When You Were Mine: the best new emotional and powerful women’s fiction novel of 2024, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper and Susan Lewis

Emma-Claire Wilson is a writer fascinated by our emotional lives, but in her second book, When You Were Mine, she doesn’t shy away from using the post-covid era as the setting for her characters’ emotional journeys. It’s a remarkably fitting backdrop for how her characters seem isolated by their turmoil – and a reminder of how Zoom calls, with their blurred backgrounds and switched-on smiles, can so easily mask real emotions.Nicola and Victoria have weathered the worst of their lockdowns in Scotland and Spain, respectively. They have kept in touch via weekly Zoom chats since they met in strange circumstances: the both ended up giving birth in the same A&E department in Spain. Victoria because she lives there as an expat and went into labour early and Nicola because she took an optimistically timed babymoon – and then gave birth to her daughter prematurely.Victoria puts on a brave face for life with her twins, documented on Instagram and encouraged by her husband who is in the business of selling the expat life. He posts pictures of her and the twins playing on the beach and swimming in the sea; but beneath it all, Victoria is silently screaming.Meanwhile, in far chillier Scotland, Nicola also feels as if her life is falling apart.When Victoria makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to hop on a plane and visit Nicola it coincides with Nicola’s older son, Ben, becoming seriously ill. And that’s when ghosts from their shared past rise up and threaten to disrupt both women's fragile lives.No spoilers, but this is a book that will surprise and delight in equal measure. Strong characters and an undercurrent of gutsy humour run through this story that confronts an impossible moral dilemma and had me thinking ‘Actually, what would I do?’ long after I’d turned the last page.

This is an emotional story which will pull on your heartstrings whilst also being an engrossing read. Not having children myself, I wasn't sure about this book from the blurb alone. However, those fears were unfounded and it quickly drew me in and the writing style made it easy to read. Differing family and friendship situations are explored throughout and many times gave me pause for thought. Overall I enjoyed it

Nicole and Victoria are leading very different lives. One in Scotland, one in Spain. They meet in hospital, having babies on the same day, and have stayed friends ever since. They haven’t been able to spend much physical time together, living in different countries and having Covid restrictions in place for so long, but they both cherish their zoom catch ups and when Victoria announces she’s visiting Scotland again, with her twins, Nicole is over the moon.I loved how these two ladies became friends and how they are such a support to each other despite having so many miles between them and a pandemic to contend with. They both have their struggles and very much look forward to catching up properly and seeing their children (now three years old) play together. However, when Nicole’s older son is taken ill their plans take an unexpected turn and little do they know just how much their lives are about to change forever.This is such a heart-wrenching story. My heart broke for both ladies, and Nicole’s husband. (Victoria’s husband, not so much, he’s not quite as likeable.) I can’t even imagine how I would cope if I found myself in their situation. A parent’s absolute worst nightmare! I wondered however they would find a solution which is best for all concerned and I think they handled it perfectly in the end, considering how painful it must be.I absolutely loved Emma-Claire Wilson’s first novel, This Child of Mine, and I have absolutely loved When You Were Mine. It’s so beautifully written, full of raw emotion, sadness and heartache, but also family, friendship, smiles, laughter, and hope. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Friends are the family you choose for yourself is a great quote and one worthy of this novel. 2 women brought together in traumatic circumstances remain friends despite living miles apart. They meet up via zoom chats while their children are in bed, discussing everything that's happened since they last spokeVictoria travels from Spain to Scotland to visit her family estranged from her "ghastly" husband and meets up with Nicole. But Nicole has a family drama of her own when her son Ben is admitted to hospital. What follows would be a nightmare for any family.Without giving too much away this novel serves up plenty of moral dilemmas, it's shocking to think what happened in the novel possibly happens in real life and how parents would deal with such issues.Its a great read and I loved the interaction and closeness between Victoria's family.

This paints a journey that is tough and very emotional for both of the families and the dramas that they go through. The uniting of the two mums over an emergency birth of their children, the situation of both their marriages and how the two women cope with the new born children within their families is intense and so real. It has been beautifully written covering marriages, motherhood, social media issues, foster families, anger and love.It is one amazing read that I just wondered how I would have coped with each of their lives. There are no rule books on parenting or even on making a marriage work and everyone has to find out for themselves.I look forward to reading more by this excellent author.

Want an emotional novel. It has it all..motherhood,friendship and family.It’s based around 2 women brought together by trauma.its a great read by Emma Claire Wilson.

I ordered this in advance as had read the authors previous book and loved it. This book was another rollercoaster ride of emotions. I read it on one sitting. It tugs at the heart strings in more ways than one. I love the two different settings. Both felt so realistic. No spoilers but chocolate and tissues should come with this book.Can’t wait to see what she writes next.