Saturday, August 5, 2017

Review: The Nearness to You by Amanda Eyre Ward


nearness

 

Title:The Nearness to You
Author: Amanda Eyre Ward (Facebook)
(Website) (Twitter) (Instagram) (Goodreads)
Genre: Literary
Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books (January 31, 2017)
Length: 7 hours and 45 minutes
Source:
Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program

 

 

About the Book: (From Goodreads)

In this profound and lyrical novel, acclaimed author Amanda Eyre Ward explores the deeper meanings of motherhood—from the first blissful hello to the heart-wrenching prospect of saying goodbye.

Brilliant heart surgeon Suzette Kendall is stunned when Hyland, her husband of fifteen years, admits his yearning for a child. From the beginning, they’d decided that having children was not an option, as Suzette feared passing along the genes that landed her mother in a mental institution. But Hyland proposes a different idea: a baby via surrogate.

Suzette agrees, and what follows is a whirlwind of candidate selections, hospital visits, and Suzette’s doubts over whether she’s made the right decision. A young woman named Dorothy Muscarello is chosen as the one who will help make this family complete. For Dorrie, surrogacy (and the money that comes with it) are her opportunity to leave behind a troubled past and create a future for herself—one full of possibility. But this situation also forces all three of them—Dorrie, Suzette, and Hyland—to face a devastating uncertainty that will reverberate in the years to come.

Beautifully shifting between perspectives, The Nearness of You deftly explores the connections we form, the families we create, and the love we hold most dear.

My Review:  3/ liked it – The initial story line of The Nearness of You starts with Suzette a heart surgeon.  She is very career orientated and does not want to have any children.  She is afraid her upbringing has not prepared her to be a good mother.   Suzette is also concerned that her mother’s mental health problems will be passed on.  Hyland is an architect and changes his mind.  He now wants to have a baby, even though he agreed to this arrangement previously. 

Suzette and Hyland do decide to start a family through surrogacy.   This is where 21 year old  Dorrie, looking to escape her current life, comes into the story.  Dorrie agrees to be Suzette and Hyland’s surrogate.  She plans to use the money from being a surrogate to escape her life with her mother and attend college.  Nearness to You by Amanda Eyre Ward is told in alternating view points.  The view points of Dorrie, Suzette and Hyland are very well conveyed in regards to their feelings about having a baby, their fears and concerns about surrogacy. 

Dorrie decides to keep the baby.   She has to live a life of fear and makes many poor decisions to keep her baby.   Later, the baby, is raised by Suzette and Hyland.   She is named Eloise, after Hylands sister.   Eloise struggles with feelings  of not belonging as a teen and seeks answers.  She goes down a scary path, which leads her to some surprising information.  The pace of the story is good and keeps you engage.  There are twists and turns to keep you interested.   The ending leaves far too many loose ends, felt rushed and did not give me closure with the characters and their stories.   It felt like the author just stop writing before the end.  The journey to the end was wonderful, the ending just fell flat for me.

Nearness to You is a emotional read dealing with surrogacy, the bond of motherhood and difficult childhood experiences  and how those experiences affect us. 

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Happy Reading!

**Disclosure – The Nearness to You by Amanda Eyre Ward was received from The Audiobook Jukebox reviewer program in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Coming Soon to a Bookshelf Near You: August 2017

Book Shelf

Loving this warm weather!   I can’t believe it is August already.   Summers in Minnesota go by so quickly.   We have been pretty busy in July.  Hubby and boys have been going to all the MN United Games (soccer).   They certainly are getting good use of their season tickets.  The remodel of the basement room is done.   Just waiting for the carpet to arrive and be installed.   Than we will be working on moving our youngest son to that room.  Next week they will be here to install new kitchen flooring.   I read a few books in June, but as you can see, I haven’t been writing many reviews. 

This week, I am sort of on vacation.   I am only working a few hours a day from home, while I am home caring for my father in law.  I hope to get some reading and reviewing done as well as just organizing in the house.   I also need to start walking again each evening,  which will have me listening to more audiobooks.   Never enough hours in the day!  

Currently Reading: 

Home Sweet Home by April Smith (set in South Dakota)

Homesweet 

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero (very timely, deals with immigration)

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To help with your August reading,  I thought I would share some books that have caught my eye.   These books will be available in August.  If you like, maybe even get on the waitlist at the library for these upcoming titles.  As a book blogger, I am able to request, read and provide feedback on upcoming titles.   I love being able to do this, but some months my ambitions are larger than what time allows.  I still have a full time job which interferes regularly with my reading/blogging schedule.  So I decided to share with you some upcoming releases that have caught my eye.    I would hate for you to miss an upcoming title due to my lack of time!!

Here are some books which will be available in bookstores in August 2017, that caught my eye!

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Happy Reading!


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