Ms. Conception by new to me author Jen Cumming delivers a good story about a woman’s struggle to get pregnant, which parallels the author’s personal experiences in fertility resolutions. Abigail Nichols has always wanted to be a Mother and when the story begins, she and her husband Jack have been trying for a good while, with negative results and increasing frustration. They decide to pull out all the stops and invest an obscene amount of money on the fertility clinic route, where the procedures she has to endure sound horrific and made me question whether it was worth it as there are still disappointments ahead of them.

Eventually Abby does get pregnant despite the struggles she has gone through and for me, the book just fell a little flat. It was still good, and my favorite scene in the book is when Abby is in labor and her domineering and annoying Mother in law shows up in the birthing room! I just felt that for me, once Abby got pregnant, everyone just kind of went, “our work here is done.” I found the story of Abby and Jack’s experiences before she got pregnant more enjoyable as well as the issues Abby is facing at work. It seemed like after she got pregnant, the story sped up and all of that was forgotten and OH HERE, have a promotion……by the way, the promotion is well-deserved, but I had real concerns if Abby would even have a job by the end of the book.

I don’t understand why more attention wasn’t placed on the option of adoption. I think that with so many children in the world without loving parents, it seems a little selfish to me to overlook it because you really want a little girl that has your wife’s eyes, hair, whatever…I would have gotten more enjoyment if Abby and Jack adopted a baby, only to find out they are knocked up with triplets…OK, soapbox has been put away.

Despite all that, I did enjoy this story. Abby’s assistant, Scott, was fabulous and would be a hoot to hang out with. He initially comes across as a great stirrer of the pot and total drama queen, but in the end he has Abby’s back and goes above and beyond for her. I am still shaking my head, however, at the name of Abby’s niece.

My Final Verdict: Readers looking for an interesting and light read centered on a serious issue will enjoy Ms. Conception. The characters are realistic and the subject matter is both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Abby is a real trooper for what she goes through to achieve her dream of motherhood and I can’t help but admire her strength of spirit and tenacity.