I did like this book. But I did flip flop around on who I thought was right and wrong in this story. I think readers will have different views on how they think this story ended.
Thanks netgalley for letting me read this for a honest review

Ruth and her husband Hal would like to have a baby together but Ruth is not able to since she now in her early 40's. So they hire Cally to be their surrogate. After the birth, Cally changes her mind and decides she wants to keep the baby girl and runs off with the help of Digger, an on and off again boyfriend.

The story is told in alternating POV between Hal, Digger, Ruth, and Cally. This aspect kept the story interesting. I found myself quite invested in the characters and read this book in one day. Chasing after Cally turns into a great cat and mouse game and I had to know if Ruth and Hal would get their little girl back. It is a very well written book and you will find it hard to put down. This is an amazing debut by Toni Halleen!! I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper for my ARC in exchange for my honest review

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I was very surprised by The Surrogate by Toni Halleen as I started reading it. I expected to learn about the surrogacy process - what it was like for the surrogate, the parents, siblings, etc. What I did not expect was a thriller-type story with many twists, turns and surprises!

Cally is a 19 year old dog trainer who has broken up with her boyfriend, has no close family and sees no future for herself unless she can get a college degree. In order to make that happen, she connects with Ruth and Hal Olson and signs a contract to donate an egg, have artificial insemination and deliver a baby for them for $50.000 plus expenses. Ruth is a very involved mother to be and is disappointed that when Cally delivers the baby in the hospital, Ruth is treated as someone who is in the way rather than the real mother. But Cally is having second thoughts about this baby and enlists some help to make up her mind about what she should do next. Here begins a twisty tale!

The setting of this book is Minnesota and I knew it the minute I read the words "Caribou Coffee" in the first chapter. If you know Minnesota, you will enjoy the Minneapolis, Duluth, Lake Superior references as much as I did. This book kept me reading to see where the author was going to take the story.

I’ve actually been intrigued by this exact situation before. A loving couple trying to have a child but can’t. When they decide to hire a surrogate to help. Enter Cally the surrogate who agrees to have the baby to earn money for college. Cally begins to waver on giving the baby up. She contacts an ex boyfriend, Digger. This book is told from 4 POV. Ruth and Hal Olson, Cally and Digger. This was a quick read. I enjoyed the story but wasn’t invested in any of the characters. In my opinion none of them were like able. My least favorite was Digger. Overall a good read.

Thanks to NETGALLY FOR THE ARC for my honest opinion.

Wow. First off, this is the perfect fast paced thriller that kept me reading just one more chapter! I appreciate books with smaller chapters because it makes me want to keep on reading one more and I feel I finish books faster like that haha

The Surrogate is about a married couple, Ruth and Hal who decide to start a family together via surrogacy. This book tells the story of what I would feel is a big fear of people who go through with surrogacy, the surrogate bonding with the child meant to be yours. Ruth and Hal believed Cally would be the perfect candidate to carry their child. Until they realize Cally has run off with their baby a day after giving birth. There ensues a chase to find Cally before she completely disappears with their new child.

This storyline was made into the perfect thriller given this is a fear that anyone can have when you entrust someone else with carrying your child. I loved how fast paced and suspenseful this story was. However, I had a very hard time liking the characters in this book. I think if the characters would have been a bit more likeable, that would have made the difference for the 5 stars. But I found myself getting so frustrated with how rude both Cally and Ruth were. Honestly I fet neither of them were fit to be mothers.
Cally kept making irresponsible decisions that constantly put the baby in danger which in a way I understand maybe it was the authors intent to make Cally be like tjat because then you find yourself WANTING for that baby to be saved.
Same with Ruth, I saw no real emotional attachment towards her baby which made me wonder, why is she trying to hard to find her when she makes it seem like she doesn’t even like her? And the way she would constantly speak to her husband and he just kept letting her get away with it?! Oh no.

Once again, I really enjoyed the storyline and how fast paced and suspenseful it was, I just really disliked most of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading countless thrillers, it becomes easy to sort them into established categories: psychological, crime, mystery, etc. Even though they’re amazing books, we’ve seen the formula and know what to expect. Which is why I pressed request as soon as I read the synopsis for THE SURROGATE by Toni Halleen. But while the premise was new and exciting, THE SURROGATE was ultimately too far-fetched to keep my attention and I ended up not finishing.

Initially, I was drawn in by Cally’s plight - a young, 20 something who agreed to be a surrogate for a family unable to have their own child. It’s easy to sympathize with the pain and confusion of handing off her child, especially so soon after giving birth. That sympathy, along with my ability suspend by disbelief, started failing soon after Cally escapes the hospital.

At first it seems that Halleen attempts to walk a tightrope of what it means to be a mother, and while it may not have been an attempt to legitimize one side over the other, her portrayal of Ruth and subsequent championing of Cally, made it very obvious which character she believed was in the ‘right.’

All that said, this is a book powered by emotions and will having you feeling multiple different which isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. Given all the circumstances, your emotions will constantly be challenged as you’re asked to put yourself in the position of both women and asked to see things from their perspective. In that sense, this book is raw and powerful, and will be a good choice for anyone looking for an emotional ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hal and Ruth are unable to have a baby on their own so hire surrogate, Callie. All goes well till the baby is born and Callie leaves the hospital with the baby with help from her ex boyfriend, Digger.

Each chapter is told by one of the 4 main characters which can sometimes by disjointed and/or repetitive to me, but in this case it was neither, but actually increased the tension and suspense of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I missed reading about the characters when I finished. Also the ending was satisfying.

Great read. I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book wonderful book.

This book was about Cally and how she agreed to be a surrogate mother for Ruth and Hal. After she gives birth she decides she wants to keep the baby and gets her ex boyfriend to help her escape from the hospital with the child. I was interested at first but then I was bored. The story is kind of predictable. You can guess what the characters are going to do and they aren’t very interesting. The point of view switches between Cally, Ruth, Hal and the ex boyfriend Digger. I think the writing wasn’t very good. About half way through I lost interest in the book. I finished the book but only because I wanted to know what ultimately happens to the baby. I found the book really boring but maybe someone else might find it more of interesting.

I enjoyed this novel, though I also admit to one “situation” in the book being quite far-fetched in my humble opinion. I put that situation aside and continued on because I just needed to know how it all ends! My hunches about where the plot was going, changed a few times, due to the fact that the author was pretty sly at allowing the reader to enjoy the characters & then let us change our mind about the characters in a back and forth way and it really worked.

This story is about a couple who marries and becomes a “blended” family because Hal, the husband, has children from a previous marriage. Ruth, the wife, really doesn’t feel wholly connected to her stepchildren and battles the feelings of being an outsider. Ruth desperately wants to have her own child with her husband to complete their family. They negotiate a contract with Cally, the surrogate, and the story unfolds from there. It’s an interesting look into the challenges of surrogacy and I felt the author did a good job of covering the emotions and experiences of both women (Ruth/Cally).

This book was a quick easy read for me. It really did pull me in even with a few minor things that gave me pause. I’m a Minnesotan so I’m very picky about landmarks & descriptions/representations of my home state and felt a few small things were wrong. If you’ve never been to Minnesota, these things would make no difference in your reading experience.

Thank you to #netgalley, #harpercollins, and #ToniHalleen for the opportunity to preview this electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It seems like easy money to be a surrogate for someone else's child. It's not. This is an interesting take of how surrogacy can affect the birth mother and the adopted mother. It's hard to give a child up. Sometimes it's harder to accept one.
Well written, string characters.
Recommended!

This book starts out like many other fiction books that use the plot line of surrogacy. But, this one starts with the views of the different people involved in this surrogate birth--the birth mom, the adoptive mother, the sperm donor husband, and the ex-boyfriend. Once the reader gets to know the main characters, then the story really begins. The author puts all of the pieces in motion--the 4 main characters, the brother, the sister, the new boyfriend, etc. and i the end resolves the story really quite nicely. Unlike many of these stories, (spoiler alert) this one ends up with everyone happy, which is a relief to the reader who feels like he/she has lived through it all. The best part of this book is seeing how the author puts all the jigsaw pieces together to make the puzzle complete in the end.

Utilizing an intriguing angle, Toni Halleen develops the story surrounding parental and surrogacy rights. Cally, twenty years old and struggling to find a direction for her life, happens upon an opportunity in the way of a posting on a college bulletin board. “Loaning” her body as a baby making factory for nine months didn’t seem like a bad trade for having time in finding course for her life in addition to getting out of debt cash.

Ruth, having met a crossroad on her biological clock, sought a safe alternative to her aging eggs. Her husband Hal has two teenage boys and is open to enlarging their family since it’s so important to Ruth. They were financially secure and could afford another child. It seemed a perfect match.
What they didn’t expect was Cally’s maternal attachment to their baby.

Maternal and paternal legal rights, love and fear surface throughout the novel with an unexpected ending.

My thanks to the author, Harper publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

For real estate lawyer Hal and journalist Ruth it was love at first sight. Despite the fact that Hal was technically already married, they fell in love and quickly became a blended family with Hal's two teenage sons. They decide to try for just one child of their own and encounter difficulties- this is where the surrogate comes in.

Cally is a 20 year old who has recently ended things with her on-again off-again high school sweetheart and is looking for direction in life and the finances to finish school. When she sees Hal and Ruth's add for a surrogate - it seems like the perfect opportunity.

The story alternates between 4 narrators: Hal, Ruth, Cally & Calla's ex-bf 'Digger. It's written at a fast pace with each chapter leaving you anxious to see what lies within the next. Rating this 4 stars because even though I loved it and read it in a day - some parts had details that weren't believable and dialogue that seemed pretty juvenile and I wasn't sure quite why they were in the story.

Overall - I would very much recommend this read to anyone looking to get lost in a fast paced thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper for the gifted advance copy. Publish date 11/2/21.

A really interesting fictional book about surrogacy - exposing the of surrogacy law and moral loopholes. If a surrogate changes her mind, what happens? If the paternal father is no longer interested, what happens?

The book was plot focused and I enjoyed how it wrapped up at the end.

I want to thank NetGalley for a free copy of Surrogate by Toni Halleen. Wow, what a wild read. Told in four points of view. Seemed hard to really like anyone or trust. It was what I had expected. I loved the plot. It was a story I have not read in this fashion. Love the writing and style. Well done.

I read this book in one sitting. The writing style and the alternating viewpoints kept the plot moving at a fast pace and had me needing "just one more chapter" until the end. I think the author did such an amazing job capturing the emotions of each person, while in their unique role, during a surrogacy arrangement. The story took several turns I wasn't expecting. This was an excellent read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for access to this arc.

Ruth and Hal Olson want to have child together, and with the help of Cally, their surrogate, they are able to do so. Cally has agreed to be their surrogate after the Olson's offer her a generous sum of money that she can use to go to college. The only problem is that after the baby is born, Cally wants just a little more time with the baby. She calls her ex-boyfriend, Digger, to help her and the baby leave the hospital without anyone knowing and this is really where the story begins.
It is told in 4 different POVs, and I really disliked all of the characters, especially Digger (who is Cally's ex boyfriend). It was an easy read and an interesting topic, but it wasn't my favorite. I give it 3 stars because I did enjoy parts of it and I liked that the ending that everyone was given.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper publishing for gifting me this free eARC.

I enjoyed this book! I didn't want to put it down. I liked the story being told in different view points. I liked that all of the characters were off-putting. But, I didn't like the ending. Ruth is desperate
to have a child. When events unfold, the only thing she wants is to find her baby. Jump to the end...are we talking buyers remorse? I think the fact that Ruth found parenting to be difficult was spot on. But to give the baby back to Cally and have her husband be relieved until she accidentally becomes pregnant then everyone is overjoyed. It put a negative light on surrogacy in my opinion.

What happens when you finally find a surrogate mother for the baby you've longed to have, and, unbeknownst to you, she wants to keep her baby! This is that story, told from four different points of view, the contributing sperm father, his wife, the surrogate and her ex-boyfriend who is aiding her. It draws you in and makes it hard to put it down! I found myself carrying my phone around the house, using my Kindle app, because I didn't want to miss something.

Unfortunately, I'm only giving it four stars because of the atrocious language. I get that the author was trying to make the boyfriend appear to be somewhat of an uneducated creep, but it was over the top and could have been expressed in other ways. Under many circumstances, I would have quit reading because of it.

This book let’s the reader see all sides of how surrogacy works. Each chapter was a different point of view from the characters involved in the plot. It was heartbreaking for both Ruth and Callie. Ruth desperately wanting a baby with her husband, and Callie wanting to keep the baby after she gave birth. This book gives you the insight of what being a surrogate is like for both the birth mother and the adoptive parents. I did think that in the end of this book the author made amends with both Ruth and Callie by giving them the happy ending that they deserved. I think I’m reality this may not be true to all parties involved. I would definitely recommend this book to others and my book club.