a lawyer husband and two grown-up daughters. But at 54, with an empty nest and the menopause behind her, she feels restless and dissatisfied.
After multiple rounds of failed IVF, her elder daughter Lauren is told that the only way she and her husband can have a child of their own is through surrogacy. So when Ruth discovers that, with the right dose of hormones, she could carry their baby, they agree out of desperation.
At first Ruth is buoyed by a new sense of purpose, but as her pregnancy progresses, long-buried events from the past resurface. Meanwhile Lauren can’t contain her corrosive envy. Isolated and alone, Ruth starts to unravel and what began as an act of altruism turns into one of atonement – for which she’s willing to risk everything.
‘A fantastic book club choice…well-researched and compelling’ PRIMA
‘A gripping read on an under-discussed topic for fans of Apple Tree Yard‘ COSMOPOLITAN
‘A brilliantly structured, fast-paced and addictively compelling read. I loved the ending most of all’ RACHEL JOYCE
‘Already tipped as one of the most gripping reads of the year’ HELLO!
‘An absolute “up-all-night” compulsive read’ KATE HAMER
‘A gripping exploration of femininity and motherhood’ BEST
‘Moving and exciting and moral – immensely intelligent’ TESSA HADLEY
Reviews
Moving and exciting and moral - immensely intelligent
A fascinating, compulsive and quietly transgressive novel that casts a keen, exacting eye over the dynamics of a family in extremis
A darkly humorous, thoughtful and thought provoking novel, along with being an absolute "up all night" compulsive read. I loved it
A brilliantly structured, fast-paced and addictively compelling read. I loved the ending most of all
A piercingly honest view of the flesh and blood of women's lives and the imperfect tangles of family relationships. These real, believable and maddeningly blind characters make us feel for them more and more as the story gathers pace towards a brilliant heart-stopping conclusion
Unsparingly probes to the messy heart of mother/ daughter relationships. Clever and compelling. I loved it
A visceral and intimate study of the mechanics of womanhood, both physically and emotionally, which will leave you asking questions about yourself and how far love stretches. I especially loved the ending
There is nowhere near enough writing out there about how women truly experience the conflicting marvels and challenges of living inside a female body, even less about the menopause. Transgressive and gripping, this book reminds us that we disregard women over fifty at our peril
A gripping read. I found it hard to put down. Addresses issues of self-identity and how it is shaped by our fertility, which as a woman, mother, and author researching and writing about women's fertility and bodies, I found fascinating
A fantastic book club choice, this will spark debate and discussions aplenty. After multiple rounds of failed IVF, Lauren and her husband feel completely deflated, so when Lauren's 54-year-old mother, Ruth, offers to be a surrogate, it seems perfect. A well-researched and compelling read
Dark and twisty
[A] gripping exploration of femininity and motherhood
Full of drama . . . An intimate, equitable debut novel . . . as much about womanhood as it is about motherhood
Both a thoughtful read exploring mother-daughter relationships, marriage and ageing, and an absolute belter of a page-turner. One to tell all your friends about
