Zoe and Nadia are stepsisters who embark upon the journey of surrogacy. Zoe cannot have children because of a medical issue and Nadia offers to be a surrogate for her. This story deals with the emotions on both sides. I really liked the story of the sisters and how their relationship is. Louise, the child Nadia carried for Zoe, was another story. It like the author was really trying to make the reader dislike her. I know teenagers can be difficult, but I wanted to reach into the book and shake her. But, maybe the author wanted that tension in the story. This was an emotional read, but a good one.

I really enjoyed reading Let Her Go, such a fab read that I would definitely recommend, great cover, if I saw this on the shelves I was definitely pick it up.

A thought provoking book. As a close family, there seemed an obvious solution to the sad problem of infertility. But the emotions become entangled and sometimes despite deciding the way forward, you cannot separate those close bonds. This is a book that made me question whether the right thing to do is actually the right thing - should heart ever rule over head? As for the child - do the teenage problems she encountered have anything at all do to with her upbringing? Would she have turned out differently? This book asked more questions than it answered and was a well written and emotional read. Recommended.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book touches on deep subjects about surrogacy, marriage & family. I tried putting myself into this situation, as a mother, and I was conflicted on how I would react if I was on either side of this situation..

At times, I found myself hurting for Zoe, but other times being really irritated with her. She comes off as selfish and single minded in that she seems willing to destroy her marriage to have a child. Even after she finally gets that dream she continues to act in a manner only thinking of herself. Her husband has many issues but she doesn’t do anything or tell anyone what’s happening until it’s too late. It's like she had on blinders.

Next you have Zoe’s sister, Nadia, is the biological surrogate. Nadia wanted more children & to be a stay at a stay at home mom, so of course issues will arise with this situation. She is naive to think she’d be able to hand over her biological daughter to her sister without issue.

Believable characters and an emotional story. Well worth a read

This book is a riveting piece of fiction that will keep the reader engrossed from the first page!

This is a sad but very good read,it's about a couple that's had 3 miscarriage,and been told they can't have any more,Andhra sister said she will have a baby for them, good read but you may get upset.

Excellent and emotional book, great read couldnt put it down. I would highly recommend this book do not miss out

Fab story with parts that brought me to tears. The story was wrote so you saw both biological mother and mother. Written so well it could easily have been a memoir. This is the first book by this author I have read but will not be the last

"She had never understood how much she wanted children until the doctor had told her that she couldn't have them." Zoe McCallister wants a baby more than anything. But what happens after you get what your heart desires?
I loved that the author tackled the issue of surrogacy between sisters. The conflict with the family dynamic made for a good read. It made me think. But, I didn't fall in love with Let Her Go. The writing isn't the issue but as the story progressed, I became less emotionally connected to the outcome. I understood both Zoe and Nadia's sides, felt their pain and understood their conflict, but the ending... I didn't buy it. I didn't understand Louise at all. Surrogacy isn't an explanation for her actions.
Some insightful quotes.
"Family bonds weren't forged from blood, they were welded by shared moments, from intimacy, from vulnerability."
"No one ever knows the effect on the future of the things we do now; we just have to do what we think is right at the time."
3.5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for this read.

A really emotional read. Stepsisters Nadia and Zoe are leading different lives. Both happily married however, Nadia had three children and tells her woes of how hard it is and how tired she is. Zoe is resentful as she is desperate to be a mother but has had three miscarriages and it is not going to happen. Despite deep reservations from the two husbands Nadia offers to be a surrogate for Zoe. The baby is then biologically Nadia's and Zoe's husbands Lachlan. The baby is born and much loved by both families. Zoe feels she has to be eternally grateful to Nadia and Nadia is having major regrets. Then there is baby Louise in the middle of the turmoil. A really heart wrenching story with likeable characters and a real dilemma of who should have baby Louise. A story of love, loss, heartbreak and a mental breakdown. I loved this book and look forward to more from this author.

Im really torn on the review for this book. I really enjoyed the back story, the surrogacy and the emotional turmoil - it was well researched, well written and really absorbing. However I was really disappointed with the newer section of the story, it seemed much less 'real' and didn't really serve any purpose. For my taste the whole thread could be stripped out without it affecting the other excellent part of the novel.

The blurb talks about the family pulling together when Louise is found on the beach... but this is barely a few pages really, and the conclusion was quick & weak.

For the 'early days' part of the story I would have separately awarded 4 stars as it was really good.

When Zoe and Lachlan told they are unable to have a baby - Zoe has already had three miscarriages - Zoe's sister Nadia offers to be a surrogate for her. Nadia has already got three children and is sure that she will be able to carry the baby and then hand it over to her sister - her husband is not so sure and advises her not to do it.

When Louise is born Nadia is more and more drawn to her and convinced that she would be a better mother to her than Zoe but she has signed all of the papers and Zoe and Lachlan are now the legal parents - can she live with this decision?

A very emotional book told in two timelines - one in the past when Louise is handed over and one when Louise is a teenager and getting into trouble - but who are the parents that she is with?

Let Her Go was a great book.
Zoe and her husband Lachlan are unable to have a baby naturally so her sister Nadia offers to be a surrogate for them. She delivers a baby girl Louise so everything should now run smoothly.......
Have a read you won't be disappointed.
5 stars from me.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
I'm incredibly conflicted with this book: on one hand, I found the story interesting, but on the other I really was not a fan of our main characters. The idea of surrogacy gone wrong was a fascinating one, and showing how a very strained relationship affected Lou in the future was clever. That said, I couldn't stand Nadia or Zoe because I found them both very short-sighted and selfish, but I am not sure that I was really SUPPOSED to like them. My biggest issue was that none of the characters changed or seemed to really learn anything: Zoe remained self-centered and narcissistic, Nadia was a selfish and pig-headed, and Louise was an angry teenager. NO ONE changed, or apologized, or had any real character development. So the story is a solid four star story, but the characters I couldn't stand. Really, this book is a 2.5 star book, but it was captivating even if I wanted to shake the stupid out of everyone.

Let Her Go pulled me in quickly and had me invested in the lives of the characters right from the start. My heart broke for what all 4 of the main characters experienced in this book. Many times people do the right things for all the right reasons and things still turn out wrong, which is what happened here.

Louise, the one truly innocent soul in all of this was the one that I felt suffered the most. I liked Louise quite a bit and could put myself in her shoes.

This is definitely a good read and is recommended for anyone that likes family dramas or books where strong women drive the story. I will definitely keep an eye on this author in the future so that I can read more of her work.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Ms. Barker for allowing me an early copy.

I would like to thank Dawn Barker, Canelo and Netgalley for giving me this book for my honest review.

Review By Stephanie

Could you share your child with someone else….. That is the line in the description that got me!

Zoe and her husband spent many years struggling to have children. Then one day her step sister Nadia offers to be Zoe’s surrogate, and Zoe accepts the offer and they all have a baby girl Louise. Everything should be all amazing with in this family but no one expected how hard it would to have someone else be the mother of your child.

Then years later Louise needs her family’s help, but will everyone be able to put their emotions aside to help Louise.

This book was amazing! I was unable to put it down! They story line was unlike no other, you will feel one way one minute and then a completely different way another. I can not wait to read more from Dawn Baker!

This was a difficult book to read in an emotional context and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The writing isn’t the problem, it’s just that it touches upon some really difficult subjects and as a mother I felt as if I kept putting myself in the shoes of each of these women wondering what I’d do in their shoes.

Living in the States where surrogacy is such a common practice, widely accepted across most of the country and there are very few issues I at first had some trouble understanding the foundation of the issues the characters faced. Barker does a good job of guiding her readers through this topic so you can understand the challenges faced, why and how even when you think the ink is dry on the contract and you can breathe that may not be the case.

I found myself hurting so much for Zoe at times but also being really irritated with her because she comes off very selfish and single minded in that she seems willing to destroy her marriage to have a child. Even after she finally gets that dream she continues to act in a manner only thinking of herself. Her husband begins spiraling out of control, he’s obviously having severe psychological issues but she doesn’t do anything or tell anyone what’s happening until it’s too late. It feels like she continues in that vein with her child and only finally gets help for her when her own job/life gets put into a bind. I had a lot of trouble liking this character.

Then you have Zoe’s sister Nadia who was the biological surrogate. The author set up there would be a conflict right away because it was made known that Nadia wanted more children and to stay at home so it seemed naïve to think she’d be able to hand over her biological daughter to her sister without issue. I know it seemed like Nadia was kind of being set up to be the ‘villain’ in this story but I ended up liking her more and would have ended the story differently just because of how much I preferred Nadia over Zoe.

This would be an excellent book to read in a book club to talk about the issues of motherhood, pregnancy, thoughts on surrogacy, etc. I’d be particularly curious to get a man’s point of view.

Well written about a touching subject but only 3 stars as it didn't really make me feel anything.

A really really emotional book. I found it tricky to read and that’s no fault of the book or the writing which was evocative and vivid - the story was very compelling. I had no idea of the issues involved with surrogacy and this kind in particular. The author is a child psychiatrist which explains a lot of how she really nailed the authenticity of the story and feelings - it just floored me though. Some very dark subjects involved here too but there was plenty to think about and then some.

The setting more than sold the story for me as it is set on a small island off the coast of Australia which I was drawn to - what makes people escape, run and hide? Why this island and the two stories which linked together were cleverly done. Island was loneliness, claustrophobia and escape personified and was as much a character as anyone.