BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Another Woman's Child' by Kerry Fisher

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most certainly won't be my last!

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing title & blurb and the fact that it was described as 'perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult'. I'm a massive Picoult fan so had to see if this as good as it lives up to. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue and 27 chapters which are a nice length so that you can read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is written in first person perspective with the protagonist being Jo and it is set in the UK. I always enjoy reading books written in first person more as it feels like I'm sitting across the table from them while they are telling their story or in the book next to them. I LOVE the fact that a small part of the book is set in Cardiff being a Welsh girl myself!

This book was written beautifully and flowed nicely throughout. I was NOT expecting the mega twist half way through! Nothinf worse than knowing what's coming before your even half way through a book!

The way it was written made me feel like I was right next to Jo and going through it with her. I was hooked from the very first page and could not put it down. I am pleased to say that the 'perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult' was completely accurate and I would even go as far as to say that judging by this book Kerry Fisher is definitely on par with her. This is a huge compliment from me as Jodi Picoult has been in my top 5 authors list for a very long time!! I believe another author has just been added. Well done Kerry Fisher. A complete success and I'm looking forward to reading more of your books.

I felt the plot itself was quite unique and I haven't read a story with the same or similar one. The characters were fantastic!! Very strong, well rounded and believable. I loved how Jo's character strengthened and developed throughout and went from being very insecure to standing up to what she believed in. When she was insecure she reminded me very much of myself not that long ago holding onto toxic friendships.

The plot is filled with loss, racism, friendships, secrets, love and about an every day family going through everything thrown against them and still managing to unite. I love it!

Overall a perfect summer read and a new author to add to my favourite list.

Genres covered include literary fiction and chick lit.

I would recommend this book to fans of the above and definitely fans of Jodi Picoult and anyone looking for an excellent page turner.

310 pages.

This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED IT ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for Kerry Fishers new novel. This book had a good plot but I struggled with reading it for the first half. The daughter was absolutely horrible to her parents with no consequences. I felt bad for the mom very much throughout the book. It did get better the second half but it didn’t do it for me.

I really enjoyed this book.
I really felt for Jo, the mum, who is struggling with the behaviour of her own daughter when she then needs to step up and take in her best friends son. I was enjoying the dynamics of the different characters and how things were working, then out of nowhere I actually gasped out loud and the book seriously moved up a gear!
It is very hard not to give any spoilers except to say it’s an excellent story.
I thought the characters were all well developed and really contributed to the strength of the book.
I very much liked how the book touched on everyday issues like friendships, marriage, parenthood.
I particularly liked how the family dealt with the racism that was encountered and I felt that was very well written.
Overall this is a good book which I rated 4⭐️ and would definitely recommend.

Having read several of Kerry Fisher’s books, I was looking forward to reading this one.

Jo and Patrick are parents to a disruptive and bolshy teenage girl. As they are struggling to cope with their daughter, they are asked to take in their best friend’s teenage son, Victor, after she dies. However, adding a new family member comes with complications. When the bombshell about Victor’s real parentage comes to light it sends shockwaves through an already fragile family. How will Jo and Patrick react to the shocking revelations and will it tear their family apart?

Another great book by this author. An enjoyable story and an excellent read.

My third book by this author and she had me at hello!

A beautiful story about grief but also about family and standing up for each other. Once again people show how shallow they are by being lead by prejudices and stereotypes. They often don't even take the time or make any effort to get to know the person(s) in question but just behave like elephants in a china shop. They don't even reflect on who they (might) hurt in the process.

I felt Jo's desperation, her urge to please, her fighting a battle she might end up losing. I felt for Patrick, also being stuck between a rock and a hard place, but whatever life throws at you, you can overcome it by sticking together and willing to compromise.

Sometimes people like to stick their head in the sand and find it easier to blame other people. Some are man enough to admit their mistakes afterwards, others though... 

It was very hard to put this book down. I just loved it. It was filled with emotions: happy ones, sad ones and everything in between. 5 stars

Thank you, Kerry Fisher and Bookouture

2 stars
The premise intrigued me. Sadly, the book does not deliver.
It was predictable and a tad boring.

This is another poignant, thought provoking book by Kerry Fisher. I was hooked from the outset by the unexpected point of view in the prologue, and my interest was sustained throughout the story. The story arc covers some challenging themes surrounding friendships, family relationships, and racism both overt and subtle. At the centre is Jo, a wife and mother who has lost her closest friend to cancer and has taken in her friend's almost eighteen year old mixed race son, Victor, against the wishes of her husband and against the advice of her friends. While the family is adapting to accommodate a near stranger into their home amidst a lot of external pressure, Jo is also struggling with a difficult relationship with her sixteen year old daughter, Phoebe. There is a lot to relate to in this book and the situations Jo has to deal with, often on her own, feel very real. If we haven't had to deal with them ourselves then I'm guessing a lot of parents of teens have at least worried about having to deal with something similar at some point.
Another very satisfying read from Kerry Fisher.

A good read but a bit slow in parts and it didn't keep me involved in the story line either. Mainly the characters were okay but I found some were a bit weak and I just felt as though it 'never got going' enough for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this eARC.

This book is about a woman named Jo. Her best friend, Ginny, has just died young of breast cancer and has asked her to take care of her 17 year old son, Victor. Jo is nervous about doing it because her husband and teen daughter are not really on board and they're also not in the best place as it is. The daughter is acting out a lot and having Victor there doesn't seem to help at first. Victor is also black and the family is white. Jo's friend and mom are disgustingly racist and assume that many problems are Victor's fault because he's a young black man going through a hard time. I was so disgusted at many points in this book and wished Jo would've actively stood up for him. This book is really just watching the journey unfold of Jo trying to incorporate Victor into her family and figure out how to support him and his grief as well as dealing with her own and the prejudices held by those around her.
I thought the portrayal of grief was a little weak. We rarely get to see Victor express himself, instead he bottles it all in and that was never really addressed. I also really didn't like the way race was handled. Resolution only comes when we find out about Victor's white father and a reconciliation is made. The huge "twist" in this book is one that I saw coming as soon as the book started (14% to be exact) so when it was finally revealed in the 2nd half of the book it was a relief and felt like the book was finally starting because we got the slow, obvious part out of the way. We also saw a lot about teen substance abuse, but I thought that was handled decently.
Overall I thought this book was entertaining enough, but the beginning was very slow and some of the issues were not addressed in a great way.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
We find out in the 2nd half of the book that Victor's dad is Jo's husband, Patrick. He and Ginny had a one night stand before he was with Jo (they had all been a group of friends when they were young) and she never told anyone about it. That was SO easy to spot from the beginning. Once Patrick realizes he's the dad, he changes his tune about Victor and becomes a lot better person toward him. Then the friends and mom start to come around in the end and it felt very much like it was just because he was now biologically related to this all white family.
We get to see another friend from the group, Cory, finally settle down but this didn't really add anything to the story.
Victor starts dating Phoebe (the daughter)'s best friend, Georgia. She struggles with adderol addiction and other drugs and her mom is the one that is so miserably racist and refuses to see that some of the issues may be with her own daughter instead of with everyone else. She eventually has her get help and Georgia and Victor end up together.

When Jo agrees to take her friend Ginny's son Victor into her home when Ginny dies, Jo under estimates the repercussions that bringing another person into her household. As Jo tries to keep everyone happy but in truth not pleasing anyone including her husband Patrick and her teenage daughter Phoebe.
This is the story of how they all have to realise that life can be hard on everyone in these circumstances and how life can always throw a surprise when your least expecting it.
This is a great book by Kerry Fisher and well worth the read. I found it very compelling and enjoyed it totrally.

This was a great read. Not the regular psychological thriller I usually read. More of an emotional book based on women & their friendships. There was a hint of mystery to it, a great surprise about midway. I really enjoyed it. Very touching & quite truthful where it involves women & the friendships we develop.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher's for an advanced copy of this book.
Loved the storyline and all the character's could not put the book down a real page Turner.This book is a must on your book list.

Kerry Fisher..... you are simply a tremendous writer!
I’m sat here just bursting with the feeling of satisfaction after reading your new book. Such a fabulous read.

This book begins with a very intriguing prologue that left me dying to know what had gone on and why there was a big secret around Victor’s dad.

The storyline is so topical and relatable to what so many parents of teenagers/young adults have to deal with nowadays. It also raises issues around race and prejudices, some of which at times made me quite angry at the attitude of some of the characters, towards Victor.

Kerry always creates brilliant characters that you can bond with so easily. I particularly loved Phoebe’s sassiness and individuality and in a scene where her mum,Jo, reveals something in front of her quite outspoken grandma, you get to see a whole new side to Phoebe (and her grandma). It’s beautifully written and gives a glimpse of the softer more caring side of both these characters. Kerry certainly draws you in to “feel” the characters as their stories develops. I have to mention Victor here. He is an outstanding 18 year old and to capture this fine example of a teenager the way Kerry does, made my heart burst with pride. Such a fabulous character.

There is a letter within this book near the end from one character to another (avoiding spoilers) which I read through tears streaming from my eyes, because as you read it, it actually feels like it is coming straight from the characters heart and oh my days, it certainly pulled at my heart strings.

Each time I read one of Kerry’s books I always think it can’t top the last one, and each time I finish her newest one, I feel like I’m sitting in awe of how this lady keeps banging out such fantastic books. I just absolutely adore everything about Kerry’s books and for me, Kerry is certainly one of the top Womens Fiction writers.

This was a fantastic story! I have not read anything by Kerry Fisher in the past, but that will definitely be changing. I love her writing style and character development. The plot was excellent and believable to me. The flow was really good, adding constantly to the tension until the ending.

This is definitely an un-put-downable book! I had the Kindle version, which was wonderful, so I could switch from reading to listening (text-to-speech). This is a book I wanted to get to the final chapter to see how the story would end, but at the same time, I did not want it to end.

This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it!

I want to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read the Advanced Reader Copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

When Jo's old friend Ginny dies at the age of forty-seven, Jo and her husband Patrick agree - not entirely without reservations - to take her teenage son Victor to live with them. It's certainly not plain sailing - their sixteen-year-old daughter Phoebe is already an agent of chaos, wreaking havoc at home, school and beyond. Furthermore, Victor is mixed race and the village they live in isn't exactly a haven of diversity. Between Phoebe's reckless behaviour, Victor's unexpressed grief for his mother, Jo and Patrick's doubts about whether they're doing the right thing, and some decidedly dodgy attitudes from those around them, Jo - never one to stand up and be counted at the best of times - finds life bringing a whole new set of challenges.

I love Kerry Fisher's books, and I really, really enjoyed Another Woman's Child. In particular, Kerry skilfully depicts the sort of casual, unexamined racism that its perpetrators never admit to but which is pernicious in its effects. The assumptions and stereotypes, occasionally spilling over into overt racism, endured - with remarkably good grace - by Victor were enraging. Phoebe's behaviour, too, was both convincing and alarming, verging on dangers from which there might be no way back, and alienating those around her.

There was one elephant in the room which troubled me a bit - I didn't quite buy that Ginny would pack her seventeen-year-old son off to live under the same roof as a girl of around his own age without at least considering the possibility of a relationship developing between them. It could easily have happened but, given later revelations, would have been disastrous, and I can't imagine his mother wouldn't have thought of this and done something to head off the possibility, other than a letter which might or might not have ever been opened.

The marketing as a "...pageturner with a twist" is unnecessary. The "twist" itself is not that surprising and would probably have occurred to every reader. The story would have held up perfectly well without it. Not everything needs a twist.

A great read.

Could you take in your best friend’s child, even if it risked destroying your own family?- This was the question that attracted me to this book and I wasn't disappointed.

Jo had thought that her life – and her heart – was full. With a busy job, a husband and a teenage daughter who is going off the rails, keeping her life running smoothly had already felt hard enough. But when her best friend Ginny passes away, Jo has made a life-changing decision despite her husband's reservations, to take in Ginny’s teenage son Victor and raise him as her own.

But Victor’s arrival is about to break open the fragile cracks that were already forming on the surface of Jo’s family life and in her small rural community… and expose a secret that has remained hidden for many years, with devastating consequences.

This book mostly covers racism and common teenage dramas along with the problem of drug addiction. While the book was good in parts, there were a few instances where the plot kind of got repetitive and slightly dragged on.

What I liked the most about this book is that the author has tried to highlight the evil of casual racism that exists in our minds and society today. At times we tend to judge and try to place blame on people about whom we are not aware of but have a social stigma towards them. Parents at times turn blind to the faults that exist in their own kids and tend to blame others, which in turn creates more problems rather than solving the already existing ones.

I loved it when Jo's husband, Patrick, stands up for Victor, when he is accused for things that don't quite make sense.

Overall, an enjoyable read for me even though it was quite easy to guess the ending!

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!!

Another woman’s child is a thought provoking and very topical read at the moment! Subjects such as racism drug abuse and teenage angst are all covered along with marital disharmony! I found this book particularly poignant and relevant considering the recent events and black lives matter protests!
Jo’s strength of character, tenacity and depth of love and understanding are exemplary as she loses her best friend Ginny to cancer, takes on ginnys son as her own, struggles with her daughter phoebes teenage meltdowns, behaviour and language and to top it all off,finds out her husband Patrick is actually ginnys sons father!! Many a woman would have gone under when faced with such events but not jo! A great read that draws you in, even if you have guessed what happens it kept me entranced till the end.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

WOW! What a rollercoaster ride this book was!
It had me totally gripped from the beginning.
I didn't know what to expect as this was my first book by Kerry Fisher!
And she did not disappoint.
I'm a big fan now.
I really enjoyed this book
it has all the feels!!

Thank You NetGalley & Publisher for this amazing ARC!
So looking forward to reading more from this author.

Another fantastic read from Kerry Fisher. When her best friend is dying Jo is suprised when she asks her if she will look after her son.She and her husband are already having problems raising their teenage daughter and it's the last thing they really need but they reluctantly agree. There are struggles and heartache ahead for them and a secret that will impact on all their lives but can they overcome all this and become a family together. A beautiful emotional story I really enjoyed it

Jo’s best friend was Ginny, whom she had known for many many years. Sadly Giny died young leaving behind her son Victor. Being a single parent and not admitting or knowing who his father is, she asks Jo if after her death Victor could come to live with them. He is a few months older than their only child Phoebe and at least this will give him some family stability until he goes to university in a couple of years time. The whole story is told from Jo’s perspective and we learn of her relationship with Ginny. Jo’s husband Patrick isn't too supportive of the move but soon realises having another man in the house he can indulge his love of sports supporting and soon takes to Victor. Phoebe has her own issues which began before Victor's arrival and most of the time acts like a spoiled brat- something her parents are guilty of and are trying to temper. I enjoyed this however for me it wasn’t a psychological thriller, more of a domestic/contemporary fiction dealing with drugs, race, teenagers and marriage. I like Jo (other than her spoiling Phoebe and treating her like a 4 year old at times) and that she stood up for herself when push came to shove . A highly enjoyable read that left me with a smile
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