Having read a number of Kate Frost books before, I knew I would say yes when I saw there was a blog tour for this book. When I looked at the blurb though, I realised that this one had a different feel to the others I had read by her. Whereas the other three are set in Greece or Portugal, and are about new starts this one is not.
Pippa Green wants one thing more than any other. She has always wanted to be a mum. She met her husband and they started trying straight away, but several years later and it just hasn't happened for them. Contrast this with her younger sister Georgie. Georgie has a young daughter, and her husband wants another, but Georgie is lamenting the fact that she got married and had her daughter quite young. She feels like life has passed her by a little. It hurts Pippa to see other people having the one thing that she desperately wants and yet not appreciating it, and Georgie is conscious of how she feels, so there is a bit of an emotional distance between them.
Pippa and Clive are on the rollercoaster journey that is IVF, which takes an emotional toll as they follow all the medical procedures, the hormonal treatment, the injections and the hopes that the embryos will be successfully implanted and stick. Whilst her family knows that they are doing IVF, they don't necessarily understand how hard it really is, especially knowing that there are only so many times they can afford to go through this process financially.
Contrast this with Connie's story. Connie and her husband Felix are also on the IVF journey, but she is telling no one, not even her family. Luckily Connie and Pippa meet in an online IVF forum and realise that they live relatively close to each other, that they are at similar points in the process and they quickly become good friends.
The fourth person whose story we read is Pippa's best friend Sienna. She loves her boyfriend, but isn't ready to commit to anything like moving in together. She loves her independence, her job in TV and she is ambitious, and having a child is never going to be part of her plans. Never.
Even with that short summary above, you can likely imagine that there is a lot of emotional ground covered in this book. Obviously, infertility and motherhood are front and centre, along with the emotional pressures that going through infertility can bring to relationships. There is also a strong focus on female friendship, and how even the strongest friendships can be damaged by omissions and half truths, despite everyone's best intentions.
This feels like a very personal story, and so it is no surprise to learn in the epilogue that the author has experience so many of the emotions that she writes about: the hopes as each IVF cycle begins, the despair of not being successful, the joy when it looks like it has been.
I found myself contemplating my own journey to motherhood, and those of people around me. I know people who have tried and failed with IVF, as well as some who are currently trying very hard and reading this book helped me put myself in their shoes, just a little bit
This book was originally self published back in 2016 with the title Beneath the Apple Blossom. I already own the connected book to this one - The Baobab Beach Retreat. It's a little odd as that one is listed on Amazon as being book number 1 in the Romantic Escapes series, and not as being connected to this one whereas Goodreads says that these two books are connected. Anyway, none of that really matters given I am going to read all the books eventually anyway!
Whilst this was a change of pace from the previous Kate Frost books I have read, it was an important story, told very well, and I am glad that it was the first book that I finished reading in 2025.
Rating 4/5
A Love Like No Other
Four women struggle with their life choices and the hand fate has dealt them…
All Pippa Green has ever wanted is marriage and kids, but at thirty-four and about to embark on IVF, her dream of having a family is far from certain.
Pippa’s younger sister Georgie has the opposite problem, juggling her career, her lover, a young daughter and a husband who wants baby number two. She seems to have it all. But does she?
Carefree Sienna, Pippa’s best friend, is happy travelling the world with her successful career in film, however, long term boyfriend Ashton is desperate for Sienna to commit to their future. When mother nature has a surprise, will it make or break them?
Happily married Connie shares her fertility journey with Pippa, but while their blossoming friendship is cemented through the highs and lows of shared experiences, Connie underestimates the impact being unable to conceive will have on her and her marriage.
As their lives collide in a way they could never have predicted, will any of them find lasting happiness?
Perfect for fans of Rowan Coleman, Dani Atkins and Sian O'Gorman.
Previously Published as Beneath the Apple Blossom by Kate Frost
Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/alovelikenoother
About the Author
Kate Frost is the author of several bestselling romantic escape novels including The Greek Heart, and The Love Island Bookshop. She lives in Bristol and is the Director of Storytale Festival, a book festival for children and teens she co-founded in 2019.
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Bookbub profile: @KateFrost
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