I was given this book from Net Galley for an honest review.
As a lover of dystopian type novels, I was really wrapped in this book from the beginning. However, I was a bit confused as to why society was like this, like why woman were to have children only to give them up to someone else to raise them. And while I did enjoy the book I still found it a bit confusing right to the end. The start of it seems to be around the year 2020, which is next year, so that alone confused me. As a book that is recently written I'm not sure why she would choose a year in which we are close to living. Usually these types of novels are written further ahead in time. It does fast forward to 2040, but while 40 years can seem like a lifetime to some, its not really a huge difference.
I think the thing I struggled with most with this novel is the timing and date it's centered around. I had to ignore it to move forward.
I did like the idea of it and I did like the writing of it as well. And I did enjoy the characters as well. I definitely will read the second novel if or when it comes out. I hope the author will explain the reason behind giving up babies to other people to raise and yet they can still be part of their lives. Was it just an experiment? Why did society need to go this way, were the babies being born from marriages or out of love born with so many illnesses that this was a better way to monitor what type of people were being born? Why did people stop wanting to raise their own children and allow a government to do this so easily without a fight? So many questions! Hopefully will be answered in the second novel!

Maternal Instinct is set in the near future in Australia. Woman are required to give birth twice before they are allowed to go on with their lives. They have to give the babies to professional parents whose sole job is to raise the children. The genetic parents are allowed to visit their child every Sunday. Woman cannot conceive naturally. It is also mandatory to screen foetuses for mental or phisical disabilities.
Monica just gave birth to her first child, a son. She didn’t want to give birth but she had to. After the birth of her son she realises she doesn’t want to give him up so she turns to her mother for help. Alice works for the goverment who invented this system and is a true believer. But when her daughter turns to her for help her life starts to unravel. She finds out some devastating secrets that change her and Monica’s entire life.

The story is amazing, it is unique. I’ve never ever read anything like this before. The basic idea that foetuses should be screened for genetic diseases and that professionals should raise children makes a lot of sense. Having only maximum two children too. But the mandatory pregnancy just made me sick. No one should have the right to make any woman go through this whether they want any child or not.
What I also found interesting was that all this give-your-child-away thing goes on without too much fuss. Woman must accept and when they don’t the children are taken away either way.

I didn’t particulary like the characters but the story was just too intriguing to stop.

Maternal Instinct is highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, Story Addict and Rebecca Bowyer for my copy.

Five out of five stars for Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer!

This title was a great read - if the book looks good to you from the description, go for it!!!

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley, who provided this free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

2040: Australia has revolutionised society by introducing a mandatory amount of two babies / woman that she has to bear after finishing school and before starting the rest of her life. Children will be given to Paters and Maters six month after the birth to be raised by these professionals. It is not allowed to conceive naturally or raise children yourself.

Alice is working for the government and believes in this system. Her daughter Monica, however, wants to keep her son, Oscar, even though she cannot. When Alice learns that the government has done more than to screen the foetus in connection to disabilities and genetic diseases, she has to carefully chose what future she wants for her country.

I liked many of the ideas and I was utterly terrified by this mandatory period of mothership. Frightening, so very frightening. Yet I thought that it was actually a nice idea to have children raised by professionals.

However, parts of the novel were unbalanced. It was very pro-babies and the advantages of not having to raise a child were cut a bit short. Not everybody has the wish to have children and nobody should be forced to. Giving up the child after birth is presented as merely troubling, but imagine the horror to be forced through two pregnancies by the government. I, personally, would be relieved. But I also don't want any children.

In addition our main characters remained somewhat flat and blunt, changes happened too fast and they all remained quite vague. The world building was interesting but more attention could have been paid as to how the 'normal' society implemented this new system. And what does the rest of the world do? And why, if surveillance is everywhere, aren't Alice's phone calls not monitored? How does Uncle Pete travel there if it's hard to get there? And what happens after the novel finished?

3 Stars

Maternal Instinct takes us to a dystopian feeling Australia in 2040. A government over stepping & Mothers with no rights. This story follows Monica who no longer wants to follow the new world protocol. Upon reaching out to her own mother, Alice, a series of life altering events are triggered. Alice is forced to face her past and choose to help all the children in the nation’s new world order or help Monica.

I quite enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down. I love how so much of motherhood is brought to the forefront; breastfeeding, exhaustion, the crazy emotions and an overwhelming sense.
Characters are relatable and their interactions were natural & not forced, unless they were meant to be. The plot is easy to follow and the laws & science are well written into the story without interfering with the flow of things.

Absolutely amazing book. Kept me hooked and wondering what was going to happen with an absolutely bitter sweet ending. I'd love to see a second book carrying on from this! 5 stars

So, I definitely Found this book interesting. Set in a dystopian Australia, the story focuses mainly on Alice and Monica, mother and daughter. Basically, women are impregnated with genetically modified babies, who are then taken to be raised by others after 6 months time. Of course there is corruption involved as well as other stories. It was well written, but I feel like the world could have been developed a little better in the beginning. Also I feel like the end was a left a little open, for a sequel maybe? Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Australia 2040. No child lives in poverty and every child is safe. But at what cost?
19-year-old Monica never wanted a baby but the laws require her to give birth twice before she can move on with her life.
Now that her first son, Oscar, has arrived she’s not so sure she wants to hand him over to be raised by professional parents: the Maters and Paters.
When Monica turns to her birth mother, Alice, for help, she triggers a series of events that force Alice to confront her own dark past. Alice must decide – help her daughter break the law, or persuade her to accept her fate and do what’s best for the nation’s children?

First off, thank you to the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review. Secondly, is this going to be a trilogy of some sort? I’ll tell why I believe this....

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! So awesome! Kinda science fiction kinda dystopian kinda real. I’ve seen it compared to The Handmaids Tale, but I don’t think it should be. It does revolve around reproduction but it’s way more than that as you get deeper into the book.

I currently have a 10 week old baby and the thought of giving him up at 6 months to be raised by someone else is just impossible to me. There is no way I could allow that to happen. But in this society, it’s the way of life. It really made me appreciate what I have going on. Parenting is hard. Especially with multiple children. But I signed up for this and I want to raise my own kids so I can understand the battles the characters have to go through mentally in giving them up.

This story is so much longer than the book so I am hoping there are more to come. And please, when that happens- send me a copy!!

I love a good dystopia book but I've found book quite slow and got bored with quite fast and took me a while to finish has I didn't want to read its.

I felt immediately curious about a society that strongly discourages married/loving couple conceiving naturally an bringing up their baby together.

In this book we have two eras in time the past in 2020 when Alice and Oliver were in the Mandatory National Procreation Service and the present is 2040 when it is Monica, Alice’s daughter that is in the process of her Mandatory National Procreation Service. So to explain this Mandatory Procreation Service, all males and females around the age of 19 years old have to take part. For males it is a case of providing sperm donations, or working in some way for the service like Joe in the book in 2040 he works in a birthing home kitchen to fulfil his service. Females are expected to have two pregnancies as their duty. They are inseminated and live in a “Birthing Home” with others of the same age. They are constantly monitored, given the correct amount, of calories, with the vitamins, etc, deemed necessary for a successful pregnancy. Once the woman has had the baby she stays with that baby until he/she is 6 months old when she is expected to hand the baby over into the “Home System” a special home where other babies and children of a similar age are. In this “Home System” the children are cared for by one female who has chosen to become a “mater” and one male who has chosen to become a “pater”. Once the females have had their two pregnancies, they are free to go off to further education or training for whatever job they wish to do. The biological parents of the baby/child are allowed to visit on Sundays when the mater & pater get their day off.

In the 2020 year we meet Alice and Oliver who love each other, however when they enter the Mandatory National Procreation Service, Oliver’s sperm is not considered “good enough quality” so Alice is impregnated using the sperm of another male doing his service. The fact Alice is pregnant with another mans child, despite it being so by law, Oliver doesn’t cope well and they drift apart. It is only when Alice has finished her service and the baby who Alice names Monica has been handed over that the pair rekindle their relationship. Even when Alice takes her rights of visitation every Sunday Oliver does not go with her nor ask anything about Monica, its as if she doesn’t exist to her. Alice and Oliver marry and Alice works for the government in the Genetics and Reproduction Department.

The characters I loved in this book other than the main ones were Ellie and Margery.
Ellie because she was so bossy for a little 4 year old and she clearly love her mater Margery and her pater Oliver. Ellie really does have Oliver wrapped round her little finger! In fact, later in the book Oliver proves that he looks upon Ellie and the other children in his care as his own children despite them biologically not being his.
I thought Margery was a brilliant character especially when she talks to Alice, she encourages her to do what she truly wants and go for it with Monica if that is what her heart is telling her to.

As there are characters I like, love and adore in the book there are also those that I disliked, and hated on behalf of the characters they were awful to. I really got riled with Barbara Mathers, the way she just presumes that Alice’s pregnancy is a dreadful mistake and that Alice will of course be terminating the pregnancy at the first possible opportunity because in her opinion and in fact the opinion of the society within this book she is too old and having a child and keeping it would dramatically change her status and career!
I disliked Graham Smythe, he represented that man/woman at work who is snide and sucks up to the boss all the time. I am sure you know the type in real life!

I guess my next two characters are unique in that I both liked and disliked them. I will try to explain without revealing too much. Oliver is great at his job as a pater putting those children and their welfare and safety above everyone else in his life, including Alice and someone else who in my opinion should have come before his role of pater. I hated the fact Oliver was so selfish when it came to a biological child he had supposedly yearned for and expected Alice to do what he wanted what society demanded. In a way he attempts blackmail tactics with Alice to get things to be done the way he wants.
I became annoyed with Alice for the way she brushed away her biological daughter Monica when she confesses to be having serious doubts about handing over her son Oscar when the time comes. Alice’s decision at the end of the book had me puzzled and I found it quite thought provoking, pondering what I would have done faced with her choices. I honestly don’t think I would have done what she did. Maybe that makes me selfish, but I would always put my own flesh and blood ahead of others. I still found myself questioning Alice’s eventual decision.
Does she think she is some sort of hero that she can make a stand, that she alone can change things for the better, for the masses. Could Alice be part of the policy changes that need to be made or is she simply giving in to blackmail tactics of Oliver.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that the book had been a really interesting read and I honestly didn’t see that ending happening. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with the character Oliver. I was rather disgusted and disheartened by his attitude towards his own biological child. I think Oliver’s actions throughout the book were selfish, he wanted everything his way, irrespective of anyone else’s position.

To finally sum up I felt I wanted more at the ending of the book. I wanted to know what the consequences of Alice’s actions would be, both on a personal level and for the future of the society too. Maybe there will be a second book/novella to revisit these characters either picking up where this book left off, or even a year or so down the timeline.

Maternal Instinct was a wonderful debut novel! This book definitely had a dystopian sci-fi vibe, and it really made me think. The story had a great premise, and left just enough unanswered questions for a possible sequel. I look forward to seeing what Rebecca Bowyer will write next.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC to read and review!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

The blurb really caught my attention. That and the cover. This book has such an UNIQUE storyline. You must birth two babies before you're allowed to "move on with life." From there, you turn your baby over to the professional "maters and paters." When I say I couldn't put this book down, I mean I really couldn't. I adore this book and can't wait to read more!!

This book was shockingly great. I want to know so much more about everything in this version of the future. I really hope there is a second book! I finished this is a little under 24 hours, super fast read!

This book is a mix of different styles with a general feeling of a Handmaid's Tale atmosphere.
20 years from now, Australia has new government and a new population / fertility policy. Every woman is obliged to have two children, take a maternal leave for that time, and then give to kids to artificial family, whose job is to raise children, so she can develop professionally. But what happens when a new mother gets a bit more attached then she should, and the politics have their own agenda?

I needed a bit more time to understand the world the author has created and some bits remained unclear for me till the end. But I could relate to a mothers bond to her child, a child she didn't think she needed, but afterwards couldn't imagine her life without it. And her fight to do what she thought is best for the two of them, not wanting to conform is what kept me reading till the end.

It is a good novel with and interesting premise. It can be a bit unclear at some chapters, but overall a great read for all dystopia fans out there.

Dystopia at its finest! It gave me “Brave New World” vibes (my all time favourite) which made “Maternal Instinct” a very enjoyable read for me.

I appreciate that the author didn’t go the route of so many other dystopias (blaming Christianity for everything). Maternal Instinct’s religion is capitalism. The formation of this new society seems naturally derived to eliminate today’s scourges on society. It’s the answer to failing childcare policies and a well build support system. I can see how the book’’s setting came to be, Overall, the world building is very well done. I loved that resulting world is not so purely bleak (thankfully no Big Brother or Gilead setting) which gave me personally more chance to really put myself into the situation with the characters.

All the above mentioned points make “Maternal Instinct” a great book. However, there is room for improvement regarding the writing. I was often confused about how much time passed between paragraphs and chapters. Also the structure into chapters didn’t make much sense to me...basically there were chapter breaks where it didn’t sit right with my reading flow or timing. For example, sometimes the POV changed during the same paragraph in a chapter. I could still follow though, so it’s not a major issue especially when keeping in mind that this is a debut novel.

As a dystopia fan, I’m glad to have found this book. Great premise, lighthearted yet full of everyday hot topics. Militarily organised childcare....I loved this!

WHOA. That is all I can say about Maternal Instinct. It makes you think, and not always in a good way. The year is 2040 and the Aussie government has enacted a law that all births are controlled. The two parents must be genetically compatible in order to conceive, either naturally (although you are only given 6 months to try this way) or artificially. Mothers also must give birth to two babies within a short span in order to be able to return to school for a trade. Once each baby reaches the age of 6 months, he/she is taken to the home of a Mater and Pater. The birth mother is given only one day a week with their child for the next 18 years.
Young Monica has just given birth to Oscar and promises herself she will not get attached. After all, he is nearing the 6 month mark and she must become pregnant again shortly or disobey the law. However the more time she spends with Oscar, the more she determines she just cannot let him go. Meanwhile, her birth mother, Alice has just turned 40 and is in the midst of a cancer battle. When her (government issued) birth control fails, and she becomes pregnant, she must fight to keep her child. Although not illegal (because it was accidental and she was on birth control) it is highly frowned upon by the government, especially at 40!
Alice understands Monica's struggles and her desire to keep her child. She too wanted the same thing for Monica. Alice devises a plan to help get Monica out of the birthing center and away from Australia so that she can raise Oscar as her own.
It is a thrilling book with several twists and turns. It makes you think of what the government is capable of...

I love dystopias/utopias, so I was really excited to read this book. However, I couldn’t get in to it. I enjoyed that the story followed two characters through each of their perspectives. But overall, I struggled picking it up and I didn’t enjoy the ending.

This is a story of human nature, parental instincts, and immense personal strength

The story follows Monica and Alice, Monica’s biological mother, as they navigate the fairly new enforcement of rules surrounding procreation and child bearing. In Australia in 2040 couples are no longer allowed to conceive naturally. Everyone knows that this is for the good of the in-vitro babies, the parents, and society generally, but that doesn’t stop maternal instinct from blossoming

This book reminded me a little of The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood, Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Suicide Club by Rachel Heng, not necessarily in content but in the tone of the near-future dystopian/utopian world. The characters remember the way things used to be, before these regimes were implemented. There are parallels to be drawn between this and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, too, especially on the social commentary of women’s autonomy (or lack thereof) over their own bodies

I really enjoyed following these characters, though I did feel some of their decisions came a little out of the blue at times. I also liked the mention that this system was only in place in Australia, and that the rest of the world was still reproducing naturally, an aspect which also reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale

The main downside for me was I felt the ending was a little rushed and messy, again primarily relating to decisions made by the characters and, ultimately, where those decisions left them in the end

Overall, I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting, I’ll definitely be looking out for Bowyer’s second novel