Single mother Roxy, desperate for money to fight for joint custody of her child, becomes a surrogate for Owen and Nora after their former surrogate suffered a miscarriage and was unable to carry their biological child to term.

The novel focuses on these three individuals - surrogate and would be parents - their hopes, their conflicts, and their total dependence on one other for the desired outcome. The supporting characters in the story, Roxy's nine-year-old son, Aero; her ex Caleb and his media loving wife Liv; and a new friend and romantic interest for Roxy fill out the story in interesting and unusual ways.

I liked that the ending is not predictable and that the three find a conclusion that brings them to a new place, making a new person of each of them. Nothing in their situation is sugar coated, and I liked the realism as well as the compassion that went into the exploration of this subject matter - surrogates and the couples who rely on them

The New Person
A Novel
by Loretta Nyhan

Thank you to NetGalley, and Lake Union Publishing, for the chance to read the ARC of this book, in exchange for my review.
I enjoyed the book. Some or most of the people were very irritating. But, it was sad, and the ending was very good.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

This book surprised me in the best way. It was a lovely story about making a family and finding some connections along the way. What constitutes a family? Mine is an immediate family of three, me and my two adult sons. But my extended family contains multitudes, including those not related by blood or marriage. Most of the characters in this book were of the kind variety but they were well-rounded and had some flaws and were selfish at times so they seemed true to life. Roxy was my favourite character as she was so strong and stood up for herself when she needed to. I saw a lot of myself in her, she being a single mother working two jobs and doing what she needed to for her son.

My favourite part of this book was the connection between Roxy and Nora and the fact that we got the point of view from the expecting father as well. That was a refreshing change of pace. The book doesn’t focus on surrogacy too much, it is really about the feelings and relationships surrounding the procedure and how the people involved deal with hope, loss, and grief. This was such a hopeful story, without being saccharine, for the most part, and I so loved the ending, it was really unexpected.

(Thanks to the author I will never order a Frosty from DoorDash or SkipTheDishes, ever!) 😝

This is a book that on the surface you could put into the ‘quick, light read’ category, but it is actually a much deeper story about people and their relationships, especially how outside influences affect those relationships.

Nora and Owen are trying to grow their family with a baby, through surrogacy. Roxy and Gabe are trying (in their own different ways) to give their son the best life after they have divorced. Vinnie is trying to learn to live with a medical diagnosis. Livy is trying to curate an Insta-perfect (and maybe real-life perfect too) life. Marla is trying to…well, I was never really sure what she was trying to do, but she is important to the characters and I can see why even if I can’t fully articulate it. All of these people come together and, in my mind, form the village that everyone says you need.

No-one in the book has got it sussed, no-one is constantly making the right or best decisions, and that is what makes it so good. These are people like you, you can understand why they do and say what they do, even if you can see it was a bad move. They react as you can imagine you, or a friend of yours, might in the same situations. This book shows life at its messy, non-linear realest. It’s a reminder that your path rarely takes you where you thought you were going but, as Vinnie says, you have the choice to beautify it as you travel it.

The New Person by Loretta Nyhan is a gentle slice of life glimpse into the struggles of infertility in the modern world. It captures a realistic view of parenting, and has relatable characters that you both love and hate.

The New Person: A Novel poses the age-old question, how far would you be willing to go to have the family you want? This story of maternal surrogacy shows Roxy, a single mum struggling to make ends meet. In order to fight her ex for custody of their son, she needs money and decides to act as a surrogate. On the other side is Nora, choosing surrogacy after a series of miscarriages. With one last embryo, they turn to Roxy.

The characters are realistically flawed, showing that what we want is not always what is best for our kids, and that our dreams of a perfect family are often unfulfilled. A good snapshot of what family is, what it means, and how it can change.

As someone who entered motherhood in a less-than-conventional manner, I enjoy stories that normalise topics like surrogacy.

I really enjoyed this novel, I found myself sat tearing through it rather than put it down. I think I struggled with some of the characters, Nora in particular seemed to lurch all over the place. I did really root for Roxy though and that kept me reading. It’s a really interesting book on surrogacy, something that seems to be becoming more well known so a really timely book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC.

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. I couldn't connect with the characters. And although the premise was really good, the execution of it was kinda..off. Although again, the idea really good.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. My opinion is divided. In some ways I enjoyed the book, The authors writing flowed really well and the conversations between characters were believable. I enjoyed the way the book was written, each chapter was from a different characters point of view and kept the book runnning along smoothly. It wasn’t confusing in the slightest jumping from one character to another.

I loved the character of Roxy, she was beyond likeable but still had her flaws which made you feel like you wanted everything to go her way. The way motherhood was described in the book was so true to life, the ups and downs you go through with your child and the fears of most parents were all laid out bare on the pages, it was relatable and showed the struggles that parents have with there own issues.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t like the character of Nora. I understand the struggles she was going through, however, the way she treated her husband and had no regard for anyone else or their feelings even when they were trying to help her made me really angry. She came across as a very selfish person and had very little loyalties.

In general, I was really enjoying the book, even though I couldn’t connect with some of the characters, I wasn’t put off reading it, however, I was extremely disappointed at how to book ended. Not because it didn’t end how I wanted or expected, that would have been fine, it was the abrupt ending of the book! It just felt like they had spent so much going into the characters and the background of them and then it was just rushed and ended with nothing really resolved. I could say more but wouldn’t like to spoil the book for other people.

Overall, I’m glad I read the book but wish it could have been just a couple of chapters longer with more things explained. I would read other titles from the same author as her way of writing was excellent although I would worry that ending wold be rushed again.

This was probably one of the most interesting books that I’ve read in a very long time. It dealt with a tough subject matter and tackle the beautifully. I love the multiple points of views from all of the characters and I really would love to read whatever comes next from this author.

I've read other works by this author and loved them, but this one just missed the mark for me. It was fine, but nothing spectacular. I liked the character of Roxy, and I liked Owen, but I could not stand Nora. Nora reeked of desperation throughout the book, which I guess was the point, but I felt no sympathy for her and really didn't want anything good to happen to her. I wish Owen's story had been filled in a little bit more. The best part was Vinnie, he was great.
Overall, I am pretty meh on this book and maybe would recommend it to the right person.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley, Loretta Nyhan, and Lake Union Publishing, for the chance to read the ARC of this book, in exchange for my review.

This book weighed heavy on me. It was beautifully written, with characters that made you feel their emotions, but for that very reason, it also left me feeling the weight of their grief at times.

The story is one of hope, grief, promises and pain, and the story really pulls you though that whirlwind of emotions. The characters struggle with everything from divorce and custody, to surrogacy and marital troubles. Took a bit out of me, but it was a good story and one that I am sure many people will relate to.

A novel about maternal surrogacy is a new one for me. I don't have any experience with it personally, so this was an adventure read in many ways. Roxy is a single mother who works for a dentist and does part-time Doordash deliveries to stay afloat financially. Aero is Roxy's lovable child about to become the subject of a custody battle between Roxy and her ex-husband, Gabe.

On the other side of the plot outlines are Nora and Owen, a couple who have suffered from miscarriages and want to have a child more than anything in their lives. The couple has one last embryo to try, and when looking for a woman to carry a baby to term, their lives cross with Roxy. Roxy needs money to fight Gabe, and Nora and Owen desperately want to final chance to have a child.

The relationship between the three develops nicely, and there are enough twists and turns to keep this story suspenseful. I wanted things to work for all of them. I wanted Aero to have a happy life with his mom. Liv, Gabe's new wife, was enough of a wild card to make me nervously read fast to find out what would happen.
I highly recommend this book about the human trials that make up life for many of us. The book gave me hope.

Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher, for this e-ARC.

Roxy is barely making ends meet, supporting herself and her young son with two low-paying jobs. Out of left field, her ex husband, now very wealthy and married to an Instagram influencer, steps in and decides he wants full custody. Roxy needs a lawyer, so she needs a lot of money fast. Enter Owen and Nora, who have tried for years to have a baby. Roxy arranges a surrogate pregnancy, which seems to solve everyone's problem. But things do not go quite as planned. Roxy is a great character, a lovable late-blooming underdog who deserves a break. Readers will hope she gets one.

What a touching story. The characters are beautifully written, with each going through their own plight, this book definitely isn’t a lighter read but it manages to remain hopeful in tone.

Full of excellent characters that I really cared for, this book isn’t a lighter read like the cover might possibly suggest. It’s much heavier. This isn’t a bad thing, but do be warned that if you’re expecting something light hearted, you will not find it. I found The New Person to be very poignant, touching, and sweet, it made me tear up in places, and I really did enjoy this novel.

Recommended.

The premise of a single woman choosing surrogacy for a couple that can't have a baby in order to financially fight for custody of her current son is interesting for sure. The chaos of three protagonists and their current issues/perspectives gave the book a Modern Family feel. Surprisingly, even though the book deals with tough themes of surrogacy, miscarriage, parenthood, the story reads fairly quickly and didn't force me to question my current beliefs of the characters. This may have been intentional, since it made the problems of the characters seem navigable to the reader.
This annoyed me. Roxy, Nora, and Owen are all "flawed" characters, but due to the pacing, the flaws seemed not as earth-shattering as the plot made them to be. As a reader, I wanted to yell at them to communicate their feelings better and at some points, it wasn't believable enough for me to think that they truly couldn't hash some of the stuff out.

The New Person is my first book by author Loretta Nyhan.

I went into this book thinking it would be light and fun, but it was about some serious subjects that became a little more of a heavy read.

I enjoyed the story and will read more from this author.

I fell in love with the characters in this book that were looking at ways to build their families. This subject is close to my heart and I felt that the author did an excellent job portraying surrogacy, divorce, marriage and mother-child relationships.

If you enjoy books about how families come to be, friendships and relationships, then you should give this a read! There are twists and turns that keep it a page turner. I felt invested in what would become of the character's stories.

I'm now looking to see what else I can read from Nyhan! Well done and a big thanks to NetGalley for the copy.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Lake Union Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

It’s evident in the author’s writing they have a passion for the written word. This story is relatable, charming and entertaining. I’d suggest this for a book club anytime.