At the start of this novel, Claire and her husband Josh have just accepted they may never have a baby after years of infertility treatments. She then finds out she is pregnant - but also suffers from health problems. I really liked this book but didn’t quite love it - the characters were well-drawn and it was an emotional book but also felt slightly under-developed. 3.75 stars rounding up to 4.

I just finished reading Steena Holmes book, Saving Abby. It was an engaging story that took you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The main characters were written in a way that caused you to empathize with them as they went through both good and not so good times.

I did feel like the end of the book, though somewhat surprising, could have used a little more detail and more time spent on what went on in order to get to the conclusion.

I did like Steena Holmes' writing style and story telling and look forward to reading more books written by her in the future.

All that Claire and Josh Turner ever wanted was to become parents. They wanted it so much that they had chucked their life into creating children's books. Six years later after so many failed tries, the pair decided to go on a cruise and complete what was called their Children's Bucket List. They loved the cruise and escaping their reality. Josh did offer adoption and other options for Claire, but none hit the spot. She was either going to be a mother or not. When they return home from the cruise, Claire starts to feel ill and headachy. She also begins to get very sluggish. Claire thinks it is just jet lag, but as time goes on and she shows no sign of improvement, she reluctantly gets tested at the doctors who reveal that by a miracle she is pregnant and she and Josh are going to be parents. The next majority of the book is Claire and Josh's happiness of becoming parents finally to a little girl. What happens though as Claire doesn't seem to be getting better and her symptoms point to something more than just normal pregnancy hormones. Claire is diagnosed with a tumor and now must choose to sacrifice her life or her child's. There is no way that Claire will give up the baby inside of her. With the knowledge that she hasn't got long, Claire starts to write to Josh and prepare him for life as a single father. I'm not 100% sure what I would do in this situation as is it better to survive or to leave my partner with a legacy made of both of us? Saving Abby was a slower read and falls into the category of women's fiction.

This was a good story but nothing to completely make me excited about it. It seemed that Claire’s husband carried her around too much to seem real and I didn’t feel the strong connection that was implied by the title of Savng Abby. I rate this book a 3.2.

What a journey Abby makes and takes us along. Good story flow. Interesting characters. Hard to put this book down. Great read with interesting characters and a complex mixture of emotions as you journey with Abby. Would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

Steena Holmes is one of those authors that I keep reading the first books of her different series but I never get around to book 2 or beyond! This title is a book 1, I'm determined to read book 2...at some point.
Claire and Josh Turner are a dynamic duo team - he writes and she illustrates a popular children's book series. They've been trying for years to have a child of their own but with no success. During a recent European trip they decided to let go of the dream of their own child and move forward. After being home for a few weeks Claire has not bounced back from her jet lag. Extreme exhaustion and piercing headaches keep her lethargic. When she and Josh find out that she is pregnant they are overjoyed and shocked at this turn of events. But when another event threatens to overshadow their good news, Claire and Josh have a choice to make - one that isn't easy and may cost them their dreams of being parents.
Holmes writes stories that grab the heart and don't let go. Her characters are relatable and her storylines are the stuff of real life - nothing implausible. I enjoyed this title of Holmes and it renewed my interest to read her other titles - finishing off those series I haven't yet.

This was a heartfelt book about a couple, Josh and Claire Turner who are going through a rough time in their life. They desperately want to have a family but after having come to terms that this is not going to happen they want to move forward with their lives. The love and support Josh and Claire give one another during this time in their lives is beautiful. Then the unexpected happens and Claire learns she is pregnant. Claire must make a decision on saving her baby or herself. The ending pulls at your heart but the love between Claire and Josh and the support they receive from friends and family during this time in their lives is heartwarming. This is the first book I have read from this author. She writes a beautiful but sad story filled with well-developed characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Claire and Josh and trying to come to terms with their infertility. After years of trying everything, they have been told that they just won’t be able to get pregnant. Now they are near the end of a European tour and Claire is nervous about rejoining her everyday life. Her emotions still feel so raw. Back home, they throw themselves into the next series of the children’s books that they write and illustrate, but Claire starts having crippling headaches and spending much of the day sleeping. Her best friend Abby is also her doctor and when Abby gives her a diagnosis, it will rock their world to the core.
Well, I just loved this couple. The author has created two beautiful people in Claire and Josh and you can’t help but be drawn into their little world and cheer for them. I also really enjoyed how the storybook character, Jack, that they have created is incorporated into the larger story of their lives. The whole story just feels very natural and flows beautifully. The story progresses at a very comfortable pace and I liked how different chapters relate the story from the perspective of the characters. Some are narrated by Claire, some by Josh, and some by Claire’s mother, Millie. I really appreciated the way that Josh supports Claire during the story and never makes her feel like she is a burden. That being said, they do have some friction which they each handle in a very mature way. There is some marriage guidance hidden in the pages of this one. This one has romance and daily life, happiness and sorrow, and it’s a really good story. The setting is contemporary, if that’s something you look for. This would be a great summer read.

I loved Saving Abby. Have your tissues read. The book is an emotional and heart wrenching story of love.

If you could have one wish, what would it be? Some of us would wish for health, happiness, for wealth, or any number of things. For Claire Turner, children's book illustrator, it was to have a child. She longed to be a mother. More than anything in the world, she wished to have a child.

After years of trying, she and her husband, Josh, finally accept the fact that this wish - one they share - will never come true. Heartbroken, lost and in grief, the couple decides to travel to Europe in hopes of coping with the loss of the one thing they'll never have.

Steena Holmes tells the story of this perfect couple as they travel across the ocean to mourn and to heal. Along their travels, they make friends, they work on their stories (books about an adventurous kid named Jack that they co-author) and they find peace and joy in each other.

But then, with a twist of fate and an unexpected surprise, Claire returns home to find out she's pregnant. Elated and shocked, the couple enjoys the first few months of the pregnancy with a joy that only Holmes can describe. Until life unexpectedly steers them in another direction - Claire is sick. She has a brain tumor. And she has to decide whether she wants to seek treatment or have the baby, because it's one or the other. She cannot have both.

Holmes writes with such compassion and love that this book is definitely readable in one sitting. The descriptions of places makes you feel like you're there - you can smell the sweetness of the Belgian waffles and feel the Italian breeze brushing your skin. And she makes you fall in love with the characters and feel every emotion they feel.

Readable. Relatable. Incredibly compelling and poignant.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


I accidentally read this book out of order. I enjoyed reading the love story of Josh and Claire. I would have enjoyed Abby’s Journey more had I read Saving Abby first. The characters are well developed in this book and it gives a good foundation for the second book.

There were a few part that dragged for me. Overall it was a touching love story with a heart wrenching decision after the discovery of Claire's illness.


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In my entirely subjective opinion (and the only way to truly decide is to read it for yourself), this story never really got off the ground; I found myself reading on, not out of page-turning suspense, but waiting for the story to really start.
The idea is a great one. Claire Turner and her husband Josh have tried everything to conceive a longed-for child. For Claire, the non-appearance of a baby is that much more painful having given her first up for adoption many years previously. Finally, after six painful years, the couple have decided to stop hoping and trying, and move on with their lives together. When Claire begins to suffer some symptoms of apparent ill-health, having given up all hope of ever being parents, Claire and Josh are thrilled to discover that she is in fact pregnant at last.
As Claire's health noticeably continues to deteriorate however, she receives a terrifying diagnosis and she and Josh are suddenly faced with some impossible decisions!
Again, the idea behind this story is very real and very human, but there were no real surprises; each event was so easily predicted far in advance of it occurring, and I felt no real empathy with the characters. Sorry!
I give this book two out of five stars.

Saving Abby was not impressive. I've said it before and I'll say it again: good writing goes a long way at saving a predictable book. This book was not well written and it left a lot to be desired in the character-development realm.

Clare desperately wants a baby -- almost to the point of being neurotic. Josh, Clare's husband, wants Clare to be happy and he convinces her that a baby is just not in their cards. Clare lets go of her dream and then *poof* she becomes pregnant. However, Clare suddenly becomes terribly, terribly ill and the baby is in danger. Clare will stop at nothing to save her baby regardless of her husband's wishes. I'm sure you can figure out what happens from there. The ending can be seen pretty much from page one. I like a book that stings but I also like to be surprised by that ending.

Holmes gets too wrapped up in the love story here. The love of the mother for her child. The love of the husband for his wife. The love of the community for one of their own. It was just too much. This book is take it or leave it. For me, it's a goner.

Claire and Josh Turner have been married for six years. They work together writing and illustrating a series of children’s books. Both have always wanted children of their own, but have been unsuccessful in starting a family.

Together they embark on a trip to Europe visiting many cities. They use this time to explore ideas for their next book. Together, they realize that their dreams of raising their own children is not in their foreseeable future.

After the trip they find out that Claire is pregnant. They are both overjoyed that their prayers have been answered. Claire develops debilitating headaches and exhaustion. At first Josh believes it to be due to hormonal changes from pregnancy. As the weeks progress, her symptoms remain unchanged and concern sets in. A visit to the doctor reveals an unsettling diagnosis.

If you have children or are embarking on this journey, this book will pull at your heartstrings. While I was reading this book I found that I became emotionally attached to the characters.

Saving Abby by Steena Holmes

All children's book illustrator Claire Turner ever wanted was to be a mother. After six years trying to conceive, she and her husband Josh, have finally accepted that she will never get pregnant with a baby of their own.
Yet, once they have given up hope, the couple gets the miracle they've been waiting for. For the first few months of her pregnancy, Claire and Josh are living on cloud nine. But when she begins to experience debilitating headaches, blurred vision, and even fainting spells, the soon-to-be mother goes to the doctor and receives a terrifying diagnosis. Since any treatment could put the unborn baby's life at risk, the Turners must carefully weigh their limited options. And as her symptoms worsen, Claire will have to make an impossible decision; Save her own life, or save her child's??


Wow, right???!!! This is so loaded with emotion from the start that I literally was 😭😢😭. Even when I calmed myself down, I was still sniffling through it, then something more would happen and the tears would start all over again.

Claire and Josh have that one special kind of love, you know the "ones" whom never seem to fight, look at the other one with clear devotion and emotion on their face, and able to laugh through even the hard times. They just didn't know how hard the times were going to get.
Claire had a child when she was a teenager, her overbearing, father made her give the baby up, even hiding her from the community in a summer home and sending her on a trip to Europe afterward. After trying for years, the couple decides it is time to give up trying to have a child of their own. The scene where Claire comes to terms with the decision is the first time the tears started flowing.

Shortly, after returning home, Josh becomes concerned with Claire's headaches, constant fatigue, and lack of appetite. He shares his concern with Claire's mother Millie, and Claire's best friend Abby, who just happens to be a doctor. After finally convincing Claire to go to the doctor they find out that she is pregnant. Totally thrilled and believing that the pregnancy is the reason for the symptoms, Claire and Josh are on cloud 9 with the thought of baby Turner coming into the world.

As they work closer towards their book deadlines, Claire illustrating Josh's stories of the little boy Jack(poetically named after the son she gave up for adoption), Claire's headaches become overwhelming, raising concern again, Dr. Will, Abby's partner, send Claire for an MRI. The news is devastating. Claire has not one but two tumors, one in the brain and one on the spinal cord. They think they can treat her without risks to the baby as long as Claire tells them if her symptoms get worse.

Suffering from Chronic Migraines, this hit home in more ways than one, for me. I found myself flinching when Claire would be overcome with pain from the "headaches". The poking and prodding, the blood tests, and MRI's are a part of my life. So Claire captured my heart is so many ways.

As she tries to get to the baby to full term, Claire begins writing letters to her child, recording herself reading childhood books, letters to her close friends Abby and her husband Derek, who will be the babies godparents, her mother, her son she gave away, and to her husband.

Millie has been keeping a secret, she stayed in contact with Jack's adoptive mother, as a baby shower gift to Claire, she gives her the photos and letters the mother had sent. Claire, at first upset with Millie, she realizes that her mother did care and had feelings towards that child, it fills Claire's heart with warmth.

But Josh isn't happy with Claire's "box" where she has placed on her desk with everything she has prepared for him "in case" something happens.

Holmes, makes her characters become a part of your heart, making each one believable. I can guarantee you if you have a heart, cry at touching commercials, then you will need a box of kleenex by your side.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for Copy

Make sure you catch Abby's Journey by Steena Holmes On bookshelves February 14, 2017

Claire and Josh Turner have been married for six years. They work together writing and illustrating a series of children’s books. Both have always wanted children of their own, but have been unsuccessful in starting a family.

Together they embark on a trip to Europe visiting many cities. They use this time to explore ideas for their next book. Together, they realize that their dreams of raising their own children is not in their foreseeable future.

After the trip they find out that Claire is pregnant. They are both overjoyed that their prayers have been answered. Claire develops debilitating headaches and exhaustion. At first Josh believes it to be due to hormonal changes from pregnancy. As the weeks progress, her symptoms remain unchanged and concern sets in. A visit to the doctor reveals an unsettling diagnosis.

If you have children or are embarking on this journey, this book will pull at your heartstrings. While I was reading this book I found that I became emotionally attached to the characters.

The sequel, Abby’s Journey, releases February 14, 2017.

This book fell a bit flat for me. The story itself took a long time to get going, and when it did very little happened - the main character seemed untouched by her medical conditions, and post-diagnosis it tailed off again to nowhere. A frustrating read, as I was expecting much more from the story and the author.