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This psychological thriller was unlike any I’ve ever read before. It flips back and forth between several POVs and explores the inner minds of those with mental health issues. The main character’s arc is wide. She has a fragmented past that haunts her and is the reason for almost everything that happens in the story. I was questioning what really happened and with whom for a couple of the characters, so Rheilan’s writing kept me on my toes. The voice was distinct for each character. The one that stood out the most to me was Leonard—every time he spoke, all I could hear was Simon Callow’s character, the Duke of Sandringham in Outlander, and I loved that!
The main character, Dr. Ana Griffin, is an intriguing character. She’s intelligent, caring, thoughtful, opinionated—and some characters did not share those opinions, but she was doing things from her heart, and for the right reasons. She fought for those with mental health issues who cannot fight for themselves. But events from her past prevented her from living a better life than what she chose to live, and at the end of the day, she had some mental issues of her own that were never properly dealt with. I could sympathize with Ana regarding the incident from years ago that set everything in motion, and I could understand why she was doing what she felt she needed to do in her personal life.
The events leading up to the end had me wondering what was going to happen. I didn’t expect the ending, that’s for sure! The epilogue gives the reader a sense of closure, so be sure not to miss that.
Birthrights was a very intriguing story that explores many aspects of what can go wrong in the treatment (or lack thereof), and in the automatic dismissal of patients who suffer from mental health disorders. It made me think deeper about it and the potential reasons behind everyone’s story IRL. For childless Ana, she needed to become a mother, to protect who she loved the most, at any cost.
About Birthrights:
Sometimes the perfect pregnancy is less than skin deep…
A young man watches as a heavily pregnant doctor is stabbed in the street. He sees the knife, swinging down into that rounded belly, again and again, deep to the hilt.
A few minutes later, the doctor has gone. Nobody believes what the man has seen. For Ana, the doctor, the incident is problematic. Back home, she peels off the damaged pretence of her pregnancy, a beautifully crafted garment, padded and slug across her abdomen. And she begins to realise that a story she has crafted with even greater care, is about to unravel.
Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours and to Carly Rheilan for allowing me the opportunity to read and review Birthrights!
You can connect with Carly Rheilan on Twitter @CRheilan.
Have you read Birthrights? What did you think? Share your comments below! Please feel free to share this post to your social media! 😊
Kathleen Foxx || Author || Editor || Podcast Host 