A really good drama very cleverly told over different timescales and two POV. It was certainly a very original way of revealing the back story which oftentimes c@n drag a book down.

Oh my goodness what an emotional read this was. A truly wonderful story that I did not want to put down. Highly recommended with a box of tissues nearby.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Bookouture and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A nail biter that you don’t want to put down.

This book was great and I agree with all the 5 star reviews! Lots of great twists and enjoyed it so much I have purchased other books now by this author. A great story!

If the only way of having a family was to use your husbands late wife's embryos would you? I have no idea what I'd do in a situation like this, what would you do? It certainly gets you thinking...

To be a Mother is beautifully written and the story of one woman's journey to become a mother. The story is told from Hannah's POV and we also get to hear from Katherine in her final days.

You'll definitely need tissues handy for this one, as it's an emotionally charged read that will break even the hardest of hearts.

I couldn't help but admire Hannah and her strength and tenacity to become a mother, yet constantly living in Katherine's shadow.

A heartwarming drama of love, loss and secrets.

Many thanks to Bookouture for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'To Be A Mother' by Emma Robinson.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Emma Robinson, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 11th October 2022

This is the fifth book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'My Husband's Daughter', 'Only For My Daughter', 'To Save My Child' and 'His First Wife's Secret' which I highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated 'With dizzying plot twists and emotional, heart-breaking family drama, this powerfully uplifting story is certain to leave readers sobbing. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Colleen Hoover ' I am a huge fan of all three authors so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Emma and if this is half as good as 'My Husband's Daughter', 'To Save My Child', 'Only For My Daughter' and 'His First Wife's Secret' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 39 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited England on many occasions including this year so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.

This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Hannah Maguire and Katherine Maguire. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.


Wow!!! Where to even begin?? Mind you it's hard enough to write this with blurry eyes through tears!! Oh yes, that emotional even I shed tears!!!

I start by saying that Emma Robinson is a very talented author and I cannot wait to dig into more of her books. She is definitely on par with several of my favourite authors including Jodi Picoult, Jojo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks which is why she is also one of my favourite authors!!!

The book itself is written so well that it reads so smoothly from chapter to chapter with brilliant descriptions and settings perfect for the scene. It really dragged me deep into the story and I became completely invested until I came out the other end with tears streaming down my face. The title and synopsis fitted the storyline perfectly.

The storyline is absolutely heartbreaking and a real tear jerker. It is also an absolutely beautiful story of love, loss, friendship, secrets and family!! It is filled with love, family, friendship, regrets, selflessness, heartbreak and much much more. It was an absolute roller-coaster ride of emotions. Emma is an extremely talented author and I love how her books are based on life dilemmas and so much more. She always does so much research into her topics and it always shines through. There's nothing worse than a book being littered with mistakes because the author hasn't done enough research into their subject. The main subject of this book is being unable to have children. In this case because Hannah's ovaries are unable to produce healthy eggs. Emma doesn't just stop there though and throws the spanner in the works of Hannah's husbands deceased first wife's embryo's sitting there waiting to be used. I love how Emma manages to take what could be such controversial subjects and manages to weave them into absolutely addictive and gorgeous stories. I also love that we see what Katherine (The first wife) was going through and what was happening in her relationship with David. Again, Emma manages to mix the past and present chapters in at the Perfect times. There is so much going on this book including what happens with Hannah's mum that I just coild not put it down for one moment!! You will definitely not only need to clear your schedules when you start this as you will not be able to put it down but you need to make sure you have tissues at the ready!!! I cried, screamed, smiled, my heart broke, my heart warmed and soooo much more!! Such a rollercoaster ride of emotions!! I can't say too much as I don't want to give too much a way. Needless to say it is a beautiful book and an absolute page turner!!! I WAS completely invested in this book and read it in one sitting as I do with all of Emma's books. It is a complete rollercoaster ride of emotions and Emma has weaved so many "hard" subjects perfectly into a gorgeous yet heartbreaking storyline. This is yet another stunner by Emma that I would love to see made into a movie!!

Do not start this until you have cleared your schedules as you won't be able to put it down!!

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

The characters are all realistic and described so well I really felt that I got to know them all. I became completely invested in not only Hannah and David but also Gwen and Tony too. My heart completely went out to Hannah "seeing" her break her heart over her inability to have her own children. I couldn't even begin to imagine how that must be feel as I'm lucky enough to have my three boys but Emma has done an absolutely amazing job, as always, with her vivid descriptions making the characters jump out of the pages and showing their emotions and feelings out loud for you. My heart also went out to David after what is discovered, not once but twice. I wasn't a fan of Katharine at the start and found her to be very stuck up and b|tc#y. I really can't say anything else about how I feel about them as I think if I did say anything else I will spoil things but just trust me you need to read this book and you will know what I mean and feel!!! I loved that all the characters were a mix of personalities and I enjoyed watching the relationships between each grow and develop.

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read an excerpt of Emma's absolutely stunning 'My Husband's Daughter' which is another emotional page turner and one I have read myself and would highly recommend!!

Congratulations Emma on yet another page turner!! This is why you are one of my favourite authors and here is to your next success 🥂!!!

Overall an absolute page turning, tear jerking and emotional roller coaster, beautiful story of love, secrets, family, heartbreak and so much more!!

Genres covered in this novel include Literary Fiction, Literary Saga, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Domestic Fiction, Family Saga. Women's Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women's saga, Emotional Drama and Fiction amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Nicholas Sparks, Kate Hewitt, Diane Chamberlain Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, Colleen Hoover and just anyone looking for a beautiful read.


308 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle or free on kindle and £7.99 in paperback via Amazon, at time of review, which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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My first book by Emma Robinson but wow it was so good and I feel like she handled some really sensitive subject matter splendidly! In todays society so many women struggle to have children of their own whether naturally, thru invitro, or even adoption and hence the title "To Be A Mother" comes in with our main character Hannah who desperately wants to have a child with her husband David.

With quite a few jaw dropping moments for me as things progressed and the couple try to decide if using Davids first wife's eggs would be a good fit for them as it seems to be one of their last options when told Hannah's eggs would not work. That in itself made me sit back and ponder if it would be something I would consider myself if in her shoes measuring out the pros and cons of the situation.

I flew thru this! It had some of everything and was really fast paced. It was very easy relating to Hannah and her problems as well as other drama she had to go with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this earc for my honest opinion!

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

Ohh how I just LOVE Emma Robinson’s books!!! She is one of the few authors I will read anything by! She writes about such sensitive issues facing women today with such empathy and compassion. To Be A Mother is one of those beautifully written novels that you must stock up on tissues-trust me I bawled my eyes out with this one.

Emma wrote an extremely sensitive yet very powerful book that focuses on IVF, egg donation, and adoption. She wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate all the Moms out there. Even if you are not blessed to have children of your own this book will touch everyone’s heart.

As always Emma does a fantastic job educating us readers by doing her research on this topic. I love all things medical and always am fascinated by what I learn.

In most of Emma’s books I try to put myself into the character’s shoes to feel the empathy that they are feeling. The emotions that I had in this book were all over the place! I wanted Hannah and David to be parents more than anything but the many twists in the story had me questioning it. There was one major medical concern I had that I actually meant to google-however all was revealed to put my mind at ease at the end.

Did I mention you will need tissues? Not just a few…ok maybe a few boxes! With all Emma’s twists and turns in this book and climatic reveal you will need some! This is one of Emma’s best books to date. Then again I don’t think I have read a book by her I didn’t like!

Emma has the best of the best cover artists around! The graphics on her To Be A Mother are stunning! Great job!

Hannah and David are madly in love with each other and very well suited. But the problem is that Hannah is David’s second wife and is always compared by his friends to his first and ‘perfect’ wife, Katherine.

Hannah knows little about Katherine from David, apart from the fact that she died in a tragic car accident and that she was the director of an award winning television show. He seems reluctant to talk about her or their marriage.

When the couple realize that Hannah can’t conceive normally and IVF is not an option, David suddenly tells Hannah that Katherine had undergone fertility treatment and there are embryos in storage for them to use. Hannah is shocked with this information and wonders what else he’s keeping from her.

Will they choose to use these embryos? Will David ever be able to tell Hannah more about his previous marriage? And will Hannah make peace with the fact that Katherine will somehow always be in their lives, but David has chosen her?

The author dealt with the difficult subject of infertility and with so much sensitivity. Her characters are so well etched that it was easy to empathise with them, especially Hannah. Also, it was interesting to see how David, Katherine’s mum, her closest friend Hayley and all her other friends held pieces of the puzzle that was Katherine’s story.

There were so many emotions that arose while reading this story – empathy, anger, frustration and sadness.

Another beautiful story of love, family, friendship and healing from the author.

Oh goodness me what an absolute emotional read this was. This book honestly made me cry and it’s rare a book does that to me. Right from the start I was in Hannah’s corner and could feel every emotion she was going through. A really well written book with good strong characters. I loved it.

What a rollercoaster this book has been
I’ve loved Hannah from the very 1st page, I couldn’t decide about David or whether I completely trusted him and then there was Katherine, I went from liking her to loving her and cried as I read her story. I loved the way her chapters were interspersed throughout which really helped to connect all 3 chapters.
The way Emma has written this book is once again just perfect. The level of emotions and the way each character feels and acts is just right.
Highly recommend this book

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this title

My first read by Emma and I'm so happy to say she hooked me.
To Be a Mother by Emma Robinson is hands down a great story.
This authors writing style was so enjoyable, full of emotion and heart.
Through the lives of Hannah and David, the book covers some very important topics.
I quickly became absorbed in their lives and needed more.
In my opinion this was a thought provoking and emotional roller coaster of a read!
I couldn't devour it quick enough to see what life had instore for these two.
I felt every emotion of the characters as I turned the pages. All of the scenes were described perfectly.
Again, I just everything about here.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Bookouture,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What an interesting read! Thank you NetGalley for something so new and different. I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this and it was very well done!

Hannah and David are 40 somethings. Hannah is David’s second wife. David was married to Katherine for some time but she died in a car accident and now he’s remarried and Katherine is his past. Hannah can’t seem to be free of the Katherine’s presence even though she’s dead. She lives in their house, they hang out with her friends and she’s constantly reminded by everyone how awesome Katherine was. As Hannah and David struggle to have a child, she quickly learns more about Katherine than David ever told her. Including the fact that Katherine and David had embryos frozen to use in IVF treatments.

Hannah is determined to have a child and the quickest way are those embryos. Now she has to decide if she can live with carrying her husband’s and his first wife’s child.

As we read about the tough decision that Hannah and David face we also learn more about Katherine’s final days. It’s not what you think and you won’t be able to put the book down.

I only wish we had gotten to be part of Hannah and David’s journey for a bit longer. Right when the book got to the best part… it was over.

I will look into more of Emma Robinson’s books. I look forward to reading her other books for sure.

Wow this is the second book I’ve read recently where a couple is struggling to conceive and are undergoing fertility treatments. So similar and yet not really. In this one, Hannah is David’s second wife. His first died in an accident. They find out that Hannah’s eggs are not viable, and they must choose whether to use his first wife’s eggs with all the complications that go along with that for both of them. As Hannah and David work through this, there are flashback chapters from Katherine’s, David’s first wife, POV leading up to her death.
It’s a powerful topic before you throw in secrets and discrepancies from David’s first marriage that unfold in Katherine’s chapters. So beautifully written about both Hannah and David dealing with a child that may look like his previous wife. As much as I was gripped by the story in the present making decisions on using the eggs, I loved that the author added some depth, and broke up some of the fertility struggles by adding some drama, secrets and twists in Katherine’s chapters.
Such an engaging story, that I did not want to put down. A timely topic and this would make a good book club pick as there are so many discussion points.

Good book! This is the first book that I have read by this author. For some reason was anticipating a mystery or a psycho thriller, but that isn’t what this book is. I enjoyed the story, but I still don’t know how I feel about Katherine’s reason for leaving David. It definitely is thought provoking! I’m glad that I read To Be A Mother, and I look forward to reading more from Emma Robinson.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

To Be a Mother is yet another emotional masterpiece from Emma Robinson. Hannah is David's second wife after he was left widowed by the death of Katherine. David and Hannah both long to be parents but devastatingly discover it is not to be. David then tells Hannah that before Katherines death they underwent fertility treatment meaning her eggs are in storage and could be used by Hannah. This leaves a dilemma of just how much Hannah wants to be a mother.
Yet again Emma Robinson had me reaching for the tissues. As someone who suffers from infertility and has longed to be a mother for so long it had me going through every known emotion. It is written in a beautifully sensitive way and I just could not fault it. I highly recommend To Be a Mother.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

This was my first novel by this author and I was pleasantly surprised by the great plotting and character development. The topics are emotional ones for sure - infertility and being the second wife to a widower. Be sure to have the tissues handy when reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this novel :).

I love Emma Robinson's books about women's issues. To Be a Mother reaches into the lives of Hannah and David who are going through fertility issues. David is very reticent about his first wife, Katharine, who died a couple of years previously. The story is told over two perspectives, showing us Katharine and David's life too. A heartbreaking tale which will have you grabbing the tissues.

This was an emotional read that delves into so many domestic and female issues: infertility, being a second wife to a widower, and more. There were some intriguing mysteries and secrets kept in the family that are revealed. I really enjoyed this book. Well written with great characters.

Hannah and her husband David are having trouble conceiving a child naturally and when Hannah gets the bad news that her only options left are donor eggs or adoption she's heartbroken. Then David breaks the news that him and his first wife who tragically died have embryos in 'storage'. Should she carry her husband's first wife's baby?

I love that the book starts out with a letter to her unborn child. I could immediately relate to the main character because I did that too! I also always love when there's a character with my name! (Even if its a smaller role character 😂)

This book is told in dual pints of view. Hannah and Katherine ( the first wife)
Through this we get to know both characters rather intimately. But everything is not always what it seems.
I can't say too much without revealing too much plot, but this is faced paced, unexpected but oh so beautifully tied up in an ending that's heart-wrenching.

Thank you to netgalley and bookouture for this arc copy in exchange for my honest opinions.