Such a different type of book and I found myself pleasantly surprised. While this book clearly won’t be for everyone, I loved how it sets itself apart from other books. Four different women, in 4 different situations, under the control of a government who limits any power and control that women have. While I was angry that the women in this story had been so accepting of things for so long, it also made me think about the holocost and what 1 man with crazy ideas and a whole host of followers can do, but also that one voice can gather strength over the wind and a big enough gust can be the change people don’t always recognize they need.

Uhmmm this was a great read with a really difficult theme to swallow, basically women do not have rights, rape doesn’t exist, even other women are biased in thinking that rape doesn’t exist, and women are forced to get married to the father of the baby, also women cant work before the child is 18 years old, so there’s no real need for women to study and for each baby you need to pay at least 5000 dollars, and to make things worse, couples need to bring a baby to the auction but they don’t leave with their baby, yeah everything feels wrong with the auction, worse even is that a man that has lost his wife he is not allowed to raise his son/daughter because only a couple is allowed that… do you feel horrified already?

This book follows the lives of 4 of these women and the men in their lives, and believe me this book will shook you, you’ll be sad, you’ll feel hope and want them to be happy, you’ll hate some characters with passion, and others you just wish you could meet them in real life, and in the end you’ll be left with the feeling that if even people that live in such a dystopic world could still fight, then there’s still hope for us.

I highly recommend this book, even if it is hard for you to read, read it, take your time, is worth the ride.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another dystopian novel that could sadly come true. This book grabbed me and didn't let go until the last page.

What a ride! This dystopian novel will have you questioning the future of humanity. I could not put this book down. And I can honestly say that I have not read anything like this before.

The Auction takes place in the United States, where the country is trying to convert back to the Halycon days. During this time, women are wanted for reproduction purposes. Birth control is illegal and once a woman is pregnant, she must quit her job and raise her child. Also, if she isn’t already, she has to marry the father (after a paternity test to confirm). She must also cook, clean, and be ready to care for her spouse when he returns home from work.

That’s not the worst part. Once the child is born, they are placed up for auction, and the highest bidder takes the prize. So even if you love your spouse and create a child together, you have to put them in the auction and hope you can afford to purchase your own baby.

A fantastic read that is real and raw and shows how terrifying society could become. I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down.

A nice little book that touches on the nose of today's political and societal system. Overall not the most well written book but it has a very strong message.

"Hope is scary if you've never had it. it alters the way you see your entire life."
The premise of this book is pretty great -- a Dystopian in a near future USA where the president wants nothing but to return to the "Halcycon days" of the 1950s. Birth control is illegal, abortion is almost unheard of, and women are forced to marry the person who impregnates them. We follow the story of four women, only one of whom actuallys wants to be pregnant. It was fun to read, even though parts of it were understandably dark.
I did fall in love with the characters and wanted to route for them. I felt that the writing was often sloppy and certain ideas could have been better developed. Especailly the ending.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/user_reviews/lindsnoelle

It was the image on the cover that first drew my attention to this book. The image of the pregnant woman behind bars is certainly a compelling one. Then once I read the blurb, I knew that I absolutely had to read it.

Sadly, the society within the book is not all that unbelievable when you look around and read the news articles right now from different parts of the world. The society is run by men and of course this means that the world is angled and in favour of the male race. The government is made up of men too, the head of which is President Boyce. President Boyce’s ideal, that he pushes everyone to strive to is his vision of the “Halcyon Days” basically what the male government see as the “good old days.” His good old days consist of the women at home having babies, doing all the housework, with a pretty dress, face full of makeup and dinner ready on the table when the bread winner husband arrives home from work. The government and their vision of the Halcyon Days is an extremely discriminatory one. When it becomes apparent that the government needs more money for the running of the country, they begin to use babies as a source of income. A system is created where families “give a baby, and, take a baby” When pregnant women have their children, they leave their baby at the hospital. Most of the time they don’t even see or hold their own baby. This procedure is referred to as “giving a baby.” Later the babies are put up for auction. This is the other part of the procedure “taking a child.” There is a set minimum bid amount, that all babies make. If the parents that give a child are poor, they are given a loan, a “Family Development Loan” which is “offered” or rather “given” by the Office Of Reproductive Oversight. This loan is for an 18 year term which is free of interest for just the first 6 months. If the baby you give up is sold for over $35,000 the parents receive 2% of that amount.

Women are really not allowed to work unless they meet very specific criteria, which are, that they have completed the menopause, are sterile or carry a severe genetic disorder which would mean the baby would be a burden of the health & welfare and cost the government money. In other words, they cannot have any/any more babies! There are only a few jobs women are permitted to do and those are not influential positions. Women are not allowed to own a business at all. Even when women are “conforming” and are pregnant they have to keep up certain conditions and have regular checks whilst pregnant. If the government think the women is in contempt of any rules and/or is not caring for her unborn baby, the woman will have to go to a Home for Pregnant Women or as they are referred to by the normal population as “pregnancy prison.” Women also have to marry the biological father of their baby, or if they are not available, a male member of the biological father’s family. There are no excuses for not marrying the biological father of your baby. Even the word “Rape” is literally outlawed. President Boyce and his government simply do not recognise rape, there is no such thing, it is the fault of the women, she led the man on past his point of control, so it is all her own fault! The government is also very prejudiced against any other sort of disability on one level, such as those disabled have to prove they can live independent lives to be allowed to get married. If they cannot prove this then they must remain with their parents until their parents die and then they are put in an institution and are not allowed to marry or procreate. Yet when it comes to the auction and the whole “giving a child and taking a child” all parents are informed is that all children are lovable, that there is no such thing as “maternal instinct” women can and will love which ever baby they buy and bring home form the auction. Those who have access to plenty of money can afford to purchase not only a fit & healthy child but one that has certain genetic markers they find appealing too. Those with little money have to buy the less healthy, perhaps disabled babies that are left until last that no one else wants. They then have to care for that child for the rest of their life and that of the child. The government also stresses that there is no such thing as maternal instinct, so parents should accept whichever child they purchase at the auction and love and care for it as much as if it were the baby they created.

The government has been run a long time by President Boyce, others have tried to topple him and all have failed but there is a new candidate now, a woman called Wilma Harding the head of the Traditionalist party.

The book gives some background of the very different main female characters of, Jane, Angelica, Millie, Wendy. Soon they all have one thing in common, for different reasons, they are all sent to “pregnancy prison.” The book reveals their different stories of becoming pregnant, Millie who is blind and very much in love with her husband, Jason, and they have been trying for years to have a baby. Wendy a young teen who hasn’t even finished school who was in bed one night and a man broke into her home, through her bedroom window and raped her, she became pregnant and had to marry the biological father of her baby. Each women had a different tale. They each followed a different path, to how they ended up being pregnant. The women in the McKee Home For Pregnant Women have restricted access to the telephone and also limited visiting hours for their partners or loved ones to come and see them. None of the women are happy to be in the home except Wendy who is relieved to be away from her “psycho husband” as she refers to him. Angelica has a boyfriend, Angus who happens to be a top lawyer, Jane’s husband, Dave, is a computer whizz, Millie’s visitor is neighbour Beverley, and these are the only contacts the women have with the outside world. Angus, Dave and Beverley put their heads together initially just to get the women out of “pregnancy prison” and then set their sights even bigger, they want to bring the whole system of “The Auction” down.

I could honestly go on and on telling you even more about the book and I probably seem like I have revealed a lot already but there is so much more to the book too. The intricacies of each womans background, how they became pregnant, how they ended up in pregnancy prison, what they want from their future etc. Then of course there are secondary characters and their stories too. The world building is brilliantly done, it is so believable, and so skewed against women, you end up hating President Boyce as much as Jane, Millie, Angelica & Wendy do! There is still quite a bit of humour in the book, such as the description of the director of the pregnancy prison, Candy and her hair that literally has you visualising this ditzy, petty, candy floss haired women who thinks she is superior to these women. As well as the women’s stories being told there are “Flash News Brief” pages between the chapters up dating you on what is happening within the world, outside of the pregnancy prison.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were Oh Wow! How very eerily believable with how our world is currently seeming to go backwards on women’s rights!

Summing up I loved this book, and it was quite funny that I was watching Handmaids Tale which also has the theme of men being in charge, and women being oppressed as well as similar themes. There was just one thing missing for me at the end, maybe a bit of a loose end, which obviously I cannot really go into, but I will just say it was regarding the character called Wendy, apart from that it was a really great read! I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for other books by this author.

3.5 rounded up
First read by this author but won't be the last. Timely story, realistic and great characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Can you imagine a world wherein pregnant women are not allowed to work? Where becoming pregnant requires that you marry the biological father?A world where you then give up your child to the AUCTION and are forced to purchase someone else’s offspring, and committing you to caring for that child ( no working for you ) until he or she turns 18?
That is the premise of this novel, and in light of the current Roe vWade debate by the SCOTUS…it could not arrive at a better time.
Although the actions in this book are extreme , it gave me thought. If the government outlaws abortion, how will that change things in America? Obviously this would lead to an increase in unplanned pregnancies and presumably an increase in the number of adaptable babies, but also the number of men paying child support….But what if next birth control is outlawed ( some states are trying to pass that legislation) , just how far behind that would come something like the AUCTION? Seriously? Some employers are already exploring how to avoid having to cover birth control as the Roe v Wade issue is looking increasingly likely to be overturned.
If you overturn Roe v Wade and employers won’t cover birth control…how long will it take before an Auction type scenario occurs.
Scary stuff

There is a great premise for a novel but the plotting, world building and character development let it down.

To make this story work better I would have had less main characters but used this to give the reader more insight into the auction.

Also the description of the types of disability that weren’t popular at the auction demonstrated a lack of understanding of autism.

4stars
This is a scary look at what the government could do with women's reproductive rights. This is a really good addition to the dystopian genre. the only downfall is that there are a lot of characters and keeping them all straight was a bit tedious.

Absolutely gritty and real! In an age where a woman’s reproductive rights are under threat, this story tells what could happen, how the loss of one right can start a slippery slope to lose much more.