DEAR THING

Cohen (Where Love Lies, 2014, etc.) explores the emotional complexity of a single mother entangled in a modern-day love triangle.

Romily seems to have her life in control. She has a successful career and gives an abundance of love to her young daughter, Posie. Her child’s godparents, Ben and Claire, also seem to have it all, except the one thing they want most in life—a child of their own. After years of failed pregnancies, Ben and Claire are at their wits' end until Romily steps in with the ultimate gift. While Ben welcomes the surrogacy, Claire is cautious in adjusting to the idea of another woman carrying her baby. Cohen presents a realistic depiction of the emotional challenges of surrogacy, for both the surrogate mother and the mother-in-waiting. Layered in with the already challenging relationship is an additional emotional entanglement: Romily cannot squash her romantic feelings for Ben. Her buried feelings not only threaten her relationship with Ben and Claire, but also jeopardize her chance at love with Jarvis, a man who stands by Romily’s side despite his rejected heart. Cohen is a master at bringing to life the intricate details of love, hope, and sacrifice. Her prose is vivid and sensual, and her characters take on lives of their own in full dimension. At times, it’s hard to tell where Ben’s loyalty lies—with his wife or the woman carrying his child. His unstable emotional journey, like Romily’s and Claire’s, is necessary for Cohen’s story to unfold as convincingly as it does.

A gripping work of women's fiction with a satisfying emotional punch.