Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. This is a story of infertility where a group of women finding solace on an online forum during their "two week wait". I liked how all the characters bonded since they were all going through it together. Each of the characters came from different backgrounds and had a different life but all wanted one thing, to have a baby. I was real rooting for the characters by the end. Overall would recommend.

I really wanted to like this because I remember when I was ttc I would often peruse forums with other women. But something about this story overall made it hard for me to get into it. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Thank you to Net Galley and The Book Guild for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed this book a great deal. Several women, hoping to be moms, enter the "two week wait," when they believe they might be expecting, but it's not yet time to take the test. They meet online, with very different backgrounds, expectations, ages and hopes. They grow, and they support each other. The ending was very clever.

Book Review for The Two Week Wait by Lucy J. Lewis.

Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Lucy J Lewis’s novel follows five women as they suffer the agonising “two week wait” to find out if they are pregnant, sharing their experiences on an online fertility discussion forum.

Having experienced fertility “issues”, I’m no stranger to the horrors of the two week wait, although it’s all thankfully a number of years in the past now. I’ve also done my share of posting on online forums on the subject, and in fact had the idea at one point of writing a novel based on the forum chat. Well, it turns out that’s what Lucy J Lewis has done (though it’s not entirely forum chat). It was interesting and nostalgic, kind of, to be reminded of the jargon – TTC, BFP, and the rest, and the endless and usually fruitless symptom-spotting, and definitely brought back some memories, not necessarily good ones!

The writing feels a fraction heavy handed at times and there’s rather too much information dumping towards the beginning. Within a few lines of meeting Fern, for instance, we’ve learned that she has a Rolex (that’s in the first sentence), a Smythson notebook and a Fendi bag. Ok, we get it, she’s rich. Once the story settles down, though, I did enjoy it (and the brand-dropping thankfully ceases).

There are a lot of characters – I was expecting three, maybe four, so by the time it got to 5 I was wondering how on earth I was going to keep track of them all. In fact it wasn’t difficult, as Jane, Becks, Fern, Mandi and Star (who’s an “Instagram influencer” - I’m afraid I did roll my eyes at that) are very different, varying widely in age, situation and general attitude, from twenty-year TTC veteran Jane, to Fern who is not even sure she wants a baby. I didn’t hugely identify with any of them, but that’s not a problem, and I did appreciate the diversity.

I think women who have had or are having difficulty conceiving will definitely relate to a lot in this story - the author clearly writes from experience and it all rings true. (Online fertility forums clearly haven’t changed much, as I recognised everything here.)

The focus is very much on the women’s pregnancy aspirations, although relationships - good and bad - also get a look in (and certain people’s behaviour had me fuming at times.) Fern seems to be the only one, though, with a job she actually cares about, and apart from the fact that she works in TV we didn’t really learn anything about it. (By the way, I hadn’t realised anyone still used the surely outdated term “career woman”! Who ever heard of a career man?) On reflection, I think Fern was probably my favourite of the five women.

An enjoyable read which will resonate with many. And I do want to know who the little nameless bit at the end refers to!... my money’s on Fern... Do let me know, Lucy, if you read this!

The two week wait was an interesting read for me as I’ve never experienced fertility issues so was enlightening to read about the issues other couples experience whilst trying to get pregnant!
A group of women who are trying to get pregnant but are having issues get together in an online forum to provide a support network to each other and in doing so develop a friendship although they are all very different in age, outlook, circumstances etc!
An easy read that makes you appreciate your own fertility.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

An interesting topic is derailed by an excessive amount of characters vying to be the main character. Pick one, maybe two. It's tiring as a reader to get to know so many of them in a half dozen introductory chapters. This tiresome exercise was then followed by the characters repeating these introductions to each other in the online format. It's give a "Groundhog's Day" feeing without the charm of that movie, just the exhaustion. Finally, the characters overshare in a completely not credible manner in the online forum...people would do this saying "my husband" or DH rather than using actual names. I think editors needed a role here.

Jane has been trying to get pregnant for twenty long years and this month decides to go through the dreaded two week wait with others going through the same thing. She puts a forum post online and soon four women respond to it saying they are going through the same thing. While all very different women in very different circumstances, the women all connect through their shared experience... will they all get their happy endings?

A fantastic book that is perfect for anyone who has been through that awful two week wait countless times. It gives you hope but even more than this is shows that you aren't alone. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

3.5 Stars

Having never had fertility issues this book was an eye-opener to me. How agonizingly sad to have to go through this. I am one-hundred percent feminist and believe a woman doesn't have to have children, or a man, to be complete...BUT if it is something you truly desire it must be devastatingly painful to have your heart broken month after month.

This was an easy read, with simplified dialogue and multiple narrators. It is sort of an epistolary style book as a lot of it is simple chat-room dialogue and there are some journal entries as well. I don't usually go for that but it worked here for some reason.

While the overly-simple writing style drove me nuts at times, I did like the intent of the story. The somewhat contrived parts were too convenient but the overall theme was interesting and, in the end, hopeful.

P.S.
I rounded up because the book has such a low rating and I don't think it deserves it simply because the author didn't have the same struggle as some readers. It does say in the blurb I read that Lucy J Lewis based the story on her own experiences.

Waiting for anything is rough, waiting 2 weeks to find out if your pregnant, is also rough. This is a good book, women on a forum about waiting two weeks, and how much they learn about themselves and each other in this time.

Great book! It tells a great story about the power of women and friendships. If you need a pick me up book then this is it.