Becoming the Talbot Sisters by Rachel Linden

Charlie and Waverley are twin sisters who have grown apart. Orphaned at a young age and brought up by a loving Aunt they have drifted but come together for the funeral of their beloved Aunt.

Waverley seems to have it all. A cooking show almost at the top of her game, a loving husband, a very comfortable home. Charlie works for a NGO amongst women in Eastern Europe. She was swindled of her inheritance by a co-worker, she has been raped but all this trauma is hidden.
When she makes an offer of being a surrogate for Waverley who has suffered six miscarriages and is longing for a child of her own they both are shocked - Charlie who was never maternal wonders what made her offer and Waverley is of course over the moon.

Complications set in when Charlie gets back to her routine job and Waverley continues with her life at home. Charlie's inadvertent involvement in a human smuggling ring puts Charlie in danger and when Waverley unexpectedly pays a visit they are both kidnapped but it seems that it is not Charlie who is the target. The kidnappers want Waverley with her TV connections to highlight Albania and the plight of Albanians.

Taking twists and turns (some a bit improbable) the story moves to Charlie having a baby and Waverley facing a predicament of having two children now to choose when an unexpected bonus in the form of a four year old lands at her feet!

The children bring the two sisters close to each other in a way nothing ever can. The story of family set in two locations is descriptive and interesting. The contrast in the two characters was also nicely fitted into the story.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Thomas Nelson Fiction.