Book Reviews

 I’m not a big fan of “cheating” in love. I don’t think it’s honorable. So it’s hard for me to read about it & think “oh well there ya go, that’s an ok reason to lie and hurt people.” But having said that, this happens to be the story line in this book. It’s a well-written love triangle that goes on for decades because two friends love the same man and he them…. and they lie to each other until they don’t. It doesn’t seem to matter why the triangle happens, but it never ends differently.

 I enjoyed this debut novel from Toni Halleen.  I also admit to one situation in the book being quite far-fetched in my humble opinion. I put that situation aside and continued on because I just needed to know how it all ends! My hunches about where the plot was going, changed a few times, due to the fact that the author was pretty sly at allowing the reader to enjoy the characters & then let us change our mind about the characters in a back and forth way and it really worked.  This story is about a couple who marries and becomes a “blended” family because Hal, the husband, has children from a previous marriage. Ruth, the wife, really doesn’t feel wholly connected to her stepchildren and battles the feelings of being an outsider. Ruth desperately wants to have her own child with her husband to complete their family. They negotiate a contract with Cally, the surrogate, and the story unfolds from there. It’s an interesting look into the challenges of surrogacy and I fel...