In Goodnight Beautiful, Norma was never supposed to be a mother. Especially not to the child of a man she's spent her whole life loving, but relegated only to the status of best friend. But when Mal and his wife approach her and ask her to be a surrogate for them, she can't say no. She knows Stephanie has a history of mental health issues, much like Mal's mother did, but she also knows Mal will be the best father possible. Norma has always loved Mal, and he loved her but the timing has never been right. Mal won't leave his wife because of things that have happened in the past. When Stephanie discovers a text Mal sent to Norma while pregnant that says only Goodnight Beautiful, she changes her mind. She can't be the mother to Norma's child, and so she and Mal walk away without glancing back.

Five years later, Norma is married and raising Leo, her son who reminds her of Mal in every way possible. Since the night that Mal told her they didn't want the baby, she has systematically cut her family from her life as they were Mal's family too and the pain is too deep. One day, Leo has a bike accident and apart from a nose bleed seems fine. But the nose bleed persists and only gets heavier before Norma takes him to the hospital. By the end of the night, Leo is in a coma and her entire world has come crashing down. Her family and Mal enter back into her life as she fights to save her baby's life.

The whole of this story is heartbreaking. There's not one element that isn't wrought with sadness. The thought on chick lit is that there's always a happy ending. But sometimes there is not. And many times in Koomson's novels there may not be. The talent she possesses is undeniable and there is a power over your emotions within the pages of her novel. Now if only I could learn to leave the waterworks that her stories cause at home, it'd sure be a lot less mortifying to read her on the ride home.