I liked the synopsis but not the book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel delivers an emotional and gripping story about love, loss, and the unexpected ways our choices shape our lives. The characters are richly developed, with Honor’s journey particularly compelling as she navigates motherhood, heartbreak, and resilience. The story’s twists keep the reader engaged, and the emotional depth makes it a heartfelt and thought-provoking read.

While the novel’s pacing slows in some areas, the intricate relationships and moral dilemmas make up for it. The intertwining of past and present adds layers of intrigue, and the exploration of love in its many forms feels authentic. Overall, this is a beautifully written, poignant novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page.

Thanks for the review copy. This is a great debut, The book is beautifully complicated. Elements of loss. various, emotions, and grief/loss.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

WOW! I have never read a first chapter that impressive in my life. I loved this book though it was heartbreaking to get through at times. Rothschild's writing is incredibly vivid and engaging. I am stunned that this is a debut novel. If you enjoy literary fiction and family drama, I highly recommend you check this out. I have a feeling this one will make waves on the release date.

This was an absolutely poignant, well written, and impactful read that was very emotional throughout. It even made me cry a bit. It had overwhelming loss, grief, resilience, finding love again, and powerful new beginnings. I really enjoyed everything about it. All I will say is I highly recommend reading!

This is a very difficult book to review. The premise is creative, to say the least. The writing is accomplished. Nevertheless, I found the central characters not terribly sympathetic, and the secondary characters were not enough to keep my interest. Enjoyable character development is a major part of my reading enjoyment, so this took a lot of the wind out of my sails.

In addition, while I understand that the story is meant to be suspenseful, I just found the twists too improbable to allow for the immersive experience that I most enjoy when reading. As a result, getting through this book was a bit of a slog for me.

I'm the first to admit, however, that these concerns are very particular to me. If you enjoy unique situations and a variety of characters who face unusual circumstances and manage to make the most of them, you may enjoy this novel. It is hard to quibble with the quality of the writing and there is a gripping feel to the story.

Even though it was not my cup of tea, I am grateful to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC and share my feedback in this review.

I think some of my students will love this story, esp those that are fans of true love types. It has an interesting theme about what happens when a lie snowballs and takes over, involving not just the people involved but those also around them

A beautifully written story of love in all it's forms, husband to wife, man to woman ( and woman to woman) love between parents and children and between friends. A story of love and loss and rebuilding and integrating the past and the present.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC for this novel.

I requested this book because the plot was so unique. A man lose his wife and daughter to a suicide bomber and falls in love with his egg donor of the child that was born after this tragedy. Give me this movie now starring Brad Pitt. Maybe make Tom likable! Tom just wasn’t my favorite character. I felt Grace was so honest with him and he had so many opportunities.

My advice is to wait until the movie comes out. 2.5 Rounding up to 3 for unique plot.

Wow what an emotional book! This is from a debut author and I cannot read the next book she writes! This should be released with a box of tissues because you will definitely need them. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Loretta Rothschild wastes no time pulling you into this story. After its shocking beginning, the story slows down, following a widower as he raises his son and tries to move on from an unspeakable tragedy.

I enjoyed this beautifully written story. The plot moves along at a comfortable pace, and the characters are well developed and relatable.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Most of it felt like watching a very fiery car crash in slow motion, but I was invested the entire time. The storyline is original and interesting, but I did feel the ending wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly. Overall, a phenomenal debut!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

What an interesting read! I found this book very unique and I became immediately invested. Loved the overall story and how there was light after a tragedy, spun with a unique overarching narrator. I thought the story line came together nicely, even while spanning over so many years. It shows grief, love, friendships, parenting all from both positive and negative experiences.

This is a story of love, loss, grief, forgiveness and new beginnings. You will have your jaw dropping in shock one moment dumbfounded by the turn of events! This is definitely a good book to go in blind because so much of the story is a spoiler if told beforehand.

It will make you question your own beliefs in terms of what is right and wrong. How far will we go to keep our secrets hidden? Is there any coming back from it when we are exposed? Love always wins out in the end.

This book was hard to get interested in. It bounced around time periods and was hard to follow. I did not finish it

It’s hard for me to believe this is a debut novel. Beautifully written with wonderful characters who surprise you in ways both good and bad throughout the story. It was also written from an interesting point of view but one that I found to be exactly right.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC ebook. It’s definitely one I would recommend.

This debut novel reminded me a bit of The Lovely Bones as the narrator is dead. I was completely shocked in the opening pages. Certainly wasn’t expecting that! Lots of topics are addressed here, the heartache of infertility and the stress it can put on couples, surrogacy, grief. New love. The author weaves them together into a compelling narrative. Recommended for public libraries. .

I will say, the cover initially drew my attention, but I'm glad to report that the story beyond it was just as intriguing. The characters were flawed but well developed and as a character-driven reader, I really enjoyed that. The story moved a little slowly at times, but overall, a worthwhile and thoughtful read!

I am not sure what I was expecting but this was a very sad book to read. Though it was beautifully written, it was just so tragic and a bit hard to read. It was so uniquely written.

Nope.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

People who behave like Tom should not get happily ever afters. He had every opportunity to do the right thing MULTIPLE times and he chose to double down on the lies instead. He doesn't deserve for Grace to come back to him, and he doesn't deserve to be forgiven for what he's done. There is not a universe in which this story should have ended happily for him. And Grace's happily ever after should have been getting the hell away from this psycho. And yet here we are with all of Grace's women friends giving their blessing to the whole mess. Why? Why would you encourage your friend to go back to this guy?

And yet we're supposed to believe that the bad guy here is Lauren, who is the only person in the whole book who was looking out for Grace. Lauren, girl, you tried. I'm sorry no one listened to you.

Two stars instead of one because it did keep me reading, even though it was incredibly predictable and the characters are difficult to connect with. Hell, it took me half the book to figure out the difference in Lauren and Annie and which one was married to Oliver. And that narration is . . . a choice. I lost count of how many times I forgot who was narrating and had to do a double-take because a sentence made no sense for a second until I remembered. So needless and so distracting.

Thanks, NetGalley, I appreciate the eARC. But you could have kept this one.