BOOK REVIEW BY CHLOE (bookwormchloe)

Millie thought she had found her perfect man in the way of her husband Andrew, but when she doesn’t get pregnant after a while of trying, Millie begins to get desperate. Unfortunately, Andrew is scared off by her desperation and leaves Millie, moving away for work and from Millie.

But Millie still wants to be a mum, and will do anything to get there. She decides to look into being a single mum, and finds out about clinics in Spain where she can get a baby all by herself. Is Millie about to get pregnant for the wrong reasons? And is her way of going about it the right or wrong way?

I was really pulled in by the blurb of this book, because it just sounds so much like something I would really enjoy. It did sound just like the sort of story you could involve yourself in and read right until the end without stopping, so I really looked forward to starting it. But the trouble is, once I had started, I just couldn’t stop. The characters were so involving and fantastic that I just had to keep reading to find out what Millie and her family were going to do next! Dowling really pulls you in with her writing style and you just can’t help but love each of them, despite their faults.

What I also loved about this book is the sub-stories running in between the main one of Millie trying to get pregnant. We meet Millie’s sister who is having a tough time in her marriage at the moment, but Millie is struggling to sympathise as her sister has 3 children and a dream husband. Their relationship is explored really well in this book and I enjoyed how their story unfolded and developed as I read on. Millie’s parents also crop up in the story and while some of their story is a bit sad and emotional, it’s incredibly well done in the book and was a real triumph of love and partnership over struggles. It all weaves seamlessly together in the story, and by the end all the loose ends are tied up although there’s still a cloud over one of the stories but it seems fitting that is the case.

The main character of Millie is definitely one any woman will feel sympathy for, especially because her husband is such a prat! Like most women, Millie really wants to be a mother and from Dowling’s writing, you really feel Millie’s emotion along with her and I really felt sorry for her when she thought her dream of being a mother was taken away. As the story unfolded, I did think Millie had lost it somewhat but I guess desperation makes us all consider things we might not have thought of otherwise. She really is such a likeable character though, and I was desperate for it all to work out for her in the end. The scenes in Spain were well done, although I got frustrated with Millie at times when she reacted to a character called Simon in the way she did!

Compared to the previous Dowling book I read which was ‘Expecting Emily’ (her second novel), she has definitely improved her writing skills since then and has crafted a fantastic read here. Set in Ireland and written in the third person, the book is a joy to read from start to finish and I am sure will hit a nerve for quite a few people out there. It is a touching story of a woman who just wants a baby and her journey to get there, albeit not an easy one. Dowling’s book is emotive, great to read and I would highly recommend it, particularly if you’ve not read her work before. A wonderful story full of hope.

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book review: clare dowling

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