Love the concept of the story! The book was slow and felt drawn out at times. At other points I was entertained and hopeful. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Olive McMahon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Margo is dealing with her divorce but ultimately most upset about not being a mother yet and having to start over. She unexpectedly meets Rexford when she spills her coffee on him and they immediately become inseparable best friends. Fast forward a few years and several short failed relationships she finds out her ex husband is living the life she dreamed of - married, in a house and expecting a baby. That pushes her to search for a sperm donor through a dating site.

Enter Lukas, a hot Austrian who is only in the country for a few months, doesn’t want kids and claims to be really great in bed. Aka the perfect sperm donor.

I really expected this story to be very predictable and obvious. Parts of it were but other parts were wild and caught me off guard, almost seemed like it could be two different stories. I struggled with Margo. I understood her desire to be a mother but the way she went about it seemed completely out of the realm of possibility- especially for a family lawyer.

Overall, a quick and entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGally & Olive McMahon for this ARC!

Conceiving Hope follows Margot, a divorce attorney, who is going through a divorce herself. She's had her life planned out -- marriage, pregnancy, happy family -- but with her marriage falling through, she's going through the emotions of realizing her biological clock is running out.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my cup of tea. Although I enjoyed how detailed the writing was, this mainly consisted of a lot of internal monologue rather than dialogue between characters. We get a lot of flashbacks, going back and forth between past and present, reliving her experiences with her husband. This gave better insight of her past relationship, however the storytelling became a bit chaotic and choppy. In the description of the book, I was under the assumption that the main plot would be Margot on the hunt for a sperm donor and going through that journey, but we don't get to that point until 50% through and only meet Lukas at the 68% mark. There was just too much unnecessary fluff and build up in the beginning. The ending also felt too unrealistic and didn't match up with the first 80% of the book. I appreciate the plot twist, but felt like it was a bit out of place.

Given this is a debut novel, I think the creativity is there! Again, really grateful to have had the chance to read this before the publish date!

This was a cute, easy read! You follow Margo, a divorce attorney trying to pick up the pieces of her failed marriage. She stumbles upon Rex at a coffee shop and they immediately become fast friends. Margo has always wanted a child of her own and after countless failed relationships after her divorce, she realizes she barely needs a man to make that happen. I found myself angry at so many of Margo’s decisions (especially with her being an attorney)! There were plenty of predictable parts and the dialogue was super cringy at times. However, there were actually some twists with this story that I didn’t anticipate! It’s definitely a slow-burn, second chance romance vibe, but it was fast-paced and fun to follow Margo on her journey.

Thank you to Net Galley and Olive McMahon for this ARC!

The story was great, the chemistry between the MCs was adorable and hot. All in all an entertaining read!

This one wasn’t my favorite. I appreciate the journey and the concept of this book; however, I did not vibe with the main character and I felt that there were just a lot of bad decision made. I just didn’t connect the way that I had hoped to. Also, the kindle formatting was very odd.

I enjoyed this book (the second half more than the first half). I appreciated that the author showed that no matter how old you get, you still make rash decisions in an attempt to get the things you want.

Margo was a relatable character in a lot of ways, and I know there are plenty of people who would be able to relate to her fertility journey.

There were some aspects of the book that I wish would have been explored deeper, but overall it was a good book and I would recommend it to friends.

First of all, I really liked Margos journey and the overall concept of the book.
But I really didn't like Margo herself. For a grown woman (who's a lawyer, by the way) she definitely has a talent to make dumb, immature decisions. :D
Nonetheless, as I said, I over all liked the book (the writing is great and easy to read), even though it was a little too slow paced for my taste.
I really hoped to experience pregnancy with Margo, but I understand that it's more about the process of getting there and fulfilling that wish to become a mother.

3.5 stars for me.

ARC via NetGallery [DNF]

"But today, it just filled me with sadness and regret. I had so many hopes. So many dreams. At that moment, all of them seemed so far away—so unachievable it made my entire body ache with my momentous failure."

I got through about a third of the book when I decided to DNF it. I just felt like the book wasn't exactly for me and I tried to strat reading it again many times. My main things where how hectic the book felt with the timeline, and by the third of the book I still felt like I was in prologue rather than ten chapters it. Despite that I still felt very intrigued by the blurbed and probably would have loved it if it had a bit faster pace.

Margo is a divorce lawyer recovering from her own destroyed marriage, which left her childless and starting over. Until she meets Rex, who becomes her best friend in the span of one night. After the arrival of Covid and two years of failed dating, she decides to take matters into her own hands in order to conceive a child with a stranger, to Rex’s disapproval. This book was such a fun, good read (especially the latter half) - with some great steamy bits. Margo makes some not very wise decisions, showing that no matter how educated or old you are, people will do all sorts of things when lust and love are involved. I would’ve loved to read about the pregnancy or her dating during the two years that were skipped, but I loved this book overall! I would definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley & Olive McMahon for my ARC!

I really enjoy reading books about pregnancy, starting families, and this was so fun and unconventional. I really loved reading about Margo’s journey to motherhood and then falling in love. Margo was a little frustrating at times tbh with her decision making, and I felt like this book was a bit long for me, but overall I did enjoy it.

This was an amazing book. It was very well written and it makes you feel for the main female character. I would highly recommend this book!

In the words of Redford Montgomery ‘“Margo. how stupid are you?”

I mean no disrespect to the author or publishers when I say that I don’t think this book was right for me.

I found Margo to be absolutely infuriating at times.
I’m sure this just reflects the complexities of life and that the choices we make in life aren’t always good ones. But Jesus, Margo had me tearing my hair out!

Rex is a sweetie, I loved how they met and the friendship they formed. That did set a good foundation for a strong love story.

However, for a very professional, and presumably smart woman, Margo manages to make some really silly choices and manages to make the same mistakes over and over. How many red flags do you need to see before the penny drops?

As a lawyer I would like to think Margo would be capable of jumping to reasonable conclusions. Apparently not…

I understand that all she wants is to have a baby and experience being a mother after waiting and wishing for that ‘picket fence dream’ for so long but I was thrown by her tendency to flip-flop between ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ attitude towards her arrangement. It seemed like a strong start by pursuing a business agreement in order to conceive a child, and perfectly predictable for a lawyer to draw up contracts and the rest of it, especially with what we learn about her job in the beginning of the book.

What wasn’t expected was her readiness to abandon that approach and fall for the first red flag that was thrown her way. To be so easily distracted and get upset when the guy doesn’t want to answer personal questions (which by the way his avoidance of that was just screaming murderer from the get go), catch feelings and let said sperm donor live with you after him giving you plenty of reasons to run for this hills. I found it strange, for a lawyer of all people, to miss so many warning signs.

I totally appreciate the author fully fleshing out the complex journey Margo goes through in pursuit of wanting to become a mother, and perhaps she just wanted to be a mother so bad she was willing to ignore bad signs and to carry on making, what seemed like, the same mistakes with guys.

I was kind of expecting to go through Margo’s pregnancy journey with her as well, especially after listening to her wanting it for so long.

All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who does like a second chance romance, it does have its cute moments, as well as its darker ones. I just don’t think it was for me.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read the book ahead of release.

I really enjoyed this second chance love story. I felt for Margo in her fertility and love journey. This was a great read.

As someone who has experienced a similar track to my life this novel really hit home. I pray it reaches thoughts to feel less alone and I so look forward to sharing my full thoughts ab$ review on this very soon.