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their feminist arguments through antiquated views such as, in Alderman's case, basing the novel on the wildly toxic and outdated ideal that strength and power are divisions of gender.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.