Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson

 Mal and Nova have been friends since childhood. They live on the same street. It doesn't matter which house they get their meals from, where they hang out or who walks who home, they are best friends. Their families look out for each other. So when we meet Nova, all grown up now, and realize her son, Leo is in a coma, fighting for his life - what happened? Nova's husband, Keith, is devastated.

If you read the blurb, you'll also discover that, in the meantime, when Mal's wife couldn't have a baby, and before Nova met Keith, Mal and Stephanie asked Nova to be a surrogate, and she agreed. Huh? How did that turn out?

So many questions, so many complicated relationships. As it turns out, so many secrets, and quite a number of lies.

Goodnight Beautiful is a love story. A dramatic, enchanting love story. Of love, loss and some tragedy and despair. 

Although my heart ached for a happy ending, it felt to me like these characters grew so big for Dorothy Koomson, that she couldn't make them do what she wanted. And I was strangely glad that she didn't. 

I loved this moving, provocative book. It was well-crafted, superbly written (first person accounts from Nova and Stephanie), and completely unputdownable.

And a bonus is, I've now found an author (thank you Heidi and book club) who I'm going to be looking out for everywhere - especially in the second hand bookshops I frequent. 

Lovely stuff.

5 stars

ISBN: 9780751539813

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