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Smother
Not yet published
Expected 21 Apr 26Welcome to the family.
Hannah thought she’d found her happily ever after. Marrying Ethan, the man of her dreams, felt like the start of a perfect new life. But with Ethan came his family, and with his family came Margaret. She welcomes Hannah with warmth, insisting she sees in her not just a daughter-in-law, but the daughter she never had.
Yet as the honeymoon bliss fades, Margaret’s affection unfurls into something much darker. Ethan, ever the devoted son, remains disarmingly blind to his mother’s covert manipulations. He insists Margaret means well, attributing her intrusions to love and concern. But Hannah feels a different truth in her bones.
Hannah is forced to confront a chilling realization. She thought she had married the man of her dreams, only to discover that she’s also bound to the mother of her worst nightmares…
Hannah thought she’d found her happily ever after. Marrying Ethan, the man of her dreams, felt like the start of a perfect new life. But with Ethan came his family, and with his family came Margaret. She welcomes Hannah with warmth, insisting she sees in her not just a daughter-in-law, but the daughter she never had.
Yet as the honeymoon bliss fades, Margaret’s affection unfurls into something much darker. Ethan, ever the devoted son, remains disarmingly blind to his mother’s covert manipulations. He insists Margaret means well, attributing her intrusions to love and concern. But Hannah feels a different truth in her bones.
Hannah is forced to confront a chilling realization. She thought she had married the man of her dreams, only to discover that she’s also bound to the mother of her worst nightmares…
346 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 21, 2026
7 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Daya Winters
2 books12 followersDaya Winters lives in a small town with her husband and children. A lover of suspense and mind-bending mysteries.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Review of ARC!
Welcome to the Family!
Wow. This book absolutely got under my skin...in the best way....if there is such a thing!
From the very beginning, it pulls you into what feels like a dreamy, picture-perfect romance. Hannah believes she’s stepping into her happily ever after with Ethan but as we all know, when you marry someone, you marry their family too. And Margaret? Ohhh, Margaret......
The tension in this story builds so masterfully. What starts as warm, welcoming, slightly overbearing mother-in-law energy slowly tightens into something far more unsettling. I found myself getting genuinely frustrated (the good kind of frustrated!) at certain characters...you know, the kind where you want to shake them and yell, “Open your eyes!” That emotional reaction is exactly what made it so compelling. It means the author did their job.
And then the ending.......
When I say I didn’t see it coming...I mean I did not see it coming. Just when I thought I had things figured out...BOOM! Twist. And then another one. A double twist that completely reframed everything. I love when a book makes me rethink what I thought I knew.
Even though the ARC edition had a few minor errors (missing words mostly), they didn’t distract from the power of the story itself. The plot, pacing, and psychological tension carried it effortlessly.
At its core, this book is more than just a thriller. It’s a sharp, unsettling look at manipulation, boundaries, loyalty, and what happens when love gets tangled with control. It almost feels like a survival guide for navigating a complicated mother-in-law....exaggerated for fiction, of course but still uncomfortably relatable at times.
Brilliant, infuriating, twisty, and impossible to put down. Definitely a must-read if you enjoy domestic suspense that keeps you second-guessing everything. 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Welcome to the Family!
Wow. This book absolutely got under my skin...in the best way....if there is such a thing!
From the very beginning, it pulls you into what feels like a dreamy, picture-perfect romance. Hannah believes she’s stepping into her happily ever after with Ethan but as we all know, when you marry someone, you marry their family too. And Margaret? Ohhh, Margaret......
The tension in this story builds so masterfully. What starts as warm, welcoming, slightly overbearing mother-in-law energy slowly tightens into something far more unsettling. I found myself getting genuinely frustrated (the good kind of frustrated!) at certain characters...you know, the kind where you want to shake them and yell, “Open your eyes!” That emotional reaction is exactly what made it so compelling. It means the author did their job.
And then the ending.......
When I say I didn’t see it coming...I mean I did not see it coming. Just when I thought I had things figured out...BOOM! Twist. And then another one. A double twist that completely reframed everything. I love when a book makes me rethink what I thought I knew.
Even though the ARC edition had a few minor errors (missing words mostly), they didn’t distract from the power of the story itself. The plot, pacing, and psychological tension carried it effortlessly.
At its core, this book is more than just a thriller. It’s a sharp, unsettling look at manipulation, boundaries, loyalty, and what happens when love gets tangled with control. It almost feels like a survival guide for navigating a complicated mother-in-law....exaggerated for fiction, of course but still uncomfortably relatable at times.
Brilliant, infuriating, twisty, and impossible to put down. Definitely a must-read if you enjoy domestic suspense that keeps you second-guessing everything. 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
February 25, 2026
I had the privilege of receiving an ARC copy Smother by Daya Winters and holy shit…
I have never had a book put me this on edge in my life. I was literally reading through my fingers because I was that stressed. And oh. My. God… the secondhand embarrassment I felt on behalf of some of these characters?? Criminal… 🫣
I have never said “what the fuck” out loud so many times while reading. You trust someone… Mistake. You think you figured something out… yeah right. Every time I got comfortable, this book basically laughed in my face and said… yeah that’s cute.
And the plot twist??? Are you actually fucking kidding me. I predicted so many possibilities of how this would end and was so confident in myself. Not once — NOT ONCE — did I see that coming. I just sat there jaw on the floor… staring at the page like an idiot.
When I tell you I fucking devoured this thing like it was popcorn. The mind games… Evil. The vibes… Unhinged. My sanity… yeah she left the building about 30% in. This book ruined me…and I am not even mad about it.
Spice: 0 (honestly it didn’t miss/want it whatsoever)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Easily one of my top 3 favorite thrillers.
I have never had a book put me this on edge in my life. I was literally reading through my fingers because I was that stressed. And oh. My. God… the secondhand embarrassment I felt on behalf of some of these characters?? Criminal… 🫣
I have never said “what the fuck” out loud so many times while reading. You trust someone… Mistake. You think you figured something out… yeah right. Every time I got comfortable, this book basically laughed in my face and said… yeah that’s cute.
And the plot twist??? Are you actually fucking kidding me. I predicted so many possibilities of how this would end and was so confident in myself. Not once — NOT ONCE — did I see that coming. I just sat there jaw on the floor… staring at the page like an idiot.
When I tell you I fucking devoured this thing like it was popcorn. The mind games… Evil. The vibes… Unhinged. My sanity… yeah she left the building about 30% in. This book ruined me…and I am not even mad about it.
Spice: 0 (honestly it didn’t miss/want it whatsoever)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Easily one of my top 3 favorite thrillers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Smothered is a fun, fast-paced thriller about a husband and wife duo, and the husband's mother.
This book follows Hannah, a writing editor who works from home. Hannah's husband, Ethan, works out of the house as a project manager. Ethan's mother, Margaret, makes her job to torture Hannah. Ethan and Hannah met and married within a few months and immediately Margaret started to make her presence, and hatred for Hannah, known.
I was immediately drawn to the concept of this book. I love a fast-paced thriller, and even more I love when it stays in the family. Winters did an amazing job of bringing Hannah to the page and making her strong headed and fierce. Her love for Ethan remained unchanged, even in the face of the woman who made him. Margaret is the perfect villain, especially as we learn more about her character. She is cunning and manipulative in the best way possible. She loves her son in a way only a mother could.
Ethan was a very indecisive character for me. I didn't mind him, but he didn't speak to me as a character. His ending was a twist I never expected, and it was exciting to read. Up until page 300, he existed solely as a space between Hannah and Margaret. This made the twist at the end even less predictable.
The only part of the book that confused me was the multiple POVs at the end. We had been following Hannah until late in the book, where we received Margaret and Ethan's point of view. This left me confused, while also receiving the same scene with different feelings of it. This wasn't my favorite, but I don't think it ruined the book and I still enjoyed the ending.
This book follows Hannah, a writing editor who works from home. Hannah's husband, Ethan, works out of the house as a project manager. Ethan's mother, Margaret, makes her job to torture Hannah. Ethan and Hannah met and married within a few months and immediately Margaret started to make her presence, and hatred for Hannah, known.
I was immediately drawn to the concept of this book. I love a fast-paced thriller, and even more I love when it stays in the family. Winters did an amazing job of bringing Hannah to the page and making her strong headed and fierce. Her love for Ethan remained unchanged, even in the face of the woman who made him. Margaret is the perfect villain, especially as we learn more about her character. She is cunning and manipulative in the best way possible. She loves her son in a way only a mother could.
Ethan was a very indecisive character for me. I didn't mind him, but he didn't speak to me as a character. His ending was a twist I never expected, and it was exciting to read. Up until page 300, he existed solely as a space between Hannah and Margaret. This made the twist at the end even less predictable.
The only part of the book that confused me was the multiple POVs at the end. We had been following Hannah until late in the book, where we received Margaret and Ethan's point of view. This left me confused, while also receiving the same scene with different feelings of it. This wasn't my favorite, but I don't think it ruined the book and I still enjoyed the ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2026
Review of advanced copy received from Author.
This book had me turning the pages. Not only because of the story line with the unhinged hovering mother-in-law and her obedient grown up son. But I also was intrigued to know more about the doll on the cover. And while the focus was not directly on the doll she was incorporated in the story providing those creepy vibes the cover gives. Also, the title of the book itself perfectly fits with the story sMOTHER. The mother-in-law went over and beyond at smothering. Literally. But there is a difficult part to read that I would suggest to check the trigger warnings.
The book contains so many twists and turns that left you wondering if the characters were mentally stable. Overall I enjoyed reading this book, and to those who like psychological thrillers… You’ll enjoy this one! This author has become one of my new favorite Indie Authors as I also enjoyed her other book, Ask Sam, which I highly recommend too.
This book had me turning the pages. Not only because of the story line with the unhinged hovering mother-in-law and her obedient grown up son. But I also was intrigued to know more about the doll on the cover. And while the focus was not directly on the doll she was incorporated in the story providing those creepy vibes the cover gives. Also, the title of the book itself perfectly fits with the story sMOTHER. The mother-in-law went over and beyond at smothering. Literally. But there is a difficult part to read that I would suggest to check the trigger warnings.
The book contains so many twists and turns that left you wondering if the characters were mentally stable. Overall I enjoyed reading this book, and to those who like psychological thrillers… You’ll enjoy this one! This author has become one of my new favorite Indie Authors as I also enjoyed her other book, Ask Sam, which I highly recommend too.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a book I highly recommend trusting the process for. The story jumps a bit between the chapters so there are things that happens off the pages. Which leaves you with little gaps in context, HOWEVER, everything accumulates in the end and the choice to leave out things adds to the overall psychological torment, confusion also resolusion.
For a psychological thriller this was really, really good. Most definitely, in my top 5 for psychological thrillers. I devoured it. It had me hooked from the start. I was engaged and intrigued.
There were quite a few times where I physically had to put the book down. It felt like this book was consuming me. I was raging, frustrated, irritated, claustrophobic in the shear amount of emotional turmoil I was going through. Every sliver of reprieve Hannah got was like being able to take a breath.
The twist and turns had me shocked, spiraling, spinning. And the complete 180 that happens had me gobsmacked.
I recommend this.
For a psychological thriller this was really, really good. Most definitely, in my top 5 for psychological thrillers. I devoured it. It had me hooked from the start. I was engaged and intrigued.
There were quite a few times where I physically had to put the book down. It felt like this book was consuming me. I was raging, frustrated, irritated, claustrophobic in the shear amount of emotional turmoil I was going through. Every sliver of reprieve Hannah got was like being able to take a breath.
The twist and turns had me shocked, spiraling, spinning. And the complete 180 that happens had me gobsmacked.
I recommend this.
Review of advance copy
I received an ARC of Smother in exchange for an honest review. And honestly? Wow! This story is a page turner. I stayed up the entire night reading because I couldn’t handle the suspense of what was coming next. Typically I am able to figure out the twits and turns in a psychological thriller, but with Smother, I could not. I was spooked by the story telling and surprised by the twists. This is the kind of book I’m looking for when I am looking for something to get lost in. I look forward to future books by Daya Winters. An author that knows what she’s doing and is great at it. If you’re looking for a true psychological thriller, you’ve come to the right place!
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
Firstly I would like to thank you for the incredible opportunity to be one of the first to read your new work. I was so excited when I received the email!
I devoured Smother in 2 days! Whew, what a ride through the minds of the characters. The twists had me on the edge of my seat. I kept clicking the pages because I had to know what happened next. I hope the ending is the beginning to a part 2 😉 because it left me hungry for more!
I devoured Smother in 2 days! Whew, what a ride through the minds of the characters. The twists had me on the edge of my seat. I kept clicking the pages because I had to know what happened next. I hope the ending is the beginning to a part 2 😉 because it left me hungry for more!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an ARC copy of this book and dove right into it!
Fast-paced, tense, and emotionally messy in
the best way. I see why so many readers found this one addictive. A couple moments felt rushed, but overall it delivered the suspense I was hoping for.
Definitely a 4-star read!
Fast-paced, tense, and emotionally messy in
the best way. I see why so many readers found this one addictive. A couple moments felt rushed, but overall it delivered the suspense I was hoping for.
Definitely a 4-star read!
Review of advance copy received from Author
WOW! A 10 out of 10! The suspense, the thrill. Is mind boggling. There is absolutely NO predictability. This book keeps you on your toes and wanting more in the next chapter.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews