I am glad that I did finish this book, but there were times when I almost didn’t. Slow moving and lots of the characters inner thoughts bogged me down. Good story about what could possibly happen when you undergo procedures to become pregnant. Very much a story of emotions about motherhood.

I received a Digital Reader Copy from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Readers should be sure to look at the content warning that the author put at the beginning of the novel.

This is a novel that truly made me think. What would I do if I were in the same situation? I connected with both Katherine, and Tess. I believe readers who enjoy books where both sides of an issue/situation are contemplated will enjoy this novel. I look forward to reading more from Charlene Carr.

Katherine and Tess visit the same fertility clinic. Tess has a stillbirth. Katherine and her husband have a beautiful daughter. Now, a year later, the clinic informs them that their eggs were intentionally switched and Rose is the biological child of Tess and Katherine’s husband. The three parents all want Rose. How will the dilemma be solved? Charlene Carr does an excellent job by presenting the story from both women’s POV. Nothing is as straightforward as it seems. I highly recommend this engaging read. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Hold My Girl, by Charlene Carr, is a very good book, with a whole lot going on. The story flows effortlessly, thankfully, because if it didn't, the reader would most likely be lost. There is an enormous amount of social consciousness, mixed expertly with a beautiful story of familial love and devotion. I was pleasantly surprised that throughout the book, I remained interested and curious as to how the author would choose to reveal the ending. The characters are likable, in an "I'm not quite sure whose side I am on" kind of way. All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Hold My Girl, sped through it, was intrigued and entertained, and will definitely recommend it to my reader friends.

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr is an engaging read that ponders the question of what it truly means to be a mother. This story of Katherine, Tess, Rose, and Patrick focuses on the discovery of an embryo switch and what do you do when both mothers have a claim. What makes this such a good read is that the author does a wonderful job of showing the real and flawed humanity of each character and makes you feel for both mothers. Sometimes I felt empathy and sometimes I felt exasperation and that's the hallmark of a great author--she makes you feel!

For fans of Jodi Picoult, you'll recognize the style of seeing both sides of an issue along with deep empathy for the characters. My only quibble is with the twist (didn't think it was necessary or likely) AND I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Hold My Girl is available now.

I have several friends and family members who have dealt with infertility, so that's a world that is familiar to me in many ways. The main characters, Katherine and Tess, each underwent IVF treatment at the same facility after years of struggling to become mothers, and unbeknownst to them, their eggs were switched. Both women went on to carry daughters, though Tess's pregnancy ended in a stillbirth at 21 weeks. The story opens on the day the clinic has contacted the women, shortly before Katherine and her husband Patrick's daughter, Rose, will turn one, and unfolds from there.

Tess's life was already falling apart when she had IVF, and has spiraled down further after the loss of her baby. She is now single and holding on by a thread, and thus is thrilled to learn that she has a living child, and she is determined to be a part of her life in some capacity. Katherine has her own struggles, but is a loving mother to Rose, and she's devastated at the news that she is not her biological child. She and her husband do not want to share her at all, and their first mediation attempt fails completely. Both women want sole custody of her, and begin a legal battle to determine custody.

This story was very well written, and brought up so many points to think about, from what makes a mother, to parenthood, marriage, family, mistakes from our past, trauma, race and cultural identity, and more. And the characters were fully fleshed out. I liked both Katherine and Tess, though sometimes their choices frustrated me (especially Tess), but I had sympathy for them at the same time. I could see both sides of the situation and it all seemed impossible at times. There is drama, too, and I was fully entertained throughout. I couldn't put it down, wanting to see how it would all end, and I always wanted more at the end of each chapter.

I look forward to reading more from this author. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I was approved to read Hold My Girl, I felt the urge to postpone my plans for the foreseeable future to read the book.

This, after all, was the book that inspired me to join NetGalley. Out of mere curiosity, I’d done a Google search to see if one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult, had a new release coming out–she usually does at this time of year. I was sad to see she didn’t, but Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr was being marketed to fans of Jodi Picoult.

I read the book’s summary, and immediately my interest was piqued.

Hold My Girl is a book about a switch like no other. I’ve read switched-at-birth stories and seen them on TV. I’ve never read a book about this type of switch, though.

This book tells the story of two women from different backgrounds, who are acquaintances.

Both women struggled with fertility. Katherine successfully conceived and birthed a beautiful baby little girl, Rose. Rose is just about to turn one when the story starts. Tess also conceived, but she unfortunately lost her baby girl, Hanna halfway through her pregnancy.

It's a fast-paced read from the beginning as readers are introduced to our protagonists, Katherine and Tess. What I love about these characters is how raw and relatable they are. They are flawed, and it wasn’t hard to see myself in either of them.

We learn an unforgivable mistake took place in the lab when an employee switched the women’s eggs before they were fertilized. Katherine’s daughter, Rose, is biologically Tess’s and Katherine’s husband’s child.

As the story unfolds, the pain of each character left me wondering what I would do in either character’s situation. Fortunately, I’ve been blessed not to struggle with infertility, but I have friends who have. This story has to be the worst nightmare of every mother considering IVF.

Full of twists and turns–some I saw coming, some I did not–Hold My Girl keeps readers on their toes and eager to read the next page. I won’t spoil the rollercoaster–that’s for you to enjoy, readers.

This is the book for fans of Jodi Picoult craving something new to read this fall.

According to TikTok, I’ll have to wait to hear more about Jodi Picoult’s new book. It’s a great time to discover new favorite authors, and I look forward to checking out Charlene Carr’s other books, past and future! I just signed up for her newsletter to receive her free novella Before I Knew You.

3.75⭐️ This was a hard to put down book, but one I almost DNFed half way. Both main characters clearly needed therapy and it was surprising that given all they were going through, their “Center” or other professionals did not recommend this. One of the characters was so unlikeable that it made it challenging to feel empathy but midway exhibited behaviors/emotions that re-invested me in her story. I also think there was too many plot development/elements that started to feel a bit over the top/piling on/unnecessary, as though the author felt she had to keep upping the drama. I think this could have been an even more compelling and realistic drama if the author would have dialed down the story a bit.

Two vastly different women, with different lives and experiences share one thing in common. They both used the same fertility clinic and their eggs got switched.

Katherine is happily married, an interior designer currently a full time mom. She struggled to conceive for many years, and was lucky to finally have an IVF miracle and give birth to her daughter Rose. From birth Katherine has always had a sliver of doubt if Rose was hers, they look nothing alike.

Tess has had a rough couple of years. Her husband left her for another woman, she is a college drop out, broke and at rock bottom. A year ago she gave birth to a stillborn baby and has been grieving ever since.

Just before Rose's first birthday both women are informed there was a mix up, a nurse purposely switched their eggs. This news causes a ripple in both their lives and they are both about to prepare for a custody battle that answers a question, who is Rose's true mother and who deserves custody of her.

This book was so powerful and emotional. I could not put it down. The story is so compelling and intriguing. The writing was beautiful, and I feel the story was so well told. The dual POV was such a brilliant choice and you really get the whole story. The characters are so complex, flawed, and relatable. Even with the serious subject matter, it was such an enjoyable read. I felt the subject matter was very relevant to the times and written with the sensitivity and care it deserved. Fantastic book.

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr is by far, one of the most complex novels I’ve ever read on motherhood. I had to pause and sit with my thoughts multiple times while reading this story. It brings SO many questions, emotions, and perspectives to the surface. As the synopsis suggests:

“𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣. 𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙚𝙜𝙜𝙨. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚-𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝.”

At an IVF clinic, the eggs of two women are switched. One woman gives birth to her daughter, but sadly, the other woman’s child is stillborn. Nearly two years later, the truth is revealed, a scandal breaks out, and the big question is asked: Exactly who does this child belong to? Morals, science, and empathy all play into answering that loaded question. At the very beginning of the book, the author includes a content warning, which I greatly appreciated. She mentions infertility and pregnancy loss as triggering topics discussed in the novel, so please keep that in mind if this one is on your radar.

Carr’s writing skills are evident as she delivers a steady-paced storyline with deeply layered and well-developed characters. The novel felt action-packed and suspenseful, yet extremely character-driven throughout. I inhaled this book last weekend, and found it very difficult to put down. I emphasized with both women and could never pick a side. They’re in an unthinkable and nightmarish situation—how can you not feel for them both? This story is emotional, unique, thought-provoking, unsettling, and heartbreaking. You’ll experience an abundance of emotions while reading it, trust me. 5/5 compelling stars for Hold My Girl! I highly recommend this novel, but please use caution regarding the trigger warnings before you pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the eARC.

This book deserves all the hype, the praise, and more. Charlene Carr and written a story that is just tremendous. Read it.

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr is a passionate story about women who are mothers and what some of these women go through to be mothers. Very heartfelt and enlightening.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book full of emotions and secrets - and yet I felt as though it did not go into any great depth unpacking the characters. The two main female characters were portrayed as starkly pitted against one another, and yet both made bad choices again and again. I found both annoying to unbearable. Yes, I can certainly empathize with the longing for a child, and the despair of not being able to conceive (not to mention the vast amounts of money IVF involves). However, I wish there had been a bit less repetition, the book would have profited from a stringent edit, and a bit more development of the actual plot (embryo switch).

Hold My Girl does its best to make you feel for both Tess and Katherine. There’s really no respite in this story, something is always coming out, someone is always messing something up and while for some it might be repetitive, I liked it for going through every aspect carefully – the backstories and inner worlds, as well as the judicial process. The characters were all well established and the two main POVs equally interesting and engaging.

I can’t lie and say I didn’t pick a side and that side was Katherine’s. While the book really does an excellent job of representing both women and the brutally unfair circumstances they’re both in, whenever I would build a fraction more empathy for Tess, something would come out and make it so Katherine just felt like the narrative’s punching bag. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Katherine was left off with one too many loose end and that rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like Tess got to go through massive ups and downs and grow, while Katherine got one epiphany.

To be honest, it took me a while into the book to start to care about the biology of it all. Katherine carried and gave birth to Rose and then raised her for a year. That should’ve counted for way more and it really bothered me the way Tess immediately jumped to “That’s my child, I have a child.” and I found it very hard to try to stay neutral.

I think Katherine’s inlaws should’ve been addressed properly but instead Katherine starts questioning if she misconstrued their racist comments.

All in all, this was very stressful but ultimately enjoyable and as satisfying as it could be, considering the theme. If you’re like me and for some reason enjoy books that make you go through a million emotions a minute, you’ll enjoy this.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this ARC.

One child. Two women. How can anyone decide what constitutes a “real” mother?

Katherine and Tess are two of many women who wanted to give birth to a child but had difficulty. They joined support groups, worked with an IVF clinic, and focused their whole lives on trying to conceive. Katherine was lucky enough to both get pregnant and carry her baby to term, and is now the proud mother of Rose. Tess, on the other hand, did not fare as well, and is struggling to cope with her loss. Both of their lives change when they receive a phone call from the IVF clinic asking them to come in for tests. A breach in protocol resulted in the switching of eggs, and there is now doubt that the baby to whom Katherine gave birth is actually biologically hers. The women, their family and friends are thrust into a controversy that could rip their lives apart. Is Rose Katherine’s child, or is she Tess’s? When, not surprisingly, the two women view the situation very differently and cannot agree on the best course of action, they enter into a legal custody battle. Trying to keep their names, and Rose’s, out of the media while each tries to prove that she is the “real” mother, Katherine and Tess risk everything for the right to raise Rose as their own.
This story is a heart wrenching one to read for anyone who has themselves had difficulty in conceiving a child, or who knows someone who has…which is just about every woman. From the shame and blame that women often feel for not being able to conceive naturally, to the lengths to which couples are willing to go to overcome the challenges, and the worries that persist even if successful….the pursuit of motherhood is not always easy. Not all couples survive the process, and not all are successful regardless of how hard they try or how much time, energy and money they commit to the pursuit. What would it be like to discover after all they have endured that the child the woman carried, bore and has spent a year raising was not actually hers, when she had every reason to think that it was? Katherine’s conviction that she is Rose’s real mother is more than understandable, as is her desire to not have Tess involved in Rose’s life. But I could equally sympathize with Tess, who thought that motherhood was no longer a possibility, only to discover that one of her harvested eggs had in fact resulted in a healthy birth. How could she not want to be a mother to this child, and experience all that she can as a part of Rose’s life? Both can’t be right, but neither is wrong. There have been all manner of real life cases, of surrogates or donors who change their minds during a pregnancy, of babies mixed up at a hospital, and like many I would hear the stories and decide what I thought the solution should be. But the situation described here is a new twist, with both women the innocent victims of a switch, and with both having a biological claim to the child. It is easy for a dispassionate person to say that the best solution would be for the women to share the child….but who amongst us would willingly surrender the title of parent to their child? As I read and learned more about each woman….the less-than-perfect lives they had led, the struggles and insecurities each had, and the emotional toll that infertility had taken on them…I found myself both sympathetic to and frustrated with each woman, the choices they made as well as their mistakes. The two protagonists, both appealing but flawed, were well developed, as were many of the supporting characters. The story was sympathetically told, with no clear villains and no easy answers. Readers of authors like Jodi Picoult, Celeste Ng and Karen Heenan should pick up a copy of Hold My GIrl, as should anyone who would appreciate the story of two women whose lives have become intertwined through the actions of another. Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hold My Girl///

Year Pub/Re Pub: 10/10/23, read 10/8/23///

Format: e-ARC///

Source: Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.///

Page Count: 400///

Setting: Canada///

Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary Women's Fiction///

Tropes: interracial relationship, child custody///

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone///

HEA/HFN ending: HFN

Epilogue Included: no

Character(s)POV Spoken: dual POV Katherine and Tess///

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Synopsis/Plot Summary: Two women Katherine and Tess are desperate to have a baby go through IVF. Both get pregnant, 1 has a successful birth and the other heartbreak. They find out that their eggs were switched, and a custody battle ensues for baby Rose.///


Contains Children: yes, Katherine's daughter Rose,1///

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION///

Heroine: Katherine Matheson///

Heroine Description: tries to be the perfect housewife and stay at home mom. Tried for 7 years to have a baby before IVF. She succeeded, carried her baby to term, and had a healthy girl named Rose///

Heroine Likability Rating: 4///

Heroine: Theresa "Tess" Sokolowski///

Heroine Description: Works at a dead-end job laboratory testing water samples. Married 6 years, underwent IVF and delivered daughter Hanna stillborn. She also had an emergency hysterectomy and now feels empty and hopeless///

Heroine Likability Rating: 5//


Secondary characters://

Susie and Jerry- Patrick's parents, morally against IVF, racist///
Irene- nurse who switched the eggs///
Patrick-Katherine's husband, Rose's biological father///
Hyeon-Jun-Tess's ex-husband left her because she wouldn't accept not having kids. He met someone else and is having a baby ///
Saadia-runs a fertility focused center where Tess and Katherine got their treatments. ///
Mikolai-Tess's brother, his family helped her when husband left ///
Elvira-Katherine's mother///
Kerra-Katherine and Patrick's lawyer///
Adee-Katherine and Patrick's private investigator///
Messineo-Tess's lawyer//

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS ///
infertility, rape, adultery, racism, stillborn, IVF, drug and alcohol use, indiscriminate sex///

AUTHOR OVERVIEW ///
Charlene Carr///

New or read before & any favorites: new author for me///
PERSONAL OVERVIEW///

Overall Rating: 5/5 ⭐///

Do You Recommend This Book: yes///

Will You Re-read This Book: yes///

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes///

COMMENTS/NOTES- I felt the pain of both women going through tragedy and loss. As someone who can't have children, it's a hard truth to accept. Both women were desperate for a child, so I won't criticize them or their actions. When I felt the pain of it all, I was depressed and thought "why me" so much. It took my family and a good therapist to make it out the other side. When you add adultery, drug and alcohol use, it's a disaster. Katherine and Tess's custody battle for Rose reminded me of the movie Losing Isaiah where a white mother adopted a black little boy because his mother (also black) was a drug addict. I sympathized with both women and am glad this story has been told because part of healing is discussing the issue.

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr is a novel that could be ripped from the headlines. Two women undergo IVF at the same clinic, one has a successful birth, the other child is stillborn. It is discovered later that the eggs were switched and implanted in the wrong women and the living child belongs to the one who had the stillborn baby. Who should have custody of the child, the woman who nurtured her for 9 months, gave birth to her and had raised her for her first year or her actual, biological mother? Add in that the biological mother is a different race and has no money, an unsupportive family and this is the makings of a nightmare.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Tess and Katherine tell this story of their daughter- the daughter conceived via IVF with Tess' egg and carried by Katherine. This emotional twist on the switched at birth tale takes you into the minds of two women who both feel that baby Rose belongs to them. Katherine's husband is the father- does that make a difference? Tess is very much alone, except for a few friends, some of whom are mutual, and she does not have the financial resources of Katherine and Patrick. This is their collision course, their fight over Rose through failed mediation and then litigation. I liked the setting and the characters and if it felt a tad trope-y (especially the ending), that was mitigated by the twist in the premise. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Emotional and heart wrenching. A twist on the familiar "switched at birth" trope- A well written and evenly paced story of loss and betrayal. Thought provoking

The premise of the story is that two embryos are swapped at an IVF clinic, but the sperm is not swapped. It goes from there in swirling layers of drama that are almost too much, but actually work, probably because Charlene Carr is a very good writer. I actually cried at the end, and as soon as I finished I bought one of the authors previous books, which I don't normally do, but I really enjoyed the writing.
I love reading the "switched babies" trope and considering how the protagonists and legal system manage this difficult situation. This book is believable, tender and touching.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a free e-Arc in exchange for and honest review.