Charlene Carr

A Novel

Hold My Girl

Jennifer Carpenter dreams of being a different person - A person with confidence, a person with beauty, a person who weighs a heck of a lot less. At twenty-seven, her world falls apart. She's out of work, her mother has died, her estranged brother is in a coma and, despite good qualifications, each and every job interview ends in another rejection. Marked by the teasing, taunts, and fat jokes that defined her childhood, Jennifer blames her current lack of success on her ever-growing waist band. In need of a change, Jennifer puts her dream of 'skinny' above all else. Obsessed with this mission, she devotes her life to becoming the ideal version of herself even if it means becoming alienated from the only people who love her. Determined to lose the weight she believes is ruining her life, Jennifer finds herself in danger of losing so much more.

Skinny Me

Two women. Two eggs. One life-altering mistake. Katherine finally has it all. She's spent her entire life striving for perfection—obsessing over her spotless home, maintaining her pristine reputation, building her perfect family—and her hard work has finally paid off. After seven difficult years of trying (and failing) to conceive, Katherine gives birth to Rose, her IVF miracle child, and at last has the one thing she's wanted most of all. But one thing isn't quite perfect. Rose's pale skin doesn't match Katherine's complexion, and an irritating doubt begins to grow in Katherine's mind. Tess never got the happy ending she wanted. She underwent IVF at the same clinic as Katherine, but after finally conceiving, Tess's daughter was stillborn. Now, nearly one year later, she's approaching rock bottom. Consumed by her grief and without hope for the future, Tess is divorced, broke, and stuck in a dead-end job beneath her skillset. But shortly before Rose's first birthday, Katherine and Tess get a call from the fertility clinic: Their eggs were switched. As Katherine's carefully planned life begins to crumble around her, Tess finally sees the glimmer of hope she needed to get her life back on track. Motherhood has always been their dream, and neither woman is prepared to share that claim over Rose. It will take a tense custody battle to decide who deserves to be Rose's mother, but it will also push them to the brink. With themes of racial identity, loss, and betrayal, Hold My Girl is an emotional novel that will leave you contemplating: What makes a mother?

'Thoughtful, tense and affecting' Ashley Audrain '[A] tense, emotional story about racial identity, loss and betrayal' Daily Mail 'Fiction books to watch in 2023' This tense and emotional novel follows the fallout after two women's eggs are switched during IVF. ___________ TWO WOMEN. ONE BABY. A FIGHT LIKE NO OTHER. Katherine has everything under control. After years of struggling to conceive with her partner, Patrick, she finally gives birth to Rose, her IVF miracle child. But she's afraid that Rose may not be her daughter, her pale skin not matching Katherine's own. Tess never got her happy ending. Just like Katherine, she was also a hopeful IVF mother, but her daughter, Hanna, was stillborn. Now divorced, broke and stuck in a dead-end job, she's beginning to lose all hope. But when Rose is ten months old, both women get a call from the fertility clinic. There was a mistake: their eggs were switched. It will take a custody battle like no other to decide who will get to be Rose's mother - a battle that will push them both to the brink... This is a story about what it means to be a mother, and the lengths we go to for the people we love. ___________ '[A] tense, emotional story about racial identity, loss and betrayal' Daily Mail 'Fiction books to watch in 2023' 'Thoughtful, tense and affecting' Ashley Audrain, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Push 'An absorbing and engaging novel that twists the heart' Rachel Hore, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Beautiful Spy 'Breathtakingly taut, unflinching and poignant' Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of LUCKY 'Compelling and thought-provoking ... A page-turner' Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake 'A tender exploration of secrets, loss, and motherhood' Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, international bestselling author of In Every Mirror She's Black 'A future classic' Leah Hazard, Sunday Times bestselling author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story 'Will break your heart' Julie Ma, author of Richard and Judy selected debut Happy Families 'A gripping, thorny premise that explores motherhood and its primal tug. It's twisty and forensic but also wise and moving' Beth Morrey, author of Em & Me and the Sunday Times bestseller Saving Missy.

What would you do if you woke up in a hospital bed, only to realize all your dreams were shattered? Autumn forces her eyes open. Blinding light sends stabs of pain through her head. She blinks, trying to remember, trying to figure out where she is and why she can’t move. But she can’t remember. All she knows is pain, and the fact that her new husband is not by her side. Evocative and complex. Honest and emotional. The second book in the A New Start Stand-Alone Series, Where There Is Life is a riveting story about love, loss, and finding your way. Click the buy button to lose yourself in this heart-wrenching and inspirational book today! Here’s what readers are saying: "Where there is life is nothing short of a must-read ... This book will have you shedding tears, laughing out loud and bursting at the seams to know more." - Stephanie Nason, Authors Opinions “A compelling story with a believable heroine … readers will be rooting for Autumn as she tries to put the pieces of her life back together.” – Award winning novelist, Trudy Morgan Cole “It made me smile, cry, laugh... I couldn't put it down but didn't want it to end!” – Amazon Reviewer “Beautifully written.” – Gina D Ramos “Grief is a difficult emotion to capture, but Charlene Carr writes with beautiful insight and breathtaking accuracy. Readers will fall in love.” – Katie Postlethwaite “Oh My Goodness!!! What a fantastic read … I was on the edge of my seat - a must read for all hopeless romantics. - J Wakely “I'm an avid reader and I can honestly say this is the first book I've ever read that had me hooked at the first paragraph… Great book!” - Dereta Harshbarger “What a testimony of a book! It was as real as it gets.” – Lee Broom Book Club discussion questions are available on the author’s website.

Where There Is Life

A sweeping multi-generational story about motherhood, race and secrets in the lives of three women, perfect for readers of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and David Chariandy’s Brother When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she’s pregnant with a child she isn’t sure she wants, it amplifies her struggle to understand her place in the world as a woman who is half-Black and half-white, yet feels neither. Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child, Antony, during the politically charged Jamaican Exodus of the 1980s, only to realize they’d come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion—a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily. Years later, in the aftermath of Antony’s murder by the police, Evelyn’s mother-in-law, Violet, moves in, offering young Kareela a link to the Jamaican heritage she has never fully known. Despite Violet’s efforts to help them through their grief, the traumas they carry grow into a web of secrets that threatens the very family they all hold so dear. Back in the present, Kareela, prompted by fear and uncertainty about the new life she carries, must come to terms with the mysteries surrounding her family’s past and the need to make sense of both her identity and her future. Weaving the women’s stories across multiple timelines, We Rip the World Apart reveals the ways that simple choices, made in the heat of the moment and with the best of intentions, can have deeper repercussions than could ever have been imagined, especially when people remain silent.

We Rip the World Apart

'Thoughtful, tense and affecting' - Ashley Audrain, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Push TWO WOMEN. TWO EGGS. ONE SWITCH. Katherine is a woman full of obsessions. Everything clean, everything perfect, all of the time. After seven years of trying - and failing - to conceive, she finally gives birth to Rose, her IVF miracle child. But she's always feared Rose may not be her daughter, her pale skin not matching Katherine's own. Tess never got her happy ending. She took on IVF alongside Katherine and a group of hopeful mothers, but her daughter Hanna was stillborn. After a series of desperate choices, she's divorced, broke, and stuck in a job beneath her skillset. When Rose is ten months old, both women get a call from the fertility clinic - two women's eggs were switched. One woman has been raising the wrong daughter, while the other has spent a year grieving a child that wasn't hers. Katherine's perfect life begins to crumble around her, but for Tess it's the glimmer of hope she needs to get her life back on track. It'll take a custody battle to decide who deserves to be Rose's mother, a battle that will push both women to the brink. ___________ 'Charlene Carr unflinchingly puts the reader into the broken hearts and spiralling minds of two mothers who are thrust into an unimaginable situation... An intensely propulsive pageturner. I was spellbound' Heather Marshall, #1 bestselling author of Looking For Jane 'Each fresh twist had me shifting my sympathies until the very end. Hold My Girl is a beautiful, unflinching examination of what it means to be a mother' Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures 'An absolute triumph of a novel... I was riveted from the first page and couldn't stop. It's an absolute must-read' USA Today bestselling author Julianne Maclean 'A tense, captivating book that will both set your heart racing and wrench it apart' Ronali Collings, author of Love and Other Dramas

Discover the stories hundreds have loved. Follow the journey of Eloise and Tracey in the series readers have called wonderful and warm, full of flawed women living not in a perfect world but the real world, with all its joys and pain! Have a tissue handy, but expect some laughs as well. If you haven't yet read the first two books in the series, visit the author's website and join her mailing list for your free gift of Skinny Me and Where There Is Life, PLUS a bonus chapter linking the stories. By What We Love, Book 3 Eloise Grant, a successful and driven Public Relations Consultant, has worked her whole life to make sure she never has to depend on anyone but herself. When she's offered the job of a lifetime she must decide whether to move half a world away from her family, friends and the man she loves. Determined to have it all, Eloise struggles to keep the life she’s sure she deserves, while battling with memories of a past she’d rather forget. As she loses control of the life she envisioned, she learns that sometimes getting exactly what you’ve always wanted doesn’t mean you have what you really need. The third book in the A New Start series, By What We Love explores the power of love to define who we are and what we believe. Forever In My Heart, Book 4 After years of heartbreak and disappointment, Tracey Sampson has finally met a man she can trust. He’s handsome. He’s smart. He knows how to make her laugh. Everything seems perfect, until she wakes up one morning and learns she may not be perfect for him …. or anyone. Struggling with the unknown, and desperate for answers, Tracey must combat the fear lurking inside her and search out the family she’s never known. Will she lie to the ones she loves, or reveal the truths she’s always kept hidden? Can she create new dreams or risk losing every hope she’s ever had? Most of all, will she finally believe that despite her imperfections, she is worthy and enough, just as she is. Forever In My Heart, book four in the A New Start series, is a deep and passionate read about coming to terms with your imperfections and insecurities. Whispers of Hope, Book 5 The act every woman is supposed to be capable of, to do so easily they spend most of their lives trying to prevent, Tracey Sampson is failing at, over and over again. Part of her life are wonderful, but she's yet to fulfill her greatest dream - to hold her own child in her arms. After some devastating news, Tracey is forced to acknowledge that not everyone gets their happily every after ... but she's never been one to succumb to defeat. Sick of being tormented by the fear she's a broken woman, Tracey decides to take matters into her own hands. With heartbreaking obsession, she does everything she can to assure her happiness. Will Tracey overcome the diagnosis that threatens to tear her hopes apart? Or realize all she truly needs to conquer are her own personal demons? Whispers of Hope is book five in the A New Start series. If you're searching for a novel that looks at the heart of a woman who, above all else, wants to have the family she's always yearned for, and needs to learn what that really means, then Whispers of Hope is for you. Witness the power of hope to transform a life. Download or sample the A New Start Boxed Set today!

A New Start Series Boxed Set Books 3-5 : By What We Love, Forever In My Heart, Whispers of Hope

Sometimes getting exactly what you want is the worst thing ever. Dream job? Check. Man to make every woman you know stop and turn? Check. But when having one means giving up the other, what’s a girl … excuse me, woman to do? Eloise Grant, a successful and driven Public Relations Consultant, has worked her whole life to make sure she never has to depend on anyone but herself. But when she’s offered the promotion of a lifetime, depending on herself means leaving her friends, her family, and the man she loves behind. Whatever choice she makes, Eloise’s life is about to unravel. Smart and engaging. Heart wrenching and unpredictable. By What We Love, book 3 in the A New Start stand-alone series, is the story of a woman desperate to have it all, while battling with memories of a past she’d rather forget. Ready to read? Click the buy button and order your copy of this compelling story today! Here’s what readers have to say about By What We Love “This book was delightful, frustrating, hilarious, sad, insightful and hopeful but most of all, it was real.” – Gem Otto “By What We Love is a book that I LOVE. It is full of things to think about, contemplate, ruminate, discuss and perhaps even dream about… if you are a workaholic or are married to, or a partner of, a workaholic, this is a MUST READ.” – Sandra, Goodreads Reviewer “Such feels! Oh the surprises! … this book may be permanently etched on my heart… you should read this book. Seriously.” – Kitty’s Book Spot “With every page turn, the plot thickens somehow, making it an engaging read with lots of action.” – Katie Postlethwaite “Charlene Carr keeps amazing me by her life lessons. Can't wait for the next one!” – Amazon Reviewer “Any career driven woman could sympathize with Eloise… having to choose between their career and their family… you can see yourself in the main character’s shoes.” – Lorrea at WhatChaReadin’? “Charlene Carr takes you on a journey of the heart.” – Amazon Reviewer “I have never written a review for a book before but felt compelled to write one for By What We Love. I was drawn into the story from page one… I really enjoyed this book!” – Yvette Hernandez “Eloise is a very likable character… She's strong willed and a go getter. I cheered for her, I laughed with her, my heart broke with hers. Great writing!” – Jolita Aubin Book Club discussion questions are available on the author’s website.

By What We Love

Her sight’s fading. Her world’s closing in. And nothing she can do will stop it. Make it work. That’s Kali Johnson’s motto. But as each doctor’s appointment steals more hope, making it work seems impossible. When Lincoln Fraser steps back into Kali’s world, refusing to step back out of it, Kali feels thrust into a life she never asked for. As the weeks pass, Kali must make a choice. Will she let fear and frustration rule her, or determine to find beauty and purpose in tragedy? -------------- What We See is Book Two in a continuing three part story. Please don't read it without first reading Book One, Behind Our Lives. If you do, you'll probably be confused and frustrated.

What We See

After years of heartbreak and disappointment, Tracey Sampson has finally met the man of her dreams. He’s handsome. He’s smart. He knows how to make her laugh. Everything seems perfect, until she wakes up one morning and realizes she may not be perfect for him .... or anyone. Struggling with the unknown and desperate for answers, Tracey must combat the fear lurking inside her and search out the family she’s never known. Will she lie to the ones she loves, or reveal the truths she’s always kept hidden? Can she create new dreams or risk losing every hope she’s ever had? Most of all, will she finally believe that despite her imperfections, she is worthy and enough, just as she is.

Forever In My Heart

Secrets have consequences. If given the power, they will lead you into a life you never dreamed of or wanted. Brooke Lake is a girl caught in a town and a life she yearns to escape. Full of anger, fear, and questions without answers, she runs from her problems only to lose herself in a world that’s too much for her. Molly Shirley is a woman without a past and no foreseeable future. Her body is her best commodity, so she does whatever she has to do to survive. Broken by lies, Brooke and Molly must explore the parts of themselves they would rather keep secret. Only by confronting the past can they develop the strength to create a life of their own making—a life where love and forgiveness never come too late. An intriguing drama that both repels and magnetizes the reader to the page, Beneath the Silence follows the story of a woman's struggle to make sense of a dark world. Explore the hold of the past in this gripping novel and witness the strength it takes to break free from pain and create a life worth living.

Beneath the Silence

Life is messy. Love is hard. Friendship will carry you through … Wounded and flawed, four friends struggle to fight their inner demons, overcome the scars from their pasts, and find the strength to let love in. If you like complex characters, true-to-life story-lines, and raw emotion, then you’ll love Charlene Carr’s A New Start Series. "Heart wrenching and unpredictable," this complete five book series takes the reader on a journey through the hearts of headstrong, independent women as they navigate the moments in life that make us or break us. Order today and you’ll also get access to Before I Knew You, a spin-off novella, plus an exclusive bonus chapter connecting the stories. Over 1000 pages and over 650 five star reviews for the series on Goodreads and the major retailers. Click 'Buy Now' to start reading the books thousands have loved. Have a tissue handy, but expect some laughs as well. SKINNY ME Whirling from a life that seems entirely out of her control, will Jennifer Carpenter succeed in fulfilling her dream to become the ideal version of herself—a thinner version—no matter the cost? A fascinating and at times disturbing look at the lies we tell ourselves about what it means to be happy. WHERE THERE IS LIFE Autumn’s blissful newlywed life is abruptly shattered when she wakes up in a hospital unable to remember her accident or why her husband’s not there. As she starts to regain her memory, will she be able to confront the truth? A riveting story about love, loss, and finding one’s way. BY WHAT WE LOVE Eloise Grant has worked her whole life to ensure she never has to depend on anyone but herself. Determined to have it all, can she to keep the life she’s sure she deserves while battling with memories of a past she’d rather forget? Smart, entertaining, complex, and satisfying. FOREVER IN MY HEART After years of heartbreak and disappointment, Tracey Sampson has finally met a man she can trust. Will delving into her past propel her toward a better future or will fear continue to hold her back? A deep and passionate read about coming to terms with your imperfections and insecurities. WHISPERS OF HOPE After some devastating news, Tracey is forced to acknowledge that not everyone gets their happily ever after. Sick of being tormented by the fear she’s a broken woman, will Tracey succeed in taking matters into her own hands? A tale of heartbreak and desperation, perfect for any woman who has struggled to make her dreams come true.

The Complete Series

A New Start Series Boxed Set: Books 1-5

Jennifer Carpenter dreams of being a different person – A person with confidence, a person with beauty, a person who weighs a heck of a lot less. At twenty-seven, her world falls apart. She’s out of work, her mother has died, her estranged brother is in a coma and, despite good qualifications, each and every job interview ends in another rejection. Marked by the teasing, taunts, and fat jokes that defined her childhood, Jennifer blames her current lack of success on her ever-growing waist band. In need of a change, Jennifer puts her dream of ‘skinny’ above all else. Obsessed with this mission, she devotes her life to becoming the ideal version of herself even if it means becoming alienated from the only people who love her. Determined to lose the weight she believes is ruining her life, Jennifer finds herself in danger of losing so much more.

When Comes The Joy

Broken by love, Lincoln Fraser is back in the city of his birth. He’s been abandoned, betrayed, and doesn’t see how he can ever trust again. Kali Johnson is stuck in a world that feels too much for her. Her husband’s gone, her son won’t talk, and her apartment is full of rats. Fearful she's failing at life, all she wants is a second chance to make things right. When a freak accident places Kali and her son in Lincoln’s path, he feels compelled to help this single mother and her child. Unprepared for the challenge of letting anyone back into his life, Lincoln is faced with a question—continue to shut himself out from the world or let someone in? Raw, heartbreaking, but full of hope, Behind Our Lives, Book One in the Behind Our Lives Trilogy, is a story that will leave you wanting more.

Charlene Carr

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