Emily returns to Ireland from New Zealand for her mother’s funeral. She is no longer the successful businesswoman she once was, instead she is working as a cook and acknowledges that she keeps people at a distance. Then she sees her ex, Rob, with his young daughter, Molly.
This throws us back to a decade earlier, when Emily and Rob were married and we discover the tragic reason why she fled to the other side of the world.
This is an emotionally wrenching read about grief and running away told in three parts - present, past, and then present again. The first two parts set things up beautifully but things ended a bit too perfectly to seem realistic.
Jo and Isla are sisters but they are as different as they could possibly be. Jo is a high-flying lawyer, responsible and hard working. Isla is a free spirit who drifts along without worrying too much about life. When Jo has difficulty conceiving a child, Isla gives her an amazing gift by donating her eggs, and Jo goes on to have a wonderful
daughter, Reiltin.
But now, years later, Isla is the one with fertility
issues, and she needs Jo to help her if she is ever to become a
mother. But does one good turn deserve another, or will Jo refuse to
give Isla the one thing she desperately wants?
This was a real page turner - I couldn't put it
down. Jo and Isla's predicament was so thought provoking, it really
made you think what would you do in the same situation. I empathised
with both women, they were both so very different but equally
likeable characters in their own ways.
Jo and Ryan's relationship was
realistic and raw, the strain that infertility has on a couple is
evident. And the moral debate of nature versus nurture was present
throughout, as Reiltín grows up into a teenager without any knowledge
of how she was conceived, and her relationships with both Jo and Isla
are portrayed well. Full of suspense, heartbreaking at times, yet uplifting at others, I'd
highly recommend this excellent book. (LO)
