• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 7, 2016)
One woman struggling to hold on to what she has. . . .
One woman learning to forgive. . . .
Their lives entwined by one little girl.
Sarah Hargreave is anxious to finalize the adoption of her foster daughter, Leila. Once a foster child herself, Sarah longs to become Leila’s “forever” family and give her all the love and stability she was denied in her own childhood. When Leila’s biological mother suddenly reappears and petitions the court for the return of her daughter, Sarah is terrified she’ll lose the little girl she loves to the drug- addicted mother who abandoned her.
Having grown up in foster care, Ilona Cartwright is a lawyer who fights for the rights of children who have no one to fight for them. But to Sarah she is Nonie Blanchard, who grew up in the same group foster home as Sarah. They’d promised to be best friends forever, but then Nonie was adopted by a wealthy family, and Sarah never heard from her again. Sarah still hurts from the betrayal. But Nonie harbors her own resentment toward the past.
Mistrustful of each other, the two women form a tenuous alliance to ensure Leila’s future, but when Leila’s very survival is on the line, they’ll have to come to terms with their own feelings of hurt and rejection to save the child they both have come to love.
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About Shelley Noble
Shelley Noble is a former professional dancer and choreographer and has worked on a number of films. She lives at the Jersey shore where she loves to visit lighthouses and vintage carousels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.Find out more about Shelley at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
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My Thoughts:
When I first received the book, the cover made me smile. I was thinking that it was going to be a sweet, summery read, set somewhere on a nice beach and filled with fun and love and adventure and all cutesy things.
I was not prepared for the emotional roller coaster I was about to embark on.
This story focus on a very important, serious and heart touching matter. Adoption and Foster Care.
I couldn't hold back the tears at times, I felt like I was in the moment living through all these emotions and wanting so much for the main character to be able to keep the little girl she had grown to love. Just when she thought the road was clear for her to adopt her foster child, the biological mother springs into action and proceeds to impede all her attempts.
I will be honest and tell you that this wasn't an easy read for me, not only for the fact that I was expecting something else, but mostly because of the contents of the story. As a mother, I could never imagine the thought of someone trying to take custody from me or separating me from them.
Wonderful book!!!
2 comments:
Foster care and adoption is such a complicated topic, and you're right, it's so hard to imagine your child taken away from you! Good food for thought, it sounds like.
Thank you for being on the tour!
Sometimes those covers can fool you! Sounds like it was quite the read. We have family members going through this and we see their pain from the family trying to adopt and provide a stable, loving home point of view. Very painful for all involved in the process.
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