Magpie Elizabeth Day

[Motherdare]

Has anyone ready this? I’m just finishing it and am curious to know what people make of the ending. I’m aware Elizabeth has had her own fertility struggles, although I don’t think she’s considered surrogacy. I read the first two thirds of the book thinking it was going to end one way…but it went the other. I’m trying not to give anything away! I’d love to ask the author her real views on surrogacy…. She writes very well, if a little over reliance on certain phrases. Eg. “It was this that…” “It was then that…” and “she reasoned” - a lot of people are “reasoning” in this book. There’s also a very tied trope of difficult MIL played out. Ho hum. Otherwise very good.

I have just finished this too. I wasn't massively keen on it. I've never read anything of hers before, but I found some of it rather cliched and trite. The descriptions of sex were just awful!

I also thought the plot was too simplistic. Without wishing to give it away to others, there is no way they would simply ignore such a massive mental health issue and no way that someone would recover as neatly as that.

I also felt that there was going to be some sort of extra twist at the end but it just sort of concluded in a "they all lived happily ever after" way,

Yes, I raced through the first two thirds then found the last third just implausible and pushing my suspension of disbelief. I can’t work out what Elizabeth Day wants us to think re surrogacy with this book. I actually think I went from really liking the book to actively hating it and all the characters in it! It was making me very cross.

I also think her writing is a bit mannered. Like a creative writing coach has underlined sections of it in red pen saying “add a simile here”.

The sex was awful. “Stretching her insides until she felt complete???” What????????

I also felt that there was going to be some sort of extra twist at the end but it just sort of concluded in a "they all lived happily ever after" way,

I have just finished this and felt exactly the same.

Also felt the character I sympathised most with was the awful MIL 🤣 . she seemed to be the only one who recognised that they had exploited a vulnerable woman......

Yes! It started off really promising and then just sort of petered out to a really weak, improbable ending. I do like her work but actually found The Party (I think it’s called that?) to end in a similarly anti-climatic way.

Just finished this book this second and came straight on mn to see what others thought! I absolutely inhaled this book but I was dying for their to be a proper twist at the end instead of "happily ever after". So a bit disappointed in the end!

Yes I agree. I'll be honest by the end I had no idea what was going on.

It seemed implausible and not in a satisfying way.

I have to say, I love the way she speaks on her podcast. Which left me pretty disappointed with this book as I found it mundane and a bit predictable - I had hoped for better from her tbh.

Just listened to this as an audiobook on BBC sounds. Loved the first ¾ and then found the end so disappointing. Felt it needed a darker twist rather than a happy ever after. It was all too easily resolved from high drama and suspense to mundane. Agree with PP that I quite liked MIL.

Have just realised that the audio on bbc sounds is abridged version. Reading some reviews of the book on like seems that some key parts may have been missed out