The Exchange by Nadija Mujagic – Review by Julie Johnson

The Exchange: A Novel by Nadija Mujagic
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Haunting. Bizarre. Suspenseful. Twisted. Tormenting. Sad. Hollow.

These are a few words to describe this novel as well as how it left me feeling at the end. This one will grip you from the first page and leave you possibly doing a happy dance and throwing a victory fist in the end.

Samantha “Sam” has had enough of her mother and living in New Mexico. Her sights are set on the big lights of California and the dream of becoming a well-known actress. Once she gets confirmation of an audition, Sam sets the wheels in motion to find an apartment and get herself out to California. When the audition doesn’t go as planned, Sam looks for work and has to look no further than a local coffee shop. She’s given a warning the first day of work to never be late and has no intentions of doing so. Her co-worker Michael is giving her some weird vibes and her boss…well he’s a bit of a creep but he’s given her an opportunity to work while looking for her big break.

Then Corey enters her life. He has a nice car, a huge house with a pool, and seems to be on the right track in life. Afterall, he has a friend who is going to introduce Sam to the right people and get her the auditions she’s been after. Corey isn’t around much though. He’s flying important people all around the world.

Things start to get weird for Sam and she finds out she’s pregnant, although she doesn’t remember doing anything that would cause that for her. That’s when Corey drops the bomb on her that she’s to exchange her baby for her acting career. Sam starts to find out that she really can’t trust anyone she knows and something isn’t sure she should trust herself.

This book isn’t going to be for everyone. There are several issues that could be triggers for certain people. I did find this book enjoyable though and was a bit intrigued as to how it all happened right up until the very end. There were parts of the story that did seem to drag some but overall, a recommended read.

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