REVIEW:

I can tell you one thing, Alison Ragsdale knows how to deliver a story that will tear your heart out. Her books are so wonderfully heartwarming, but to get to that point you need to feel the anguish the main character is going through first. That is not a bad thing! At some point in the book you begin to see the sun shine through the clouds. Her newest book My Husband’s Child is one of those remarkable stories.

Cora is the main character in this book. She is divorced from her husband and is living in the home that her adoptive parents left to her. She had a rough beginning to her life which gives her the big heart that she has. You must have a big heart to take in your ex-husband’s children. They have been abandoned by both their mother and father. Oh! Did I tell you to have your box of tissues handy? You might want to because this is such an utterly beautiful story.

My emotions were all over the place while I was reading this book. I loved her father in law even though he came off as an opinionated old man. He did have a soft spot in his heart for Cora. This book deals with many topics that are hard to read about. There is abandonment, abuse to name just a couple. The love that shines through in this book more than makes up for the sadness that is felt. 

I love a book that will break my heart to pieces and then mend it back together again. I love a book about love and not just the love between partners, but also the love of close friends, family, and home. If you love a good clean story and one that will make you feel things you haven’t felt for awhile then Alison Ragsdale’s My Husband’s Child needs the top spot on your nightstand. Until next time…Happy Reading!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, Bookouture, and Netgalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. 

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SYNOPSIS:

When I find a little girl standing on my doorstep, I don’t know what to do. But as I take her small hand in mine, she whispers words that will change my life. ‘Mummy said you’d look after me.’

Ever since her husband left her for another woman, Cora has been trying to put her life back together. But when she hears he started a family, her heart breaks all over again. And so, when the doorbell rings late one night, the last person Cora expects to find is her husband’s child.

The little girl is shivering, clutching her baby brother’s hand. With no other choice, Cora ushers the children into her home. As she settles them by the fire, she tries to work out what happened. But as the days pass and her phone calls go unanswered, she realises the children’s parents have vanished without a trace…

Over the following weeks, Cora grows to love the children as if they were her own. And as she tucks them into bed each night, pressing a kiss to their foreheads, her heart feels fuller than she ever could have imagined.

But when her ex-husband’s wife reappears, Cora senses she isn’t telling the truth about why she abandoned her children. And when Cora’s ex-husband returns, claiming the children aren’t safe with their mother, she faces an impossible choice. Should Cora believe him or the children’s mother? And should she trust her instinct that something is terribly wrong?

An utterly compelling and heartbreaking story about motherhood and a devastating family secret. Readers who love Kate Hewitt, Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain will be totally captivated by this deeply emotional novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alison Ragsdale writes contemporary women’s fiction novels set in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, her homeland. They are emotionally charged stories about family, love, loss, forgiveness, and finding new ways to happiness despite life’s toughest challenges.

Ragsdale’s novels are heart-wrenching tales of family dynamics and relationships, inspired by the extraordinary in the every-day. For more information, previews of upcoming books, and signings, sign up for the Highlanders Club newsletter.

A former marketing executive, originally from Edinburgh, Alison now lives near Washington D.C. with her husband and dogs. She was educated in England and holds an MBA from Leicester University.

ABOUT ALISON’S BOOKS:

Alison’s Amazon Kindle Best sellers include: TUESDAY’S SOCKS (2015), THE FATHER-DAUGHTER CLUB (2015), FINDING HEATHER (2016) and A LIFE UNEXPECTED (2018).

THE ART OF REMEMBERING, (2019) debuted as an Amazon Kindle best seller. It went on to become #1 Kindle Best seller in British contemporary literature in both Canada and Australia. It was also a BookBub Best Book Club Book Pick selection in July, 2019. It was honored as a finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards, was short listed for the CIBA Somerset Award, and was a finalist in both the 2020 Eric Hoffer Award and the 2020 International Book Awards.

THE LIAR AND OTHER STORIES, is Alison’s first short story collection (2020).

DIGNITY AND GRACE (2020) debuted as a Kindle bestseller in British and Irish Literature and was a Kindle #1 Best Seller in Canada and Australia.

HER LAST CHANCE (2021) is a Kindle Top 20 bestseller in the UK.

SOMEONE ELSE’S CHILD (2022)

THE CHILD BETWEEN US (2022) is a Kindle Top 20 bestseller in the UK.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE (2024) is a Kindle #1 bestseller in British and Irish Literature in the USA