Title: HER DAUGHTER'S MOTHER
Expected publication: 18 June 2019
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description (Goodreads) - I advise you to skip this section and let the book surprise you:
Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker--until the
night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York's
Upper West Side. Her target? The "anonymous" egg donor she'd selected
through an agency, the one who's making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to
learn more about her, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when
circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born.
Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana's yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby's father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana's life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya's past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she's unprepared for the secrets she unearths, and their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best...
Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana's yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby's father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana's life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya's past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she's unprepared for the secrets she unearths, and their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best...
My musings:
Strange as it may sounds, but sometimes I know from the very
first paragraph whether I’m going to like a book or not. As soon as I met Lana
I was immediately pulled into the story, and by the time I turned the last page
I felt like she was a flesh and blood character I had known all my life! In
short – I loved this book!
As the title suggests, this is not a straightforward mystery
about mothers and daughters, or any “normal” family dynamics. Instead, the
author has created an intriguing story full of emotional heartache and ethical
issues surrounding infertility and IVF, packaged inside a suspenseful mystery. We
meet Lana and Tyler as they are coming to the end of a heartbreaking battle
with infertility and failed IVF cycles, which have not only depleted all their
savings but also put strain n their marriage. Lana feels that she has turned
from a fun-loving, adventurous woman into someone obsessed with her quest of
becoming a mother, and is constantly undergoing some sort of treatment to
improve her chances of becoming pregnant – which so far has only ended in
tears. Her only hope now is to accept a donor egg, but she has one condition:
she wants a baby with the same cultural heritage she has. Finally, the agency
phones her with the good news. A Bulgarian egg donor has registered. Lana is
ecstatic – this may finally bring them the baby they have wished for so long.
I think this really is all you need to know. Let the book
take you on its journey and surprise you. Because in books, as in life, things
often don’t go as smoothly as planned. This was one of those books where one
decision leads to a Swiss cheese like reaction where all the holes align to let
disaster strike (it’s a true term coined by the aviation industry and adopted
by medicine to explain the chain of errors often leading to harm to patients).
I pictured poor Lana, ensnared in a spider’s web of events, getting more and
more entangled in its sticky ropes the more she tries to get out of it. At
times, it was painful to witness! Of course we, as readers, know more than the
hapless Lana does, and can see disaster looming before she has any idea what
she is getting herself into.
What I really liked about this book was that there was no
villain, no black or white, no battles between good or evil. These were all
rounded, relatable, “human” characters who had believable flaws but were
overall just ... likeable. It’s a story about real people in real life
situations. No “crazy twist you will never see coming” (thankfully, I am a bit
tired of those), though the ending may still surprise some readers.
I loved everything about this book and it was exactly what I
was craving at the time. If you are looking for a fast-paced suspense thriller,
then this one may be a bit slow for you. However, if you would like a
compelling mystery wrapped in layers of real life drama that escalates out of
control until you absolutely cannot put down the book until it is all resolved,
then yes, you are in luck! For women who have undergone some trauma with
infertility or miscarriages, the story may contain multiple triggers, or it may
feel strangely cathartic, depending on your personality and your situation. I
found that the author handled the topic with such insight and sensitivity that
it soothed rather than opened old wounds, but just be forewarned.
Summary:
All in all, HER DAUGHTER’S MOTHER was a wonderful, utterly
captivating book by an author new to me and I am so very happy that I was
invited to read this ARC. It is rare to find a novel that can be both
suspenseful and touching, but it achieved this in equal measure, and more.
Definitely one of my favourite reads so far this year. I cannot wait to read
more from this author in future!
Thank
you to Edelweiss and G.P. Putnman's Sons for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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