Deeply emotional and poignant. Harris has done a nice job with keeping this from become melodramatic even as it tugs at the heart.

Emotionally fraught from the first page. Hauntingly beautiful . Make sure you have lots of tissues handy

How INCREDIBLY emotional and poignant - I knew from the blurb that this book would stir up all the emotions, but I still wasn't prepared. Anyone that is or has been a parent will be moved by this story. I just finished reading this last night so I'm at a loss to say any more!
Thanks to Brooke Harris, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I can’t fail to give this 5*
For content
For ease of following the story
For characters that have depth
And....

ɪᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴄʀʏ!!

Although this is sad, it also brings love into your heart, hope, laughter and a reason to say “ ʟɪᴠᴇ ʟɪꜰᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ”. None of know what is around the corner.

There’s a little girl in here named Molly. I loved her. As children accept things more quickly than us adults and while life got tough she livened up things no end.

Kayla and her Mother, Heather have a wonderful relationship. Maybe because there’s just the two of them. Her Father married again. But, it’s a good pairing and they all mostly get on. Tension sometimes as to be expected. He has a daughter (Molly) from his marriage to Charlotte.
The bound between his former wife is strong bringing up Kayla. Kayla is now in her teens.

Tragedy strikes and they all need to stick together. But will emotions rip them apart?

The ending of this book gave me everything I wanted and life not always being wrapped up in tiny little bows. Although I cried buckets.

If you like books about relationships, not always happy endings, facts, reality of life. You will not do badly if you pick this one up.
A tearjerker for sure.

Holy cannoli, that was an emotional read! I'm emotionally drained. This author delves into a tough subject, but poignantly, and with an uplifting message and a bittersweet surprise. I absolutely love when a story punches me in the heart, but delivers me safely on the other side and hands me my heart back and with a warm hug.

This story revolves around 15-year old Kayla Prendergast Doran, who is an ace basketball player and the captain of her school team. One day, after a match, she experiences a sharp, shooting pain in her knee. She puts it down to over-exertion and fatigue; as it has happened in the past as well. When the next day also, after a small respite, the pain recurs with even more severe intensity; her mother, Heather, decides to get it checked-out.
Her world comes tumbling down, when the reports reveal a soft tissue cancer around the knee, Ewing’s sarcoma.
She reaches out to Kayla’s dad, Gavin, to break the news to her. Gavin is married to Charlotte, aka Charlie, with a 4-year old daughter of their own, Molly.
Kayla and Heather move in with Gavin, in Dublin, to ensure best possible treatment at a famous children’s hospital.

Told alternatively, between Kayla, Heather and Charlotte, this was a gut-wrenching read.
Kayla’s initial shock and denial about the diagnosis, and then eventually her acceptance to her fate was traumatic to say the least. Equally painful was Heather’s struggle to see her daughter fight to live, Charlotte’s unequivocal love for her step-daughter and worst still was Molly’s love for her older step-sister.
The turmoil that Charlotte goes through is captured superbly as well. As much as she loves Kayla, she is stuck with wanting to be supportive to Gavin and struggling with his attention being on Heather and his elder daughter.
Also equally well-developed was Kayla’s friendship with her bestie, Aiden. His grief was equally palpable.
When Kayla eventually realized that her days were numbered, she decided to give her mother one last gift to help her live the best life she could.
With help from friends and confidantes, can she help Heather re-live her life, after she’s gone?

This book took me on one emotional roller-coaster ride.
The moment I understood what the storyline is potentially going to be, I regretted picking it up, as I am a mother to an 8-year old. And it is never ever easy to see your child in pain, much less dying.
Yet, I couldn’t put it down.

It was never an easy read.
Because, as a mother, or even a father for that matter, how do you cope with knowing your child is going to die?
Gut-wrenching and painful, this is a powerfully written novel, which will leave you devastated, yet you will smile through the tears.
A very emotional, yet uplifting read, which had the tears flowing freely, especially towards the end.
A wonderfully-written beautiful story, of life vs loss, happiness vs sadness, and the all-important gift of being.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
What an emotional read! From start to finish I was in tears! That's not to say I didn't love it because I did!
It was very sensitively written with every care given!
I would highly recommend it.

What an amazing, but so sad book. Some may find this book hard to read, which is understandable but I loved it. There are some uplifting parts too but it really makes you realize to live each day to the fullest.

Lovely sad read. Pulled at the heart strings. But it was well written and flowed very well. Not the time ype of book I usually read due to the sensitive nature.

What a great storyline. This book had me emotionally connected with the characters. Its a very heartbreaking read that could very well have you in tears. The writing was superb and I will definitely be looking for other books by this author. to read.

From the book description I knew it was going to be an emotional read, but WOW !! This is writing of an amazing standard. and I needed tissues to get through it. Highly recommended

*thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Brooke Harris for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Ok so I'd been preparing myself for an emotional read from this. Based on the discription, I knew it was going to be that type of story and gosh I wasn't wrong. This definitely pulled at my heart. It was so touching and heartfelt. It was so well written. It's one of those that you need to have tissues for because while you can predict the ending to a degree, it still breaks your heart. If your not ready for an emotional read then stay away but if you want a beautiful story and can handle the depths this book will take you to, then it is well worth it.  It's so beautifully told yet so utterly heartbreaking.

Kayla is a typical teenager with a love of basketball. Her world revolves around the friends and enemies of school life and her sports passion. But she has been hiding a secret pain in her leg.
Cancer.
At only 15 years old.
Devastating for Kayla but with huge impact for her family too. Her parents Heather and Gavin split up years ago but have remained friendly. Now her dad is married to Charlotte and they have a daughter together, Molly.
Both mothers are determined to try to protect their daughters but can they do it at the expense of the other? Molly may be a match so could help Kayla’s treatment but the process is painful. Gavin is stuck in the middle, wanting to look after both girls and trying to negoatiate relationships with his wife and his ex.
The Forever Gift is written from the narrative perspectives of Heather, Chatlotte and Kayla. This is a clever device to show the different viewpoints and challenge your own thoughts on what you think you would do in similar circumstances.
The situation and dilemmas facing the parents are heartbreaking and author Brooke Harris has dealt with the issue of childhood cancer with great sensitivity. It is so easy to get caught up in the plot and feel an emotional connection with the characters.
I fully admit that I would usually not choose this type of book as, since becoming a parent, tales of sick children are almost unbearable to read. However, I am glad that I read The Forever Gift as the author has written a truly beautiful book that is full of hope and love despite the unfolding tragedy.
I defy anyone to manage to read the final quarter of this book without crying!

#TheForeverGift #NetGalley What an emotional roller coaster of a read. Even though it is obvious early on what the ending will be, it will still very likely reduce you to tears as it did me. A beautiful story, sensitively written which exposes the difficulties when first and second families have to come together. A bit of a blip, when about half way through, Charlie a confirmed vegan, tucked into Heather's cupcakes/muffins but did not spoil the book at all.. Have your tissues handy!

The Forever Gift is an incredible book! It hits every emotion and then some! I read it in one sitting. It may just be the best book I have read this summer! Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for this honest review.

What a lovely story. It was obvious the formula it was following. But you know what, I didn't mind that at all. I loved Kayla's character. What an amazing young woman she turned out to be. And I have to admit I shed a tear for her and her situation. You can only imagine how you would feel knowing that death is your immediate future. And it happened so quickly for her, it was really unfair. I really loved what she had done for her mum, although I know that that would be a horrifically difficult thing to endure if you were Heather. I have to admit, I didn't like Charlotte's character. I'm a stepmother myself, and I know and can empathise just how difficult it is to be the 'third wheel'. But you really do have to step up to the plate, so to speak when something like this happened. My two stepdaughters little sister was diagnose with Leukemia 2 years ago at the age of 3, and in 18 days finally finishes her treatment. But I had to suck up any ill feelings I had towards their mother, for the sake of the girls and the incredibly difficult time for them all. The difference in my situation was that my husband isn't the little sisters father, but there were times in the book where Charlotte was being completely unreasonable and she actually angered me for being so selfish. But, that's the sign of a good book. One that can elicit a number of emotions from the reader. It would be worse if I just didn't care for any of the characters. And that bloody funeral scene *cue ugly cry* when her best friend read her message. What a heart string puller!

A wonderful read from the author. I look forward to reading more from her. Thank you for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

Be sure to have plenty of tissues before you read this book. Even though it's difficult reading with years in your eyes, it's so worth it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

This story is an emotional roller coaster and will make you cry. I read it in almost one sitting. Truely believable characters with an inevitable outcome.

This is a breath taking and heart wrenching read but it is beautifully written
I read it in one sitting as I was so compelled by the characters. By the end of the book I was so emotional

One of the most uplifting emotional reads ever

This book is absolutely incredible! I was dubious at first that this would just be another tragic tale of child gets sick, child dies and everyone is sad. It’s so much more than that, as well as being an absolute heart wrencher.
In this book we meet 15 year old Kayla, a sporty teenager with a bright basketball career ahead of her, until her knee starts to hurt. The story then begins to unravel as Kayla makes the toughest choice of her life, which will ultimately cost her her life whilst also securing her mothers future.
A thought provoking, amazingly written book which I finished in bed absolutely sobbing!!
Thank you for the read x