byashleylamar's review against another edition
3.0
A mom, a dad, a baby...and another dad.
Expecting by Ann Lewis Hamilton is intended to be a quirky take on pregnancy, loss, fertility and the ever-changing dynamic of a modern family and, in a lot of ways, it succeeds but it also falls far short of being a memorable read. Initially Laurie and Alan are a likable couple but as the story progresses it becomes more and more challenging to like either of them and by the end of the book I had nearly disconnected and just wanting to reach the conclusion. Expecting had the potential to be a great read but instead it falls in alongside the other good but forgettable books.
Laurie and Alan were so lovable in the early chapters. They had a strong happy marriage and desperately wanted a baby to complete their family. After the first two pregnancies ended in miscarriage they were scared to try again but eventually agreed to fertility treatments. They were overjoyed when it worked and Laurie was expecting once again but unfortunately things were not meant to be for these two as a phone call once again turned their world upside down. Due to an unfortunate mix-up Laurie had not been impregnated by her husband but rather with the sperm of donor #296. This is where everything goes crazy. Laurie and Alan turn on one another, both too selfish to see the situation from the other’s perspective. Laurie bonds way too closely with donor #296 and Alan turns to the online comfort of an ex-girlfriend. I’m not even going to get into the ridiculousness of not suing the fertility clinic. The selfishness of both characters (which only got worse as the story progressed) made both characters nearly unbearable. Neither seemed able to put their family or the baby first and that alone began to make them both unlikable.
Jack (aka Donor #296) was also obnoxious. He is a 5th year senior with high-pressure parents who are disappointed that he has not yet graduated, he has no direction in life, he’s dating two women at the same time and he donated sperm only so that he could repay the money he stole from his fraternity but readers are supposed to believe that he’s got these killer good looks, an amazing smile and really he’s just a misunderstood kid with a heart of gold. Sure he is and that’s fine but he’s a douchebag for most of the book so it’s hard to turn it around and like him in the end. Besides, why bring a young sperm donor so close in to the inner circle of a family? Why the expectation that this kid is going to be involved? It felt ridiculous.
The book was easy enough to read. The writing style was very straightforward and simple with short paragraphs and very to-the-point narrative. The chapters alternate from Laurie to Alan to Jack and it’s easy to keep them straight. There aren’t really many problems with the writing but the characters were annoying. It’s a decent enough book that I can see some reader’s enjoying it. It’s simple, light, funny at moments and it all ties up in a neat little bow at the end as one would expect a women’s fiction book to end. As a fluffy summer read it’s perfect but for a reader looking for something with depth it will be disappointing.
Review by Ashley LaMar
Closed the Cover
Expecting by Ann Lewis Hamilton is intended to be a quirky take on pregnancy, loss, fertility and the ever-changing dynamic of a modern family and, in a lot of ways, it succeeds but it also falls far short of being a memorable read. Initially Laurie and Alan are a likable couple but as the story progresses it becomes more and more challenging to like either of them and by the end of the book I had nearly disconnected and just wanting to reach the conclusion. Expecting had the potential to be a great read but instead it falls in alongside the other good but forgettable books.
Laurie and Alan were so lovable in the early chapters. They had a strong happy marriage and desperately wanted a baby to complete their family. After the first two pregnancies ended in miscarriage they were scared to try again but eventually agreed to fertility treatments. They were overjoyed when it worked and Laurie was expecting once again but unfortunately things were not meant to be for these two as a phone call once again turned their world upside down. Due to an unfortunate mix-up Laurie had not been impregnated by her husband but rather with the sperm of donor #296. This is where everything goes crazy. Laurie and Alan turn on one another, both too selfish to see the situation from the other’s perspective. Laurie bonds way too closely with donor #296 and Alan turns to the online comfort of an ex-girlfriend. I’m not even going to get into the ridiculousness of not suing the fertility clinic. The selfishness of both characters (which only got worse as the story progressed) made both characters nearly unbearable. Neither seemed able to put their family or the baby first and that alone began to make them both unlikable.
Jack (aka Donor #296) was also obnoxious. He is a 5th year senior with high-pressure parents who are disappointed that he has not yet graduated, he has no direction in life, he’s dating two women at the same time and he donated sperm only so that he could repay the money he stole from his fraternity but readers are supposed to believe that he’s got these killer good looks, an amazing smile and really he’s just a misunderstood kid with a heart of gold. Sure he is and that’s fine but he’s a douchebag for most of the book so it’s hard to turn it around and like him in the end. Besides, why bring a young sperm donor so close in to the inner circle of a family? Why the expectation that this kid is going to be involved? It felt ridiculous.
The book was easy enough to read. The writing style was very straightforward and simple with short paragraphs and very to-the-point narrative. The chapters alternate from Laurie to Alan to Jack and it’s easy to keep them straight. There aren’t really many problems with the writing but the characters were annoying. It’s a decent enough book that I can see some reader’s enjoying it. It’s simple, light, funny at moments and it all ties up in a neat little bow at the end as one would expect a women’s fiction book to end. As a fluffy summer read it’s perfect but for a reader looking for something with depth it will be disappointing.
Review by Ashley LaMar
Closed the Cover
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
After two early term miscarriages, happily married couple Laurie and Alan seek fertility advice and agree to try Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). They are delighted, if somewhat wary, when they discover Laurie is expecting but as the pregnancy progresses past the point of their earlier losses, they allow themselves to dream of their future as a family. Until a phone call from the fertility clinic changes everything.
Told from the third person perspectives of Laurie, the expectant mother, Alan, her husband, and college student Jack, also known as Donor #296, Expecting, by Ann Hamilton, explores an unique situation where Laurie learns that the father of her baby is not her husband but instead Donor #296, thanks to the actions of a disgruntled clinic employee.
I felt for each of the protagonists in this story. As Alan struggles to accept the shocking news, Laurie has already formed a connection with the child growing within her, and feels compelled to find out more about Donor #296, leading her to contact Jack, whom she discovers is a college student of Asian Indian heritage.
For the most part I believed in the motivations and thoughts of the characters caught in such a complicated situation and I liked the way in which the author considered the issues from multiple perspectives.
I understood Laurie's refusal to consider a termination and her curiosity about the donor. I too would want to meet him, though I would probably be far more reluctant to embrace him in the way Laurie does. In several ways I think it is admirable, especially as it means 'Buddy' will be able to have a relationship with his/her biological parent and family, but Laurie doesn't really consider the impact on her husband, even though she professes too.
I was surprised at how much I sympathised with Alan's feelings of jealousy, anxiety and anger and his concerns about his ability to love a child, especially one that won't look like him, that is not his. His reaction, to distract himself with the fantasy of a relationship with his ex girlfriend, may have been inappropriate, but is somewhat understandable.
Jack is a fairly typical college student confronted by a decidedly atypical situation. Laid back and easy going he is just as indecisive about deciding what role he will play in the baby's life as he is in choosing a major, or a girlfriend.
Hamilton's tone is deceptively lighthearted, finding humour amongst the angst of the situation. The story is well paced with the shifts between perspectives, and short chapters, making it a quick and easy read.
I enjoyed Expecting, I found it to be both an entertaining and surprisingly thought provoking novel with an interesting perspective on an unusual issue. Ann Lewis Hamilton is a debut author with promise.
fuzzywuzzy's review against another edition
4.0
After suffering two miscarriages Laurie and her husband Alan are delighted to be expecting but then quickly devastated to find out the fertility clinic made a boo boo and she's pregn a no with a donors sperm, not her husband's. Things get even more tricky when Laurie insists on meeting the donor.... an immature college kid.... and forms a friendship with him. This was a very sweet read.
elephant's review
3.0
This is an interesting story about a couple's struggle with infertility. The book begins with Laurie and her husband Alan each telling parts as they struggle through two miscarriages. Then, they go to a fertility doctor and after she is pregnant, they learn that an irate nurse tampered with things and the child is not Alan's. As Alan struggles to deal with his wife carrying another man's child and Laurie searches for the donor they grow apart. We also hear from Jack, aka the sperm donor, a college student with money problems who saw sperm donation as an easy way to get money. The story is interesting and explores the issues of miscarriage and infertility and the effects that can have on a couple and on their marriage. There were some issues in the book that just seemed "off" to me - like I cannot imagine anyone assembling a crib when they are only 8 weeks pregnant and I am not sure why artificial insemination was chosen as a treatment since Laurie was able to get pregnant the normal way - her problem was that she could not carry a pregnancy. The book has discussion questions at the end. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.
abookishaffair's review
3.0
"Expecting" is the story of Laurie and Alan. All they want is to have a baby and it does not seem like it's going to come easy. After rounds of infertility treatment, the couple has a whole other issue when they realize that Laurie was impregnated by Jack, a sort of slacker, whose sperm gets mixed up with Alan's. This book explores what it means to be a family and how you deal with the unexpected.
The book took a little while to hit its pace. It unfolds as we see everything that Laurie and Alan have been through with their struggle to become parents through flashbacks. At first I did not really connect with Laurie or Alan, which made it really hard to get into the book. Once things started happening with Laurie getting pregnant by the donor, the book really started picking up speed.
I really liked how the book focused on different characters. You get to see Laurie's feelings about finally being pregnant (even if it is not by her husband). You see Alan's struggles to understand what it means that he's not the biological father of the baby. We even get to see Jack's feelings once he gets involved with Laurie and Alan. Watching the characters confront their feelings is definitely the most interesting part of the book. Overall, this book would be a good pick for those who like to think a little bit about all of the what-if's that there are in life!
The book took a little while to hit its pace. It unfolds as we see everything that Laurie and Alan have been through with their struggle to become parents through flashbacks. At first I did not really connect with Laurie or Alan, which made it really hard to get into the book. Once things started happening with Laurie getting pregnant by the donor, the book really started picking up speed.
I really liked how the book focused on different characters. You get to see Laurie's feelings about finally being pregnant (even if it is not by her husband). You see Alan's struggles to understand what it means that he's not the biological father of the baby. We even get to see Jack's feelings once he gets involved with Laurie and Alan. Watching the characters confront their feelings is definitely the most interesting part of the book. Overall, this book would be a good pick for those who like to think a little bit about all of the what-if's that there are in life!
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
3.0
The author has managed to find a way to throw three perfectly nice people into an impossible situation and that makes for a good story.
leahmichelle_13's review
2.0
I was very excited to have the opportunity to read and review EXPECTING by Ann Lewis Hamilton, but overall I was disappointed with the novel. It started very well, but I soon got lost in all the baby making talk. I can very much appreciate what Laurie and Alan go through, it's just not my kinda thing, as it's not something I have experience with.
I expected a somewhat light-hearted, entertaining read, but it wasn't that at all. I found the third-person, present-tense narrative jarring and the characters spent more time dreaming up scenarios than having actual scenarios play out on the pages. I also wasn't a massive fan of the quick, jarring paragraphs. The scenes in the novel should have been better presented, instead of the quick-fire rapid way which didn't really allow me to get into the scenes, as just as one scene started, it was over and we were onto the next "bit".
EXPECTING just wasn't my kind of novel. I won't be reviewing it on my blog, but I wanted to provide a little bit of feedback.
I expected a somewhat light-hearted, entertaining read, but it wasn't that at all. I found the third-person, present-tense narrative jarring and the characters spent more time dreaming up scenarios than having actual scenarios play out on the pages. I also wasn't a massive fan of the quick, jarring paragraphs. The scenes in the novel should have been better presented, instead of the quick-fire rapid way which didn't really allow me to get into the scenes, as just as one scene started, it was over and we were onto the next "bit".
EXPECTING just wasn't my kind of novel. I won't be reviewing it on my blog, but I wanted to provide a little bit of feedback.
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