Help me congratulate Danielle on her newest release! Here’s
the blurb:
Lexi thought she knew everything about Mara Vannatta. Best
friends since middle school, they drifted apart after a tragedy derailed their
senior year. But when Mara shows up on Lexi’s doorstep sixteen years later
fleeing an abusive husband, Lexi takes her in without question. Lexi’s own
marriage has been strained by her desire to have a baby, and when Mara offers
to become her surrogate, their friendship feels stronger than ever.
But four days before the due date, Mara disappears.
Lexi is shocked but certain there must be something wrong—Mara would never
willingly leave with her unborn child. Or would she? As she embarks on a
perilous cross-country hunt for the truth, Lexi is forced to reconsider a
friendship she thought she knew—and what really happened that terrible night
their senior year. How many secrets lie in their shared past, waiting to be
uncovered? And just how far will Lexi go to bring her child safely home?
REVIEW
Wow. I don’t know where to begin. There is so much more to this story than Mara being Lexi’s surrogate. This may be triggering for some readers who have experienced losses and gone through IVF only to be let down. But what greater gift can another woman give to someone than to carry a baby? I cannot even fathom doing that. That is a huge sacrifice.
The essence of this story is that Mara shows up on Lexi’s
doorstep after seventeen years. However it came about, Mara is now Lexi’s
surrogate and Henry (Lexi’s husband) is not overly pleased. So, there is some
marital strife, Henry not wanting another baby as he figures Nolan and Kyle
(his grown sons) are enough and they were for Lexi as well, until they weren’t.
Mara suddenly goes missing, which takes Lexi on a
treacherous path to find her. Lexi, though, turns out to be tougher than anyone
thought. Along this path, she meets some of Mara’s past, namely Damon and
Terrence … and Gladys Knight. She also encounters some pretty bad characters and
finds herself fighting for her life … literally.
I don’t want to say a lot for fear of giving too much away.
I will say that right near the end as things were wrapping
up, this one got me in the feels. Kudos to the author for that because that
doesn’t happen often.
This is a story of deep-seated friendship spanning time and
distance, a broken marriage (but is it really?), newfound friendships, a woman
finding a strength she didn’t know she had to fight for her unborn baby, to
understand the friend she hadn’t seen in so long, and finally the truth of what
happened to Cate all those many years ago. As I said above, there is so much
more to this tale than meets the eye. And it is so different than this author’s
other books that I have been fortunate enough to read.
High marks for this one as it hits on what it potentially
could be like to suffer from infertility, to have someone else carry your baby,
to deal with marriage stuff, and to fight for what is rightfully yours and to
understand some truths that were buried for such a long time.
