The Greatest Gift (Rachael Johns, HQ)

Rachael Johns is best known for her rural romances, but her more recent books, including the ABIA-winner The Patterson Girls, have moved into contemporary women’s fiction, or ‘life-lit’, as Johns prefers to call it. The Greatest Gift explores infertility and egg donation, and the ethics and emotions that come into play when a baby is so desperately wanted. Claire is a young woman who wants nothing more than to start a family with her husband Jasper but is infertile as the result of a childhood illness. Harper is a successful radio host who has never wanted to be a mother but would like to make an important contribution to someone’s life. They are bought together when Harper answers an ad that Claire and Jasper have placed seeking an egg donor. Told from the shifting perspectives of Claire, Harper and later, Jasper, The Greatest Gift is an entertaining and engaging story that many readers will relate to. Full of heartache and joy, and with a twist that keeps the pages turning, it will make ideal holiday reading. It will appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes and Monica McInerney.

Melanie Mutch is a librarian and co-founder of Librarians’ Choice

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