Marcia and Jeff truly want a baby. They have tried so many things, even IVF, all of which have failed. Now, Marcia wants to try surrogacy and hopes Jeff will agree. However, Jeff is not for it for many reason. He feels it exploits poor women and the expense is horrendous. But Marcia continues her in-depth research.

Soon, Marcia finds the perfect surrogate. Eve is a widow with a young son, named Danny. She needs the money to help provide for him. Quickly, the process is done and the surrogate is pregnant with twins. Marcia and Eve become close friends. The birth is not easy and one baby is stillborn. The other baby, a little boy they name Griffin, is tiny and in an incubator. Add to that, Eve dies from an embolism.

Marcia insists that they take Danny home with them as he has no other family. Suffering from grief at the loss of his mother, Danny has a hard time settling in and Jeff’s disinterest in the boy makes matters worse. All the problems with Danny and his adjustments to school lead to problems with their marriage.

Marcia is a senior editor with a publisher and Jeff is an attorney. Marcia has been lucky to take an extended maternity leave as little Griffin has had problems with colic. It also gives her time to bond with Danny. If only Jeff would warm to the boy and give him the attention he needs instead of always trying to discipline him or ignore him.

The plot of this story is a good one and in many ways, the author did a good job in writing it. I did not like Jeff because I truly felt he did not want a child. So now that they have baby Griffin plus Danny to raise, Jeff becomes somewhat belligerent. Jeff is a jerk. Period. I didn’t really care for Marcia’s character either. Her insistence on surrogacy in the face of her husband’s disapproval needed more discussion between them before going forward with the plan. Another thing Marcia does that grated with me was her rude treatment of her editorial assistant, Julie. It reminded me of “The Devil Wears Prada.” I hope editors don’t treat their assistants like this.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What happens when life throws you a big curve ball? You hold on and do the best you can, putting your heart and soul into making it better. You love and hold on.
Risking it all is emotional and beautiful, telling a wonderful story of want, loss, and finally love.

Would you do anything to have a family? Marcia must make that decision and with a resistant husband she must convince him to take the least paved path. It was so interesting to read a story about a woman who had fulfilled all the professional goals that she had wanted, but starting a family was not working out for her so she must really push and exceed the obvious to get what she had always dreamed of. Then when she gets her dreams answered things look a little different than she imagined and she must roll with the punches!

I don't want to divulge the major parts of the plot because as the develop it is interesting to see Marcia and her husband and how they each react in very different ways. Both of their responses felt real and true and I liked that. I liked that everything wasn't sunshine and roses and they had major speed bumps along the way.

The one thing that made this book a little difficult was the slow pacing of it. There were moments where it just wasn't moving that much and it was slow and steady and I was easily distracted away from it. But I kept rolling through and was satisfied by the ending and how it all came together.

I would absolutely read another by this author. I noticed she had one in her backlist and I hope she is working on something forthcoming.

Risking it All
I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Marcia and Jeff have been unsuccessfully trying for years to have a baby and their options are running out. Marcia is trying for surrogacy, Jeff initially against it, eventually agrees. They find a surrogate, who is a single mother, raising a 10 year old boy, Danny and wants to use the money earned from the surrogacy to better Danny's life. Things go terribly wrong after the birth and Danny ends up living with Marcia and Jeff and their new baby boy.
The book is about how they cope with the instant family, raising not only a new baby but a very sad and angry preteen boy. The book is definitely a page turner, it's a good story, the character development is just so-so. I felt for Danny the most, appreciated Marcia's efforts to keep the family going and was annoyed at Jeff's poor decisions. Overall 3 -3.5 stars.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

What do you do when everything that should be joyous goes terribly terribly wrong? Marcia wanted a child, her husband Jeff was conflicted. Danny isn't the son either of them expected or even wanted but they are able to take him in when his mom, their surrogate, dies in childbirth. His anger is what fuels most of the emotion in this book. He didn't want them either and he acts out, creating an untenable situation. When the chips are on the table however and when Danny really needs them, Jeff comes through. This is a good old fashioned emotional novel that really is in the tradition of Jodi Picoult and other "domestic fiction" writers, The characters might feel a bit stock at first (especially, I have to admit, Marcia) but the twists in the story made them come to life for me. Darnton has written a lovely book that takes a standard story and turns it on its head. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. This is a very rewarding read.