Really enjoyed this book by Vanessa Carnevale, A Child of My Own. A tale of motherhood, friendship and loss is explored in this book. Two friends one who desperately wants a baby and one who decides she doesn't. The answer seems simple and Lucy decides to help her friend. Isla have her much wanted baby. Baby Reese is born and things change. Between the girls and their friendship. Later,when their lives change and tragedy strikes Lucy returns to Isla's life and they face decisions and hurdles that put pressure on their newly rekindled friendship. What makes a mother a mother. How much does our genetic makeup impact the person we are today. These are all questions I was asked myself while reading this book. A thought provoking read . A good page turner.

Lucy and Nate were happy in their lifestyle choices. Travelling, both with their own careers, no children, by choice. Lucy’s best friend Isla and her husband Ben needed help to become parents so when Lucy and Nate agreed to donate embryos to them, and Reese was the result of the second embryo, their happiness was complete. But because of that, Isla and Lucy’s friendship fractured.

Ten years later and Lucy and Isla had lost touch – the words had been too harsh to forgive. Isla still hadn’t told Reese about her biological parents; was she afraid Reese would reject her and Ben? When Isla received the unexpected but shocking phone call from Lucy, it was one which would change all their lives once again. Sadness permeated the funeral; how could Lucy possibly go on? But it was what Lucy asked of Isla that looked like shattering their newly found friendship before it had barely begun.

A Child of My Own by Aussie author Vanessa Carnevale is an exceptional piece of writing that grabbed at my heart and didn’t let go until the last page was turned. Poignant, emotional, heartbreaking – this author knows how to get her readers in. The two men in this story are my favourite characters – Ben and Nate; and then of course there is Reese. She is adorable. I always enjoy Vanessa Carnevale’s books – this one is no exception. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional story about long standing friendship between two women, embryo donation and secrets. Loved all the characters in this book. Will look forward to reading many more by Vanessa Carnevale.

Firstly thanks to Sarah Hardy from Books On Tour for inviting me to take part in this book tour.

This book was very unpredictable from the blurb - I thought I knew what would happen from the off but I was very wrong.

This book covers friendship, grief and couple embryo donation- which I’d never heard of.

Initially I was more team Lucy, Isla annoyed me , she was just like her mother - uptight ! But I could see the scenario both characters were facing from both of their perspectives so I did warm to Isla eventually.

I really enjoyed this book.

You and your husband have the life you always wanted. You both travel for work and are happy just as a couple. Then your husband has a near death experience that changes his outlook on having children. But before you decide if you want children, your husband is taken away.

This is the story of Lucy and her husband Nate. Lucy and Nate selflessly gave embryos to their best friends who were not able to have a baby in their own. Lucy and Nate didn’t want their own children so why not help their friends? In life nothing happens as you expect.

At first I thought this was a story of Lucy and overcoming the loss of Nate. This is really a story about friendship. I was very interested in the story and it was a quick read.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s about two couples that drift apart after one gives the other a priceless gift. This story is heartwarming and heart breaking. It deals with friendship, families, infertility. secrets and lies. You will laugh and you will cry. This book is definitely worth the read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another superb story from Vanessa Carnevale who is becoming the queen of the moral dilemma! This time Lucy & Nate have decided that they do not want children, but their best friends Isla and Ben cannot have children so they give them the ultimate gift - 3 embryos. Isla and Ben now have a beautiful 10 year old daughter called Reese and despite one of the embryos being unsuccessful, they still have the remaining one in storage, after all this time they now feel they are ready to add to their family.
Lucy and Nate have now decided that they would like to start a family, but when tragedy strikes Lucy is left alone and wishes to use that one remaining embryo that is a piece of Nate and herself.
What do you do? You will have to read this book to find out!

This tears at the heartstrings, who owns that embryo and what will it take to make everyone happy, such a situation to be in. Vanessa really delves into this situation where there is unlikely to be a happy ending for everyone, such a decision to make - who deserves to receive the gift of a child?

Thoroughly enjoyed this book - read it in two sittings. Loved the fact that it was set in Victoria as well. Thank you to Net Galley and Bookouture for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book is built on the premise of a secret, a huge convoluted secret.

Two couples, who are best friends, come to the agreement that one couple will be an embryo donor to the other couple. This solves the problem of infertility but opens the door to a whole lot of other issues.

This book was a bit of a roller coaster for me. The first part did not grab me at all, I wasn't crazy about the characters but I kept pushing on. About 1/3 of the way in, I started to become more aware of everybody and interested in the situations. And, it only got better from there.

The main themes were family structures, mother-daughter relationships, friendships, and hope. This was an emotional story to read. There were times that I thought that it was too unrealistic, but the saying goes that “truth is stranger than fiction”. Life is full of unusual coincidences and events, so is this book. It all comes together for a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy.

What an emotional read! I had never heard of the author Vanessa Carnevale, but am so thankful I now know she is. I love the way the author wrote, the complex characters and the way I felt deeply connected to everyone. I highly recommend this book!

A Child of My Own is an emotional thought provoking read and I loved it. It made me cry many times and as heartbreaking as I found it I just could not put it down.
I highly recommend this book and will be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Isla and Ben and Lucy and Nate used to be a foursome that did everything together and Lucy and Nate made Isla and Ben's biggest dream of parenthood a reality with a donation. Reese is the daughter that Isla and Ben wished for for a long time, but Reese doesn't know the hurdles they leapt to become parents and maybe the truth will come out and change all of their lives.

This book took place in Australia, a country that I visited once and have dreamt for a long time to return. I really appreciated reading this book about fertility laws in another country and the custody of embryos and seeing how a different country is dealing with technology advancing faster than law.

For me while I was reading this book, I had a post it note with the characters, so I could keep the couples straight. There were a few moments in the book where I kept mixing up the who was with who and who's mother was who and the characteristics of that mother - they played big roles in the book and in the character's lives.

This was my first read of Vanessa Carnevale and I would like to dive into her backlist and read more and hope for more in the future!

What makes a family is the theme of A Child of My Own. Nearly ten years ago, Lucy and her husband Nate donated embryos to her best friend Isla, married to Nate’s best friend Ben. Their daughter Reece is now nine. Isla, who has not told Reece that she is not their biological chid, has ended her friendship with Lucy. One embryo remains.

Lucy and Nate are childless by choice, although they have recently decided that they want a baby after all. Isla and Ben, because of financial reasons, have only Reece but are considering another pregnancy. Then tragedy strikes when Nate is killed in a skiing accident. Lucy reaches out to her former best friend and Isla comes to the funeral. She brings Reece. The women tentatively try to rekindle their friendship but the attempt ends when Lucy tells Isla that she wants the remaining embryo so that she can have Nate’s baby. Isla wants a brother or sister for Reece.

What happens next is emotional and heartbreaking. “Would you deny your friend the greatest gift of all” is asked on the front cover A Child of My Own. But that’s exactly what Isla tries to do. Vanessa Carnevale captures the heartbreak of infertility and the grief after the loss of a loved one. This is a 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Vanessa Carnevale for this ARC.

This was such an introspective, emotional and beautiful novel. I knew it would be all of these things as soon as I saw the cover of the absolutely precious little girl, as well as the teasing tag line on the cover: “Would you deny your friend the greatest gift of all?”, There were so many topics that came up that made me question what I would do if I were in these situations, and that made me wonder if I would do the same as any of the characters. I went through several years of fertility treatments, and dealt with many failures and triumphs, tears of anguish and tears of joy. I went through so many of the same stages of life that Isla did and my heart aches for her as I commiserated right alongside her. I, too, had many of the same questions, emotions, and uncertainty that she did, and can tell you that the author captured all of it perfectly. Though I can’t relate as closely to Lucy, my heart still reached out to her as well, to ALL of the characters actually. It was such a compelling novel and I HATED putting the book down to deal with those annoying things like WORK that interrupted my reading time! I was invested in the story and the characters, and even more so when those huge twists were thrown in there that I did not see coming. The flow of the story changed a little a few times and a few tidbits were thrown in that made me a little confused but then it all made sense when those twists showed up. Brilliant!

Publication date: March 5, 2021

Set in Australia, 'A Child of My Own' explores the trials best friends Lucy and Isla face nine years after Isla conceives a daughter with the second of Lucy's three donated embryos. Finally ready for a second child, Isla is ready to implant the last embryo. When Lucy loses her husband in a tragic accident and decides she wants the last embryo for her own, two families are catapulted into heartache.

Carnevale's book reminds readers that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that bringing people in is better than cutting them out. The characters were likeable enough (but maybe not very deep personality-wise) and the plot runs at a good pace.

Perhaps because it was billed as 'for fans of Jodi Picoult', I had it in mind that this book would be more of a legal thriller or at least a deep exploration of a strong moral issue with no clear answer. I would say that the 'legal issue' only takes up 15-20% at most, and the rest is more about interpersonal dynamics. I enjoyed Carnevale's other book 'My Life For Yours' better, as I thought that the reader's attachment to those characters was allowed to have more growth. 'A Child of My Own' is still worthwhile and thought provoking.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Vanessa Carnevale for an ARC to review.
I finished this book a while ago so my opinion is not as fresh as it should be.
Still I do remember vividly that I loved the book it hooked me immediately and I so much hated Isla's character. I do understand the origin of her behavior and everything but she was a selfish person and a horrible friend.
A heartbreaking emotional book about friendship, grief, new beginnings and most of all hope.
I wasn't familiar to the donor laws and all that process, it might be hard to take on of the friends side and feel you took the right choice.
I loved the writing style and would definetly read more by Vanessa Carnevale.
Highly recommended though get a box of tissues handy.

Isla who is married to Ben are the parents of Reese. Reese is biologically Lucy's and Nate's, who never wanted children and they were happy to become a donor to their best friends. When Isla became pregnant, her and Ben decided , it would be for the best if they never saw Lucy and Nate again. Lucy and Nate loved travelling and skiing, they regularly visited France. Nate was a photojournalist and he nearly lost his life while working. After getting better, he decided to quit his job and he secretly hoped to be a father one day, but he wasn't sure how Lucy will react, so he wrote her a letter. After reading the letter Lucy started to come round the idea of motherhood. One day when they were skiing a tragedy struck and Nate lost his life. Lucy was of course distraught and decided to get in touch with Isla to let her know Reese's biological dad died. Lucy decided not to give up on dream to have Nate's baby. Isla and Ben wanted another baby too and with only one embryo left at the fertility clinic they will need to decide, who will get the embryo. I loved this book, loved the relationship between Isla and Lucy and Lucy and her mum. I really recommend this book.

I love this authors books and her ability to write about real emotional and sensitive topics in a very delicate way yet raise awareness of issues that others might be facing. This is a heartfelt and emotional read and really pulls at your heartstrings and explores the suffering that many couples face who are desperate for a child and the situations and decisions that they might find themselves in.

An interesting subject matter was at the heart of this story - egg donation.
The story was well told with a range of interesting and diverse characters.
For me, it was narrated with lots of emotion and compassion.
Without giving away any spoilers, there were developments to this story which raised a lot of thought provoking and moral issues for me.
A really readable book that was enjoyable and makes the reader think.
My first book from this author but will not be the last.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

It took me a while to get into this book, I couldn't warm to any of the characters, as the story started to unfold I wanted to carry on reading and im glad I did, it was an enjoyable read.

A very thought provoking read which was well written with interesting characters. It did take me a little while to get into this story line but that was just me personally as my usual reads are psychological thrillers.

As the story developed I began to warm to the story line and I thoroughly enjoyed this book which I can definitely recommend if this is your usual genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.