Review: "The Right Fit" by Sinead Moriarty

Emma Hamilton is back! Our plucky, desperate-to-be-a-mother heroine from The Baby Trail (my review) has returned after unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant naturally, and this time she's desperate to adopt. She and James have been informed that there is nothing amiss with their *ahem* plumbing, but since month after month they find that they are not yet pregnant, they have decided to adopt a child that needs them. The waiting lists to adopt an Irish baby are ridiculous (and going that route they would probably not become parents until they were old enough to become grandparents), so they've decided to adopt a Russian child. The Right Fit follows their journey through the various adoption channels, including a not very supportive support group, a cold-as-ice social worker, and a not very successful attempt to learn the Russian language, all in the hopes of one day holding a child in their arms that will be theirs.

I have to say that I enjoyed The Right Fit so much more knowing that I have the third (and final) book on hand to read as well. I enjoyed The Baby Trail right up until the end, when I discovered that there were sequels and that I didn't have them. Am I the only one who thinks that this is something that should be on the cover somewhere? The Right Fit ends with a cliff-hanger, but I was prepared for that this time and I'm excited to read the final book in the series.

The book itself was a fun one to read. Emma is still desperate to become a parent, regardless of the path that she needs to take to get there. Her husband, handsome rugby coach James, isn't convinced that adoption is the way to go at first but he loves his wife and is happy to go along with anything that will make her happy. Emma rushes into this head first, and is determined to learn the Russian language and learn how to cook Russian food. She'll even wear the silly hats if she has to.

There were two things that made me love this book even more than the first one. One of those things is that her quirky family and friends are more of a focus in this book. Her best friends Jess and Lucy are feautured more, as well as Emma's brother Sean. The book was about Emma and James, yes, but there was a lot more to it than just their adoption journey. I also loved that Moriarty has taken yet another sensitive topic, foreign adoption, and has managed to make the book fun yet sensistive to the process. The book spans a time period of almost two years, and even though at times that was annoying (ie. turning the page and finding that six months have passed), it made sense. Moriarty doesn't make light of the fact that adoption can be a long and arduous process, lending a sense of reality to the book.

I raced through The Right Fit, curious to find out whether or not Emma and James will be permitted to adopt (I won't spoil it for you!), and I'm glad that I have the third and final book on hand so that I can read how everything ultimately turns out.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Challenges: 2011 100+ Reading Challenge, 2011 RYOB Challenge