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Mother's Day
She gave you life. What if she wants it back?
Perfect for fans of MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER, MAGPIE and HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY.
The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family.
But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes - because the same day, she learns she's going to be a mother too.
Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna's living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else's?
Now she will have to decide what she's willing to sacrifice for a real family - her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.
Perfect for fans of MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER, MAGPIE and HOW TO KILL YOUR FAMILY.
The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family.
But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes - because the same day, she learns she's going to be a mother too.
Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna's living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else's?
Now she will have to decide what she's willing to sacrifice for a real family - her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.
- GenresThriller
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2023
55 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
March 30, 2024
Where to start. The rating maybe. It only got one star because I finished it however it gave me a headache so the second star is out. Its not often I really dont like a book and to begin with I was enjoying this. However I speed read almost a quarter of the book because although the first three quarters was chaotic (and, to me, idiotic) the last quarter was simply insane.
The storyline is that Anna discovers she is pregnant at about the same time she meets her birth mother. Up until this point she had a half decent boyfriend, Dermot, several friends, a responsible job and an adoptive father. So all people who loved her.
What happens after she meets her birth mother, Marlene, simply spirals out of control until it becomes utterly mad.
I didn't believe in any of the characters. I didn't like any of the characters. I thought the plot premise was great until I realised that the character of Marlene was so psychotic that you'd have to be numb not to notice it at first glance.
Anna's character is equally irritating. She's an intelligent woman but her rush headlong into Marlene's world is just so unbelievable. She doesn't listen to anyone (including her own inner voice) when she's told that Marlene is crazy.
In conclusion if Abigail Burdess had made the inclusion of Anna into her mother's life a little slower and Marlene's eccentricity a little more insidious I would have enjoyed it. She might as well have had Anna driving down a road peppered with billboards pointing out the patently obvious as she drove over every one.
The storyline is that Anna discovers she is pregnant at about the same time she meets her birth mother. Up until this point she had a half decent boyfriend, Dermot, several friends, a responsible job and an adoptive father. So all people who loved her.
What happens after she meets her birth mother, Marlene, simply spirals out of control until it becomes utterly mad.
I didn't believe in any of the characters. I didn't like any of the characters. I thought the plot premise was great until I realised that the character of Marlene was so psychotic that you'd have to be numb not to notice it at first glance.
Anna's character is equally irritating. She's an intelligent woman but her rush headlong into Marlene's world is just so unbelievable. She doesn't listen to anyone (including her own inner voice) when she's told that Marlene is crazy.
In conclusion if Abigail Burdess had made the inclusion of Anna into her mother's life a little slower and Marlene's eccentricity a little more insidious I would have enjoyed it. She might as well have had Anna driving down a road peppered with billboards pointing out the patently obvious as she drove over every one.
November 20, 2022
A twisty thriller that starts well and descends into page turning madness, the kind of psychological thriller you read through squinty eyes wondering what the actual heck will happen next.
The characters are brilliantly imagined, especially the ones who should be locked up, either because of madness or stupidity. It is engaging and randomly clever I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.
Prepare to meet a mother like no other.
The characters are brilliantly imagined, especially the ones who should be locked up, either because of madness or stupidity. It is engaging and randomly clever I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.
Prepare to meet a mother like no other.
December 29, 2022
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This book was an interesting read and definitely a lot different to what I was expecting as I was not expecting it to focus so heavily on Anna's pregnancy. There are a lot of heavy topics in this book so definitely check out content warnings (I have included them below) before thinking about reading this book. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking that it was not a thriller, it was more of a contemporary tale - there were definitely moments where it felt like it was a play or theatre performance as it just seemed like Anna was living through a nightmare.
Within the last 20%, it felt like it was a mad craze where everything seemed to be happening all at once which I think was just too much. There were definitely scenarios in this book that could have been taken out and it would have still packed just as much of a punch. A lot of things felt like they were just added in for the shock factor.
The chapters at the end are very short. It jumps to multiple narratives which feels like it is trying to tie up lose ends very fast and not in a way that makes total sense. There feels like there is quite a few plot holes as things have been left to be ambiguous or have not been concluded. It is weird how there is a wrap up at the end of what some of the characters are doing a year later but it does not include all of the characters, which I think would have answered some questions I still had left.
I did not feel like there any twists within this book as it felt kind of predictable in terms of what was going to happen - from the start, it was only going to end one way or another. However, I did enjoy this book and I struggled to put the book down as I wanted to see what dark route this book was going to take. This book does contain representation for Jewish characters (Nicholas; Sarah; Anna; baby Sarah), deaf characters (Charmaine and her father) and bisexual characters (Neil and Dermot).
⚠️ Content warnings: blood, pregnancy, sexual situations, vomiting, alcohol and drug use, profanity, derogatory language, fertility issues, mentions terrorists, torture and organised violence, survivor's guilt, slavery, scars, child soldier, cancer, post-natal depression, miscarriage and suicide, physical assault, adoption, fatphobia, death, murder, vehicle accident, sexual harassment, mental health illness (PTSD; antidepressants; antipsychotics; dissociation), cycling accident, cheating, intrusive thoughts, intoxication, masturbation, rape (also attempted and resulting in pregnancy), underage pregnancy, self harm, alcoholism, car crash, passive bystander to sexual harassment, indecent exposure, sexual violence, imprisonment, fat shaming, domestic abuse, drugging, racism and sexism ⚠️
Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher Headline, Wildfire for the opportunity to read this book!
I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (2nd March 2023). This book will be available to purchase as an hardback for £16.99, audiobook for £19.24 or an e-book for £7.99.
This book was an interesting read and definitely a lot different to what I was expecting as I was not expecting it to focus so heavily on Anna's pregnancy. There are a lot of heavy topics in this book so definitely check out content warnings (I have included them below) before thinking about reading this book. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking that it was not a thriller, it was more of a contemporary tale - there were definitely moments where it felt like it was a play or theatre performance as it just seemed like Anna was living through a nightmare.
Within the last 20%, it felt like it was a mad craze where everything seemed to be happening all at once which I think was just too much. There were definitely scenarios in this book that could have been taken out and it would have still packed just as much of a punch. A lot of things felt like they were just added in for the shock factor.
The chapters at the end are very short. It jumps to multiple narratives which feels like it is trying to tie up lose ends very fast and not in a way that makes total sense. There feels like there is quite a few plot holes as things have been left to be ambiguous or have not been concluded. It is weird how there is a wrap up at the end of what some of the characters are doing a year later but it does not include all of the characters, which I think would have answered some questions I still had left.
I did not feel like there any twists within this book as it felt kind of predictable in terms of what was going to happen - from the start, it was only going to end one way or another. However, I did enjoy this book and I struggled to put the book down as I wanted to see what dark route this book was going to take. This book does contain representation for Jewish characters (Nicholas; Sarah; Anna; baby Sarah), deaf characters (Charmaine and her father) and bisexual characters (Neil and Dermot).
⚠️ Content warnings: blood, pregnancy, sexual situations, vomiting, alcohol and drug use, profanity, derogatory language, fertility issues, mentions terrorists, torture and organised violence, survivor's guilt, slavery, scars, child soldier, cancer, post-natal depression, miscarriage and suicide, physical assault, adoption, fatphobia, death, murder, vehicle accident, sexual harassment, mental health illness (PTSD; antidepressants; antipsychotics; dissociation), cycling accident, cheating, intrusive thoughts, intoxication, masturbation, rape (also attempted and resulting in pregnancy), underage pregnancy, self harm, alcoholism, car crash, passive bystander to sexual harassment, indecent exposure, sexual violence, imprisonment, fat shaming, domestic abuse, drugging, racism and sexism ⚠️
Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher Headline, Wildfire for the opportunity to read this book!
I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (2nd March 2023). This book will be available to purchase as an hardback for £16.99, audiobook for £19.24 or an e-book for £7.99.
March 16, 2023
I was super intrigued by the premise of this book. However, I did wonder if it was really for me.
I can kind of see where the author was going in terms of it being a thriller, but I felt it was a tad more contemporary. I also felt it was very long-winded, but then the last 20% or so, it was like someone pressed fast forward, and everything seemed to happen at once. I think if the twists were added more throughout the story, that would have captured my attention a little bit more.
The story was quite gripping, and despite the slow start, it ended in a page turning craze. I can't really say much more, but please check content warnings as there are quite a few throughout this book.
I can kind of see where the author was going in terms of it being a thriller, but I felt it was a tad more contemporary. I also felt it was very long-winded, but then the last 20% or so, it was like someone pressed fast forward, and everything seemed to happen at once. I think if the twists were added more throughout the story, that would have captured my attention a little bit more.
The story was quite gripping, and despite the slow start, it ended in a page turning craze. I can't really say much more, but please check content warnings as there are quite a few throughout this book.
March 8, 2023
This book is bound to keep you up late as your head spins while this story unfolds. There are so many twists and turns you won’t know what to expect next. The author looks at the need for an adopted child to find her biological parents. But to spice up this emotional story she gives her character a mother she never would have expected.
This book is a busy read with a lot happening. There are various relationships, and they are all complex. At times you find yourself wondering what is happening, but keep reading, the different pieces of this story all fall into place and each character plays an important role. The author created a complex story with characters that will keep you guessing.
Anna knows she was adopted. She loved her adopted mother and losing her left a big hole in Anna’s life. She believes that because she does not know where she comes from, she cannot be a mother herself. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she is consumed with fear. This drives her to find her biological parents. However, when she meets Marlene, she discovers that her mother is not what she expected. This eccentric woman is difficult to understand and Anna tries her best to make her mother love her. But some mothers are simply never satisfied, and that is certainly true of Marlene.
This book had my head spinning. The characters were all a little whacky and I found myself curious to see what was going to happen next. This book sure was full of surprises.
Marlene was a work of art! I find myself asking how on earth the author thought up this woman. I sure hope she does not know anyone on who she based this character. This woman is all over the place and you never know what she will do next. I have to say, can someone please find her some help – she needs it. The creativity in designing this woman is remarkable. I cannot wait to see the next characters this author sends our way – because I doubt anyone can beat Marlene.
If you are keen on a twisty thriller with an emotional touch, then you will not go wrong reaching for this book. Be warned, this one will leave your head spinning while you race from page to page eager for all the pieces to fall into place.
https://featzreviews.com/mothers-day-...
This book is a busy read with a lot happening. There are various relationships, and they are all complex. At times you find yourself wondering what is happening, but keep reading, the different pieces of this story all fall into place and each character plays an important role. The author created a complex story with characters that will keep you guessing.
Anna knows she was adopted. She loved her adopted mother and losing her left a big hole in Anna’s life. She believes that because she does not know where she comes from, she cannot be a mother herself. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she is consumed with fear. This drives her to find her biological parents. However, when she meets Marlene, she discovers that her mother is not what she expected. This eccentric woman is difficult to understand and Anna tries her best to make her mother love her. But some mothers are simply never satisfied, and that is certainly true of Marlene.
This book had my head spinning. The characters were all a little whacky and I found myself curious to see what was going to happen next. This book sure was full of surprises.
Marlene was a work of art! I find myself asking how on earth the author thought up this woman. I sure hope she does not know anyone on who she based this character. This woman is all over the place and you never know what she will do next. I have to say, can someone please find her some help – she needs it. The creativity in designing this woman is remarkable. I cannot wait to see the next characters this author sends our way – because I doubt anyone can beat Marlene.
If you are keen on a twisty thriller with an emotional touch, then you will not go wrong reaching for this book. Be warned, this one will leave your head spinning while you race from page to page eager for all the pieces to fall into place.
https://featzreviews.com/mothers-day-...
March 21, 2023
Writing didn't flow, nor grab me. DNF.
February 28, 2024
I’m not sure if I have any idea what happened, except that it was extremely disturbing, gory, explicit, and felt like some kind of gruesome decent into madness.
This is not what I’d call a dark comedy, and definitely needs trigger warnings.
That said, it was oddly compelling and I didn’t hate it.
This is not what I’d call a dark comedy, and definitely needs trigger warnings.
That said, it was oddly compelling and I didn’t hate it.
February 27, 2026
I picked this up from a local bookstore, as a blind date with a book. It's the best blind date book I have ever received! Very funny, and I love Anna.
January 31, 2023
A domestic thriller that I won't be forgetting anytime soon.
Mother's Day follows Anna, a thirty-something temp worker navigating her past as an adoptee, her complex relationships and her pressing future as a new mother - all while getting to know the mother who abandoned her as a baby.
I found this a very slick, fast-paced and well-written book that I read late into the night; while some may think this reads too much as a screenwriter's script, I personally found Burdess's writing style helped bring the vividly gruesome and dark elements to life. There was a surreal tone to the entire novel, starting subtly before descending to pure pandemonium at the end. It may be a domestic thriller, but there's nothing domestic about the story and the skill that Burdess brings to the table.
I found certain plot points a bit less engaging than others, and found the ending a bit too abruptly neat. Otherwise, this is a solid 4.5 and I'll definitely be eyeing up the rest of this author's repertoire.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!
Mother's Day follows Anna, a thirty-something temp worker navigating her past as an adoptee, her complex relationships and her pressing future as a new mother - all while getting to know the mother who abandoned her as a baby.
I found this a very slick, fast-paced and well-written book that I read late into the night; while some may think this reads too much as a screenwriter's script, I personally found Burdess's writing style helped bring the vividly gruesome and dark elements to life. There was a surreal tone to the entire novel, starting subtly before descending to pure pandemonium at the end. It may be a domestic thriller, but there's nothing domestic about the story and the skill that Burdess brings to the table.
I found certain plot points a bit less engaging than others, and found the ending a bit too abruptly neat. Otherwise, this is a solid 4.5 and I'll definitely be eyeing up the rest of this author's repertoire.
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!
February 17, 2023
From the premise, I really wanted to read this book. However I feel somewhat disappointed by it. Maybe it’s me and I just didn’t get it but I found it to be disjointed with characters I just couldn’t get behind. For me the whole reading process was tedious so unable to rate this more than one star. Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and the author for the chance to review.
December 23, 2022
This is a bizarre and crazy psychological thriller, which is about a woman called Anna, who gets pregnant and then sets out to find her birth Mum. Once she does so, things get very weird. The book is mainly focused on the characters and their mindsets.
The book was enjoyable, but I found it a bit confusing, and maybe it was a bit too crazy, even for me.
The narrator of the book is the author, and she done a fantastic job at narrating her own book.
If you love crazy, twisty, quirky, dark tales, then you will love this book!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
The book was enjoyable, but I found it a bit confusing, and maybe it was a bit too crazy, even for me.
The narrator of the book is the author, and she done a fantastic job at narrating her own book.
If you love crazy, twisty, quirky, dark tales, then you will love this book!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
January 19, 2023
"Yes, she was afraid of her. But something more powerful than fear kept her in thrall. She still wanted her mother to love her."
Anna, who lost her loving adoptive mother in highly traumatic circumstances as a young child, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in her thirties and simultaneously reconnects with both her birth mother, the appalling, dangerously narcissistic Marlene, and vulnerable half-sister Hebe. (Marlene abandoned baby Anna in a handbag - something which adult Anna never seems to hold against her.)
An unplanned pregnancy throws a spanner into Anna's already fairly chaotic life. Enormous musician/barman boyfriend Dermot is well-meaning but useless, descending further into alcoholism, Anna's job at a charity supporting refugees is neither secure nor well-paid, and her adoptive father is caring but not particularly helpful.
Marlene, wealthy, influential and delighted to meet her long lost daughter, seems like a bit of a godsend. Well, actually, she doesn't, she seems like deranged trouble from the start, but Anna is perhaps understandably keen to make the relationship work. Things get very weird very quickly.
I really wasn't sure about this at first - the beginning is shockingly disturbing and the characters are mainly fairly weird. Marlene is a monster, "so disappointed by reality, she simply denied its existence", forcing it to bend to her will by any means necessary.
However, once I got used to how totally mad everything was, it became a gripping read. Be warned, though, this story is graphically, viscerally unpleasant at times. I do think some of the content is just there for shock value and to live up to the "dark" label - at which it succeeds.
Anna is frustratingly passive for much of the story - a violent mugging ends with her apologising to and helping the mugger - although it's possible to understand her, given the trauma she suffered as a child. She's more complex than most people around her probably give her credit for, and it seems there's only one person who actually understands her. Her work with refugees who have survived war and torture provides a telling backdrop to the story.
Marlene is a total nightmare, and how she's managed to make it to her late fifties without ever being apprehended for any of the awful things she's strongly implied to have done is anybody's guess. It's no coincidence that her real first name is Lilith, a demonic female figure in Jewish mythology (and a threat to children). She also has something to do with owls, which is a motif in the story. Other names seem significant, too - Hebe is a handmaiden to her mother, Rampion (Anna's surname) is associated with Rapunzel, a princess held captive. Tristan is from the French for "sad", which seems appropriate.
Although it's clear things are going to escalate dangerously, putting Anna and her baby at risk, there are a few surprises along the way - looking at you, Dermot - and I didn't guess how certain plot strands were going to turn out. I'm still not completely sure what happened at the end, though, or what I'm meant to have concluded about the handbags and the priest's hole, etc. Perhaps I need to read that part again.
Ultimately this was a great, if over the top and not for the faint hearted, read about motherhood, belonging, the effects of trauma, mental disorder and, indeed, a mother like no other. Thankfully.
Anna, who lost her loving adoptive mother in highly traumatic circumstances as a young child, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in her thirties and simultaneously reconnects with both her birth mother, the appalling, dangerously narcissistic Marlene, and vulnerable half-sister Hebe. (Marlene abandoned baby Anna in a handbag - something which adult Anna never seems to hold against her.)
An unplanned pregnancy throws a spanner into Anna's already fairly chaotic life. Enormous musician/barman boyfriend Dermot is well-meaning but useless, descending further into alcoholism, Anna's job at a charity supporting refugees is neither secure nor well-paid, and her adoptive father is caring but not particularly helpful.
Marlene, wealthy, influential and delighted to meet her long lost daughter, seems like a bit of a godsend. Well, actually, she doesn't, she seems like deranged trouble from the start, but Anna is perhaps understandably keen to make the relationship work. Things get very weird very quickly.
I really wasn't sure about this at first - the beginning is shockingly disturbing and the characters are mainly fairly weird. Marlene is a monster, "so disappointed by reality, she simply denied its existence", forcing it to bend to her will by any means necessary.
However, once I got used to how totally mad everything was, it became a gripping read. Be warned, though, this story is graphically, viscerally unpleasant at times. I do think some of the content is just there for shock value and to live up to the "dark" label - at which it succeeds.
Anna is frustratingly passive for much of the story - a violent mugging ends with her apologising to and helping the mugger - although it's possible to understand her, given the trauma she suffered as a child. She's more complex than most people around her probably give her credit for, and it seems there's only one person who actually understands her. Her work with refugees who have survived war and torture provides a telling backdrop to the story.
Marlene is a total nightmare, and how she's managed to make it to her late fifties without ever being apprehended for any of the awful things she's strongly implied to have done is anybody's guess. It's no coincidence that her real first name is Lilith, a demonic female figure in Jewish mythology (and a threat to children). She also has something to do with owls, which is a motif in the story. Other names seem significant, too - Hebe is a handmaiden to her mother, Rampion (Anna's surname) is associated with Rapunzel, a princess held captive. Tristan is from the French for "sad", which seems appropriate.
Although it's clear things are going to escalate dangerously, putting Anna and her baby at risk, there are a few surprises along the way - looking at you, Dermot - and I didn't guess how certain plot strands were going to turn out. I'm still not completely sure what happened at the end, though, or what I'm meant to have concluded about the handbags and the priest's hole, etc. Perhaps I need to read that part again.
Ultimately this was a great, if over the top and not for the faint hearted, read about motherhood, belonging, the effects of trauma, mental disorder and, indeed, a mother like no other. Thankfully.
February 9, 2023
Mother’s Day
At the age of 35, Anna Rampion is pregnant. She’s not quite sure how it happened as, after all, she and her partner, Dermot , use contraception but it is his? There was that late night fumble at a party with Neil, Dermot’s friend and bandmate….
They live pretty well hand to mouth. Anna is a temp in a hospital and he’s a musician waiting to hit the big time. But now Anna’s pregnant and considering a termination, she starts thinking about her real mother. She was adopted after being found at 9 weeks old in an orange handbag on a traffic roundabout and she remembers her adoptive mother, Sarah, with affection and love. However, Sarah was run over by a lorry while carrying Anna home on a sledge. Anna was then left with her father, Nick or Nicholas, who has slid into quirks and foibles.
But then in the pub one evening with Neil and Dermot, by complete surprise, Anna finds a secret compartment in the orange handbag which contains a dog eared and faded school report in the name of Marlene Mather. Is this Anna’s real mother? She immediately goes onto social media to search for women with that name and has a reply. This is from a Hebe who purports to be her sister and says that she can put Anna in contact with the mysterious Marlene.
Suddenly Anna has a new family; not just her real, long lost Mum but brothers, sisters, (even if Hebe is a little strange), Marlene’s French boyfriend, Tristan and Hebe’s cat. And how Marlene’s eyes light up when she discovers that Anna’s pregnant. But Marlene is looking forward to much more than becoming a grandmother……
This was a really hard read and maybe it was because I have recently read a book which features one of the main plot elements. This was a thriller and was written in a sensitive, poignant way which, although the scene was gruesome in the extreme, it did not feel gratuitous. The narrative of Mother’s Day felt very disjointed and I wondered if it would have worked better as a screenplay due to the myriad scene changes. None of the characters really gelled with me as they didn’t seem believeable and I found that I didn’t really care about them. I know the book is billed as darkly comic but it seemed to be eccentricity for eccentricity’s sake.
At times it seemed to verge on farce with a fair amount of coincidence – Anna apparently has been carrying the bag that she was found in for most of her life and only now does she find the school report in her birth mother’s name. Why would you be carrying around a bag with that association and wouldn’t it be a little tatty by now? However, the epilogue was good although it did have the feel of tying up loose ends conveniently.
It was the book’s cover that attracted me and it made me think that the book EAwas a thriller but it was something else entirely. I love dark comedy but this wasn’t dark enough.
However, there were some interesting themes in the book; motherhood and how society almost fetishises it, is your real family the people who gave birth to you or the ones that chose you?, and unrealised dreams put aside to enable someone else to achieve theirs. For example, Dermot’s talent eclipsed Anna’s dreams of becoming a doctor.
So I have to say that ‘Mother’s Day’ wasn’t really for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
At the age of 35, Anna Rampion is pregnant. She’s not quite sure how it happened as, after all, she and her partner, Dermot , use contraception but it is his? There was that late night fumble at a party with Neil, Dermot’s friend and bandmate….
They live pretty well hand to mouth. Anna is a temp in a hospital and he’s a musician waiting to hit the big time. But now Anna’s pregnant and considering a termination, she starts thinking about her real mother. She was adopted after being found at 9 weeks old in an orange handbag on a traffic roundabout and she remembers her adoptive mother, Sarah, with affection and love. However, Sarah was run over by a lorry while carrying Anna home on a sledge. Anna was then left with her father, Nick or Nicholas, who has slid into quirks and foibles.
But then in the pub one evening with Neil and Dermot, by complete surprise, Anna finds a secret compartment in the orange handbag which contains a dog eared and faded school report in the name of Marlene Mather. Is this Anna’s real mother? She immediately goes onto social media to search for women with that name and has a reply. This is from a Hebe who purports to be her sister and says that she can put Anna in contact with the mysterious Marlene.
Suddenly Anna has a new family; not just her real, long lost Mum but brothers, sisters, (even if Hebe is a little strange), Marlene’s French boyfriend, Tristan and Hebe’s cat. And how Marlene’s eyes light up when she discovers that Anna’s pregnant. But Marlene is looking forward to much more than becoming a grandmother……
This was a really hard read and maybe it was because I have recently read a book which features one of the main plot elements. This was a thriller and was written in a sensitive, poignant way which, although the scene was gruesome in the extreme, it did not feel gratuitous. The narrative of Mother’s Day felt very disjointed and I wondered if it would have worked better as a screenplay due to the myriad scene changes. None of the characters really gelled with me as they didn’t seem believeable and I found that I didn’t really care about them. I know the book is billed as darkly comic but it seemed to be eccentricity for eccentricity’s sake.
At times it seemed to verge on farce with a fair amount of coincidence – Anna apparently has been carrying the bag that she was found in for most of her life and only now does she find the school report in her birth mother’s name. Why would you be carrying around a bag with that association and wouldn’t it be a little tatty by now? However, the epilogue was good although it did have the feel of tying up loose ends conveniently.
It was the book’s cover that attracted me and it made me think that the book EAwas a thriller but it was something else entirely. I love dark comedy but this wasn’t dark enough.
However, there were some interesting themes in the book; motherhood and how society almost fetishises it, is your real family the people who gave birth to you or the ones that chose you?, and unrealised dreams put aside to enable someone else to achieve theirs. For example, Dermot’s talent eclipsed Anna’s dreams of becoming a doctor.
So I have to say that ‘Mother’s Day’ wasn’t really for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.
March 13, 2023
Thank you to @headlinebooks for this advanced audio copy of Mother’s Day by @abbie_burdess in return for an honest review.
Description 🔖
The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family.
But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes – because the same day, she learns she’s going to be a mother too.
Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna’s living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else’s?
Now she will have to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for a real family – her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.
General Thoughts 🤔
This book was up and down for me. when I picked it up, I was expecting something dark and sinister that would have the hairs on the back of my neck raised and shivers running down my spine. Instead, I was finding sections quite funny and I was becoming endeared with some of the characters.
The latter part of the book was when the darkness started to kick in, but because I had been thrown off track already, it felt a bit jarring and out of place. On reflection, this wasn’t such a big deal as it felt at the time and I actually think it was quite an interesting way to develop and move along the story and the characters.
Characters 👫👭👬
There were some big characters in this book and I had feelings about a lot of them. I won’t go into too much detail, because I don’t want to give spoilers. Anna was so sweet and so likeable but she was horribly naieve. I instantly felt like I was her friend and I wanted the very best for her. Considering all that she had been through in her life and what she went through once meeting her birth mother, I don’t know how the woman was still standing.
Marlene was out there but I feel like we all know or have met someone just like her. She was very opinionated and very outgoing to the point where her company would be aggravating but the way in which she kept people around her was with her generosity. She was the type of person to grind someone down so much that they have no option but to remain in her life whilst all the time, wearing a smile.
Writing Style ✍️
The style and tone of this book was what surprised me the most. As I mentioned, I was expecting chilling but I actually got dark humour with some tense drama to round it all off. I actually really liked this and thought that it made the plot more interesting as well as more believable. Not all bad people are wholly bad and not all good people are wholly good and I think that the author captured that through these characters really well.
I listened to the audiobook of Mother’s Day and the narration was great. I was kept engaged and the characters were definitely brought to life as opposed to just being read to me.
Conclusion & Scoring 🎖
Although this book ended up being something a bit different from what I was expecting, I still enjoyed it. The plot was interesting although it was also a bit wild to the point where I questioned if it was believable. Even so, I was entertained and I became invested in what was to become of these characters. If you’re looking for an audiobook to keep you occupied and you don’t mind some dark humour with a touch of thriller, then I would recommend that you give this a go.
Description 🔖
The last thing Anna needs is a baby. Abandoned, adopted and living hand to mouth, she never dreamt of having a real family.
But when she meets her birth mother, everything changes – because the same day, she learns she’s going to be a mother too.
Marlene is eccentric, generous with her considerable fortune and overjoyed to become a grandmother. Anna’s living the dream. But is it her dream, or someone else’s?
Now she will have to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for a real family – her future, her freedom, even her unborn child.
General Thoughts 🤔
This book was up and down for me. when I picked it up, I was expecting something dark and sinister that would have the hairs on the back of my neck raised and shivers running down my spine. Instead, I was finding sections quite funny and I was becoming endeared with some of the characters.
The latter part of the book was when the darkness started to kick in, but because I had been thrown off track already, it felt a bit jarring and out of place. On reflection, this wasn’t such a big deal as it felt at the time and I actually think it was quite an interesting way to develop and move along the story and the characters.
Characters 👫👭👬
There were some big characters in this book and I had feelings about a lot of them. I won’t go into too much detail, because I don’t want to give spoilers. Anna was so sweet and so likeable but she was horribly naieve. I instantly felt like I was her friend and I wanted the very best for her. Considering all that she had been through in her life and what she went through once meeting her birth mother, I don’t know how the woman was still standing.
Marlene was out there but I feel like we all know or have met someone just like her. She was very opinionated and very outgoing to the point where her company would be aggravating but the way in which she kept people around her was with her generosity. She was the type of person to grind someone down so much that they have no option but to remain in her life whilst all the time, wearing a smile.
Writing Style ✍️
The style and tone of this book was what surprised me the most. As I mentioned, I was expecting chilling but I actually got dark humour with some tense drama to round it all off. I actually really liked this and thought that it made the plot more interesting as well as more believable. Not all bad people are wholly bad and not all good people are wholly good and I think that the author captured that through these characters really well.
I listened to the audiobook of Mother’s Day and the narration was great. I was kept engaged and the characters were definitely brought to life as opposed to just being read to me.
Conclusion & Scoring 🎖
Although this book ended up being something a bit different from what I was expecting, I still enjoyed it. The plot was interesting although it was also a bit wild to the point where I questioned if it was believable. Even so, I was entertained and I became invested in what was to become of these characters. If you’re looking for an audiobook to keep you occupied and you don’t mind some dark humour with a touch of thriller, then I would recommend that you give this a go.
January 18, 2023
Mother's Day had the most original premise I've read in a while - abandoned baby grows up to find that she's pregnant herself, finally meets her birth mother, who wants to make up for the thirty five years they missed out on, but there's an undercurrent of darkness in their burgeoning relationship....domestic thrillers are my favourite, and this one sounded right up my alley.
Had this been a little more restrained, I would have loved it - it's inarguably well written, the dark family drama element is there from the beginning, and I related to the central protagonist, Anna, who seemed fairly likeable. But once it got going, it spiralled into full blown crazy pretty quickly, and left me questioning every single character's choices and behaviours. Would anyone really have tolerated Marlene for so long, even before it gets so ludicrously out of control that I had to suspend every ounce of disbelief in my body? I hope not. And Anna's response to her mugging had me completely frustrated. There are also several instances where it seems that part of the story may have been overly edited because we just skip onto the next bit before something is resolved, or something changes but we don't know why - for instance, Samyra, the mugger, suddenly becomes "Sammy" to Anna, despite the two of them having no relationship whatsoever.
I actually think this one will be like Marmite. Some people will revel in the absolutely demented twists the plot takes later on, and others, like me, will think it too much. I find my villains much scarier when they are calculating, cruel but understated; Marlene was too much of a caricature for me to take seriously.
Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for granting me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Had this been a little more restrained, I would have loved it - it's inarguably well written, the dark family drama element is there from the beginning, and I related to the central protagonist, Anna, who seemed fairly likeable. But once it got going, it spiralled into full blown crazy pretty quickly, and left me questioning every single character's choices and behaviours. Would anyone really have tolerated Marlene for so long, even before it gets so ludicrously out of control that I had to suspend every ounce of disbelief in my body? I hope not. And Anna's response to her mugging had me completely frustrated. There are also several instances where it seems that part of the story may have been overly edited because we just skip onto the next bit before something is resolved, or something changes but we don't know why - for instance, Samyra, the mugger, suddenly becomes "Sammy" to Anna, despite the two of them having no relationship whatsoever.
I actually think this one will be like Marmite. Some people will revel in the absolutely demented twists the plot takes later on, and others, like me, will think it too much. I find my villains much scarier when they are calculating, cruel but understated; Marlene was too much of a caricature for me to take seriously.
Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for granting me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 14, 2023
Pregnancy and motherhood is at the very heart of ‘Mother’s Day’; what it means to be a mother, to have lost a mother, whether to become a parent or not, some fundamental questions, The book is even divided into sections and chapters named after the stages of pregnancy, conception, first trimester etc. But before that, the prologue has some graphic scenes where a baby is born and buried alive -horrific and brutal to read about and it sets the tone for what’s in store.
Anna, our main character, is adopted – sadly her adoptive mother died when Anna was young, leaving her to be raised by an emotionally unavailable father. She’s learnt to bury her feelings deep down over the years and surrounds herself by people who do the same, but when she finds herself pregnant, she has to face the facts. She doesn’t want the baby, is convinced in fact that she shouldn’t be a mother, but when she’s pregnant, decides she wants to try and find her birth family. Marlene, her birth mother, is so welcoming to start with, as are Anna’s stepbrother and sister but slowly she morphs into a much more narcissistic person, laying claim to aspects of Anna’s life as the two of them begin to build the relationship they never had.
Mother’s Day is unlike any book I think I’ve read before, the characters weren’t always the most comfortable or conventional to read about, which made for some unsettling moments but I was keen to find out where the story would take us and where Anna in particular would end up.
Anna, our main character, is adopted – sadly her adoptive mother died when Anna was young, leaving her to be raised by an emotionally unavailable father. She’s learnt to bury her feelings deep down over the years and surrounds herself by people who do the same, but when she finds herself pregnant, she has to face the facts. She doesn’t want the baby, is convinced in fact that she shouldn’t be a mother, but when she’s pregnant, decides she wants to try and find her birth family. Marlene, her birth mother, is so welcoming to start with, as are Anna’s stepbrother and sister but slowly she morphs into a much more narcissistic person, laying claim to aspects of Anna’s life as the two of them begin to build the relationship they never had.
Mother’s Day is unlike any book I think I’ve read before, the characters weren’t always the most comfortable or conventional to read about, which made for some unsettling moments but I was keen to find out where the story would take us and where Anna in particular would end up.
March 25, 2023
to begin ... we have a snippet which reads as from a science book, telling us how a baby is conceived ... and then we are introduced to Anna, who it's pretty obvious is going to be the one to have a baby. Anna, who was adopted - who we are told was left in a big orange handbag on a roundabout. Anna who decides she wants to find her mum and at a frankly unbelievable speed, ie what seems like two seconds later finds her mum, sister, step-brother. And what a family she has found .. Hebe, her sister, who seems to struggle to know what is reality and what is not, Anna's mum, Marlene (call me Ma - whether you're my child or not) is a little odd at the outset and gets increasingly odder, and a serious threat to Anna.
As the book progresses we get updates - at this many weeks the baby is ... and alongside a narrative of what is happening in Anna's life as it increasingly spirals out of control. It's hard to say more without revealing too much of the story. What I can say though is that there were definitely elements of this book which I made for a compelling read - I definitely did want to read on to find out what happened in the end - but at the same time there was a definite feeling that it was a bit too far-fetched for me to fully invest, hence just the 4*
As the book progresses we get updates - at this many weeks the baby is ... and alongside a narrative of what is happening in Anna's life as it increasingly spirals out of control. It's hard to say more without revealing too much of the story. What I can say though is that there were definitely elements of this book which I made for a compelling read - I definitely did want to read on to find out what happened in the end - but at the same time there was a definite feeling that it was a bit too far-fetched for me to fully invest, hence just the 4*
May 25, 2023
Where to start with this one? I suppose the beginning is as good a place as any. The synopsis sounded good, very Mommy Dearest, so I had high expectations that this would be a cracking story about a crackpot mother.
It starts off well enough, I liked Anna's character and the author fleshes her out nicely with a fairly good back story. Dermot and Neil are pretty essential to the plot, as we find out later on, but Hebe's character could have been developed properly. As she wasn't she felt somewhat surplas to requirements and, consequently, neither added nor detracted from the overall storyline.
The plot moves along at a good pace and I enjoyed it until the three quarter mark when it became obvious I was watching a two-bit horror film and not reading a psychological thriller as first thought. It descended into utter gore-fest, unbelievable madness, as if the author suddenly had a Jekyll and Hyde moment and switched from interesting thriller to silly B-movie horror mode. I mean, the scene with the umbilical cord - really? I skim read until the end but it left me feeling uneasy and unsettled and not in a good way. Marlene is so psychotic to the point of parody and had she been real her insanity would have been noticed, felt and reported long before she got the chance to unleash hell on her daughters.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Wildfire for the ARC.
It starts off well enough, I liked Anna's character and the author fleshes her out nicely with a fairly good back story. Dermot and Neil are pretty essential to the plot, as we find out later on, but Hebe's character could have been developed properly. As she wasn't she felt somewhat surplas to requirements and, consequently, neither added nor detracted from the overall storyline.
The plot moves along at a good pace and I enjoyed it until the three quarter mark when it became obvious I was watching a two-bit horror film and not reading a psychological thriller as first thought. It descended into utter gore-fest, unbelievable madness, as if the author suddenly had a Jekyll and Hyde moment and switched from interesting thriller to silly B-movie horror mode. I mean, the scene with the umbilical cord - really? I skim read until the end but it left me feeling uneasy and unsettled and not in a good way. Marlene is so psychotic to the point of parody and had she been real her insanity would have been noticed, felt and reported long before she got the chance to unleash hell on her daughters.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Wildfire for the ARC.
January 30, 2023
Thank you Netgalley and Wildfire for giving me the chance to read Mother's Day. Despite the compelling, witty and intimate style of the writing, this wasn't a book for my taste. I was happy to enter Anna's hectic, messy world with Dermot and her colleague/potty-mouthed friend Layla, and to feel as concerned and confused as Anna was about whether or not she was pregnant, but once 'Ma' entered the picture, I just couldn't suspend my disbelief any more.
I was intrigued to read a book about a mother as an antagonist, but I just couldn't believe anything about Ma/Marlene, and as the story disintegrated into the horror of Anna's enslavement and the gothic misery of the birth of the baby, I just kept skipping pages and got completely disengaged. To me, this book didn't deliver on its 'promise' - or 'premise' - and was a muddle because of the whole business of Anna's pregnancy in the context of the malign, mysterious, and wholly unaccounted for vileness of Marlene. Was Anna the Mother who was going to take the child's life back? Oh no, it was this Marlene person.
Sorry, this doesn't get my vote.
I was intrigued to read a book about a mother as an antagonist, but I just couldn't believe anything about Ma/Marlene, and as the story disintegrated into the horror of Anna's enslavement and the gothic misery of the birth of the baby, I just kept skipping pages and got completely disengaged. To me, this book didn't deliver on its 'promise' - or 'premise' - and was a muddle because of the whole business of Anna's pregnancy in the context of the malign, mysterious, and wholly unaccounted for vileness of Marlene. Was Anna the Mother who was going to take the child's life back? Oh no, it was this Marlene person.
Sorry, this doesn't get my vote.
February 11, 2023
This is a dark psychological thriller which, after a slow start, turns into an over-the-top roller coaster full-on nightmare. The plot appears straightforward at first, when Anna, a psychologist who works with traumatised refugees, finds her long lost birth mother after a chance discovery of a piece of paper at the bottom of an old handbag. Anna’s life appears chaotic, with uncertain career prospects, an alcoholic boyfriend, very little money and an unplanned pregnancy. The reunion with Marlene, her birth mother, and Hebe, her half-sister, seems positive at first and although their behaviour seems a little off and chaotic, Anna welcomes the new relationship and her life appears to take a positive turn. Marlene’s interventions and “support” start resulting in Anna developing a sinister dependency as the pregnancy progresses. Anna realises this fairly late on, with the truth about Marlene’s character becoming evident only towards the end of her pregnancy and as she approaches childbirth. Not a novel to share with pregnant women or new mums!
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
March 18, 2023
This one was certainly an… interesting read. Mother’s Day follows Anna in her search for her biological parents and on her own motherhood journey as she battles with the realities of pregnancy. The novel tackles themes like adoptees, abortion, motherhood and mental health. Unfortunately, it misses the mark for me on a few of these topics - some of the characters seem cartoonish and others entirely irrelevant. The writing style was slightly bizarre and left me confused at times, and never circled back to answer questions I had. The main character herself was very interesting and well-developed, and I feel it’s a shame that the rest of the characters didn’t receive the same treatment. All in all this book was certainly entertaining, however very strange, and I would recommend to anybody looking for a thriller that definitely throws the unexpected at you and keeps you guessing…
You will like this book if you like stories that include:
✅Psychological thrillers
✅Exploration of motherhood
✅Fast pace plots
TW:
❌Demonisation of mental illness
❌Suicide
❌Sexual assault and rape
You will like this book if you like stories that include:
✅Psychological thrillers
✅Exploration of motherhood
✅Fast pace plots
TW:
❌Demonisation of mental illness
❌Suicide
❌Sexual assault and rape
February 21, 2023
This book had a fantastic over all storyline and idea, but putting it all on paper just didn’t feel as good as it could of. The ideas really jumped around and just didn’t flow as I would of hoped they could.
Other than that, the story had me gripped and wondering what on earth could possibly happen next!
It was just one crazy thing after the next and was almost unbelievable how much poor Anna has to go through.
I wish the beginning of the book would of been more fast paced and matched the ending. It almost felt as if I was reading two separate books that got joined together. Once I got about 200 pages in I did not want to put this book down and couldn’t wait to uncover all the secrets (and there were many) the epilogue was great and really summed everything up nicely. I’m glad the author didn’t leave any character out of the epilogue and we got to find out what happened to each one.
I would recommend this book and enjoyed reading it.
Thank you Net Galley for the Arc, this is my unbiased opinion.
Other than that, the story had me gripped and wondering what on earth could possibly happen next!
It was just one crazy thing after the next and was almost unbelievable how much poor Anna has to go through.
I wish the beginning of the book would of been more fast paced and matched the ending. It almost felt as if I was reading two separate books that got joined together. Once I got about 200 pages in I did not want to put this book down and couldn’t wait to uncover all the secrets (and there were many) the epilogue was great and really summed everything up nicely. I’m glad the author didn’t leave any character out of the epilogue and we got to find out what happened to each one.
I would recommend this book and enjoyed reading it.
Thank you Net Galley for the Arc, this is my unbiased opinion.
March 1, 2023
Mothers Day
If you like your psychological drama on the dark side, this is certainly the book for you!
Anna has been deeply affected by her childhood, adopted after being abandoned in a handbag, she lost her adopted mother young and was sent to boarding school. She is now in an unsatisfactory relationship and a job that has never been more than temporary.
She unexpectedly finds herself pregnant and, she tries to deal with this, her stepsister and then her birth mother make contact.
She is initially delighted but it soon becomes apparent that her mother Marlene (Ma) has a rather different agenda. Things soon spin out violently out of control.
Mothers Day is an incredibly pacey, and rather bonkers, book. All the characters are larger than life, the events are at least one step away from reality. Ma is an horrific invention and her enormous house is almost a character of its own. Great fun, best not to think about it too hard as I’m not sure it really makes a lot of sense in places, it is certainly entertaining.
If you like your psychological drama on the dark side, this is certainly the book for you!
Anna has been deeply affected by her childhood, adopted after being abandoned in a handbag, she lost her adopted mother young and was sent to boarding school. She is now in an unsatisfactory relationship and a job that has never been more than temporary.
She unexpectedly finds herself pregnant and, she tries to deal with this, her stepsister and then her birth mother make contact.
She is initially delighted but it soon becomes apparent that her mother Marlene (Ma) has a rather different agenda. Things soon spin out violently out of control.
Mothers Day is an incredibly pacey, and rather bonkers, book. All the characters are larger than life, the events are at least one step away from reality. Ma is an horrific invention and her enormous house is almost a character of its own. Great fun, best not to think about it too hard as I’m not sure it really makes a lot of sense in places, it is certainly entertaining.
March 16, 2023
Mother’s Day is a book that is hard to sum up. At its core it is the story of Anna – abandoned as a baby and having lost her adoptive mother when she was young, she tracks down her birth mother just as she falls pregnant herself. Anna finally has the opportunity to build a relationship with Marlene – but Marlene proves to be mother quite like no other.
What ensues will have your head spinning as the author takes the reader on a rollercoaster of a journey, getting crazier by the page. But somehow it works – Burdess has successfully created a cast of larger than life whacky characters who manage to be thoroughly engaging, and as a reader you never know quite what to expect. At times my jaw hit the floor in horror, at others it had me laughing out loud at its dark humour. But the pace of the book ensured I just wanted to keep reading to find out what on earth happened next and it had me thoroughly entertained.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, go with it and enjoy the ride!
What ensues will have your head spinning as the author takes the reader on a rollercoaster of a journey, getting crazier by the page. But somehow it works – Burdess has successfully created a cast of larger than life whacky characters who manage to be thoroughly engaging, and as a reader you never know quite what to expect. At times my jaw hit the floor in horror, at others it had me laughing out loud at its dark humour. But the pace of the book ensured I just wanted to keep reading to find out what on earth happened next and it had me thoroughly entertained.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, go with it and enjoy the ride!
March 26, 2023
Oh my god!
What did I just read?
#themotherofalltwists is right.
This is super suspenseful and deliciously dark.
Trigger warning - there are scenes of alcohol abuse, as well as a look at mental illness and adoption within the book.
I think Abigail brilliantly highlights the toll that having a baby/being a mother can have on a person and explores avenues that other novels perhaps don't.
Although an addictive read, I did find it quite slow building. Took me a while from when I started to when I finally finished. However I'm glad I stuck with it because the events that occur in the second half of the book left me with my mouth wide open!
Ma was the stand out character for me. Both entertaining and scary all at once. I can say with all honesty that I'm glad she's not my mum.
Prepare to be shocked and at least a little bit terrified when you dive into this debut novel.
What did I just read?
#themotherofalltwists is right.
This is super suspenseful and deliciously dark.
Trigger warning - there are scenes of alcohol abuse, as well as a look at mental illness and adoption within the book.
I think Abigail brilliantly highlights the toll that having a baby/being a mother can have on a person and explores avenues that other novels perhaps don't.
Although an addictive read, I did find it quite slow building. Took me a while from when I started to when I finally finished. However I'm glad I stuck with it because the events that occur in the second half of the book left me with my mouth wide open!
Ma was the stand out character for me. Both entertaining and scary all at once. I can say with all honesty that I'm glad she's not my mum.
Prepare to be shocked and at least a little bit terrified when you dive into this debut novel.
July 30, 2023
Well that was a ride!!
Suspenseful from the get go, this book had me hooked. Anna is a complex woman with a past she is trying to make sense of. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Dermott, is one she is unsure of. Does she deserve more or should she be happy that someone want her? As she struggles to find her own path Anna wants to know where she can from. Meeting her birth mother brings her a whole new family. As Anna comes to grips with this new part of her life she discovers she is pregnant. Does she want this baby? Does she deserve this baby?
The complex questions around what makes a mother a mother abound through this book. Difficult relationships are the crux of the story and as Anna begins to see the real people behind the facade, she begins to question her own relationships with those around her.
Twists and turns run through the plot and it's guaranteed to keep you turning the pages late into the night.
Suspenseful from the get go, this book had me hooked. Anna is a complex woman with a past she is trying to make sense of. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Dermott, is one she is unsure of. Does she deserve more or should she be happy that someone want her? As she struggles to find her own path Anna wants to know where she can from. Meeting her birth mother brings her a whole new family. As Anna comes to grips with this new part of her life she discovers she is pregnant. Does she want this baby? Does she deserve this baby?
The complex questions around what makes a mother a mother abound through this book. Difficult relationships are the crux of the story and as Anna begins to see the real people behind the facade, she begins to question her own relationships with those around her.
Twists and turns run through the plot and it's guaranteed to keep you turning the pages late into the night.
March 17, 2023
Get to the top of the list! This was totally bonkers and I loved it! It’s not even trying to be anything else (I hope I haven’t got that wrong). I’ve read a couple of reviews that said it rapidly spins out of control until it becomes utterly batshit crazy (latter are my words not theirs). I think that’s the whole point of the dark humour. To me it was perfect.
I read it in one sitting while I was off sick and my husband was at work, but I’d probably have taken the day off to finish it if I wasn’t (only joking work peeps).
Anna is so desperate to have a relationship with her ghastly mother Marlene, who left her in an orange handbag (yes a HAAANDBAAG – we get it) on a roundabout, that she is easily drawn into the madness that is Ma’s family. Ma wasn’t hard to find in the end and their ‘reunion’ just happens to coincide with Anna’s discovery that she’s pregnant.
Dermot is Anna’s boyfriend. Six foot five inches tall, Irish and scruffy, he’s a talented musician. Unfortunately he’s also an alcoholic. And I found him a bit dim (or maybe just too drunk to realise what’s going on). When Anna is in trouble he doesn’t rush to her aid. I wanted to scream at him. But he’s happy. Ma is stinking rich and some of it might just rub off.
Neil is Dermot’s fellow band musician. He is far too handsome for his own good and he has a bit of a thing for Anna. She knows it but doesn’t acknowledge the fact.
Marlene initially is all welcoming and generous with her fortune, but does she have her own agenda? Of course she does and Anna’s baby is central to it. But how accepting can Anna be about her mother’s plans for her?
Some readers may find some of the book quite shocking – her friend Layla’s cussing, graphic descriptions of rape and torture in war zones, intimate close ups of personal body parts (no pictures thank goodness), blood, gore and flying placentas – but don’t be put off. Keep an open mind – at times my mind was so open I thought my brain would flip out of the window.
It’s undoubtedly bizarre but it is officially now my favourite book of the year.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
I read it in one sitting while I was off sick and my husband was at work, but I’d probably have taken the day off to finish it if I wasn’t (only joking work peeps).
Anna is so desperate to have a relationship with her ghastly mother Marlene, who left her in an orange handbag (yes a HAAANDBAAG – we get it) on a roundabout, that she is easily drawn into the madness that is Ma’s family. Ma wasn’t hard to find in the end and their ‘reunion’ just happens to coincide with Anna’s discovery that she’s pregnant.
Dermot is Anna’s boyfriend. Six foot five inches tall, Irish and scruffy, he’s a talented musician. Unfortunately he’s also an alcoholic. And I found him a bit dim (or maybe just too drunk to realise what’s going on). When Anna is in trouble he doesn’t rush to her aid. I wanted to scream at him. But he’s happy. Ma is stinking rich and some of it might just rub off.
Neil is Dermot’s fellow band musician. He is far too handsome for his own good and he has a bit of a thing for Anna. She knows it but doesn’t acknowledge the fact.
Marlene initially is all welcoming and generous with her fortune, but does she have her own agenda? Of course she does and Anna’s baby is central to it. But how accepting can Anna be about her mother’s plans for her?
Some readers may find some of the book quite shocking – her friend Layla’s cussing, graphic descriptions of rape and torture in war zones, intimate close ups of personal body parts (no pictures thank goodness), blood, gore and flying placentas – but don’t be put off. Keep an open mind – at times my mind was so open I thought my brain would flip out of the window.
It’s undoubtedly bizarre but it is officially now my favourite book of the year.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
March 8, 2023
An unusual plot . Anna, the main character is adopted and her adoptive mother was killed in a traffic accident when she was young. She is in a dead end relationship and in a dead end job when she reconnects with her birth mother, sister and half brother. She also finds out that she is pregnant.
The relationship with her mother develops and then takes strange and unexpected turns as Anna's pregnancy develops.
The action picks up in the last simester of her pregnancy, perhaps pushing the bounds of reality and normal behaviour at times .Certainly an interesting read, though there are triggers which could upset the faint hearted.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
The relationship with her mother develops and then takes strange and unexpected turns as Anna's pregnancy develops.
The action picks up in the last simester of her pregnancy, perhaps pushing the bounds of reality and normal behaviour at times .Certainly an interesting read, though there are triggers which could upset the faint hearted.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
March 22, 2023
I’m going to preface this by saying I didn’t finish the book but there’s no option to not give a star rating.
This just wasn’t for me. The blurb made it sound like my cup of tea but I really really struggled to get into it. I made it half way through but honestly it felt like such an effort and I wasn’t at all engaged in the story. It felt a little…chaotic perhaps? And maybe that was the point, and I just missed it with this one. But I didn’t feel as though I understood the main characters, or their motivations for how they behaved, and I wasn’t even slightly curious as to how it would turn out.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this, unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.
This just wasn’t for me. The blurb made it sound like my cup of tea but I really really struggled to get into it. I made it half way through but honestly it felt like such an effort and I wasn’t at all engaged in the story. It felt a little…chaotic perhaps? And maybe that was the point, and I just missed it with this one. But I didn’t feel as though I understood the main characters, or their motivations for how they behaved, and I wasn’t even slightly curious as to how it would turn out.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this, unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.
September 12, 2023
I have such mixed reviews about this book - I just don’t know how I felt. I found it all a bit higgelty piggelty and slightly confusing.
The synopsis sounded so good and I thought it was going to be a belter of a read but it just fell quite flat for me.
I didn’t feel like the characters had that much depth to them. Anna is a very troubled character, that was evident from the get-go. She has been abandoned and adopted but when she meets her birth mother, it all changes.
She learns she is pregnant and going to be a mum and everything changes, again. It’s a rollercoaster.
I felt the booked was very jumbled and just jumped about with the characters… I didn’t know if there was a ‘then’ and ‘now’ element - it wasn’t very clear.
I wanted so bad to enjoy this but unfortunately, it’s a no from me and I am gutted!
Thank you to @netgalley and Headline/Wildfire for allowing me access to this ARC.
The synopsis sounded so good and I thought it was going to be a belter of a read but it just fell quite flat for me.
I didn’t feel like the characters had that much depth to them. Anna is a very troubled character, that was evident from the get-go. She has been abandoned and adopted but when she meets her birth mother, it all changes.
She learns she is pregnant and going to be a mum and everything changes, again. It’s a rollercoaster.
I felt the booked was very jumbled and just jumped about with the characters… I didn’t know if there was a ‘then’ and ‘now’ element - it wasn’t very clear.
I wanted so bad to enjoy this but unfortunately, it’s a no from me and I am gutted!
Thank you to @netgalley and Headline/Wildfire for allowing me access to this ARC.
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