This book was very well written about a sensitive topic. I loved the author's writing style. I was glued to the book from the first few chapters. It is a very character driven story, which I love. I'd recommend this novel to anyone who loves drama/women's fiction.

This book covers some hard topics
The characters are very realistic and well developed
It is very well written and the ending was good

This is Literary Fiction/Women's Fiction. This book talks about some hard to read topics. This book follows Katherine (the daughter) and Hazel (the Mother), and they both have some big secrets hind for each other. After both of them shares their secrets with each other their relationship gets better. The characters in this book felt real and they where very developed. This book is well-written, and it covers adoption and other hard issues so well. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Bookouture) or author (Sam Vickery) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Such a sad but beautiful read. A story of loss and love. A really compelling read. Very emotive and page turning.

My only child is a raw, heart rending, emotional read that will tug at your heart strings and make your eyes water!
Sensitive topics such a stillbirth, alcoholism, induced menopause and adoption are all sensitively covered in a compassionate realistic manner!
As a mother you can empathise with some of the decisions made and the long term consequences of this due mainly due to the intensity and power of a mother’s love.
Katherine and Davis a married couple are eagerly awaiting the birth of twins, Hazel, Katherines mother would love to be involved in their lives and that of her grandchildren but is kept at arms length by them even during the most traumatic, devastating experience that they go through! as the book evolves we find out more about Hazels life and the sacrifices she has made in order to become a mother and how this has affected her relationship with Katherine.
Fortunately once past secrets are revealed, healing, forgiveness and the power of love result in a lovely ending.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

Ohhhh WOW! I want to thank Sam Vickery, Bookouture and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading My Only Child. It was such a beautiful, poignant and emotional book that genuinely touched my heart on a personal level. I adopted my son, so My Only Child was deeply moving in a way that no other book has ever been. I will update my review to include more information and also to include the links where I share my review, but I just HAD to reach out to you immediately to thank you and tell you how awestruck I was by My Only Child. Thank you, Sam Vickery, for tugging at my heart strings and showing the world how the struggles and beauty of adoption are real!

Thanks netgalley and Sam Vickery for this really great family story.
Katherine was expecting twins a girl and boy, but during the labour her baby girl died and she had a have a caesarean.
Her baby boy was fine, but Katherine wanted to have a house full of children and she found it difficult to cope.
Until she decided to adopt a baby.
Her mother hazel was pushed away as Katherine found her overbearing, it must have been terrible for a mother not to be able to help her daughter and her grandson.
Katherine then adopted a baby who did not do anything but scream when she held him, but seemed to favour katherines husband Jamie.
Had Katherine done the correct thing in adopting?
The story then worked out how to make amends with hazel and adapt to coping with her new baby.
Yes loved this book.

Sad but well written! My heart broke over and over I’m this story as the lives of both Katherine and her mother unfolded. I could feel the pain and struggles they faced and ultimately the strength of a mother’s love

My Only Child by Sam Vickery was just a beautifully written book. You "will need tissues" and a lot of them as it's a emotional heartbreaking hard read that will leave a lump on your throat and for your grabbing some tissues.

In Sam's latest book it covers so many sensitives issues with the loss of a child at birth, and then not being able to have any more children, alcoholism, how some people handle grief, and then international adoption which made it a very good book for me.

Hmmm.......Don't judge the book by its cover..........Well, I loved the cover and I did and the cover was just perfect for this latest book by Sam.

I highly recommend this latest book............5 star read.

BIg thank you to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Book Description:

There he is, my baby boy. His eyes are closed, his tiny rosebud mouth is pursed in sleep. My eyes well up as I catch a whiff of his newborn skin and I swallow back a wave of emotion. I should feel happy, I should feel grateful, but all I can think about is everything I just lost…

It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy is born healthy. But his twin sister doesn’t survive, and when Katherine is told she can’t have any more children the loss is almost too much for her to bear.

Katherine always saw herself having a big family: she remembers how the loneliness of being an only child used to overwhelm her, and she is desperate to adopt a sibling for her son.

But her husband Davis won’t agree. He worries that Katherine will struggle when the new baby arrives. What if growing their family only adds to the grief she feels over losing her little girl? What if this breaks their marriage apart?

And Katherine is forced to make a choice. Give up the second child she has always dreamed of or risk losing the family she already has?

An unforgettable and heart-wrenching page-turner about fighting for those we love. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will remember this story forever.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'My Only Child' by Sam Vickery .

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 2nd November 2020

This is the second book that I have read by this author. The first book I read is called 'One Last Second' which I gave 5/5 and would highly recommend also reading.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing synopsis. It also stated in the blurb that readers of Jodi Picoult amongst others will remember this story forever. I am a MASSIVE Picoult fan so am looking forward to see if the book lives up to this. I have previously read 'One Last Second' by Sam Vickery and gave it 5/5 so hopefully can give this the same. 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 39 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in London , UK 🇬🇧 . I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture the scenes. I have, in fact, visited Bath so am hoping to be able to set the scenes smoother in my head.

This book is written in first person perspective and the main protagonists are Hazel and Katherine. I enjoy books written in first person with several protagonists as it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. It also feels like you get more of a bond with the characters than you would in third person perspective.

Well I must say another well done to Sam Vickery on another very successful novel!! This book is very well written and reads smoothly. The synopsis and the cover work perfectly with the storyline.

The storyline itself is an emotionally packed roller-coaster ride bringing tears along with some happiness. I found some parts very hard to read being a mum to twin myself and made the mistake of reading it while waiting on the school run and ending up picking up my son while trying to hide my tears. It is a compelling read and shows the difficulties of both child loss and adoption along with the stress and emotions it puts on families involved. I enjoyed looking back on Hazel's past and really did feel for her. Get ready for a tear jerking page turner.

The characters are very well built up and I enjoyed watching them develop, grow and bond with each other. The difference between them at the beginning of the story to the end is amazing and very well worked out. They are all strong and realistic and I really bonded with them. The character development I found the most fascinating was Davis and I'm glad how it all worked out.

I think this book would work out fascinating as a movie and I would love to watch it if this ever happened. Another congratulations to Sam Vickery, I am looking forward to reading more of your successful novels.

Overall an emotionally packed page turner that should only be read with tissues on hand!!

Genres covered in this novel include Psychological Fiction and Religious Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Jodie Picoult and tear jerkers.

274 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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Author Bio:

Sam Vickery is an English author who loves gritty, emotional stories that can make you sob. As a child, she was forever getting in trouble for being caught with her nose in a book, and these days are no different. She lives on the south coast of England with her husband, two children and a cat that thinks it's a dog.
https://www.facebook.com/SamVickeryWrites/

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/2TkXfLS
Apple: https://apple.co/3j6QKrN
Kobo: https://bit.ly/38XTS4i
Google: https://bit.ly/38XVfjv

Ugh! This book!
Sam Vickery's My Only Child is one hell of a read.
But, damn, it's a tough read.
As a mom who knows way too many people who lost babies, who knows way too many couples who divorced after losing a child, this was a horrific read.
The writing is amazing. The depth of the characters is marvelous.
But the storyline is a heart-wrenching one.

My Only Child was a totally gripping and heartbreaking read, I absolutely love Sam's style of writing and how truth to life they are, a highly recommend read.

Hazel eagerly awaits the birth of her first grandchild as her daughter Katherine goes into labour. The family are plunged into sadness and grief despite the safe delivery of a goregous baby boy.  His twin sister died during the birth and an emergency hysterectomy destroyed any chance of future children. Katherine is desperate for more children after growing up as an only child. Adoption is their only option but her husband and mother are set against it...
I'd only just recovered from the emotional depths of Sam Vickery's last book (One Last Second) when I signed up for this book. I knew I was in for something that would break my heart but that I would also love. The writing is so authentic that we almost become the characters because we can feel their emotions so vivdly.
Katherine's devastation at the death of both her baby girl and the potential for more natural children is very realistic and absolutely hearbreaking to read.
Meanwhile we see chapters from Hazel's unhappy marriage which explain how she became the overbearing mother she is today. As both a mother and a daughter, I can see both sides of the story. It is a difficult balance!
Family relationships are delicately negotiated and emotional issues are handled sensitively over the course of the book. The flashback chapters offer us a greater understanding of how the past is impacting on decisions in the present. The use of the first person narrative for Katherine and Hazel allows us to explore their emotions in depth.
My Only Child is an emotional and enjoyable book but have the tissues ready!

I didn't find this book gripping, it took me a long time to read it as it just didn't grab my attention. I found it dragged out a lot. In saying that it was a very well written book but just not for me.

My Only Child is the first book I have read by author, Sam Vickery and I wasn’t sure what to expect when first digging into this story. I didn’t realize the range of emotions I would go through as Vickery took me on a journey with a family so broken and in need of repair. This is a character driven story surrounded by a heartbreaking subject matter, the loss of a child.

Katherine and Davis are about to have twins, but something goes wrong with the delivery and her baby girl dies while her son is born healthy. Because of the difficult delivery, Katherine is told she can never have any more children which absolutely devastates her. Katherine knows what it is like being an only child and she has always wanted a big family, but now it is no longer in the cards for her. This leads her to wanting to adopt another child even if her husband, Davis, does not agree. Can this fractured family finally come together or is the death of their child too much for them to handle?

Vickery weaves one emotional story and I guess I would advise to have some tissues handy because this is quite the tearjerker. You are taken on a rollercoaster of emotions and many scenes just shook me to the core. I can;t ever imagine what it is like to lose a child, nor would I ever wish this to happen to anyone. I have family members who have lost their child and it’s absolutely devastating and I have seen the range of emotions they have gone through while trying to process their loss. Vickery really captures the emotional toll parents go through.

This is a very character driven story and with that being said, I didn’t necessarily like any of the characters in the beginning. Katherine, husband Davis, and her mother Hazel were not one family unit and there were secrets being kept amongst all of them which made for some pretty tense scenes. I will say though that each character was three dimensional and you could almost feel their pain along with their frustrations.

My Only Child is a heartbreaking and multi layered story told with honesty and realness. This is a five star read for me and one I highly recommend. You definitely do not want to miss out on this story.

This is a beautiful story focusing on a mother and daughter and family secrets. The characters are so well described as they experience such grief and heartache, leading to an emotional ending. Highly recommended with a box of tissues nearby

I received this book through net galley in return for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this book I devoured it in two evenings, and was sad to see it finished.
We hear the story of Katherine and her husband Davis and Katherine’s mother Hazel.
We find out why the two women are so determined to be great mothers to their children

There he is, my baby boy. His eyes are closed, his tiny rosebud mouth is pursed in sleep. My eyes well up as I catch a whiff of his newborn skin and I swallow back a wave of emotion. I should feel happy, I should feel grateful, but all I can think about is everything I just lost…

It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy is born healthy. But his twin sister doesn’t survive, and when Katherine is told she can’t have any more children the loss is almost too much for her to bear.

Katherine always saw herself having a big family: she remembers how the loneliness of being an only child used to overwhelm her, and she is desperate to adopt a sibling for her son.

But her husband Davis won’t agree. He worries that Katherine will struggle when the new baby arrives. What if growing their family only adds to the grief she feels over losing her little girl? What if this breaks their marriage apart?

And Katherine is forced to make a choice. Give up the second child she has always dreamed of or risk losing the family she already has?

This book reminded me of Jodi Picoult's earlier work. It was an emotional read, but I struggled to connect to the book. I wasn't gripped, but it was an okay read. The book was well written.

This is not one of those books where you are turning the page as quickly as possible to see what happens. There aren't any dramatic twists and turns, no red herrings, and no drama, per se. Instead, what you are invited to experience is a certain period in a family's life, particularly a mother who has not only been told one of her babies has died but due to an emergency hysterectomy, she can never birth another child.</p>

I haven't had the joy of experiencing motherhood in any form yet but I was hit hard with emotion while reading My Only Child. Any mother (or father, for that matter) reading the book is sure to be in floods of tears. The writing is so beautiful that it allows you to feel every bit of Katherine's pain. There is a touching scene where she holds her little girl that just broke me.

Yet <em>My Only Child</em> doesn't sugarcoat, dramatise, or even romanticise motherhood in any way. It just tells it like it is. There will be ups and downs. There will be moments of happiness and hardship. There will be moments where you feel like a terrible mother. There will be moments where you will protect your child at any cost. This realness is what makes My Only Child a great book.

What's not mentioned in the blurb is that the reader also gets an insight into Katherine's mother, Hazel. Alternating chapters are told from Hazel's perspective as she tries to cope with her feelings of being pushed away by her daughter, while also presenting flashbacks that help us understand Hazel's sometimes suffocating ways. Both Katherine's and Hazel's stories tie up neatly into one excellent reflection on motherhood.

Raw, Emotional and Realistic! This book will take you to the heart of grief and all that surrounds it and yet compel to read on right to the end.

From the outset, this is dramatic with a hysterectomy being required and the utter sadness and devastation that Katherine has to live with. It's high on very intense emotion. It's a book that will resonate with so many people who have experienced loss and especially loss of a child.

The book goes between Katherine and Hazel. It isn't all about the sadness though. There's some more positive emotions too, through some heartwarming romance and care shown as the book flips a bit between "Then" and "Now". This is a real family story of strength, growing up, romance, love in all different forms, sadness. It has it all. It isn't a relaxing read, but then loss is anything but a chilled out experience and it is raw and then when opportunities are taken from you, they heighten even more and it is captured well in this book. The grief is written so believably. I'm sure many readers will have experienced grief before, even if not with the loss of a child, but with a loved one and will be able to easily empathise and sympathise with the characters and recognise the signs, including the physical ones. It's pretty detailed. It is a book that you can, even though the subject matter is deep, get caught up in and be whisked all the way to the end in a couple of sittings.

There is hope for a future after experiencing so much devastating heartbreak and anguish, but there is also the sense of things tearing apart at the seams. It's pretty realistic because after such grief, people do all react differently and it isn't all plain-sailing, as is depicted throughout. The ending is so tender, it's worth reaching there too.