Saving Abby by Steena Holmes

Claire Turner always wanted to be a mother, but after six years she and her husband, Josh, accepted that it wasn’t going to happen.When Claire discovers she is finally pregnant, the Turners are thrilled—until Claire begins to suffer excruciating headaches, and other symptoms that can’t be attributed to her pregnancy. When Claire sees her doctor, she is given a heartbreaking diagnosis. Treatment could harm the baby, and Claire must choose between saving herself, or saving her baby.

This was an emotional read. Claire and Josh grabbed a piece of my heart right away, and the more I read, the larger it became. Learning Claire’s backstory made her pregnancy and health issues even more poignant. There’s so much I want to say about this book. I want to talk about certain scenes that were literally painful to read, not because the writing was sub-par, but because it was written so perfectly  I had an intense emotional reaction to the event it described. But I’m holding myself to a strict ‘no spoilers’ policy in my reviews now, and I’m unable to find a way to write about it without giving away what happens.

What I can say is this: Holmes wrote a beautiful story that makes you want to rage against the capriciousness of Fate, every time something happens, or is said, that breaks your heart a little more. And—if other readers are like me—they will finish the novel and have a haunting realization about something (I can’t mention what it is or I’d be spoiling it) that will have them tearing up all over again.

If you enjoy reading novels filled with all the ‘feels’, you should put this one on your to-be-read list. It’s simply a great read.

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley.

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Author: Steena Holmes
Title: Saving Abby
Series: Abby #1
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publication Date: May 31, 2016 by Lake Union Publishing
Rating: 5 stars

About the Book

All children’s book illustrator Claire Turner ever wanted was to be a mother. After six years of trying to conceive, she and her husband, Josh, have finally accepted that she will never be pregnant with a child of their own.

Yet once they give up hope, the couple gets the miracle they’ve been waiting for. For the first few months of her pregnancy, Claire and Josh are living on cloud nine. But when she begins to experience debilitating headaches, blurred vision, and even fainting spells, the soon-to-be mother goes to the doctor and receives a terrifying diagnosis. Since any treatment could put their unborn baby’s life at risk, the Turners must carefully weigh their limited options. And as her symptoms worsen, Claire will have to make an impossible decision: Save her own life, or save her child’s?

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Steena Holmes brings us an unforgettable story of one woman’s courage and love.

About the Author

NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author – Steena is the author of the heart wrenching Finding Emma series.

The Word Game was included in the Top 20 Novels to be Written by Women in 2015 by Good Housekeeping.

Her latest novel – The Word Game won the 2015 USA Books Award for Best Fiction and her novel, The Memory Child was a finalist in the same category.

Steena Holmes grew up in a small town in Canada and holds a Bachelors degree in Theology.

In 2012 she received the Indie Excellence Award. Holmes was inspired to write Finding Emma after experiencing a brief moment of horror when she’d thought her youngest daughter was missing.

She currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three daughters and loves to wake up to the Rocky Mountains each morning.