A Necessary End by Holly Brown

Hi, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Holly Brown's latest, A Necessary End.

Adrienne and Gabe have tried everything when it comes to starting a family. They've already had one bad experience with an open adoption scam, but when Leah responds to their profile, it seems as though it's meant to be. Leah is nineteen and adamant that she's not ready to be a mother. She even looks like a young Adrienne. All Leah wants is a chance to start over after the baby is born. As her demands on the couple increase, though, Adrienne becomes fearful that the adoption will fall through. And Adrienne can't handle another loss like that. 

So I have to apologize for my late posting, readers, but today has been INSANE. It's my birthday (yay) and our first day back after being away for the holiday. We discovered some new tenants of a sort have taken up residency chez nous and believe me when I say they are very unwelcome. A family of skunks has made our overhang their cool new home, so my morning has been spent trying to find someone to come trap and remove them while also worrying about how to keep the dog out of their range as well.

Like I said, insane. As I write this I can hear one of them scampering around the window well it was unfortunate enough to fall into. Thankfully our heroic pest man will be here tomorrow.

Anyway, back to the book (which would have made a welcome read today to get my mind off of all of this!).

A Necessary End is a little tough to read. Adrienne and Gabe are already in something of a bad spot - her raw need to have a baby only seems to make him want a child less and less. They're both putting up a front for the benefit of everyone around them, but as the reader you get to see what's really beneath the facade. When Leah enters their lives, Gabe is skeptical at best but actually warms up to the girl much faster than Adrienne herself does. Of course this is because Adrienne quickly becomes convinced that Leah will hightail with the kid before the adoption has been formalized. Adrienne is a bit weird and Gabe is kind of a jerk. They're not completely likable, though they are easy to sympathize with as their story progresses.

Of course there's much more to the story than Adrienne's paranoia and Gabe's lack of enthusiasm. More even than Leah's questionable and possibly malicious methods of getting what she wants (you're never quite sure of her motive at any time), but that's where the suspense aspect comes in and I'm not going to be the one to ruin that.

If psychological suspense and less than domestic bliss are up your alley, A Necessary End will hit the spot.

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. For more on Holly Brown, you can check out her blog here and like her on Facebook.