Smashbomb

Maggie is a young mom who dreams of going to college. But her current life--toiling at a grocery store while her boyfriend works as a chef--can't support her dreams. When she sees an ad about becoming a surrogate, and sees how much it could pay, Maggie wonders if this could solve all her problems. Her boyfriend, Nick, is reluctant, but Maggie decides to go for it. She winds up being selected by a loving gay couple, Chip and Donovan, from New York. Maggie delivers their beautiful twin boys, and everyone is happy. But ten years later, she gets a call from the fertility clinic that will change her life.

This is a mesmerizing book that pulls you in from the beginning. It's extremely easy-to-read, and the story basically tells itself. I was immediately attached to Chip and Donovan and their family. The story is told from Donovan's POV and Maggie's. Through Donovan, we learn about their family, their pasts, and how much they love their boys. When they end up having DNA tests done on the twins, it upends things and forces Donovan, especially, to rethink so much of what he took for granted. I wanted to like Maggie more than I did; she didn't come across as a consistent character, which was frustrating for me.

DNA stories are certainly the fad the right now. My biggest issue with this book, was, paradoxically, the part I also liked the most, and that was the inclusion of Donovan and Chip's story. As best I can tell, Friedland is a straight woman, and, as a member of the LGBTQIA community, I'm not sure I felt fully comfortable with her including a gay couple in her story. We have enough problems with our families being accepted without them being told in such a "Lifetime movie" fashion--especially by someone who isn't part of our community. This story could have been told just as easily without including a gay couple. It's probably something that wouldn't occur to most readers, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Otherwise, this book does make you think and it makes some good points about the meaning of family. It's a fast read, but I just felt a little off overall when I finished it. 3 stars.

I received a copy of this book from SparkPress and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.