Could have been a 5-star read if the last 53 pages had been different

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heidijrude Avatar

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I hate writing negative reviews, but the last 53 pages left me feeling so annoyed that I wasted my time even reading this book! It had been so good up until this point. Books like this make me want to stop reading fiction altogether and go back to reading nonfiction only.

*** WARNING- SPOILERS AHEAD: ***



Once again, an interesting story about the dark friendship of two flawed women (Abby and Elise) results in one being so baby-obsessed she kidnaps her friend’s baby (she also considered kidnapping her niece but just stole her identity to carry out her other kidnapping plans...no biggie.) I could not believe this was the “twist” in the story or that this was Abby’s “ambition” or “burning desire for greatness.”

I feel completely duped and much dumber for reading this book. (Seriously, a non pregnant woman forcing herself to lactate???) I had hoped for something deeper - maybe something about mental illness or a discussion about a passive-aggressive or borderline abusive female friendship - but nope, it was just the same old baby mongering that occurs in just about every other book. Even worse, the author had Abby tell a boyfriend (Paul) she didn’t want to have children to “mask the truth.” This really infuriated me because most people do assume women will change their minds when they say they don’t want children or secretly do want them but can’t have them, etc. Furthermore, if Abby really wanted a baby she should have just gotten pregnant herself instead of kidnapping Elise’s baby. I don’t recall reading anything about her “injury” affecting her ability to reproduce. She also could have adopted or been a foster parent like Paul wanted to be. Even though she planned to get rid of Paul, the end result (being with August Perren and having a baby) still could have been the same. It made zero sense to me.

Two stars is way too generous for this book, but the only saving grace was the realistic discussion about the children being detained at the border. (Goody Goody Paul was working on a documentary about it.) I’m going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume she was trying to create awareness about the situation, and to show, sadly, how nobody cares even though they are very aware of what’s happening to these children. As she says people want the dream, not the real. I wanted a suspenseful thriller, not another book about a baby kidnapper.