Wow! Such an emotional, moving read that completely consumed me from start to finish!. The characters all had their own unique strengths and weaknesses, the ways in which these traits influenced the characters relationships added a new depth to the story.
Perfectly plotted, beautifully written and rich with emotion....this story will stay with me for a long time to come.

I wept reading this, great big noisy sobs, eyes scrunched up and a salty taste in my mouth. I believe I drooled a little. There may have been snot bubbles. I can’t recommend this beautiful, heart-breaking and gut-wrenching novel enough. My Only Child is incredible book. It’s been ages since a book affected me so much. I loved the fact the book moves between the present with Katherine and Davis coping with their grief in very different ways and the past of Katherine’s Mum, Hazel, showing her marriage to a high functioning alcoholic, the truth about Katherine’s origin and her own loss which causes her to fear for the path her grieving daughter is on. I wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out but I loved the direction the book took.

First, I want to thank Sam Vickery, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

Sam Vickery knows how to pull on my heart strings and make me tear up with her beautiful stories. She made me fall in love with her writing style in her previous book so when I heard about My Only Child I had to read it! I am so glad that I did!

The cover just melted my heart. It is just so beautiful and picturesque! That alone with the title just pulled on my heart strings and knew I was in for a heart felt read.

Sam dedicates her book to her son, Viggo. She says watching him grow into such a creative, curious, kind-hearted little boy has been one of her greatest pleasures in life. She loves you to the end of the universe and back.

Sam jumps right into the fast paced, heartbreaking, totally shocking, heart wrenching beginning to a story that will bring out many emotions inside of you.

This book brings up very sensitive topics such as loss of a child at birth, not being able to have any more children, alcoholism, how people handle grief, and international adoption.

Sam does an incredible job drawing out each emotion each character feels for each situation. She shows you how they feel not just tells you. You can’t help but feel total empathy for each character and what they are going through.

The book goes from present day to the past where we learn about how Hazel met Katherine’s Dad Frank. We learn about his tragedy in his life to make him the way he was. However, the very ironic part of it is we learn the parallel between what happened back then that is similar to present day in Katherine’s life.

There were so many times I wanted to reach into the book and give Katherine a hug! No woman should have to go through what she did. Her family wasn’t even consulted! That is what made me upset!

I myself am not a Mom but my sister almost lost my niece as she was born at 25 weeks early. She was in the NICU for 102 days. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if we had lost her. Luckily she is a happy, healthy, and full of life 7 year old! Who is like her Auntie and loves to read!

Sam says something in the back of the book that really hit home to me. Her greatest lesson in life so far has been that it is the times when things veer off course and our carefully laid plans go out the window that we truly have an opportunity to learn and grow. It is these challenges that make us stronger, kinder and more generous with love and our energy, and in pushing forward even when it feels impossible, we get the greatest rewards. You have no idea how true this is for the personal situation my family is going through now. Thank you Sam for this reminder!

My Only Child by Sam Vickery is another brilliantly written, emotional and powerful story that she is famous for.I have read some of Sam's previous books and always needed tissues to hand, this is no different.
Katherine is an only child and has grown up with her mother, Hazel always almost smothering her in one way or another. Katherine discovers she is pregnant with twins she is overjoyed, but decides to not tell her mother.after complications Katherine and Davis lose their baby daughter, but still have Jamie her twin, who is delivered safely.She is told that she is unable to have any more children, this devastates Katherine as she has always wished for a large family and she makes the decision to look into adopting. After all their research they decide adopting from abroad is the best option. Katherine and Davis realise this is a process that isn't easy but with their determination they will do it. Hazel discovers the plan and she has her own secrets to keep as well. She decides to try to persuade Davis adopting isn't the answer and is not supportive. This ensures Hazel and Katherine's relationship hits rock bottom. Will anything be able to mend it?
Told from Katherine and Davis in the present and chapters from Hazel with the past, this story was seamless, we see how events affected Hazel and Katherine in the past and what Katherine and Davis are going through in the present. An emotional, complex story of relationships with many layers. Every secret, lie and loss experienced is laid bare for us to see. An excellently written story that handles adoption and every process with sensitivity. The characters, again, as I have found with Sam's books are all believable and nicely drawn out. A story that will wring every emotion out of you and one you won't forget in a hurry.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of this book to write my review today.

This book was very hard to like because on some level the character were very one dimensional and hard to enjoy. I can understand not ready to have a baby and dealing with the issues the parents had but once the baby is usually born that most reluctant parents fall in love with their kid. As for the adoption part, that was a little bit more believable than the biological kid. Again, I tried to like it but it just fell flat for me.

Thank you for the advance reader copy from Netgalley

There were so many lies told in the relationship between Hazel and Kathryn. Some you could understand, others you couldn't. Some were told to protect others, some, I felt, were from a selfish point of view. However when the truth comes out, all the hurt caused by the lies was forgiven, and all their relationships improved. A great book about a mother/daughter relationship.

Wow! Another Bookouture book that I have been blown away by.

This book tells the story of Katherine, who has always dreamed of having a big family after growing up an only child. Heartbreakingly, the story opens as Katherine has just lost one of her twins and had to have a hysterectomy after a complicated and dangerous childbirth situation.

Katherine is absolutely devastated but is determined to go to great lengths to ensure that her son, Jamie, is not her only child. When we see the fractured relationship between her and her mother, which she says is caused by her mother’s overprotective and controlling nature, we begin to understand why she sees being an only child as a negative option.

But why is her relationship with her mother so fractured? And why are they so determined to hide secrets and lies from each other?

This book has absolutely been a gripping, emotional rollercoaster of a read. I really enjoyed hearing the stories from both Katherine and Hazel’s points of view as it helped me to sympathise with both of them.

The ending of the book is one of the most dramatic, climactic and exciting endings to a book I’ve read in a long time, worthy of a duff duff from Eastenders haha!

In all seriousness though, this is a fine piece of domestic drama fiction from a brilliant Bookouture author and I highly recommend it to fans of Jodi Picoult, Amanda Prowse, Katie Hewitt or Emma Robinson.

Katherine is not to be deterred. Devastated at the loss of one of her twins in childbirth, added to the fact the tragedy of a sudden and emergency hysterectomy, she is determined to fulfill her desire for a large family by checking into adoption almost as soon as she struggles to cope with those great losses.

Her husband Davis is really not on the same page. He would much rather the couple handle the cards they've been dealt and pour their love on their surviving twin. He is a healthy baby boy and they can make that enough. He knows how much they have talked about having a large family, but just maybe he can let Katherine play this out. Let her go through the process of of adoption. Perhaps when she can see the difficult road ahead, she will drop the prospect.

Meanwhile, Katherine must deal with her fractured relationship with her overprotective mother. In fact, not only are there secrets between them, but her mother's past comes into play. The story being told from Katherine's perspective now shifts to her mother's story. How much of her mother's life plays into the decisions Katherine is facing now is laid out in a then and now telling of this tragic story.

As I was reading this book I could not imagine the incredible losses Katherine had to cope with, all while being a new mother. What is more is that as the story shifted to her mother's point of view not only was quite telling, it held a different emotional edge. It helped readers to see why beyond the pain of loss Katherine had to cope with and allowed the reader to see that the loss was felt on several levels. By so doing, the author touched on some heavy subjects - that of loss, unhappiness, adjustment and secrets. Then as Katherine's wish to adopt came to fruition, those difficulties were also traversed.

This book by Sam Vickery was my first by her and it was a baptism of fire. This book was hard-hitting, and I was riveted to the book from the very first scene, through the pages as the stories were told, all the way through to the very end. While I read this book I was often overwhelmed by the sadness enveloped within the story, looking for some sort of hope and joy to come through. Kudos to the author as she managed to evoke such strong feelings in me as I read the pages of this excellent book.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

An emotional heartbreaking read was this where a woman pregnant with twins gave birth to only one live child. This was Katherine and her mother Hazel’s story where author Sam Vickery weaved the twin plotlines seamlessly.

A lump in the throat soon found me gulping hard as I got to know the secrets and circumstances of both the women. The characters were so well etched that their voices seemed real.

Many issues were interspersed into the plotline adding layers into the story, which touched my heart in the simplicity of the words and the complexity of the emotions.

The prose was slower than my thrillers but poignant enough to immerse me into their lives. The space between the words allowed my emotions to swell, adding a sheen to my eyes.

Some books were meant to be felt by the heart when the lines were read by the eyes. This was one of them. Relationships shone from the turmoil and complications to the love and understanding.

My heart throbbed as I smiled on reaching the end of the last page. Sighhh…

"No one knows what I lost"

Oh My Goodness! This is the first book I have read by this amazing author and I really don't know if I have the emotional strength to read any more, if they are all like this one! - There just aren't enough tissues in the world to soak up all these tears - of both sadness and joy!!

Three short opening lines had me hooked, half guessing that bad news was to follow, but never knowing just how bad. The storyline had the right balance between plot and characters, although I think that there was definitely a strong third element central to this book, that of emotion. The ending was as divinely satisfying as I had hoped it might be, yet not in a contrived and sickly fashion.

I was half expecting it to come to light in Sam's biography, that she had also enjoyed a career in the social sector, as there is so much attention to detail, not only in the fluidly written physical storyline, but also in the richly crafted and effortless narrative and dialogue. The research to get the balance just right was impeccable. My Only Child is a story revealed in the 'then and now'; narrated in the 'now' in alternating chapters, by mother and daughter Hazel and Katherine; with Hazel sometimes taking time out to reflect  back into the 'then' of her own unconventional past.

A desperately intense, powerful and multi-layered story, written with total confidence and authority by an author skilled in the imagery of words. There were so many emotionally traumatic, disturbing and compelling elements to this storyline, which might be difficult to read about, however the final package was told perceptively and intuitively, with real heart and compassion.

Sam took charge of the story outline masterfully and knew exactly which direction she wanted to go with it, however it was if she then gave the individual characters free reign and space to flesh out the details in their own time and at their own pace. So as not to reveal any additional spoilers to those the author chooses to share, the premise does offer a very good outline of the story, although there are the inevitable twists and turns along the way, that I never saw coming and would never have been able to pre-empt. This was such a great penetrating study of family dynamics and one which I could invest in all the way.

There are really only three central characters to this storyline, none of which, I have to say, were easy to connect with, although they all had very compelling voices. The emotional complexity of the situation, left them feeling alone and searching for a sense of worth and belonging, almost to the point of self-destruction. Their individual passion was raw, although channelled in very different directions. Each of them certain they knew what the others were thinking and how they felt, when if they had only found it within themselves to sit and talk out loud and let those emotions out into the open, much of the ensuing heartache and heartbreak could have been avoided - but then, is that really in our nature as humans?

Losing a child is never easy, no matter what the circumstances, so when a grieving, but determined Katherine is left by her husband Davis, to make all the choices about how their lives should move forward, rationale goes by the wayside and so potentially, does their relationship. It takes the firm hand and unselfish cool head of Katherine's mother to instigate the change that might get things back on track, although nothing can be certain once she has unburdened her own, long held guilty secrets. Finally, Sam gave Davis the voice I suspected he always had and the outpouring of his own locked up grief, had me turning the pages ever faster. Ultimately though, it was down to Katherine, the instigator of much of her own unhappiness, who has to make that life-changing decision whether to unite this fledgling family unit, or irretrievably tear it apart!

As a reader, there are so many different journeys I could have taken with this story and my personal area of focus may not have been the same as anyone else's, but that's what made this lovingly written book, so special!

I really don’t know how this author does it, but she just writes the most beautiful, emotional and powerful stories.

As soon as I started this book I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put it down. It drew me in straight away.

My heart went out to Katherine, she was going through so much. The story is told from both Katherine’s and her mother Hazel’s, points of view. At first, I wasn’t too sure about Hazel. She seemed to be very interfering in Katherine’s life, and their relationship was quite strained. But, as I got to know her story, I began to understand her better.

I won’t tell you too much about the plot, for fear of spoiling it, but Katherine and Davis have a lot to deal with, and at times I wasn’t sure if they were dealing with it in the right way. It’s a very emotional journey, and it feels so real. The characters really feel as though they are friends of yours going through a terrible time.

I just flew through this book, because I really wanted to see how it would all turn out. It’s a really beautiful, heart-breaking and emotional read, one I won’t forget.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

The sorry is told by Katherine and her mother, Hazel. Initially I thought Hazel came across as quite domineering as a mother in law but gradually we learn her life story that has led to today.

Meanwhile Katherine is struggling with having her dreams for the future turned upside down and being on a different page to her husband, Davis.

I found the author's previous book incredibly moving and this was the same. Understanding the maternal instinct and pull of both Katherine and Hazel and what it drove them to do.

It also explored nature vs nurture and the pull of a biological bond.

My favourite quote:
"Your arms were forever full with the burden of it all."

Published today!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is a very emotional story of love and loss.
The emotions between mother and daughter. Wife and husband. Mother and son in law.
Loss of a child. Not being able to have another child. Holding a child and having to let her go.
This book is one that will have you crying your eyes out all the way through.
Katherine wakes up after having to have emergency surgery to a horrific loss. Not only has she lost one of her twins. She had to have a hysterectomy. She had wanted a large family and after this those dreams are diminished.
There are many secrets in this book that come to light after this loss. Tension between Katherine and her husband, Davis. Her mother also.
This book is told from Katherine's POV and her mother, Hazel's POV. It goes back to when Hazel was young and first got married also.
It's a very well written book that will keep your emotions raw. Make sure you have lots of tissues handy. You will need them.
I really enjoyed reading this one and liked most of the characters once I understood them all.
I gave this one a big 5/5 stars.
Disclaimer: I was given this book by the Publisher for REVIEW. It in no way affects my thoughts.

The fact that Katherine was carrying twins was a secret. This is a difficult, heartbreaking story covering the loss of a child. After a difficult delivery Katherine loses one of her twins and has a hysterectomy. A touching story about dealing with motherhood, grief, and the adoption process, with the emotions this entails.

The story alternates between Hazel (mother) and Katherine (daughter), helping understand the feelings and thoughts of both characters. This has a huge impact, you really get to know them and feel everything that they are going through. This made it all the more emotional.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story about a mother's love for her child, her willingness to protect her child from all harm, physical and emotional and to always be there for her child.

This is the first time that I am reading a story by Sam Vickery and the author has captured my heart by her penning down this story of such a complicated topic which always has so many shades even in real life.

Katherine is an only child of her parents. Hazel her mother is the only surviving parent and Katherine finds her too overbearing and interfering and that is what drives her decisions in her married life. Katherine has always wanted a big family so that none of her children experience the loneliness she has. Katherine is pregnant with her children and when she has premature pains and taken to hospital, she doesnt know the trauma she is going to be in for. What happens to the child? How does she survive this terrible incident? What happens in her relationship with her mother is what this story is all about.

The character of Katherine and Hazel have been depicted very clearly and the surprise for me was Davis's growth in character although I would have liked it to have some background. I liked the descriptions of emotions of each and every character and their self talk about why and what they do is what gave me an understanding into their characters. The story is narrated in multiple POVs, those of Katherine and Hazel. Thats where it is appropriate that Davis is always described in their perceptions. I would have loved to read Davis perspective of the situation too. That would have given me a look into his inner struggles. The development of the story was good and the emotional struggle of Katherine and Hazel with respective to their action in their children's present and future lives is what makes the story engrossing and interesting. Kudos to the author for tackling the topic of adoption in a very sensitive manner.

I would love to recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading stories having an emotional perspective to life events. If you are still healing from the loss of a child or other child birth issues the story may trigger unwanted emotions. I suggest such people to stay away from this emotionally charged story. If you are a lover if women's fiction then go ahead and enjoy this.

I thank Bookouture, Netgalley and the author for approving my request to read and review the story. The opinions expressed are all mine.

Told through two perspectives, Hazel, a woman who had quite a life story that slowly but surely comes out through the book. Katherine, her daughter who has just become a mother, but through a rough birth experience, her dreams of a large family are forever altered.

With two women sharing their stories, this book felt so full and true and relatable. Although not a mother myself, I appreciated the mother daughter relationship and the push and pull that happens between mothers and daughters from birth into childhood and then eventually into adulthood. I can relate to how two women have to evolve to be able to go through all of these stages and sometimes it isn't completely successful!

Although there are secrets to be revealed in this book, I didn't feel as though the author reminded the reader of the things they didn't know constantly! The secrets were revealed in just the right timing and I enjoyed reading about how the characters reacted when the secrets were divulged to them.

An opus that focuses on mother daughter and the ups and downs that can happen in a lifetime. I really liked how Sam Vickery built characters that made me want to know where they would end up, makes me want to read more and dive into more stories by this author.

This was such an emotional read. I'm not a mother so wasn't sure I would feel the strong emotions felt by the characters. I was wrong! The emotional trauma was extremely well written and some scenes made my heart hurt!
The plot was a little slow at one point but it definitely picked up as secrets were revealed.
A really enjoyable read!

Katherine was born to be a mother and the icing on the cake was when she found out that her pregnancy would produce two babies. She and her husband Davis guarded this fact assiduously, keeping it a secret from her mother Hazel. She had been an only child herself and the thought of having a twin birth filled her with joy. Her children would never be lonely like she had been as a child and would always have the company of each other.
When Katherine hit unforeseen maternity problems her surgeon had to perform an emergency operation to save her life, but with a huge danger factor for her unborn twins. Deeply unconscious, she is unaware of what is going on until she wakes up. Her son miraculously survived and they named him Jamie, but her daughter was lost. Worse still she could never become a mother again as the surgeon had performed a hysterectomy. Jamie would never have a sibling after all. Depression and grief consume her. She loved her baby boy but that was not enough, she had always wanted a large family so she looked for alternatives.
She researched adoption, determined that beautiful Jamie would have a sibling after all. She is one determined lady. The best option was to adopt a child from another country. Soon plans are afoot. The process is daunting, but nothing that determination and drive couldn’t solve. This is the story of her quest to achieve her heart’s desire.
Rich in emotion and with complicated arrangements to be made, this novel fascinated me. I loved the family dynamics and the way they rocked and swayed, just like a cradled baby. I changed my mind many times as to which characters I liked and disliked, but as the storyboard revealed its magical journey, I ended up liking them all. Everyone has faults, but also strengths and positive points. I liked the back story so much and couldn’t wait to find out how it would end. There is always a danger for families with deeply rooted secrets. What could happen was like a tight rope walker, first balanced this way and then that. When the secrets were eventually revealed my heart sang with joy. I adored the ending and yes I did shed a few tears along the way. This story was a very good read.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Bookouture, in return for an honest review. Thank you for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have read no other reviews before writing my own for you to read. It is a gorgeous story and my 4.5* review reflects this fact.

The book starts when a pregnant Katherine and her husband Davis are having dinner at Katherine’s mother Hazel’s house, and Katherine’s waters break. Rushed to hospital she awakes to learn she has a healthy baby boy, but she was pregnant with twins but she kept it a secret from her mother, wanting to surprise her when they were born. As if losing a child is not enough, all Katherine’s hopes and dreams of a big family are dashed when she is told that she cannot have any more children. She can’t even talk about the baby she lost, because only her and Davis know.
Added to that is the tense relationship between Katherine and Hazel that seems that it will never get better. Katherine resents her for mollycoddling her. Hazel doesn’t understand why the resentment, she was trying to do right by her daughter, to protect her. Then there is Davis who also doesn’t see eye to eye with Hazel. It is a family in turmoil.
Told in multiple perspectives, Hazel‘s from the past, her marriage, how she lives through that period of her life and also in the present, lots of secrets are lingering and they do eventually come out. Katherine’s perspective is very different, it was so sad, heart wrenching, how she deals with the loss and grief of her baby girl, coming to terms with not being able to have another biological child and her determination to add to her family.

This book did have me in tears several times throughout it. It was a tough read, perhaps because I am a mother, I don’t know. I just felt a deep sadness that did eventually life as the book went on.
It was very well written, in a true to life way, of a mother and daughter relationship that went off the rails and how they manage to rebuild it eventually. It was so emotional so grab your tissues before starting it. But be warned, just as you think it’s safe to put the tissues away, you will need them again.

Your pregnant with twins but you and your partner decide to keep that its two babies a secret. Thisnis the story of Katherine and the choice she and her husband made so that the other baby would be a surprise to their friends and family. Katherine wants a big family but that decision is taken out of her hands hen she goes into labour. One of the twins passes away and Katherine had to have an emergency historectomy. We also lear of her mother, Hazel's story.

This is an emotional roller coaster book tomread. It's also multu-lauered. There's a mixed bunch of likeable and unlikeable characters. I was invested in this story from the beginning. It's thought provoking. The two women's stories are woven together seamlessly. This isna well written story about relationships and the events that can take place that we have no power over. I really enjoyed this book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #SamVickery for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.