Sometimes all you need is a journey along the flat. No twisty bends, tight corners or the arduous ups and downs of a hilly hike. It is especially pleasant strolling along a promenade with the sparking sea on one side of you. Sometimes easy, straightforward, unremarkable is just what the soul needs. However, sometimes travelling in a straight line for miles on end, as is motorway driving, whilst not very taxing, is mostly tedious. So overall, I prefer a few bumps, a cross country detour or the muddy inclines and gravelly descents of a rural walk.
Can I Give My Stepkids Back? is motorway all the way with possibly a few stops at uninspiring service stations. Whether something is lost in translation or not, this Paris/Marseille based romantic novel is bereft of romance, oddly titled and even the front cover gives the reader the wrong impression.
Morgan is left looking after her nephew and niece following the children's parents sudden deaths in a car accident. This should be an emotional read. It isn't. Morgan has a past. This should add depth to the novel. It doesn't. Family, friendship, dogs, therapists, schools and letters written by a son to his dead parents, should be the perfect ingredients for a read of this genre. Maybe the ingredients were past their sell by dates, gone stale or added in the wrong quantities, but sadly for me this was not a dish I would choose again.
I appreciate the opportunity Netgalley, the author and publisher have given me, and I genuinely wish the book success. Just this time around, it didn't work for me.

This book was ok, I loved the character of the aunty and her relationship with her mother. The children were good characters and it makes you realise promising to look after a friend or relatives children if anything happens to them can be a lot more difficult than you realise if you suddenly find that is what is needed.

This was an interesting read and I think the translation of the title doesn't really do it justice. The characters were well written and the issues of grief and loss well explored. It had many sweet and tender moments and I enjoyed reading their story as they grew and adjusted to their new lives. Would recommend

Thank you netgalley, the publisher and author.
Well written story about how life changes at the most unexpected time.
Heartwarming, tears to your eyes.
Recommend

Enjoyed this one. I felt like there was something missing though, something I needed to love it. Well thought out plot and easy to read.

From the title I assumed this was going to be a family based comedy but what I got was so much more than that. Morgan is living a single life, throwing herself into long hours at work when her sister and brother in Le are killed and she is named guardian to their two young children. I enjoyed reading of the slow and stray relationships developing between them whilst Morgan’s own parents doubt her ability to parent and fight for custody, whilst she deals with issues from her own past. A good read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for inviting me to review this book.

The start of the story lands us right in the thick of the action. Elliot and Lea are waiting outside camp for their parents to pick them up, unfortunately they are met by Morgan, their aunty, who has the unfortunate job of telling them that their parents are dead. The story then evolves as we follow Morgan and the children as they adjust to a new reality.

There were many times that I felt for Morgan, she was thrown into this unknown world of looking after two children and held her hands up to say she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. On top of that she was trying to deal with her own grief from losing her sister and she had her mum constantly putting her down. Is it any wonder she’s depressed? As the story progresses we learn more about Morgan and her strained relationship with her mum. There were many times when I wanted to bash both their heads together and I’m pleased that Morgan’s dad stepped in to heal the rift.

My favourite part of the book was the chapters from Elliot. As a reader we get to see how a child copes with grief and their new surroundings which I thought was a refreshing take. Aurelie Tramier did a brilliant job of portraying a child’s POV, it felt genuine and gave the story that extra edge.

Vivienne and Valerie were two of my favourite secondary characters in the story. My heart broke for Valerie when she finally revealed why she was so late picking her child up and part of me was furious with Morgan. She should of sat down with Valerie and asked her what was going on instead of assuming she knew the problem. I actually didn’t like the other nursery workers, they seemed very catty and rubbed me up the wrong way. Vivienne was a great friend to Morgan and I loved all her ideas and the way she supported and defended Morgan to the other workers.

The only negative for me was the romance, I didn’t feel that it was needed and in my opinion it felt like a rushed add on. I didn’t like Lancelot and I didn’t feel the chemistry between him and Morgan. I was enjoying reading about the relationships between Morgan and her family.

This was a quick and easy read that explored the depth of grief and how it affected a family. We see the power of forgiveness and how life altering moments can push a family together.

So easy to read, read curled up on the sofa all in one afternoon. Will admit I struggled to get into it, but then I was hooked right up until the last page

Another favorite by a great author. The plot of the story was very well written. The author really draws the reader in as you read. I laughed so much.

This is such a lovely read, sad to start but with such perfectly flawed characters who go through so much , together and individually to get their lives on track it’s a joy! Heartwarming and beautiful.

This book is a translation from french, so the book's title is kind of misleading because aren't her step kids but their niece and nephew.


That being said, I loved this story is so nice and heart-warming that I cried a bit once the story advanced. I will try to talk about the book without giving anything that could ruin the story for you, but Morgan is a woman in charge of her "step-kids" but she cannot connect with them and as the story starts moving they also start to connect and it warmed my heart because a family is built, as we see in the book.

The way that Morgan's adopted kids because they are adopted once she became her guardian, is so endearing that I cried, if this book ever became a film I will watch it without a doubt.

I know that some people feel like this trope is kind of overused in order to force a woman to fulfill her society role as a mother, I feel that we don't talk about how adoptive families still count as a family and we should see more of them because there is more that one way of being a family as the book perfectly shows.

CW; sexual assault, suicide attempt, car crash, parental death, child abandonment.

What a wholesome but heartbreaking read!

I loved the plot and I adored the characters and how they all grew together as the storyline progressed.
I loved watching the kids grow to love their aunt and how Morgan adapted her life to eventually care for the kids as though they were her own.

Learning Morgan’s harrowing tale that she has kept secret for 18 years and discovering just how much of a strain it has put on her life and her relationship with her mum was eye opening and the confrontation around it May be difficult for some to read.

This would have been a four star apart from one thing. It feels petty but it really annoyed me.
On various occasions throughout the book, they talk of feeding the dog chocolate...anyone with a dog knows this is TOXIC.
Something very small but it definitely knocked it down a bit for me as a massive dog lover, especially when the character loves the dog so much and wants to open a dog kennels.

I was very disappointed in this book. The blurb made it sound like it would be comical and light weight. Once I got into it, it was anything but comical and light weight. The kids are not stepkids. I do not know if something was lost in translation since it was originally French, but I did not like this book.

From the blurb and the title I had expected a rom com where the main character couldn't gel with her new partner's kids. It may have been a mistranslation- the original is French - but the actual product is much deeper. The main character takes in her sister's children following a fatal car accident.

I think this mistranslation did affect how I enjoyed it, as it was a totally different book to what I expected.

The summary of the book makes it look as though it's a humorous read. It's not its heavy and sad. DNF because I was disappointed and was looking forward to a lighter read.


*************************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.*********************************

I don't know if it's a translation thing but I'll start off by saying that this book is not about step kids. It's about an auntie who took in her niece and nephew after they were orphaned. I expected it to be a funny story about the troubles of motherhood which it isn't.

Putting the misleading title aside, it is a good book. It's the story of Morgan who manages a nursery but she is definitely not maternal. When a tragic accident leaves her nephew and niece without parents, Morgan is entrusted their care. We read of the internal battle the children and Morgan face in coming to terms with their new life. We also see the battle that Morgan faces with her past and parts of it that she has tried to hide.

I liked how we read it through Morgan and Elliot's perspective and sometimes through letters. The format breaks up the reading. I didn't have any problems with the translation from French. This was done very well.

On the whole, it was a good book, just not at all what I was expecting.

So this was a ride and a half!

Disclaimer: I avoid reading blurbs or when I do I tend to forget them until I actually sit down a read a book. So I went in reading this book in the need of a lighthearted read which the cover lured me in. Safe to say this was not the case. (List with content warnings will be included in the end if you want to be prepared).

We follow Morgan a seemingly depressed woman living in Paris who works in a nursery. Her sister and brother-in-law we learn early die tragically in a car accident suddenly leaving Elliot and Lea orphans to be taken under Morgan's care. We experience loss, anger, grief, acceptance both on Morgan's side as well as her parents but also from the childrens' side, particularly Elliot's whose POV we get to explore through his attempt to writing letters to his mom to cope with the situation.

I feel that the translation could have done a better job as certain words and expressions, though dark in the french language seemed too light and thus fragmented with the rest of the story.

I wish I had read this in the original language it was written in although I did appreciate it nonetheless for what it was which was hard and emotional at times.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder Books for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.
I give this a 3,5 star rating.

CW: death, depression, child loss, adoption, toxic relationship, rape

When Morgan's beloved sister and her husband are killed in a car crash she is left tp look after their 2 children. Morgan, a nursery teacher is not maternal at all and the children's grandparents are looking for full custody, a situation which would seem to suit everyone.
However as time passes the new family grow together and secrets come out which explain why Morgan is the way she is.
A lovely story, set in France, told from the point of view of both Morgan and her nephew Elliot.
Very poignant in parts, and very real characters who you find yourself cheering on.

Thanks to Netgallley and Hodderbooks for a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First thing I will say is that the title is very misleading, could be because the book was translated from French.

I thought it would be a romcom but it is not.
This is a heavy read. I definitely recommend this but with the appropriate trigger warnings since it covers death, child abandonment and sexual abuse.

Morgan is single, running a childcare centre and living a life of isolation, just the way she likes it when her sister and brother-in-law dies tragically in a car accident and leave their two kids to her. In her mind she doesn't have the maternal instinct required and struggles with the reason behind her sister's decision.

This book started off slow for me and I took a while to get into it but once I did I could not stop reading. It is told from Morgan's perspective as well as her 10 year old nephew Elliot's who is struggling with the death of his parents.

This book made me to cry and laughed all on the same page. It will touch you in so many ways! .

Hmm, I'm not sure what to make of this book at all. From the blurb, the title and the cover I was expecting a light-hearted rom com. It's not. It's quite dark and emotional in places and the romance is very far from central to the story. I would describe it more as a drama.

That said, once I realised this wasn't my usual fare, I settled down with it and quite enjoyed it. It took me a while to warm to the main character, though - Morgan comes across as cold and detached, especially with children, even though she trained as a nursery nurse. Elliott, one of the children and whose POV the story is also told from, isn't as childlike as I would have expected from his age, but I understand the edition I read was translated from its original French, so subtle nuances may well have been lost.

Please don't let me put your off reading this book - just don't expect a lighthearted, funny chick lit romance.