Author: Rebecca Freeborn
ISBN:978-1-925700-37-4
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 15 July 2019
Publisher: Pantera Press
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
This month, I had the opportunity to read ‘Misconception’ by Rebecca Freeborn. This is a deep story about a couple in turmoil, but it’s an easy, light and entertaining read, while tackling very serious and sad matters.
Ali and Tom are the perfect couple, happily in love, independent, and successful in their careers. They have the world at their feet, and they’re excited about the upcoming birth of their first child.
Suddenly their world is shattered when they lose their baby. Neither Ali nor Tom know how to move forward. Do they return to work? Do they stay home? Do they go to Friday night after work drinks, or do they stay home to grieve? And perhaps most importantly – can they turn toward one another or do they pull away?
The picture-perfect marriage that Ali and Tom once had seems threatened as Ali and Tom try to move on from grief it is impossible to move on from.
I won’t say too much more about the book for fear of giving away spoilers, but I will say that I was a little anxious about how sad this book would be. Misconception did have me tear up a couple of times, but it was far from a depressing read. The topic of the book is serious, though the writing style is light, and I felt I got to know the characters well. The book flips between Ali and Tom’s perspectives, which I appreciated – often in a story like this, you do not get the male’s perspective, so hearing Tom’s ‘side’ of things was a great addition to the richness of the story. The story doesn’t just focus on the tragic loss of the baby, it also focuses on other story lines – career issues, friendship, relationships between mothers and daughters, and a few other themes I won’t go into here. It’s a ‘snapshot of time’ in Ali and Tom’s lives at the most difficult point of their lives, as they numbingly try to move forward.
Thank you to Pantera Press and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review this thought provoking and entertaining book in return for an honest review.
This guest review was submitted by Raechel, one of our Beauty and Lace Club members. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us Raechel.
Rebecca Freeborn can be followed on Facebook and on her Website.
Misconception is published by Pantera Press and is available now where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Pantera Press, 25 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Misconception so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
Raechel is a Professor, mother of 5 and avid reader. She always has at least four books on the go at any one time – an audio book, a fiction e-book, a non-fiction e-book, and an ‘actual’ book. She is often criticized for this behaviour!
I was drawn into this story in the first few pages, but as the story unfolded, found the characters somewhat frustrating.
Their loss is unimaginable to anyone who has never experienced it, but I felt I wanted to sit them down and make them actually talk out their feelings, work through their grief together, and not let it rip them apart.
As the months went by, healing takes place on many fronts, and with many relationships, and the story certainly highlighted the ‘ripple effect’, and how so many lives and friendships are impacted by one tragedy.
As always, many thanks to Beauty & Lace, and also Pantera Press, for the opportunity to read this novel.
As someone who is currently pregnant Misconception was a very emotional read!! The story of Ali and Tom for me was like reading a raw private diary. It is a gripping and at times unsettling read that portrays the harrowing grief from pregnancy loss and the many Ways in which people try to manage their grief and loss.
It felt like a privilege to read, and is an important story in highlighting the loss that so many people experience.
Thanks Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review.
Definitely an emotional read.. As an Adelaidian myself the references to the local hospital etc made me feel right in the story and captured me from the first few pages. Such a journey that Tom and Ali went through and was very “real”
I really liked this book, it was very hard to put down. Definitely going to check out Rebecca Freeborn’s other books.
Misconception was quite a heartbreaking read. I knew it would be confronting for myself having had miscarriages but I wanted to read it anyway.
Misconception took us on a journey with Tom and Ali as they went from excited expecting parents to parents being told their baby had died. They both worked through this tragedy in their own ways.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers about how the story ties up but I do want to let you know that it is definitely worth the read.
I found it very hard to put down.
Thank you so much for the privilege of reviewing the book.
Misconception is the second book from Australian author, Rebecca Freeborn. While Freeborn’s first novel, Hot Pursuit, was a fun, light hearted read, this time she has brought her fans a beautiful and emotional story. The over arching theme is the sensitive topic of miscarriage. It is told in the third person through two protagonists, Ali and Tom. While readers would be aware of how a miscarriage can a woman, it was wonderful to read a male’s perspective of this traumatic event. Ultimately though, Misconception is a study on how a miscarriage can affect a marriage.
Misconception by Rebecca Freeborn
Thank you to beauty and lace and Pantera Press for allowing me to review this book.
This book was a very easy to read book. It really does give you insight to pregnancy and loss. The words on the page allow you to really feel the sadness Ali & Tom endure.
When you think picture perfect couples have it all, the lawyer & a media adviser who’s rude to success & start their family & then experience the ultimate sadness.
Ali’s relationship with her mother Hazel is fractured and at times as is her relationship with her husband Tom. However I believe the book is finished so perfectly. 10/10
Misconception is a moving and thought-provoking novel that deals with a sensitive topic, which people often find difficult to discuss. It is a beautifully written story about loss and grief and is quite an emotional read as it tackles the overarching theme of miscarriages and how it affects relationships and marriage. I’m grateful that there are novels like Misconception that raises awareness and encourages dialogue for what many unfortunately go through.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Pantera Press for providing a copy for review.
An emotional read that was very engaging. Having not been in this situation I can not begin to imagine how both Ali and Tom must have felt. I did feel anger towards Ali from time to time when she felt she was the only one to have gone through the loss (but I understand how it is different for her having carried the child).
What could strengthen them tears them apart, but thankfully sometimes time can heal too.
Very eye opening, heart wrenching and not a book you want to put down.
Congratulations to the author for a great and informative read