Thank you to William Morrow, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Mother May I was a page turning thriller. I found it difficult to put down. The tension built steadily and stayed steady. The plot moved forward well. I connected with Bree in her search for her son and for the reason he was taken from her. Her emotions, thoughts, and actions during this stressful time felt genuine. Mother May I was both gripping and intense. It had a satisfying ending and I will definitely recommend it to friends.

The book grabbed my attention immediately, when Bree thinks she sees a witch looking in her window, and didn't let go, through all of the unexpected twists and turns. A kidnapping, a religious fanatic, a poisoning, and a poor choice made in the past, combine to make this a thriller you won't want to put down.

Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow Books for this advance Ebook!

This held onto me from the beginning. I was hooked and kept going to find the answers. I just really enjoyed the twists and turns and wasn’t expecting what came next. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I have read many of Jackson's book, and I think this one is one of the best that I have read from her.

Mother May I grabbed my attention from the beginning. This is a great thriller that I highly recommend, and I could not put it down! Bree would do anything for her family especially after an unknown woman took her son. Bree ends up doing things she would never usually do because she believes that if she does them, the woman will give her son back. Bree is given directions that will cause her to lose her son or someone else. The book is full of twists and turns, and my emotions were on high alert the entire time. I felt for Bree and could imagine being in her shoes if one of my boys was taken from me. Bree turns to Marshall, an old friend, for help. Marshall is a genuinely good person. He is an ex-cop so has useful skills to help Bree. I loved the story and could not put this book down.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end. I did not know where this story was going or how it would end. I was invested in Bree and in turn her baby. Was was rooting for her throughout the book. I sympathized and felt for multiple characters including Marshall, Trey, Coral Lee, and Lexie. There was no clear cut villain. Several of the characters made mistakes that moved the plot forward. This is my first book by Joshilyn Jackson, but I will definitely reach for more of her novels.

It's currently just after 2:00 am and I just finished this story. It was so good, I couldn't stop reading - I needed to know how this would end. And what an ending! Absolutely phenomenal! It completely pulled me in from the get go and the tension and suspense never stopped!

I appreciated two POV in this story, Marshall and Bree. I was the pessimist to Bree's optimism and I was wary of every person in the story! I was suspicious of any cup of tea, glass of water and hot chocolate. I held my breath as she waited for that letter. The things Bree faces in this story - as a mother, as a wife, I could never fathom. But the author plays it all out so well, I could picture it, imagine each conversation, each action, each whispered phone call. I could almost smell the dust and mold at the old fun times spot. This one was so good!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

Bree Cabbat’s son Robert is kidnapped from right under her nose. Prior to the kidnapping, she thinks she sees a witch outside her bedroom window, and then again while she is at the school watching her daughter’s theater rehearsal. So when Robert is suddenly missing, Bree knows it’s the witch lady. But why does she want Robert? Why is the Cabbat family the target? To what lengths will Bree go to get her son back? Will she follow this witch lady’s plan exactly as she has explained? Or will she go off script and try to outsmart her and get her son back?

What a roller coaster of a book! I read a lot of thrillers, but I don’t think any of them have grabbed and held my attention quite like this one. I plowed through this book so fast, I didn’t want to stop reading, and I had to know what was going to happen next. My heart was pounding at times, and I felt myself looking over my shoulder to make sure that witch lady wasn’t following me too.

Murder, suicide, guns, poison, drugs, sex scandals, kidnappings. This book has it all!

5/5.

Bree Cabbatt will do anything to get her baby back.

Bree's son Robert is kidnapped while she watches her older daughter rehearse for her school play. This is hours after she woke up in bed thinking she saw a witch outside her window and minutes after seeing a woman who resembled the witch walking by the school. Is it all connected? All she knows is that a note was left on the floor where the car seat had been, and the note tells her to head home for further instructions.

Bree wants to follow all the instructions so she can get Robert back. She lies to those around her so that she can be alone and she doesn't tell her husband who is out of town. She is instructed to complete a task that she is uncomfortable with but she does it. The result is not what she was told to expect and she is drawn further into this tragedy. A friend of the family who happens to be an investigator and former policeman, knows something is off and ends up helping Bree figure out why her son was taken.

The mystery/thriller part of the book, which is most of the book, is quite compelling. The end of the book gets wrapped up in upper class privilege and the change in Bree's attitude toward her husband was so quickly brought on, I had a hard time accepting it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I thought this was a pretty good mystery/thriller. Enough twists and surprise connections to keep me curious about what would happen next. The main character (Bree) and her best friend's widower / private investigator / ex-cop (Marshall) were likable and the story didn't seem too far-fetched. The story from Trey's past highlights a lot of stuff in the news in the last few years: hazy memories, alcohol-filled nights, he-said, she-said, etc.

Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for the ARC!

•A R C•B O O K•R E V I E W•
2021 Book #35 out of 80
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MOTHER MAY I by JOSHILYN JACKSON
Publication date April 6, 2021
⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars
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QUICK SYNOPSIS: Bree catches a glimpse of what she thinks is a witch staring at her through her bedroom window one morning. With this paranoia, things take a dramatic turn for Bree as her infant son is suddenly kidnapped. Bree now has to do the whatever it takes to save her son.

TW: sexual assault, rape, child abduction, and suicide

STORYLINE & THOUGHTS:
~ Although the story was intriguing, it was quite odd for the victim’s mother and the kidnapper to develop a relationship.
~ The storyline was intriguing at first, but then the story seemed to have dragged, like a never-ending cat-and-mouse game.
~ This was the first book by Joshilyn Jackson that I read. Unfortunately, it was not a favorite of mine, but I do hope to give her other books a chance to redeem themselves.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this ARC Ebook. All reviews are fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
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It took great effort to get through and I mostly skimmed it after spending 25% of the book diligently reading with no reward. Even after reading the "twists", ugh - I should have stopped reading a while back.

initial thoughts: the first 60% of this book had me hooked and not wanting to put it down. a “witch” who kidnapped your child, a phone call with the kidnapper, and a murder of your husband’s business partner? count me in.

however, as the first half of the book moved into the second half, the book turned a bit predictable. the ending wrapped up how I thought it would, although how we got there was a bit of a surprise.

thrillers are one of my favorite genres, and when I find one with a jaw-dropping, “out of nowhere” twist, it’s rare and so, so good. this book just didn’t have that for me.

this was my first Joshilyn Jackson book, and while it didn’t quite live up to my expectations for a thriller, I’ll definitely still continue to check out Joshilyn’s future books.

huge thanks to NetGalley & William Morrow for the ARC!

This was a quick read. Although I usually stay away from books that have bad things happen to children, the theme of how far would a mother go attracted me to this one. Initially, I was enjoying it, and felt myself caught up in, Bree's, the main character's plight. But then halfway through the book, the writing seemed to change and the author continually mentioned Bree's history as an actress. How many times were we going to read that her experience as an actress is what got her through such a scary time? Although this book started off with good promise, it just didn't hold up in the end.
I received an advance copy of this book from #NetGalley.

An engaging thriller that keeps the reader guessing. When Bree's baby goes missing it quickly becomes obvious that someone is trying to even the score- but for what? Bree must work against the clock to get her baby back and in the process unravel the kidnapper's motivations. This story shows how past misdeeds, long forgotten, can come back to haunt us when someone sets out to seek revenge.

When Bri sees a witch outside of her window she just thinks she's overtired, her youngest Robby is only 10 weeks old. But when the unthinkable happens, her son disappears, Bri realizes the witch is real and the world is the dangerous place her mother always said it was. She will do anything to get her son back and enlists the widow of her best-friend to help. What she doesn't expect is to find the secret from the past that led to this. Will they survive? A story of mother love that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thrillers about a stolen child will always, always get me. This was no exception. If you're looking for a fast-paced, page-turning thriller about a disappeared child, look no further. This one comes with some complex characters and relationships, which I also love, and the twist at the end is perfect. Highly recommend.

I loved this book and genuinely loved Bree. She was a true mother and put her family first. I read it quickly as I could not put it down. The deaths and intertwining of the characters and subplots kept your interest.

4.5 Vengeance Stars

Once again, this author has created memorable characters and a tensely paced story. We have Bree Cabbat who has married into a wealthy Southern family and is raising three wonderful children with her attorney husband. The first half of the book is spent setting up the story and introducing the characters.

Bree thinks she’s seeing things and being paranoid like her mother. She spots a strange woman lurking about and tries to shake it off. Things take a dramatic turn, however when her infant son is taken, and soon Bree is tasked with doing something to keep her family intact. What would you do to have your child returned?

What follows is a frantic race for Bree to follow instructions that don’t always make sense in order to protect her family. Along the way, she has friend and former policeman Marshall as they try to find the baby and figure out why he was taken.

This one builds in suspense and has a few shocking twists at the end. I found myself reading it quickly because I wanted to see how it all played out.

This is my fourth Joshilyn Jackson books and she is a solid writer for me. This one did not disappoint and continues her theme of vengeance that I last read in “Never Have I Ever.”

I was lucky enough to receive another ARC of one of Joshilyn Jackson’s books, and Mother May I is another success! This is the story of Bree, a mother of 3, who takes her eye off her baby for a minute, and in an instant, he disappears. Kidnapping was always one of my biggest fears as a parent, and I felt Bree’s fear deep in my gut. I cannot imagine not knowing where my child was and if they were okay.
I love a good, juicy tale of revenge, and this one hits the mark. The book is chock full of drama and secrets, and I did not expect it to wrap up like it does. A solid suspense that will have readers—especially mothers—with their hearts in their throats. Look for this one on shelves and online retailers on April 6!