Where Have All Our Daughters Gone by Julie McAlpin Richmond

Cover Art from Goodreads

*I am grateful to have been given this book as an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are mine.*

This book. This book. This book. Messed me up for a bit. I finished it in a few hours because I could NOT put it down. And when I did, I looked at my husband and wanted to slap him, just to make myself feel better about what the main character, Kate, and her three children went through. It was a tough read for me, having been through a bad marriage myself, and now having a daughter. I cannot imagine what I would do if I knew someone was abusing her and still had to let it go and deliver her to him. Well, I can, but it's probably best to not write about it (premeditation and all that). Reading it at midnight, I was falling asleep and still couldn't pull myself away from it without reaching the ending. 

While this was a fast read, a lot of it seemed too incredible to be believed, but sadly enough I know that Kate's situation while fictional, is all too real for some women. Where Have All Our Daughters Gone  does a good job at portraying what life is like when you marry someone that you don't really know, and how even once you're separated from them, there are still times where they control everything in your life. I feel like it could use a little tightening up, I would have liked to know where the kids ended up (maybe a epilogue of sorts) and I would have liked to see a bit more personality from Clay. I liked him, and after being married to someone like Mitchell, I was glad that Kate found someone to treat her right, but there is not a man on this Earth who is that patient and forgiving and never loses his temper. He was almost too perfect, which didn't come off as real. 

All in all, I could definitely see this in our library, and possibly even as a women's book club read. It would certainly lead to some very open and honest discussions. 

4 out of 5 stars