Genre: Contemporary/ Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Bookouture

Date Published: 5 March 2021

Print length: 3911 pages (Ebook)

Trigger warnings: Fertility problems, procedures surrounding fertility, loss & grief

Blurb

As I watch her walk away, an arm raised to her face as she wipes tears from her eyes, I wonder if I really can go through losing her again. Because if I do this, I might gain a child, but I’ll lose her in the process.

Isla and Ben are devoted parents to their beloved daughter, Reese. She is their little miracle, the child they thought they’d never have until donors made her existence possible. But Isla has never told Reese about her biological parents. She wants to be honest with her daughter, but can she bear to open up old wounds?

Then Isla receives a call from Lucy, once her closest friend and the donor who made her dreams come true, and it seems she may need to make a decision sooner than she thought. They haven’t spoken in almost ten years, but Lucy has devastating news: she has lost her beloved husband Nate, just after they decided they wanted to become parents after all.

Heartbroken for her friend, Isla welcomes Lucy back into her life. But then Lucy comes to Isla with a request that changes everything. If Lucy gets what she wants, Isla’s perfect family could be destroyed. But would she deny the woman who helped her become a mother the chance for her own happiness?

My Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect with this one. This was in part down to the fact that, up until I read this book last month, I hadn’t read any of Carnevale’s books and in part down to the fact that – aside from the rather spoiler filled book blurb – I had no clue what direction this book with its simple cover was going in.

The book follows Isla and Lucy, each not only bound together by friendship but also by Reese – Isla’s daughter. I loved how Carnevale created two equally interesting, equally readable points of view to explore in this novel – as going from one woman’s story to the other really made you question things. Whilst the moments with Isla, Ben and Reese were sweet, funny and honest portrayals of family life, the moments showcasing Nate and Lucy’s love story – and the devastation that follows – were deeply emotional.

Though the book didn’t go in the direction I expected, part of me thought we were heading for a thriller, it was an interesting, emotive read for sure. I found myself rooting for characters, hating others and – although I do like drama – I really wanted a happy ending (which, thankfully, I got – no spoilers).

I think what made this book work so well was the fact that the characters felt so real. I felt as though I could easily have passed them on the street or bumped into them in a coffee shop.

Whilst it wasn’t the fast paced thriller I expected, or even a thriller at all, there was plenty of intrigue to it – some plot points I figured out, others were a surprise. I think the fact that a lot was going on meant this book was extremely readable and I raced through it.

My only complaint was the fact that the book took a while to get exciting, I found. Obviously I enjoyed it but it took me a while to get to that point (of course this will differ from person to person, as some people prefer the hard hitting bits over the sweeter moments).

Regardless, A Child of My Own is a gripping, contemporary page turner about family, friendship and how far we are prepared to go to get what we want.

You love your friend. But what she wants could break your heart.

Isla, Ben and their daughter, nine year old Reese, are a devoted family. She is the child they thought they'd never have, until best friend Lucy offered to become a donor. Ultimately though it fractures their friendship and they lose touch for almost 10 years, so Reese has never known the truth about her biological parents, then Lucy contacts Isla with some devastating news about her husband Nate. Isla welcomes her back into her life but when Lucy comes to her with a request, Isla fears that the life she has built could come crashing down around her, can she say no to the one person that made her life complete?

A Child of my Own is a dual narrative told by Isla and Lucy in alternate chapters, it's an emotional tale of friendship, family and unconditional love, depicting how deep and powerful the friendship was between Lucy and Isla, in that Lucy gave her friend the ultimate gift, one thing that many of us take for granted and that is the gift of becoming a parent. Who wouldn't do the same, if they could, for their best friend? I adored Lucy & Nate, even after Lucy had lost everything she was still putting her friend first, considering Isla's feelings before her own, I tried to see it from Isla's point of view but couldn't and hoped eventually it would work out good for all of them. It's a beautifully written story, covering the topics with empathy and compassion, the first I've read by this author, but by no means the last.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval. I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

WOW! What an emotional read! This book tugged at my heartstrings and was a nice palate cleanser after being in somewhat of a book rut. This was my first book by Vanessa Canevale, and I want to read more. I highly recommend this novel for any women's fiction or family drama genre fans. I loved the writing style and related to the characters so well.

Isla and Ben are devoted parents to their beloved daughter, Reese. She is their little miracle, the child they thought they’d never have until donors made her existence possible. But Isla has never told Reese about her biological parents. She wants to be honest with her daughter, but can she bear to open up old wounds?

Then Isla receives a call from Lucy, once her closest friend and the donor who made her dreams come true. They haven’t spoken in almost ten years, but Lucy has devastating news: she has lost her beloved husband Nate.

Heartbroken for her friend, Isla welcomes Lucy back into her life. But then Lucy comes to Isla with a request that changes everything. If Lucy gets what she wants, Isla’s perfect family could be destroyed. But would she deny the woman who helped her become a mother the chance for her own happiness?

This is such a beautiful story! Right from the first page I was drawn into the story and found myself unable to put the book down until I finished it.

Narrated beautifully in alternating versions of Isla and Lucy, it covers the entire journey of these two remarkable women. Right from how they became best friends, Lucy willing to become a donor so as to give her friend one of the best gifts ever, the unexpected change in their friendship which eventually led them to be estranged for almost a decade to their emotional reunion. Each of these events, have been so wonderfully presented.

Apart from the characters, who each leave a mark in this story, even all the other social and legal issues involving donor embryos have been well highlighted.

Overall, this is a book which is full of heart and I don't think my words will enough to explain what a wonderful read this is!

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

A child of my own is an emotional, poignant read that delves into the depths of infertility and embryo ownership and the legalities associated with it! A gift given with the best intentions but then many years down the line wanted back, unearths an emotional and legal battlefield that will test friendships and personal integrity to the limit! A really thought provoking read that will resonate with many and stay with you long after reading!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

Lucy and Nate are the happy couple that travels for both work and for enjoyment. They never pictured children in their future. It was never a choice or option for them. Isla and Ben on the other hand, they were the happy couple that knew that children was something in the future. When they couldn’t conceive naturally themselves, they went on the lookout for options and ways to bring a child up. Lucy and Isla had been best friends since they were young. So when Isla and Ben needed help, Lucy and Nate agreed to donate three embryos to them, hence bringing along Reese with the second embryo, as the first didn’t take and leaving on embryo in storage. Reese’s birth brought pure happiness to Isla and Ben, but put stress and fractured the friendship with Lucy and Nate.

Nearly 10 years later, the wounds of words spoke between the two couples still fresh as 10 years ago, as they lost touch following the arguments. Still to this day, Isla and Ben hadn’t told Reese the truth regarding her birth, but due to circumstances happening in school. Ben realises that this conversation needs to happen sooner rather than later, but Isla still wants to disregard the conversation. Isla doesn’t want Reese to reject her and Ben and she thinks she still need to protect Reese from what this conversation to lead to in the school yard. However, a phone call from Lucy changes their lives all over again and this leads to more conversations to occur, some that lead to friendships being mended but also will Isla and Lucy’s friendships make it through Lucy’s new decision she wants to follow through.

A Child of My Own, set in Australia and written by Australian author Vanessa Carnevale, was one that I was sceptical to read initially, but the pull of an Australian author was what got me involved in this blog tour, and I am so incredibly happy I gave this book a chance, because this was some of the most moving writing I’ve read in a while. The writing style pulled on my heart strings from the first page until the last. I went through every rollercoaster of emotions that both couples experienced. I cried with the characters as well. The characters along with the emotional story line was something that definitely made me think about what my thoughts are in regards to what constitutes as family and how that doesn’t always involve blood related individuals. The themes of the book, along with the strong theme of family, includes friendship, dealing and coping with loss, and kindness and strength.

I loved the four main characters of Lucy, Nate, Isla and Ben. I loved learning their backgrounds and how they were best friends before Reese was born. The rollercoaster of their friendship was something that felt so raw and real, and how Carnevale brought this to life and felt so true to real life was something I loved reading. I loved the complexity of the reunion of Lucy and Isla and how after nearly 10 years, best friends are able to reunite and still feel that strong bond, but especially in their case, still feel the wounds that happened. Reese was an absolutely shining light of this book. She brought beautiful moments from all characters in the book. She was so beautiful to read and shows how resilient and strong children can be.

Carnevale’s writing style is something that I’ve been looking for in adult fiction books, as sometimes adult fiction books don’t hit in the same way for me, unlike this phenomenal book. I’ve never read a book by Vanessa Carnevale before, but I’m definitely going to pick up more of her books in the future!

Thank you very much to Bookouture for providing me with a copy of this novel and allowing me to participate in this blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new author for me. I cried like a baby reading A Child of My Own so I’m sure you can guess I really loved it. The chapters alternate from Lucy and Isla’s POV and you gradually learn what happened ten years ago to estrange the once best friend’s and what impact this may have in the present as they both want the same thing, to use Lucy and Nate’s final remaining embryo in storage. This book asks a lot of profound questions. What defines a mother? Who has more right to the embryo, the donor or the recipient? What would you give the person who knows and loves you more than anyone in the world? Whose happiness is more deserving? This is an emotional roller-coaster and a real tear-jerker. I loved it.

An absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking story of a family facing a difficult dilemma when the donor that gave them their daughter is asking for the impossible. A wonderful read!

A Child of My Own by Vanessa Carnevale follows her tradition of writing about people with trauma associated with wanting a child. Lucy and Nate were happy with their lives. Lucy hosted a TV show showing her traveling and Nate was a photojournalist. They were happy until Nate nearly died in a diving accident. Things changed for him. He quit his job, they bought a house and he renovated it. That was going to be his new job: renovating. And he decided he wanted a baby. They had agreed years before that there would be no children. Now this. Lucy was having trouble catching up. Their friends, Isla and Ben had a daughter, Reese, who was nine. Reese was the biological daughter of Lucy and Nate. Years before they had donated three fertilized eggs to their friends. The first didn't take, the second produced Reese, and the third was about to expire.
This is a compelling story about friendship and its boundaries and parenthood and its boundaries. Isla couldn't take the emotional stress of having Lucy and Nate in their lives: in the life of her child, so she cut them off. The past the years had been lonely for both Isla and Lucy sans their friendship. Isla reached out to Lucy when Lucy was suffering, but she was not able to bridge the gap of Lucy and Reese in the same room. Hearts were breaking.

I read at least half of this book with tears in my eyes. It was very emotional, and presumably, not realistic. Too much happened: lovers, parents, friends. It was a ride, a very tough one, in which things smoothed out in the end, but not without a lot of trauma in between. Lucy's relationship with her mother came full circle; Isla's relationship with her parents was tested; Isla and Lucy went round in circles. The stable one turned out to be Reese, the little girl. A Child of My Own puts one's problems into perspective and makes one thankful for their own life. Lovely read.

I was invited to read a free ARC of A Child of My Own by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #achildofmyown

With same-sex marriages, sperm and embryo donations and surrogacy on the rise, the definition of what family is has changed these days. Society and its professed values hasn't quite kept up with these changes and these families are not always accepted. This lack of acceptance is the thread that runs through A Child Of My Own.

Lucy and Isla have been friends since they were young girls. Their husbands, Nate and Ben were friends too. Lucy and Nate had no plans to have a child, being happy in their lifestyle. So they generously donated three embryos to Isla and Ben to allow them to have the children they longed for. One embryo didn't take and one resulted in the birth of Reese. But as Reese's birth came close, Isla announced that she didn't want Nate and Lucy to have any access to the baby and she basically stopped all interactions between the two couples.

Now, ten years later, Nate is dead and Lucy turns to Isla for comfort. Lucy also meets her biological daughter, Reese and wants to continue being in her life. When Lucy reveals that she wants to have a baby with the only embryo that's left, their friendship is tested to the extreme. Can Isla return the gift that Lucy and Nate gave her?

With a great deal of sensitivity, the author explores the ethical and legal issues around donor embryos, but more importantly the story delves into all the emotional complexities surrounding such children. Some of these issues are similar to adopted children too. But at the core, this is a beautiful story of friendship, family, forgiveness and love that goes beyond oneself and rescues the other.

A Child of My Own follows the lives of Isla and Lucy. Ten years ago these two were the best of friends, so much so that Lucy and her husband Nate donated their embryos to Isla and Ben, who were struggling to conceive naturally. But why did Isla cut Lucy and Nate out of her life? And how will she react when Lucy gets back in touch with some devastating news that will change everything she planned?

This story gets you deep within the heart, it'll grab at your heart strings and pull them tightly. We realise how much it means to both women to have their desired outcome, yet we see how that is going to affect the other in the worse possible way.

A Child of My Own doesn't just focus solely on the ramifications of embryo donation it goes deeper than that. And, it highlights the importance of friendship and how far we will go to be altruistic to those we care for.

I must admit that I didn't quite take to Isla, so I wasn't rooting too hard for her character. But it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story as a whole. I would have preferred to be fully invested in her though.

A Child of My Own is a journey of discovery. Going deep into your soul to see what choice you would take of you were in Lucy and Isla's position?

✨ I was gifted an e-copy of the book as part of a blog tour ✨

Wow, what a wonderful book, what a beautiful story!
An emotional read that hooked me from the very beginning. Heartbreaking though heartwarming at the same time.
The author touches so many interesting topics: friendship, family, adoption, IVF, ambryo donation, death, grieving, parenting, just to name a few.
The storyline is captivating and the characters are greatly developed. You can't but feel for both Isla and Lucy, the author describes them so well that you perfectly understand their point of view and reasons.
I'm not usually a fan of two voice stories narrated in the first person, because I find them a bit confusing sometimes, but Vanessa Carnevale's prose is so beautiful that you can't not overcome that.
A must read, definitely recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Isla and Lucy have been friends since childhood, but as they have grown into adults with their own marriages and lives to maintain, they haven’t spoken in almost ten years. After Lucy and Nate gave Isla and Ben the greatest gift, by donating embryo’s to the couple which enabled them to fulfil their dreams of starting a family, Isla quickly blocks them out of their lives and cuts all contact with them.

Lucy and Nate had never had any plans to start a family, as they were both focusing on their demanding jobs which required them to travel a lot. When their lives start to slow down, they start to think about starting a family of their own, but when tragedy strikes, and Lucy finds herself having to live a life without Nate, she finds her mind drifting to the gift both herself and Nate gave her best friend all those years ago, and wonders if there is any chance of keeping that part of Nate with her.

This story really was an emotional read, but one that captivated me from the start. I loved the entire concept of this book, with a unique storyline, and fascinating characters, this book certainly has a lot to offer the reader.

I found the characters intriguing and wonderfully developed. The author provided each character with their own personalities and hidden depths. I found my heart breaking for both Lucy and Isla, but for very different reasons. The raw emotion of Lucy having to come to terms with the loss of her husband was heart breaking, as was Isla having to deal with the possibility of losing the child she has carried and raised from birth. The way in which the author portrayed this really allowed the reader to feel completely immersed in the characters lives, and fully invested in their happiness.

This book was beautifully written, emotionally driven and completely and utterly captivating, a definite must read!.

This was such an emotional read.

I devoured this book in one setting because it hooked me and kept me reading until the very end.

It was written very well and the characters and storyline were well developed.

I enjoyed this and will read more from this author.

Isla and Lucy have been best friends since childhood. Now, in their married lives, they haven't spoken in almost ten years. After Lucy and Nate gave Isla and husband Ben the greatest gift of donor embryos and gave Isla the family she always wanted, Isla blocked them out and stopped communicating. Lucy and Nate never wanted children, both working demanding jobs requiring extensive travel. But when they finally slow down, they start to discuss starting a family. But then Nate is gone, and Lucy is left mourning her husband and what could have been. Can she ask her best friend to give up what she and Nate lovingly donated, to make both their dreams come true?
I loved this book! It was both heartbreaking and hopeful. But while Lucy and Nate seem truly wonderful, giving people, I really didn't like Isla. For her control of her daughter, the way she treats Lucy after receiving the best gift ever (despite what her mother did, Isla still comes off as spineless and selfish), and then for trying to be so selfish after Lucy's request. She and Ben just seemed to have a " why waste it?" attitude to the last embryo, but then she clings so tightly to it when her friend wants it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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

A Child of My Own by Vanessa Carnevale is a very well written book that focuses on many important topics. Not only that but it is emotional and eye opening in many ways. It is definitely a book to put on your TBR list for 2021!

Immediately, the cover grasped my attention. How could it not with the beautiful background and adorable Reese in the picture. The graphic artists captured the essence of the book perfectly.

Vanessa did something unique in her prologue. She had Nate write a beautiful letter to Lucy. Throughout the book you see more letters from him. The letters are so sweet you can’t help but smile. You can feel the love that he has for Lucy. It just made me smile ear to ear!

Vanessa sure did pick some creative careers for her characters! Nate was a photojournalist that traveled to many great places to get some shots! His job had a good level of risk when he took the job. After all he saw and did on the job it literally almost killed him. However, it made him reflect on what was truly important in life. Plus, his mom was a sem-retired watercolor artist! Both are so fascinating careers.

Nate was full of life and just so cute towards Lucy! He definitely wanted to move on to the next stage of their life and start a family!

On the flip side we meet Isa who cracked me up when I first was introduced to her character. She couldn’t get over what being a Mom was all about-and how tough it was. I am not a Mom but I see my sisters with their kids and they do a lot for them!

Vanessa covers a lot of important topics in this book. One of those topics that I am glad that she addressed is bullying. Poor Reese was being bullied at school and kids were saying she was conceived in a Petri Dish! My heart went out to her hearing this. No child should be bullied!

Another topic that was very important in A Child of My Own is freezing embryos and IVF. Vanessa gave a lot of great education information regarding this.

No words for the tragic accident that left me totally heartbroken! No way did I ever think that would happen. Yes, I admit that I teared up reading this scene!

A really emotional and Heart breaking read. Story of a great friendship between two friends, Isla and Lucy and the trials and tribulations that life gives them. A really lovely book. Grtbthe tissues ready.

This was an interesting, emotional topic for a book, it took me a couple of chapters to get into it but I really enjoyed this one. I found the embryo donation aspect to be fascinating and the book itself to be thought provoking and heartbreaking at the same time. This is one of those books that draws you in and you’re sorry to see it end. I will be looking for more books by the author.

A Child of My Own is both heartbreaking yet heartwarming. Told from the eyes of the two main characters, Lucy and Isla. Lucy is a confident, happily married woman who loves her life meeting around the world with her husband when a tragic accident occurs. Isla has worked hard over the past few years with her husband's getting her finances back on track whilst bringing up their daughter. The women were best friends until a decade ago; can they reconnect the bond they had? A beautiful story showing what the gift of life can what actually mean to some people - I was hooked!

I really enjoyed. this book. A very emotional read. Make sure you have a box of tissues nearby!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read it.