I read this in one sitting. What is right and what is wrong in this situation, my mind kept switching between both. I felt for both of the mothers

Such a heartwarming story about two women who find out they are linked through an ivf mistake….cue emotions, custody battles and lawyers….and humanity. Really lovely story

"Hold My Girl" by Charlene Carr is a heartwarming and emotionally charged romance. Carr's storytelling captures the essence of love and second chances, making it a touching and delightful read.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s so unusual to read a book with two opposing sides and not have a clue who you are rooting for. I was very much rooting for both characters and just couldn’t see an outcome that would make me happy. I thought the ending was brilliant though and I really loved the characters

A thought provoking and complicated exploration of what makes you a mother, Hold My Girl is a tense, character driven drama that throws the question of rights to a child into question when an IVF nurse switches embryos between two women, and only confesses to the crime a few weeks before the only living child turns one. We are dragged into the mire alongside Katherine, who birthed and is raising her daughter, Rose, and Tess, who suffered a traumatic still birth, hysterectomy, and is the genetic mother of Rose as they fight a custody battle, and all the confusing and difficult situations that arise from this situation.
A moral dilemma for the modern age, this book compels you to the finish with genuine empathy for two imperfect women in an impossible situation.

I loved this book.
The premise alone grabbed me before I started reading it.
2 women's eggs were switched during IVF
One birth successful, one ended in stillbirth/

So when the mistake is found by the clinic, it starts a custody battle the likes of which were not seen before.
The characters Katherine and Tess really got under my skin, I connected with them so easily, I found myself going through whatever they were.
The story is brilliant with beautifully drawn characters, easy to connect with.
The author really kept the tension throughout the book, it was so emotional and really tugs at your heartstrings.
If you are looking for a really great book which plays with your emotions, this is for you.
One of the best books I have read this year.
Brilliant.

A very hard subject matter that is bound to make you keep trying to decide what you think the outcome should be and then changing your mind. So it’s surprising character driven and I wasn’t keen on any of the three main characters. It felt as though some aspects of the plot could have been extended and some shortened. The legal decisions I thought seemed rushed.

Hold My Girl, by Charlene Carr

A moving and sensitively written book that gripped me, and broke my heart, over and over.

Charlene Carr has drawn on her own fears after the birth of her child, to bring this story to life. The unimaginable and gut wrenching agony of being told that your IVF egg was switched with another woman’s and she wants her baby. Rose is nearly one and she is your world.

With neither of the two mothers at fault, their fate decided for them, I was in turmoil for them. The unfairness of the situation and the endless reasons why they both should have custody of Rose - I had knots of anxiety in my stomach and my emotions were off the scale!

With racism and press pressure pushing everyone to breaking point, this is a moral dilemma that is impossible to answer.

I loved the writing and the storyline, absolutely 5 ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Charlene Carr and Welbeck for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Hold My Girl was a timely and thought provoking novel about infertility and the lengths we will go to create a family. I was hesitant about the back and forth narration style between the two main characters because it can often feel too "he said, she said", but in the case of Hold My Girl, this was crucial to get a full picture of both sides of the issue.

Race is a big theme throughout the novel, but it never felt like the author was forsaking the storyline to make a point about the impact of race in the characters' lives. It was woven throughout and added a layer of depth to an already challenging issue.

I wish we had gotten more time with the supporting characters, like Katherine's parents, Patrick, and Mikolai, to even further understand Katherine and Tess as daughters, partners, and mothers.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't predict which way the court case was going to swing. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends although possibly not those who have done IVF as this book could be a bit unsettling to read if you have been through the IVF process.

Thank you to Welbeck Publishing UK and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

This was such a quick read - I read it in a few hours and was fully invested in the storyline.

Our two main characters are Katherine and Tess. Katherine is a Black Canadian, married to a loving husband with a beautiful house and her perfect IVF baby, Rose. Tess is the daughter of Polish immigrants, a university drop out who's husband left her and she lost her IVF baby. They're two completely different ends of the scale, but they're brought together when it's revealed that the nurse at their IVF clinic swapped their eggs.

Rose is not Katherine's, but Tess'. For Tess, who's life has fallen apart, this is exactly what she wants. She's desperate to be a mother and she wants her daughter. Katherine is horrified - she was the one who grew Rose in her womb, gave birth to her and has raised her since. But she's always suspected, because Rose looks nothing like her - she's Black and Rose has always seemed unusually pale. The news justifies those thoughts to Katherine - Rose is white, not even slightly Black.

Thus starts a battle of custody between Katherine and her husband, and Tess. Tess desperately wants her baby, Katherine can't think of anything worse.

Katherine very much had a Type A personality - everything has to be spotless, she has to be on time, she had to be perfect. Her obsession with producing a child was rough to read, as she felt like she was failing at being a woman when this is something many women suffer from. She's also struggling with the fact that her husband, Patrick, has the most annoying family in existence. They're not even subtly racist, they're just straight up racist and seemed to revel in all her problems and stress.

Tess, to put it bluntly, has a chaotic life. She drinks to oblivion and has one night stands to cope with the loss of her baby and her marriage. Her parents disowned her after she dropped out of uni and she doesn't talk to her brother much. She's a train wreck, if I'm to be honest, but she's determined to change and have Rose.

Tess was the one who I felt most sorry for in this - mostly because she'd suffered so much horrible trauma throughout the story. Even Katherine balks at it, and I honestly wondered how much one woman can suffer before she gives up. Her mother is quite possibly one of the most vilest people ever, and I hated every moment with her. In a just world, Tess' dad would've divorced that horrible woman.

Patrick is also a bad person, you'll find out why but he really makes your teeth grind sometimes. And his family is disgusting, too.

This was a compelling read, and it really made you think about who has the rights to a child. Rose is Tess' biologically, and Tess didn't consent to her eggs being put into Katherine. But Katherine didn't consent to it either, and she's the one who birthed and raised Rose. It's compounded by the fact that all the publicity and awkwardness surrounding them.

A solid read that was pretty enjoyable! I don't even know what genre this would be, but I'd definitely recommend.

This was a very enjoyable read and one where you are absolutely sure what you would do, until you really examine yourself and realise that you probably wouldn’t. I was team Katherine all the way and to be honest I’m not sure why. She wasn’t more likeable than Tess and her obsession with a spotless house (and judging Mothers who didn’t have one) was completely alien to me but I guess having had 4 children of my own it was easier for me to identify with her. That said when the first mediation meeting was started I thought everything Tess said made perfect sense and I thought Katherine and Patrick’s rudeness and combative behaviour was totally out of place.
There were some lovely moments in this book like Tess reconnecting with her brother and his family, and when she asks Katherine to meet her so she can give her a gift but there are also parts that just didn’t work for me. The nurse Irene’s motive for doing it didn’t make any sense scientifically or otherwise and the lack of resolution around that was odd.
As another reviewer mentioned I didn’t feel emotionally connected enough to cry and this should have been a tear jerker and I think the author went a little far in her quest to make neither set of parents perfect that she over egged it and left me wondering if the baby should be raised by anyone concerned except perhaps Mikoli and his wife!
But for all that, still a very quick and compelling read that I enjoyed.

The story takes place in Halifax, Nova Scotia, centering around two mothers: Katherine, who feels a disconnect from her child that does not resemble her and Tess, who tragically experiences an earth-shattering birth to a stillborn. The subject matter is heavy, definitely look at the trigger warnings. Both women are internally struggling in their lives. There's a duality to depicting a white mother and a black mother's existence living through a baby swap together that felt original.

Of course, all hell breaks loose when they discover the truth. Watching the moral dilemma of two mothers fighting for their child really does make you question what you would do in this type of situation. Your internal biases will come to the surface. It's extremely motivating to find stories written by POC with nuanced characters in literary fiction. What a time to be a reader. Definitely recommend!

“Hold My Girl” will be officially released on August 3rd and I highly recommend this one! #HoldMyGirl #NetGalley

eBook provided by Welbeck Publishing UK

I was expecting to be sobbing my heart out by the end of this, instead I just felt fairly indifferent.
To me, the book didn't live up to the blurb.
An interesting idea, swapping embryos rather than babies, giving an extra level to the distraught mother who carried a child that is in no way shape or form hers.
It was nicely written, and the characters were relatable, I just missed any emotional connection, which I'd particularly expect in a book like this.
Just me.

This book was a great read, which had me hooked from the start.
I literally felt for all people involved and I could feel their heartbreak.
I felt we got to know the 2 lead characters well, which meant I found them relatable.
Heartbreaking and raw - would definitely recommend.