REVIEW: SAFE WITH ME, BY AMY HATVANY

 

 

 

When Hannah decides that, after a failed relationship, she should pursue her desire for children on her own, she uses a sperm donor and gives birth to Emily, the daughter who is everything she has ever wanted in a family.

But in one pivotal moment, twelve-year-old Emily is killed—struck by a car in front of their house. Submerged in grief, Hannah at first rejects the idea of donating Emily’s organs, but then changes her mind.

Now, a year later, she is still struggling with her grief and loss. She has moved from the Seattle home she shared with her daughter to an apartment over the new salon she is renovating. Her one friend and partner, Sophie, continues to manage the downtown salon.

Then one day, a woman and her teenaged daughter walk into the newly opened salon that Hannah owns, and she feels an instant connection to Olivia and Maddie. How will Hannah discover just what binds them together? And as Hannah and Olivia grow closer, what dirty secrets does Hannah discover are hiding behind the doors of the upscale home where Olivia, Maddie, and her husband James live? What will finally bring the truth to light?

Narrated from Hannah’s, Olivia’s, and Maddie’s perspective, Safe with Me: A Novel was an emotionally engaging read that had me eagerly turning pages. While the coincidences of the story seemed a bit convenient, I absolutely loved the tale anyway, hoping against hope that there would be a satisfactory resolution. Five stars.