Five stars isn’t enough, I want to give it 10. I absolutely loved this book. I have to admit to being a HUGE fan of R. R. Banks and I think that this book might just be her BEST. “Surprise Gift” is about Naomi and Henry, but the author checks in with some of the characters from her previous books. Don’t worry, it’s definitely a stand-alone story, but I’m sure you’ll want to check out “Surprise Delivery” and the books about the Anderson Brothers, if you haven’t already read them. Anywho, back to Naomi and Henry. Naomi has had a really tough life. At twenty, she had to give up her dreams of writing and teaching when her sister is beaten to death, by her abusive husband, and Naomi becomes the legal guardian of her nephew. Eight years later, life has dealt her blow after blow, her sister’s ex is released from prison and turns up at her door demanding that she hand over his son. Yeah, not going to happen. Henry, on the other had, has lead a reasonably charmed life. He’s a financial wizard who has no interest in any form of commitment, due to a painful relationship in his past. I hear you saying, “stop ruining the story”, but don’t worry all of this happens in the first few chapters of the book. The next 35 odd chapters are absolutely amazing. The book begins with a punch to your gut and continues throughout with twists, turns, ups and downs. I was hooked from beginning to end. I was so involved with the wonderful characters (even the really evil ones were wonderfully evil), I actually felt like I was a fly on the wall for the whole book. Really, do yourself a favour, read this book now. I guarantee that you won’t just love it as much as I have, but you’ll also become a fan of Banks and want to read many of her other books as well.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.