I really struggled to get into this one, but once I was able to get into it I really enjoyed it! It was an interesting take on a unique situation, for the most part the characters were really interesting and I enjoyed following them on their journey. Be sure to check trigger warnings, there are some topics that could be difficult for some throughout. I also wanted more of a definite ending, but it didn't seem to happen.

a read that ended up being sweeter than I thought it would be. And I loved that. Which goes to show you don't judge a book by it's cover.

What a miracle it is for someone to help a family struggling to have a child on their own!

I have never gone through any of Nora or Roxy’s struggles. While I can empathize, I just couldn’t connect with these characters. I found it difficult to vibe with this book. I am a reader that needs all the extra descriptive words to feel like I am right there in the book- to visualize the characters. I feel like this book definitely needs more of that.

This book is told from three POV’s - Roxy, Nora & Owen.

Roxy is a single mother who is struggling to get by and has to work two jobs to make ends meet. Her ex has finally made it big- has this big, beautiful new life and now wants full custody of their son. Roxy needs a lot of money and fast!

Nora & Owen are a married couple who have struggled with infertility, miscarriages, surrogate miscarriages and a failed adoption. They have one chance left so they need to find a new surrogate…Roxy enters their world.

I have so much to say but since I haven’t been through this, I am not sure what the norm is in this situation. Nora is so mean and judgmental of Roxy - it is just wrong when this person is doing something so special for you. As much as Nora and Owen love each other, he keeps some big secrets from her! Roxy definitely has her own set of issues but I like her best. She is a fighter, she is feisty and she will do whatever she has to for her child!

Overall, this is a good read. There are a lot of emotions in this book...laugh out loud moments and some “what are you thinking?” moments. I did enjoy the ending but it seemed to be a little rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Loretta Nyhan for the advanced readers' copy of this book for my honest review.

i really wanted to love this book. it started out super fun and thrilling and then i just got kinda bored. i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this early!!

This book started out with Roxy bringing her son Aero to his fathers house for the summer. He was going to spend one month with his dad and then one month with her. As soon as Roxy got to Gabe’s house he told Roxy that he was taking her to court to change their custody agreement so aero would live with him all the time and Roxy get visitation.

Roxy was determined to fight Gabe in court and even got a lawyer for herself. Gabe then offered to pay for Roxy to go to college to give her the change to make a better life for herself and for aero. Roxy had also made the decision to become a surrogate for Nora and Owen, because they couldn’t have children of their own.

Gabe’s wife Livvy thought it was such a good thing for her to do because she was going to make a couples wish come true.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a great story. I was hooked from the first page. I devoured this book in two days. I highly recommend everyone read this book.

A relatable novel that will be enjoyed by many. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I found the storyline to be a little far-fetched. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for a review.

Roxy's entire world is her little boy. working two jobs she knows that what she can
offer him in material terms is much less than his father and new wife. They have a lavish lifestyle and Roxy can see clearly that the boy is tempted and overwhelmed by what
is on offer.

When the dice is thrown for a full custody by the father, Roxy turns to the tricky
precarious world of being a surrogate. The couple wanting a surrogate have a story of
heartbreak, loss of their own and the three try to bond in the waiting period of nine
months.

This was an emotional story told from many viewpoints - each with a complicated history
of their own. This was a no win situation for all the players and looked at not just
child custody and the see saw between bickering parents, but the basic emotions of those
involved in surrogacy.

Roxy, Nora, and Owen find themselves in a relationship they never anticipated when Roxy becomes a surrogate for the couple. All three offer their viewpoints in this restrained and yet emotional novel which explores surrogacy while folding in other issues as well. It's thoughtful and well written. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

4.5 stars

Really enjoyed this book as it presented characters with real life problems. I realise that some people like to read books where they can escape into a fictional world, but I thought that this book was very relatable when you are faced with a problem, what would you do to overcome it. Each character has real emotions and feelings that any of us would feel if facing the same situations. This book definitely got me in the feels.

When I was reading Roxy's chapters, I thought about my own mum and how she had to make some tough decisions as a single mum. How she may not have had enough money, but she always found a way to make it work. Roxy always wanted the best for her son and used whatever means possible to provide the best life she could for him.

With Owen and Nora, I could empathise that their situation would be very challenging. If all you've ever wanted was to be a mother/father and you have tried all available options, I can appreciate that it would be exhausting both mentally and emotionally when it doesn't work out for you. I felt like Owen's feelings were valid, though he really should have expressed himself to his wife. For him, he didn't really see an end in sight because it seemed like Nora wasn't going to be complete without a child. As for Nora, it was heartbreaking reading her multiple attempts, each ending in a miscarriage and seeking IVF as the answer.

I thought Roxy's lie about not having a miscarriage in the past would come back to bite her. The ending!! Wasn't expecting it to go the way that it did but it really showed the growth in each person. Not everything in life is happy with rainbows, sometimes we have to adapt when we're faced with adversity.

Content warnings - divorce, relationships after divorce and pregnancy loss/miscarriage

This is an interesting story about surrogacy. I like the way it is set up, alternating chapters with the surrogate, the hopeful mother-to-be and the hopeful father-to-be. This manner of presenting the story shows everyone's individual emotions, expectations and experience of the process.

But this story is about so much more than just the surrogacy. It is about relationships, character flaws, friendships and families. I liked that there was a lot of focus on the fact that the characters still had a lot going on besides the surrogacy. Life still happens. And not everything in life has a storybook ending. But conversely, if it is an ending to a book, it technically IS a storybook ending. It's the way life is.

I enjoyed the 3 main characters. Roxy is the surrogate, Owen and Nora are the hopeful parents-to-be. They are all good people, the kind we would meet in real life.

But this story is about so much more than just the surrogacy. It is about relationships, character flaws, families. I liked that there was a lot of focus on the fact that the characters still had a lot going on besides the surrogacy. Life still happens. And not everything in life has a storybook ending. But conversely, if it is an ending to a book, it technically IS a storybook ending. It's the way life is.

I'm not sure I liked the many Instagram references in the book. One of the characters is an Insta blogger with a huge following. That part was ok. But besides that, there were numerous references to Insta by other characters that weren't necessary because didn't add anything to the story. One of the reasons I love to read is that it gets me away from social media. But, once I’m away from it, I don't need to be reminded. This is not influencing my thoughts on the book.

I think I enjoyed this book because of the characters. I know I am repeating myself......it’s for emphasis. The storyline was good but the characters just seemed so real to me. Their emotions, their flaws, their successes, all resonated with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

The New Person is a sweet, endearing, raw and uplifting read and I will be recommending it to all of my friends and followers. I think the blurb for the book had the best description: "Family is never simple, and neither are dreams. Nora, Owen, and Roxy hope that their surrogacy journey will lead them to what they want most in the world. All three will get more than they expected."

The New Person by Loretta Nyhan was beyond anything in was expecting!
Phenomenal.
This novel was such a sweet, emotional but uplifting, utterly engaging book.
The main characters instantly spoke to my heart.
Roxy, Nora and Owen are brilliantly written and amazing characters.
The interactions between these wonderful characters was not easy, but they are true and so very real.
This surrogacy journey was one that opened my eyes on a whole new light.
I honestly couldn't even begin to imagine and on some level my heart went out to them all in different ways.
This is a beautifully-written, unputdownable, heartwarming book about the wonder of family.
It made me smile, it made me cry, and most of all it made me hopeful.

A sweet and hopeful novel about loss, connection, and the many ways to make a family

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Lake Union Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

I really enjoyed this. It was your typical happily ever after, it was real, raw, and hit all the rights spots! Will definitely recommend this to all!

Follow your Aero.

Roxy is about to turn 30 and feeling down in the dumps about where she is in life. She has a good job at a dental office but she knows she could be more. She had a child young and it’s delayed her career but she wouldn’t trade Aero(named after Aerosmith lol) for the world.

So speaking of trading Aero, his father Gabe wants him full time since he’s watching chemtrails over the country club(he is fancy). He’s married to an influencer from Instagram named Livvy aka Liv Raw! He has the money to make this legal battle difficult so she’s going to have to be creative to find the money.

We also have Nora and Owen, a couple trying to conceive. They just lost their surrogate and found Roxy. Their worlds collide with the possible surrogacy and Nora’s stanning of Livvy(hiss!). Things go beyond a normal situation. Maybe they can help each other in ways they’d never imagined.

This one really hit different. There was a lot going on here with virtual cuddlers, disabilities, and just surrogacy in general. I’m not against it at all but I do question the ethics of using a desperate and vulnerable woman’s uterus so she can pay bills.

I appreciated the attention to detail and the complexity of the characters. It was beautifully written and makes you want to laugh and scream on the same page. It’s a very interesting sign of the times!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

Single mother Roxy needs cash to hire attorney after her ex-husband says he wants full custody of their son Aero. Nora and Owen want a baby.. When Nora and Owen hire Roxy as their surrogate, they get to know each other and their families better than they'd expected.

This was a good, quick read. I liked all the characters (except Livvie at times) and even though this was a tough subject matter, I felt like it was an easy read. I'm really interested in reading more books by this author now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available November 29, 2022.

The New Person follows an array of individuals who all give family a different definition/picture. Nora and Owen are fighting to have a family and are on their last embryo to do so. Roxy is a single mom who’s fighting to try to get full custody of her son back, and hoping to carry Nora & Owen’s last embryo to term. Aero is a boy split between his mom and dad and step mom.

BE SURE TO CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS. ‼️‼️

I am a firm believer in going into a book blind, I don’t like to be biased before I even read page one or form an opinion based on the synopsis on the back of the book. As a angel baby mom of miscarriage and stillbirth, this one was hard for me to get through and caused me to have to put it down and come back to it a lot.

The author did a great job of allowing you to see how everyone deals with the loss of a baby through miscarriage differently. Sometimes the dialogue between Roxy and Nora could see repetitive and sometimes childish to me. I still enjoyed seeing their chemistry and relationship build.

Overall, I think the author did a good job at writing a story with an extremely hard and sensitive topic at the forefront.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for supplying an eARC for an honest review.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I picked this up, put it down for a few weeks, then picked it back up again, and despite the delay in getting into it, I did quite enjoy the read. I felt for the character of Roxy and was interested in the storyline, but I felt the ending left me hanging a bit.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The New Person" by Loretta Nyhan
was a heartfelt novel about loss, connection & the many ways to make a family.
I enjoyed my time with these interesting characters & I liked that the ending wasn't predictable.
I will be on the lookout for Ms. Nyhan's next book.

Loretta Nyhan has an uncanny ability to write stories with characters that have deep and relatable problems. Roxy’s ex-husband trying to take her son simply because he was able to afford a better neighborhood/district tugged at my heart strings. Nora’s inability to get pregnant coupled with her husbands need for someone to be there for him emotionally because he didn’t want to add more to his wife’s already overflowing emotional plate was both sad and relatable. The only thing I found not likable was Nora. She was cold, judgmental at times, and not someone I found myself wanting to root for. Considering she wanted to be a mother and needed help to make that happen, I would’ve expected a little more grace from her but to me there was none. As always is the case in Loretta Nyhan’s books, “The New Person” offered up real life advice in its pages. Guidance we all need.