Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC and @carriereadsthem_all & Mulholland Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Dearest in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Mulholland Books / Hachette Audio
Published: September 17, 2024
Summary:
A new mom in need of help opens her door to her long-estranged mother—only to invite something much darker inside—in this “fast-paced and frightening debut” (Rachel Harrison) about the long shadows cast by family secrets, perfect for readers of Grady Hendrix or Ashley Audrain.
Flora is a new mom enamored of her baby girl, Iris, even if she arrived a few weeks early. With her husband still deployed, Flora navigates the newborn stage alone. But as the sleepless nights pass in the loneliness of their half-empty home, the edges of her reality begin to blur.
Just as Flora becomes convinced she is losing her mind, a surprising guest shows up: Flora’s own mother, to whom she hasn’t spoken in years. Can they mend their fraught relationship? Or is there more Flora’s mother isn’t telling her about the events that led to their estrangement?
As stranger and scarier events unfold, Flora begins to suspect the house is not as empty as she once thought. She must determine: is her hold on reality slipping dangerously away? Or is she, in fact, the only thing standing between a terrifying visitor and her baby?
My thoughts:
I was fortunate to win a copy of this one and after seeing some rave reviews of it, I was intrigued. And for a debut novel, I’m impressed. This one is wild in all the best ways, considering it is a horror book and I don’t tend to read a lot in that genre.
This one grabbed me right from the get-go and while I am not a mom and have never experienced all those early sleep-deprived days of having a new-born, this book is so much more than just a mommy horror story. I felt the creepiness and relatability of this one at times. The characters were so flushed out and I questioned so many times what was real and what wasn’t – this is the part I loved the most! This one had me on edge almost from the get-go and I couldn’t have loved it more.
I don’t always love the whole motherhood trope, but the way it played out here, with all the twists and turns this story takes, I was all in. I had no idea what to expect after the first major twist and decided to stop trying to figure it out and just go along for the ride. And what a ride it was – crazy, creepy and unforgettable!
If you can handle a disturbing look at motherhood and the relationships and trauma we carry, this story is for you and would be a perfect book to add to your reading list for spooky season!
Audio thoughts:
This one is amazing on audio. The author narrates it and she does such a great job bringing the story to life, infusing just the emotion and tone with her voice. Once I started listening, I could not put this one down and ended up listening to it in one go!
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
