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Seed
Seed is raw, hilarious and so lifelike I kept forgetting I wasn’t reading about real people. I felt every frustration, every high and every low as if these women were my friends. A heartfelt, funny, unforgettable read. I loved it. - Rachael Johns
Four friends, two pregnancies and the mother of all awkward situations...
Hillary and her partner are eager for a baby, their sex life dictated by the automated texts from their fertility agency, MotherWorld.
Her best friend Maggie is a single mother living her best life, enjoying a healthy relationship with her ex, and a healthy appetite on the dating apps.
With her youngest now at school, Shelley is returning to the office, hoping to prove her value at the gold-star advertising agency she works for.
Meanwhile, midwife Virginia has made a career of helping other people have babies, but is suddenly yearning for one of her own. With no partner in sight, she cooks up an unhinged plan...
Hilarious and wise, this new novel from the publishers of Marian Keyes and Dolly Alderton asks the how far would you go to get a life?
Four friends, two pregnancies and the mother of all awkward situations...
Hillary and her partner are eager for a baby, their sex life dictated by the automated texts from their fertility agency, MotherWorld.
Her best friend Maggie is a single mother living her best life, enjoying a healthy relationship with her ex, and a healthy appetite on the dating apps.
With her youngest now at school, Shelley is returning to the office, hoping to prove her value at the gold-star advertising agency she works for.
Meanwhile, midwife Virginia has made a career of helping other people have babies, but is suddenly yearning for one of her own. With no partner in sight, she cooks up an unhinged plan...
Hilarious and wise, this new novel from the publishers of Marian Keyes and Dolly Alderton asks the how far would you go to get a life?
485 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2026
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February 24, 2026DNF
I’m really not the right person to read this novel. I tried, but the generational gap and vocab did not sit well with me.
I’m really not the right person to read this novel. I tried, but the generational gap and vocab did not sit well with me.
March 15, 2026
I hated this book. Again, if not a book club pick, I would have never read this. I really did not want to read a book about women and pregnancy. — As a teenager reading romcoms, I remember picking up an “older audience” book once and wondering, with horror, if all that awaited me in the romance genre were books about divorce and kids.
Oh. That’s why it’s called Seed. Despite the title, it really annoyed me that all the women who started the book not wanting kids converted into child enthusiasts. Virginia was particularly annoying. I would have cut friendships with her had she been so insensitive as my friend — but, book magic, everything is all right by the end! Friends for life!
Maggie, sigh, this book is weird as multiple characters have had abortions. So many women in this book casually mention their (sometime multiple) past abortions that I wondered, is this secretly what we’re all doing?? And this is exactly what conservatives fear: abortions by young women out of “inconvenience”. So it’s fucking weird when this book is so casual about abortions but the one character who is so sure she will abort suddenly does a 180.
Hilary. I don’t get it. She has a kid already. I spent part of this book confused as to whether it was George’s kid or hers — nope, it’s hers. So why was she so adamant about another child? Her scenes were hard to read because it (deliberately, I think) showed the worst of her. She was irritable all the time, ungrateful for any kindness or concession shown to her, and ultimately shifted the blame onto George for “forcing” these fertility treatments onto her (when he’s trying to tell her to pause or stop because it’s ruining their relationship). She also could not show generosity to her closest friend. I get it, this was not easy on Hilary. But I really just couldn’t relate to her character so I didn’t find her that pleasant to sympathise with.
And finally, there is, of course, fictional Shelley. The one character who did not want a (further) child and stuck to it. It was very much not okay to see a character who shared my name have her objections to childbirth rejected by both her partner and her closest friend. Halfway through, I remember thinking I would lose it if fictional Shelley is forced to carry a child she does not want. Especially! After the book reveals the reason for this is post-partum depression and suicidal ideation — a reason she never gets to tell her friend, and one she shares in the briefest of words with her partner before he walks out on her. I don’t agree with what she did — and my other massive pet peeve with books is where the conflict stems from characters in long term relationships being unable to talk to each other — but I needed her partner to appreciate the depth of reason why she could not have another kid. And I wanted him to own that delaying getting the snip was his manipulative way to force more kids on her. Argh. This whole situation was frustrating.
I say that I’m ambivalent to kids. But then I have experiences like this, where I do not relate at all to the characters who so desperately want kids — find them annoying in fact, and find myself instead rooting for the characters who choose not to have children. What does that say about me?? And I’m annoyed that this isn’t an issue I want to engage with, but now feel I’ve been forced to confront because of book club.
Oh. That’s why it’s called Seed. Despite the title, it really annoyed me that all the women who started the book not wanting kids converted into child enthusiasts. Virginia was particularly annoying. I would have cut friendships with her had she been so insensitive as my friend — but, book magic, everything is all right by the end! Friends for life!
Maggie, sigh, this book is weird as multiple characters have had abortions. So many women in this book casually mention their (sometime multiple) past abortions that I wondered, is this secretly what we’re all doing?? And this is exactly what conservatives fear: abortions by young women out of “inconvenience”. So it’s fucking weird when this book is so casual about abortions but the one character who is so sure she will abort suddenly does a 180.
Hilary. I don’t get it. She has a kid already. I spent part of this book confused as to whether it was George’s kid or hers — nope, it’s hers. So why was she so adamant about another child? Her scenes were hard to read because it (deliberately, I think) showed the worst of her. She was irritable all the time, ungrateful for any kindness or concession shown to her, and ultimately shifted the blame onto George for “forcing” these fertility treatments onto her (when he’s trying to tell her to pause or stop because it’s ruining their relationship). She also could not show generosity to her closest friend. I get it, this was not easy on Hilary. But I really just couldn’t relate to her character so I didn’t find her that pleasant to sympathise with.
And finally, there is, of course, fictional Shelley. The one character who did not want a (further) child and stuck to it. It was very much not okay to see a character who shared my name have her objections to childbirth rejected by both her partner and her closest friend. Halfway through, I remember thinking I would lose it if fictional Shelley is forced to carry a child she does not want. Especially! After the book reveals the reason for this is post-partum depression and suicidal ideation — a reason she never gets to tell her friend, and one she shares in the briefest of words with her partner before he walks out on her. I don’t agree with what she did — and my other massive pet peeve with books is where the conflict stems from characters in long term relationships being unable to talk to each other — but I needed her partner to appreciate the depth of reason why she could not have another kid. And I wanted him to own that delaying getting the snip was his manipulative way to force more kids on her. Argh. This whole situation was frustrating.
I say that I’m ambivalent to kids. But then I have experiences like this, where I do not relate at all to the characters who so desperately want kids — find them annoying in fact, and find myself instead rooting for the characters who choose not to have children. What does that say about me?? And I’m annoyed that this isn’t an issue I want to engage with, but now feel I’ve been forced to confront because of book club.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2026
3.5 stars. This isn’t always an easy read. One thing the author nailed is how fertility / hormones / grief makes women bat sh*t crazy. I appreciated the NZ setting but felt there could have been a bit more of a sense of place, I think they are in Auckland, but not sure?
March 19, 2026
I loved this book. The characters felt so real, messy, flawed, complicated and completely human. It could be written about my friends and I, and I could totally see bits of my girlfriends in these characters.
I listened to the audiobook and every now and then I'd get a flashback of“evil nurse Carla” which triggered some traumatic memories haha IYKYK. Loved the sprinkling of te reo throughout and the kiwi as references "get some $2 coins from the barman", lol
Aotearoa needs more fiction like this. I’d love a sequel. Excellent work from Elisabeth Easther. He tino pai rawa atu.
I listened to the audiobook and every now and then I'd get a flashback of“evil nurse Carla” which triggered some traumatic memories haha IYKYK. Loved the sprinkling of te reo throughout and the kiwi as references "get some $2 coins from the barman", lol
Aotearoa needs more fiction like this. I’d love a sequel. Excellent work from Elisabeth Easther. He tino pai rawa atu.
April 10, 2026
There were glimmers of a good book in this but it suffered from four deeply unlikeable main characters and a very poor edit. You could have lost eighty pages of this and it would have been improved - so much unnecessary detail.
March 14, 2026
Every character is unlikeable.
April 3, 2026
Genuinely made me want to rip my hair out and gave me anxiety. 1 star for the visceral reaction I guess
March 28, 2026
0.5 ⭐️
I’ve been having such a bad run with books lately, and I haaaated this. If I hadn’t already committed my Spotify listening hours, I would’ve dnf.
This isn’t what I thought it was going to be at all. For some reason I convinced myself this was going to be some sort of psychological thriller type book with people taking someone else’s baby or something, I think it had something to do with the tagline ‘How far would you go to get a life?’ And having just finished watching ‘All Her Fault’.
When I first started reading this I wrote in my notes about how long it was taking for the story to get going, but it never really got going. I fully sympathise with the struggles with fertility, birth, but as a thirty year old woman set in her decision to not have kids, it’s unfortunately not a book that I could connect or relate to. Which obviously isn’t the authors fault, it’s just why I don’t think I got as much out of it as other people could or have. I understand wanting a biological child, but spending tens of thousands of dollars on it when there are so many kids in foster care or waiting to be adopted doesn’t make sense to me.
Every character in this fucking suuuuucks. There’s way too much boring information given about every little thing a character is doing, like if they’re cooking we’re getting every step of the recipe, nobody cares omg.
There’s like a lot of blasé talk about drink driving in this?? And then the one chance there is to show some repercussions for it, it’s blown over? Hated that.
I’ve been having such a bad run with books lately, and I haaaated this. If I hadn’t already committed my Spotify listening hours, I would’ve dnf.
This isn’t what I thought it was going to be at all. For some reason I convinced myself this was going to be some sort of psychological thriller type book with people taking someone else’s baby or something, I think it had something to do with the tagline ‘How far would you go to get a life?’ And having just finished watching ‘All Her Fault’.
When I first started reading this I wrote in my notes about how long it was taking for the story to get going, but it never really got going. I fully sympathise with the struggles with fertility, birth, but as a thirty year old woman set in her decision to not have kids, it’s unfortunately not a book that I could connect or relate to. Which obviously isn’t the authors fault, it’s just why I don’t think I got as much out of it as other people could or have. I understand wanting a biological child, but spending tens of thousands of dollars on it when there are so many kids in foster care or waiting to be adopted doesn’t make sense to me.
Every character in this fucking suuuuucks. There’s way too much boring information given about every little thing a character is doing, like if they’re cooking we’re getting every step of the recipe, nobody cares omg.
There’s like a lot of blasé talk about drink driving in this?? And then the one chance there is to show some repercussions for it, it’s blown over? Hated that.
April 5, 2026
I really don’t think I’m the target audience for this. I honestly h e no idea how I got through this. Half the time I was wondering when we were going to get past the whining housewives of it all and to the complexities of womanhood and motherhood. But it just never seemed to get there for me. All of these woman should have never become mother or be mothers because none of them seem to actually care about children being actual living, breathing, human being s who need to be looked after and not just a toy.
I really wanted to like this but every damn woman in this book is unlikeable and deplorable. It was tough going at the start and sadly it just got worse the further down the path. By the end I was barely even paying attention and skipping parts to just get to the end.
I really picked this up hoping that I’d get an insight into fertility struggles and motherhood struggles and see a different perspective. They’re my own witches always been. I’ve ever wanted kids. I like reading books that are other perspectives in my own but I walk away from this one, just feeling it because no one in this spot deserved to be a mother. No one in this book treated children or being pregnant. Is anything more than a glorified dull and status symbol and it truly sad to see a female writer perpetrating such a harmful maternal negative stereotypes. I really really was just hoping for more from this instead all I got was disappointment.
I really wanted to like this but every damn woman in this book is unlikeable and deplorable. It was tough going at the start and sadly it just got worse the further down the path. By the end I was barely even paying attention and skipping parts to just get to the end.
I really picked this up hoping that I’d get an insight into fertility struggles and motherhood struggles and see a different perspective. They’re my own witches always been. I’ve ever wanted kids. I like reading books that are other perspectives in my own but I walk away from this one, just feeling it because no one in this spot deserved to be a mother. No one in this book treated children or being pregnant. Is anything more than a glorified dull and status symbol and it truly sad to see a female writer perpetrating such a harmful maternal negative stereotypes. I really really was just hoping for more from this instead all I got was disappointment.
February 24, 2026
This book is written for at least half of the population, given that there are 49% females on this earth and I’m willing to bet that most of you have had a baby, tried for a baby, actively tried not to have a baby or at the very least been asked if you want a baby! Elisabeth Easther has written a down to earth and relatable yarn that was entertaining from the get go. It follows four women who are on completely different pages fertility wise - Shelley has just gone back to work after her kids start school, Hilary is trying desperately to have a baby without much success, Maggie is a single mother happy to browse the apps for no-strings-attached fun, and Virginia is a midwife who decides that maybe she might actually want a baby of her own. A novel where characters paths cross and lives intersect is always a good time and this is no exception.
February 27, 2026
Sometimes I don’t know why I do it to myself and read these kind of books. To be proved right, to be proved wrong? Like a train crash you can’t look away from, but you know you should cos it’s no good for you? Probably equal parts love hate for this book considering the subject matter, but I did it to myself. Loved Hillary’s account as probably being the closest to accurate I’ve read in a book of what really actually happens during Fertility treatment & navigating others pregnancy’s. All the feels. Loved most of the characters & their stories regardless of how awful but also wondered what’s the point most of the time? But then I think maybe there isn’t actually one & that’s just life. Unfair, non sensical & everyone is a little fkd up all the time matter what path really. 3.5 stars. Comme ci, comme ca
March 16, 2026
Following the lives of 4 women on their pregnancy journeys, the premise appealed and the beginning of the book was engaging. Unfortunately, as the characters revealed themselves, my interest waned. The miserable, totally self absorbed Hilary who treated her partner like a door mat, the screeching Shelley whose only communication with her children was to yell at them, the alcoholic Virginia whose only hobby seemed to be to drink herself into a coma and finally Maggie who was quite lovely. I could have done without the last 100 pages where nothing much actually happened and it all felt a bit anticlimactic. I found this to be a very odd book.
January 8, 2026
I’m not the demographic or age bracket for seed; it’s fertility and relationships now and my extra 10 years just saw me screaming from the sidelines in frustration, but I was acting like these are real people and their struggles with conceiving are real…that has got to be a good sign! The friendships felt real, and the banter was next level..I think I’ve definitely had enough labour stories for now too hahaha
Review of advance copy
Hilarious, heartfelt, one to share and discuss with all your pals. Elisabeth is Aotearoa’s answer to Marian Keyes, but even funnier! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all its endearing, relatable characters - couldn’t put it down. Sequel and TV adaptation please!
March 10, 2026
Read as part of a book club, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up and I am (sorta?) glad I did. The characters had elements that made them feel like real people but it was frustrating not having greater expansion and exploration of their emotions to the key moments. The banter was alright and the small amount of NZ references were nice. While the constantly changing perspectives and stories sometimes had me questioning who was who for the first quarter of the book, I did like the odd crossover of characters that happend in very natural ways. While the book gave me insight to fertility and kids in a way I hadn't considered much overall it wasn't really for me, granted I am also not the demographic it was targeting.
March 11, 2026
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but the ending let it down a little bit for me. Even being from New Zealand I don't read a lot set here because I like to read about some place im not, but maybe I should be a little more open minded 🙂
April 5, 2026
I listened to the audiobook of this Kiwi author and really enjoyed it. A few small laughs and some heartfelt moments. I liked that not all the characters got a happily ever after ending. This made it more believable.
February 24, 2026
Loved this book - very real and honest, explores different lives and issues from friends, relations and fertility in a light and relatable way.
March 12, 2026
Four women, with different biological clocks and fertility needs! I loved the story arcs of each one, and the interactions. Didn't see some of the plot twists coming.
April 7, 2026
Outrageous! All things pregnancy, wanted and unwanted 🤣
April 13, 2026
I really enjoyed this
April 17, 2026
I actually really liked this book, despite it’s way too many cheesy puns. It would make a great tv show. The right mix of comedy and drama. C’mom TVNZ!
April 9, 2026
Enjoyed at the start, but felt like it dragged and the ending was anti-climactic. Liked that it was set in NZ though!
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