I have never read anything like this before. The idea is fantastic. We follow Rosie and Jules on their journey to become parent's. They hear of a ground breaking clinical trial that can help two women the chance to become parent's to a female baby that would genetically be theirs. Once news breaks of this trial they have to deal with the hate and backlash from people who think it is wrong and would lead to the end of man...

Honest, sensitive, interesting - this book has a hint of familiar sounds of the world we currently live in. In that politicians versus health groups and who knows best.

I was really intrigued when I read the synopsis for this book. Imagine a world in which scientists can use two women's eggs to produce a baby girl. It's such a interesting concept and one which would completely change the world if it were true.

From the beginning I was drawn into Jules and Rosie's relationship and I felt a part of their struggles. Sometimes books which feature science as their plot are too science-heavy, whereas XX very much focuses on the humans involved in the science- what's it like for them, what are they experiencing and feeling and how they would cope with the events that unfurl.

I found this meant I gobbled up page after page eager to know what happened next, personally invested in whether Rosie and Jules would get their happy ending. It also avoided the author getting anything too scientific incorrect, which is important as it wouldn't have worked to make up the science involved in this process.

I had real problems liking Jules as a person. I felt she consistantly made the wrong choices when she could so easily have made the right one. She was quite infuriating as a character but this did work within the plot of the book as Jules frequently makes reference to the fact she knows she's less personable and easy to like than her partner Rosie.

I thought the exploration of what makes a child yours and the feelings Jules and Rosie had about the baby all the way through the book was really believable and honestly whilst I was reading I had no idea how it was all going to end.

I also really enjoyed the fact it was set in Petersfield and surrounding areas as that's near where I'm from. It was nice to see familiar names and areas being referenced. I think only people who live near Leigh Park will properly understand the relevance of Jules's father being raised there!

I really enjoyed this book.

A thought provoking exploration of a world in which women could have children with other women. The book explores both viewpoints well and the characters are well developed and relatable.

I enjoyed this book, and I appreciated how it focused on individual approaches to pregnancy as well as the reception to O-O conception.

The premise of this novel is fascinating - what if science could find a way to enable two women to conceive a baby together that is biologically theirs, without the need for any male involvement? But what the novel really deals with is more fascinating still - how would society react to this? Well written, perfectly paced and so timely, in XX Chadwick explores how this development might be received by the UK (and the rest of the world) today. The novel focuses on Jules and Rosie, a lesbian couple participating in the first clinical trial of the new method. Their names are leaked to the press and the resulting public reaction and outcry leaves them exposed and vulnerable. Through excellent character development, Chadwick manages to explore the social, ethical and political questions raised, while still telling what is at its core a beautifully human story.

Jules has found her perfect partner and is blissfully happy after a childhood deprived of her Mother and a struggling Father who gave her love but was battling his own grief. Her partner, Rosie, would like a baby but Jules has resisted until a magical holiday sees the joy a baby can bring. On return, a ground breaking trial is announced using cells from 2 females to create an embryo to implant, thereby offering the chance of both Mothers being genetically linked to their baby. We follow the pair through the pre-tests, the subsequent acceptance onto the trial and the outcome. Yes, it's controversial, but the sheer opposition the couple endure is staggering. I had to keep reminding myself this was fiction as it was so immediate and believable. I was compelled to race through to finish the book to find out what happened. The characters and their emotions were so well defined. But the underlying message of press intrusion and manipulation of people came across just as strongly as the emotion and I almost got a petition up to protest. This is a book of love, hope, despair and intolerance. If the ending had been left hanging I would have complained to the author, as although I didn't expect a 'happy-ever-after' ending I did want a satisfactory conclusion which Angela Chadwick managed to provide.

Very intriguing, well paced contemplation of a plausible future concept. XX explores the implications of female/female IVF. This means a lesbian couple can conceive a baby that is entirely their combined genetics....no more sperm donors needed. Jules is a reporter with a complicated background, a massive chip on her shoulder but a big heart. Her gorgeous girlfriend is more free-spirited, from a stable, privileged home. Together they decide to apply for the first trial of Ovum-to-Ovum fertilization. Their baby could make history.

I love how the author considers the 360 degree reaction to the idea, from the potential clients, to the media, to the general public and even politics. It brings the influence of the media into focus and made me question my own views. The pace is well set, and the characters well-rounded. In fact, the book was very thorough at filling the gaps and considering many alternative angles and reactions.

It was so thorough that I feel some magic is missing. Nevertheless I enjoyed this solid 4 star book.

I was drawn to this book by the central premise of a scientific breakthrough which allows women, via a form of IVF, to have children with each other, without the input of men. Eerily, this was the subject of a dream I had many years ago and I was curious to see where the idea would be taken by the writer.

The main character was a complicated one. Sometimes I liked her; sometimes I wanted to knock some sense into her! The extended cast of characters was reasonably interesting, although some of them were a little one dimensional. A betrayal early in the storyline led to intrigue about the perpetrator which kept me guessing right up to the final reveal near the end of the novel, although the character it seemed the writer wanted readers to initially suspect was too obviously there as a red herring, in my opinion.

Whilst a little slow to get going, once I got through the initial chapters I found the story gripping and finished it in one sitting. Although this obviously touches on science which does not currently exist, there is no scientific detail and the novel is definitely more of a thriller than science fiction for me.

Imagine a world where men have been eradicated.

...then forget about that, because that's not what this book is about. It is about the development of a new form of IVF called ovum to ovum fertilisation, which means that babies can be born without the need for a man and Juliet and Rosie are lucky enough (or so they think) to be chosen to take part in the clinical trial. This is an excellent book which tackles a topic which could be possible in the not-too-distant future and focuses on the backlash and critics of such a venture, with so many obvious parallels to protests against abortion, gay marriage, and other things used to control people (especially women). I would highly recommend this book which despite the not-yet-existing subject matter is still incredibly relevant for the world we live in today. I've seen it described at sci-fi on Goodreads but would definitely argue that it isn't. Despite the fact the technology doesn't exist, this book is an excellent commentary on our current social and political climate.

(Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Interesting read! Maybe this is what would happen in real life!? I found the story interesting, I engaged with and cared about the characters, I enjoyed to route of the story and the way jules dealt with the publicity, her feelings and Rosie. I also liked her thoughts on becoming a new mother and the difficulties faced by 2 women couples and trying conceive. A very enjoyable read!

What a wonderfully provocative and stimulating book this is! There’s a danger than novels based around ‘issues’ can lose their creative edge, that thing that makes them an act of storytelling rather than polemic, but Chadwick doesn’t fall into that trap. She also doesn’t tie up all the ends so that difficult issues remain problematic, open to discussion, rather than being closed down in a narrow-minded fashion. Indeed, the book has little time for the aggressively easy answers being put forward by the Tory politician, the tabloid newspapers and the less salubrious side of social media where any woman who steps out of line is threatened with physical violence and rape to put her back into ‘her place’.

I don’t want to say much about the plot which would be too spoilery but the originating premise is that researchers at a UK university have discovered a way to fertilise a human egg with the DNA taken from another egg: ovum-to-ovum fertilisation which, because it doesn’t involve male Y chromosomes, always result in a baby girl. Cue some rabid scaremongering from the media about feminist/lesbian conspiracies to eradicate men...

From this starting point, however, unweaves a story that takes in issues of class and sexuality, gender politics and Westminster politics, the popular media, ‘fake news’ and the frightening phenomenon of people ditching expert and rational factual discourse for something far more emotive and irrational. It’s not all ‘issues’ either: through the relationship of Jules and Rosie, this also looks at how a couple cope under crisis, and what happens when one of them wants a child the other just isn’t sure about.

Through it all Chadwick keeps a tight hold on her material so that plot and debate unfurl hand-in-hand. This is the kind of book you’ll want to press on all your friends if only to have someone to discuss it with. And I even cried a bit at the end!

What a wonderful thought provoking storyline- could it really happen in the future, I don’t think so?? It was beautifully written, full of hope, love and fear.

Amazing.

A slow burning book - I admit that whilst I was highly intrigued with the premise, I did find the book difficult to get into at first - however as the storyline picked up I was absolutely gripped and read the last quarter through the night because I couldn’t put it down.

A book which really makes you think, whilst being an enjoyable, challenging read. Highly recommended.

Such an interesting book and a layered, sensitively told story. The story weaves a topical issue, the effects it has in the public and private sphere, and the range of emotions felt by the people just struggling to live, in a really compelling way. Will be recommending this to loads of people.

Really interesting - honest, topical and relevant. The characters and settings felt very realistic - believable in the world we live in.

What a complex concept that I absolutely loved exploring and have subsequently had many conversations about the moral dilemma of natural selection versus science. Brilliantly written with great depth of characterisation. The story is not just a simple tale but a journey through one couple’s experiences during a science assisted pregnancy. I loved the tension, depicted so accurately, that often occurs between couples pre conception and during pregnancy - the insecurities and fear were sensitively described. The other element of this story is the intense media pressure which was an omnipresent and integral part of the story. A well deserved 5 stars

Angela Chadwick's XX details a terrifying yet all too real reality wherein women and readers alike are reminded that, even today, we live in a world where our bodies are not our own. This book was excellent; the written style was fine in its simplicity, but I think when a book deals with a subject matter such as this, simplicity is key. Chadwick's novel danced around the various social, economical, personal AND political aspects of woman/woman conception. This as brilliantly pulled off, particularly for today's political landscape and how it acts within literary borders. Other feminist novels such as Alderman's The Power still channel their feminist arguments through antiquated views such as, in Alderman's case, basing the novel on the wildly toxic and outdated ideal that strength and power are divisions of gender. What Chadwick instead does is wholly overturn the idea of the patriarchy in a world where women are granted total control (to an extent) over their bodily autonomy. Unsurprisingly, and partially what made this novel more terrifying to read, was that even some women were threatened by the semi-collapse (or perhaps threat towards) the patriarchal systems that unfortunately still uphold society today. What is more, set in England, this book proves as a stark reminder that even in 2018, in a developed country such as the UK, the autonomy of women's bodies is still a political issue, and despite being an autocratic government that is supposed to separate church and state, religion is still called upon by politicians to settle matters it should have no hand in. I hope there are more novels like this to come, and feel that if Alderman's antiquated notions of feminism can win a women's fiction prize, then I think this novel will win out even more so.