Two women from very different walks of life both desperately want babies, in Rayner's new novel. There's Lou, a lesbian whose health scare creates pressure to get pregnant sooner rather than later. And there's Cath, whose cancer surgery has made her incapable of having children of her own. They cross paths indirectly as Lou donates an egg to an "egg sharing" program in exchange for subsidies for her own in vitro. Cath receives some of Lou's eggs and the two women embark upon parallel journeys to motherhood: one finds success, while the other does not, and the process almost destroys her until she's able to abandon her dreams of motherhood and focus instead on other people's children. Rayner's delicate, compassionate exploration of the struggles women face with fertility will resonate loud and clear with anyone struggling to have a family. To her credit, Rayner (One Moment, One Morning) resists the easy happy ending. While that may be more painful to read, it's also more honest. Agent: Vivien Green; Gaia Banks, Sheil Land Associates, U.K. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Love doesn't always follow the rules. Should creating a child be any different? Rayner (One Moment, One Morning, 2011, etc.) gently disentangles the lives of men and women (including the main characters from her previous novel) brought together by the desire to have a baby. All of these lives converge through the alternative parenting movement. Recovering from ovarian cancer, Cath realizes that she truly wants a child with her devoted husband. For his part, Rich had always dreamed of a family with Cath, a dream that had seemed to fade from view during her illness. But without ovaries, and rejecting adoption, they will need another generous woman to donate eggs. Once that hurdle is past, they'll need to deal with Cath's judgmental mother and sister-in-law, who wields alternative medical advice like a weapon. Lou, recovering from her own brush with a cancer scare, faces a different obstacle. Her partner, Sofia, has no interest in settling down. Furthermore, her mother--who seems stuck in the 1950s, devoutly ignoring her daughter's lesbianism--and sister have never considered Lou mother material. Finding the courage to face family bullying proves more difficult than getting pregnant. Once connected through the network of alternative parenting sites, both Cath and Lou do become pregnant--Cath, through the generosity of Lou, who shares her eggs, and Lou, through the lucky arrival of Adam on the scene. A gay doctor who wishes to be a real dad, not just a sperm donor, Adam meets Lou through a mutual friend, and the two negotiate a truly alternative and kind plan for parenting their child. Despite filling her story with so much heartbreak and conflict, Rayner deftly avoids sounding clichd. Her characters ring true, their concerns are realistic and their emotions guileless. Ripe for filming, this novel is both poignant and authentic.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Rayner brings back the lovable characters of One Moment, One Morning (2011) for a second heartwarming tale of friendship. Following a medical procedure, Lou is told that if she wants children, she shouldn't wait, but her partner is not on board, and Lou doesn't want to go it alone. Instead she turns to Adam, a gay friend who also longs to have a child, and the two begin IVF to start them on their coparenting journey. Lou also decides to donate half of her harvested eggs to a woman in need, and although she will never meet the recipient, we do. We come to know Cath and her husband well as they also set out to become parents in this less-than-conventional way. The process is stressful, will lead either to great joy or immense heartbreak, and seems to invite unwanted judgment and advice. As both women turn to their friends and families for support, Rayner delves deeply into their emotional journeys to bring readers a touching and thought-provoking story that redefines the meaning of family.--Ophoff, Cortney Copyright 2010 Booklist