Review: MariaLisa DeMora's With My Whole Heart

“With My Whole Heart is both emotionally captivating and so beautifully written, it leaves quite a powerful impression. The depths of feelings explored in this book--about family and loss, struggle and perseverance, love and triumph--is expressed flawlessly by DeMora.  It's worth its 5 Star rating. I could read this book over and over again and never get tired of it.”

Over the years, I’ve sunken my teeth into some seriously juicy romances novels, and a lot of them tend to cover the most popular writing tropes in one way or another.  Second Chance Loves. Arranged Marriages. Friends-to-Lovers. Marriages of Convenience. Enemies-to-Lovers. Alpha Finds His Mate. Single Mom Surrogate Finds Love. Wait, what?! 🤔  Even though I did a double-take reading the blurb, I was quite intrigued with this book’s overall concept. I know I'm late to the game when it comes to this book, however, "it's better late than never" with this amazing author and beautiful story. 

DeMora’s book explores what happens when a woman with a generous heart decides to provide a couple with the gift to complete the family of their hearts’ desires. 

But this story also goes beyond surrogacy.  The heroine, Jaime Grimes, connects with the couple on an emotional level that surpasses their donor-surrogate relationship.  Then there’s also the brother--Connor Thompson. The chemistry between him and our heroine is undeniable.  Two strong personalities. Two souls dealing with loss.  Ultimately, these two find a way into each others' hearts, and it's a refreshingly beautiful thing watching it all play out. If that isn't enough, DeMora gives readers a little added twist:  A couple’s (Marie and Cooper) inability to have their own children...the egg and sperm used actually comes from the hero and heroine of this story, not the couple. I knew right then that this story was going to be very interesting.

I’ve always admired and respected a strong heroine; the kind of woman who gets knocked down by life, finds the strength within to get back up, dust herself off, and keeps moving forward.  Jaime Grimes is no different.  She’s a single mother doing everything in her power to make a good life for her son, Nate.  She’s been left on her own after her son's father dies in an accident just before the child is born.  Our heroine, Jaime, is very independent; she doesn’t complain, nor does she rely on others for support.  She just accepts her responsibilities and does the best she can.  In spite of the circumstances, she’s a wonderful, loving mother to a nine-year old intellectually-gifted son.  Jaime may not always have enough, but she makes sure that she does what’s best for her son. 

Our heroine, desperately in need of money, hears about the Surrogate Fertility Program.  Couples who can’t have families on their own use this program to pay qualified female candidates to carry babies for them.  Jaime possesses such a beautiful heart full of love and compassion, it’s not difficult to understand why she makes the perfect surrogate.  Although she initially inquires about the program because she needs the money, it isn’t the true motivation behind her decision.  Jaime doesn’t just dive right into the program without carefully considering what being a surrogate will mean for her and for the couple she’s helping.

...She imagined seeing the faces of the parents who would love and cherish a child, seeing it as a gift of life ... At some point this had gone beyond Jaime thinking about the money, and now it was a chance to help Cooper and Marie create the family they deserved.

This story continues to touch my heart in so many other ways. When Jaime meets the couple for the first time, it's insta-love. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy for a surrogate and a couple, but that's the feeling you get from this--an insta-connection between an amazing group of people. This is merely confirmation for Jaime that she's undoubtedly doing the right thing in moving forward with being their surrogate.

Our hero is Connor Thompson, and he’s the younger brother of Cooper and Marie’s brother-in-law.  Much like our heroine, Connor is strong, caring, giving, and has also suffered a devastating loss.  Losing his twin brother, Cole, left Connor walking around under a heavy cloud--not really living. The special bond that these brothers shared had been abruptly severed at death, leaving Connor with a broken spirit. 

For anyone wondering what being a twin is like, or what that connection or familial bond is like, this author offers a glimpse into the emotional tie that exists for twins. I have younger brothers who are twins, and they've personally tried to explain to me what this bond is like between them.  Understanding the twins in my own family,  I was extremely impressed with deMora's ability to offer readers a way of seeing what it's like being a twin ...trying to understand that "special" bond ...the sense of telepathy ...the emotional connection.  With great imaginative writing, readers get a peek through the window, if you will, when that connection is suddenly lost.

When Cole had died, he’d known it.  The minute it happened, he’d felt it.  That damn psychic tie so many twins had that he and science couldn’t explain.  The echo that had been strong between them, always ... it meant the very instant his brother was no longer breathing on this earth had been branded in his brain ... He’d fallen to his knees, hands clutching his chest, silent in the face of an overwhelming pain.  It wasn’t news to Connor that Cole was gone.  Not to him.  The silence in his head was enough proof for him.

Even with the hole left in his heart by his twin brother’s death, Connor’s life is filled with purpose.  His older brother, Cooper and Cooper's wife, Marie are not able to have children of their own. Connor becomes a donor, and with the help of an anonymous surrogate, the couple gratefully welcomed a beautiful son named Sam into their lives.   Now Cooper and Marie want to have another child and decide that they don’t want an unknown gestational carrier.  Connor has mixed emotions about meeting with a surrogate face-to-face, but Cooper and Marie have their hearts set on not only providing their son with a sibling, but they want to have a relationship with the woman who will be donating her eggs and carrying their baby.  Connor loves his family and is willing to overcome his uneasiness to help his big brother get the family he desires.

Connor overhears Cooper, Marie, and Jaime having a conversation at their first meeting, and is immediately touched by the genuineness of Jaime’s kindness and sympathy.   When Connor finally meets Jaime face-to-face,  she’s barely hanging on by a thread dealing with her own life's struggles, yet so courageous and so resilient.  In what seems to be a hopeless situation, he witnesses her put on a brave face for her son, Nate.  All he wants to do from that point on is make things easier and better for them.

Her heart is way bigger than you could ever imagine.  And how she is with her boy?  She’s the kind of woman any man would want to mother his kids ... She just needs a break.  You didn’t see the worry on her face.  The smallest of breaks man.  I can give her one ... Damn.  Crystal blue eyes framed with tear-clumped lashes, she held his gaze ... this woman was beautiful.  And this woman, this gorgeous, compassionate, fierce, protective woman and mother, did not want his help.

But in Jaime’s presence, the heaviness in his heart from the death of his twin brother is lifted, leaving him feeling lighter and alive. 

He didn’t want to talk about the motive behind this ... It was about having the hole in his heart gone for the few minutes he’d been talking to her, a sense of completeness he hadn’t known existed until Cole died and he lost it ...

Never met anybody like her.  How can I feel like I’ve known her my whole life, when I really just met her today?

Throughout the rest of the story, things become more complicated and overwhelming for this couple. The closer Connor and Jaime become, the more they struggle with the idea of giving up the baby she’s carrying because technically, the baby belongs to Cooper and his wife, Marie.  Jaime--being the beautiful, loyal, and kind person she is--feels duty-bound as the surrogate to honor the contract.  She refuses to even let herself think about this baby in any other way. Connor is also fighting with himself, and the inner turmoil becomes almost unbearable.  Not only has he fallen for Jaime and her son, Nate, but he is most definitely in love with the unborn child.

He reached and put one palm against the swell of her belly to feel the movement inside her again.  The same sense of loss swept over him, he was ecstatic and incredibly sad at the same moment. Overwhelmed, and guilty at the persistent thought that circled around and around in his head: I put it there, but it’s not mine.

Fortunately, Cooper and Marie can sense and understand the emotional conflict Connor and Jaime are battling about this baby.  

Connor, the woman you love is carrying your baby.  Something that felt so right at the beginning, doesn’t feel so right anymore ... Your heart has been hurting for a long time ... You and Cole had an amazing connection ... That was ripped away from you and everyone who loves you sees how that hurts.  We miss him from our lives, but you miss him in you.  If Jaime is the one who can heal you, make your heart whole again, then don’t let something stupid like her being our surrogate stop you.

This author is a master at helping readers delve into the depths and myriad of feelings her characters experience.  Through her writing, the emotions created are both heartfelt and genuine. DeMora presents us with a couple who have such beautiful qualities, they embody relationship goals.  Both the hero and heroine are selfless, caring, and loyal—they’re willing to sacrifice their happiness to give the gift of a family to the people they both love with all their hearts.

I am so glad that this book was able to capture my attention.  Not only did deMora make this unusual concept for romance work, but she absolutely blew me away.  I haven’t regretted a single minute spent devouring this amazing book. 

#life #review #indieauthors #love