Firstly, a huge thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Lullaby is set in a world that has a 98% infertility rate, society has had to make some changes to pregnancy and parenting in order to ensure that the population doesn’t die out. Not only is the ‘induction’ process physically demanding on the women of the world, but once the baby is born parents are continuously watched and monitored to ensure that they are meeting the high standards of parenting, otherwise they risk losing their child. Despite witnessing the work of the OSIP firsthand, Kit thinks she is prepared for motherhood, but how far will she go to protect her child?

I really enjoyed the way this story was told, with the chapters alternating between “then” and “now”. This built suspense brilliantly and made Kit’s story much more mysterious rather than giving the reader all the answers prematurely. I also loved the way the chapters would abruptly change in length at times, with some only lasting a couple of paragraphs in each one. Not only did this keep the pacing fresh but it also gave these scenes a sense of franticness and panic which was very effective at drawing me even further in.

Through this alternating narrative, we also learn a lot about the state of the world that Kit is living in, and how it is still constantly changing. Which does a great job of highlighting how the people, both parents and OUTs can never let themselves be completely comfortable or at ease. As the rules of the world can change the moment you think you’re safe. What I also enjoyed about this particular narrative style was that this also gives you a greater insight into Kit’s development and going from an OUT to a mother.

I thought Kit was a really interesting protagonist and we got to see a lot of the world and other people’s struggles through her, as well as seeing how she dealt with her own. I thought she was an incredibly strong character who showed us the two different sides of living in this world as a woman. Whilst I enjoyed seeing how Kit was dealing with what she was going through, especially from the unique perspective that she has from her change in status in society; I was also fascinated to see how her sister, Evie, coped with the stress of the OSIP (The Office of Standards in Parenting) once becoming a mother. To see the gradual change in her behaviour from doting, proud, mother to a paranoid one. Although Evie is a side character, Ho-Yen still develops her character and gives her as much nuance as a protagonist which I loved; it made her, and her relationship, with Kit much more authentic.

Overall, I thought this was a really interesting take on the typical dystopian world and the first one I’ve seen tackle population crisis in this way. I was fascinated to read about a world in which infertility has become a worldwide problem and the extreme measures that the Governments go in order to protect the children that are born. This is a definite must read for any dystopian fan!

What a fantastic chilling Dystopian this book is! I couldn't put it down. Set in the near future during a time where infertility is a huge problem and women have to undergo extreme IVF and other medical treatments in order to have children. Prospective parents have to attend training courses prior to having a child and even have examinations to test their knowledge on everything they have been taught from child development to first aid. And then once the baby is born the family is VERY closely monitored by the Government parenting standards department. They expect the absolute highest of standards and will issue warnings to parents if they fall below these standards, even for something as simple as a child crying for 1 second longer than the government believe it should. After several warnings the child is taken into care by the Government and the parents will never see their child again! This leads to parents being extremely anxious, stressed and exhausted. They just spend their lives practically waiting for their child to be taken away from them! The main character Kit had always said that she didn't want children as she didn't want to have to put herself through the life threatening treatments that were part of the IVF. But she later changes her mind and she, along with her Husband, decides to have a baby. The story follows two timelines, with the current one showing just how far Kit will go to keep her child from the Government, and the past timeline tells us the story of how she met her Husband and their journey to becoming parents. I loved getting the background to the story and also loved that jumping between timelines kept me reading for longer as I wanted to figure out what was going on. Kit was a woman I could relate to and it was sort of like I could see a fellow mama bear who would fight tooth and nail to protect her kids. I think the book really played on the fear that lots of new parents, especially Mothers have, about not being a good enough parent or worrying about making a mistake. It really had me on edge and was completely believable.
At it's essence this is a story of women fighting back against oppression and I'd definitely recommend it for fans of The Handmaid's Tale and Christina Dalcher.

This book is an infertility dystopia which by their nature are incredibly heavy reads but it also contains a particularly troubling scene where a character finds another dead. This is a particularly visceral scene so caution should be taken if grief and death are different subjects for you.

I went into this book with fairly high expectations especially as I really love both The Handmaid's Tale and Black Mirror (both of which this book has been billed as being for fans of) but it just didn't quite meet the mark for me. This book is an original story but it also didn't feel as though it brought anything new to the genre to the point where the "twist" felt as though it had been telegraphed from the beginning of the book. I thoroughly enjoy dystopian novels and infertility is a common theme in dystopias so it could be that this book would appeal to readers who aren't as familiar with the genre.

This book is told in alternating timelines of the past and the present which did not work for me.

I don't think that this book was inherently bad, I just don't think that it was right for me.

This book was not kidding about being "dark", let's get that cleared up. The premise is incredible, and it definitely delivered. I was a bit nervous, I won't lie, because doing awful things to kids and/or parents always hits a little harder. But it was so good that even though it is upsetting (wildly so), it's also very readable.

The thing is, the world is so believable, which is kind of what makes it so upsetting. In this society, which seems to be set in a foreseeable future where most people cannot conceive children without some major medical reproductive assistance (read: taking copious amount of drugs that, at best are debilitating, at worst will straight up kill the woman). As such, when a child is born, it's monitored extremely closely by the government. And if they don't like how you're raising your kid? Well, it's their kid now. So you can just imagine the kind of emotional pull we'll see during this book. It alternates between present and past timelines, so we see what Kit has gone through in her journey, what horrors she's seen inflicted upon loved ones.

I am trying to keep this intentionally vague, as not to spoil anything, but there are definitely great twists along the way. And like I mentioned, the emotional component of the story is intense. You'll be rooting for Kit and her family, and of course, yelling at the agency willing to take children from their families for really ridiculous "infractions". My only minor qualm is probably a very personal one, and also a bit spoilery, so: (view spoiler)

Bottom Line: Brutally emotional, and all too plausible, Dark Lullaby gripped me from the start and never let up.

I love The Handmaid’s Tale and the comparisons to this book made me really want to read Dark Lullaby plus I love the title and the cover. A win-win situation. I had such a blast reading this a blend of domestic thriller and science-fiction which works really well. I thought the writing was terrific. The world building is spot on and the characters are fleshed out and really come to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

First of all, I LOVE this cover and I loved the book! Not only was the plot fast-paced and kept me engaged, I thought Kit's character was really well developed. Her struggles as a new mom felt real, even with a dystopian backdrop. I saw the major twist coming from at least halfway through the book but that didn't detract from the book for me at all. I gave this 4.5/5 stars (I always round up).

A fast-paced sci-fi thriller that made me think of Louise O’Neill. Really enjoyed this blend of domestic unease and futuristic panic.

Books dealing with the intersection of dystopia and motherhood are popular for a reason, and this one should be no exception. If you're a fan of the genre like I am, DARK LULLABY is definitely a recommended read!

My thanks to Titan Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Dark Lullaby’ by Polly Ho-Yen in exchange for an honest review. Even before starting reading I was drawn by its striking red, white, and black cover with its echoes of Art Deco.

In the near future the world is experiencing an infertility crises with the last natural birth being over twenty years ago. As a result the only way to conceive is through a painful fertility treatment, known as Induction. New parents are closely monitored by the Office of Standards in Parenting (OSIP) and can be issued with an IPS, ‘insufficient parenting standard’. Receive a set number of these and your baby can be ‘extracted’ by the OSIP and raised by the State.

‘Dark Lullaby’ moves between a ‘Now’ and a ‘Then’. Its lead character and narrator is Kit. After witnessing the stress experienced by others going through Induction and then all the OSIP monitoring, Kit isn’t sure that she wants children. However, after meeting Thomas and falling in love, she changes her mind and they have a baby girl, Mimi. Yet as careful as they are those little parenting mistakes start mounting up....

I found ‘Dark Lullaby’ well written and highly engaging. While the ‘sterility plague’ is an established trope in dystopian fiction, the premise here has become all too plausible given the increased reports of declining fertility due to various environmental factors.

I am not a parent myself, yet it was still easy to empathise with Kit as she frantically seeks to comply with the dictates of the OSIP, whose agents seem to pop up out of nowhere to issue an IPS.

Enjoyed isn’t quite the right description for my experience of reading this novel as it is quite dark. It certainly provided food for thought and likely will be a novel that is popular with reading groups that enjoy speculative fiction as it presents plenty of topics for discussion.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

They all tell you that having children is not easy, but nothing prepared us for the first six weeks of having a defenceless little tyke in the house. You may have read the books, been to a few classes or asked relatives and friends, but when it comes down to it, this is all on your shoulders alone. There is no manual how your child will act, and they pretty much let anyone have a child. What if an agency was monitoring your parenting for any blunders? After only a few small mistakes your child can be taken from you, welcome to the dark future fantasy of Polly Ho-Yen’s Dark Lullaby.

With the world being struck down with infertility, ever birth must count. OSIP is an agency that has been set up to monitor all parents. They hide in plain sight waiting for the simplest mishap, a missing pair of gloves or a baby crying for more than five minutes. Too many strikes and you are found unsuitable, and the child is taken. Kit never wanted children, but after finding someone she begins the invasive fertility treatment. Follow her story in both the present and the past to discover what true horror can be for any parent.

There are not many books that hurt your heart as you read them, but this is the sensation I found myself feeling when reading parts of Dark Lullaby. This is a science fiction book, but also dark psychological horror that will likely affect any parent, particularly those with younger children. The idea of being monitored and having your child taken from you is painful enough, but Ho-Yen creates a bureaucratic system that feels all too real.

The author works wonders when building from an idea outward. Who and what are OSIP? They started off as an organisation with the best interests of people in mind, but over the years their agenda became warped. This all happened so slowly and naturally that no one noticed until it was too late. The officers now seem petty and cruel, but they claim to be fastidious and following the letter of the law. These faceless people use their rule book to hide behind.

To heighten the tension within these pages more, Ho-Yen chose to split the narrative between the present and the past. This allowed for one story that was a thrilling ride as Kit goes on the run, and another chronicling the history of how these events came to pass. Several times the reader witnesses the cruelty of this new world as parents have their children taken away and you feel immersed within Kit’s journey throughout.

Of all the dystopian novels I have read in recent years, Dark Lullaby feels like one of the harshest. The idea of worldwide near infertility is cruel enough, but it is the world that build up around this that is worse. It feels so believable that governments would choose to step in and use spreadsheets and checklists to determine the perfect family unit. There is no recognition of how each child is an individual. One may cry a lot, but still be a happy baby – just a moany one. There is a parallel with how we monitor children in education today using grades. It is all about how much they know and not about the likes of imagination or artistry. There is more than one pre-determined way to go about things.

I would note a word of caution when picking up Dark Lullaby, within these pages are harrowing moments that will touch most people, but especially a parent. Literature is not always written for the reader to escape to the good places, it is also important to shine light onto the dark. Ho-Yen may have produced a difficult book to read in places, but that is because it makes you question what could really happen in a near future gone wrong, and for that, it makes for a compelling read.

There was something deeply personal about reading Dark Lullaby, speaking honestly as someone who suffered from PND and often felt massively inadequate as a first time parent I couldn't help but put myself in the place of the parents we meet in this book. It's a path that has been trodden before, a society beset by infertility where children are revered, however, Dark Lullaby takes it to a new level with the sinister OSIP. Literally anyone, anywhere can be waiting to pounce, to pass judgement on the smallest infringement of their overbearing standards of parenting. Feeding, sleeping, soothing, these are all things that as parents now we struggle through but with support, to think of doing that alone and under scrutiny of failure made this a heart shattering read at times.

Told in an alternating "Then" and "Now" style we see Kit go from an "Out" the term for woman who chose not to go through Induction to the desperate mother we meet in the opening chapters. How eventually a society obsessed with child bearing reduces a woman's worth to almost zero if they chose to remove themselves from the process. Substandard housing and career stagnation can all be escaped by fulfilling your destiny as a woman to produce a child. Its sad to see the pro's and con's of having a child weighed initially in lifestyle perks and how conditioned women become, even knowing the pain and risk involved, that this is the ultimate in achievement.

There was something utterly compelling about Kit's story though, understanding the choices she makes through what she has witnessed and what she believes society requires of her is stunningly written. Despite the heavy subject matter it doesn't feel heavy to read, I found myself bounding through the pages, the short and snappy chapters building up to the storm we know is coming, the urgency of Kit's quest spilling into my fingers and I turned page after page desperate to know how it ends. Whilst the connection to The Handmaids Tale is fair given the subject, it's actually the Black Mirror feel that stood out more starkly for me. Everything should be questioned and I was left with an uneasy satisfaction at the way things played out, which is a curious feeling and one that I don't think a book has ever left me with before.

Even though my own experiences made this a difficult read in places, it was as brilliant as I hoped it would be from the blurb and the stunning cover. There is also some pretty clever propaganda floating around from the publisher which you should definitely seek out too to round out the reading experience. Thank you as always to Titan Books for providing me with an early copy of Dark Lullaby for review.

Dark Lullaby is Ho-Yen’s first foray into adult speculative fiction and is a bleak yet compulsive dystopian tale set around the topic of motherhood. Infertility has become almost universal, with 99.98% of the population unable to naturally conceive, and government surveillance means that your every move in watched, analysed and critiqued. While affluent women can afford XC babies that are created in laboratories and come to full term in an artificial womb, those who are less lucky must undergo a dangerous procedure known as Induction. They are encouraged to do so to repopulate the near-future world in which they live as those who refuse to be impregnated in this manner are shunned by society and labelled as an "out" — literally someone who has opted out of the Induction programme. This leads to fewer job opportunities and a poorer quality of life for the female regardless of their skillset or intelligence. Pressured into becoming induced, despite its often fatal consequences, it is a painful, terrifying process and involves the use of many potent medications to help the body prepare to sustain a pregnancy. Then there are the seemingly ceaseless examinations and procedures to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs with the hope that the subject comes to bear a child.

However, due to this manufactured manipulation of the bodies systems, it often doesn't work and the only result is the death of the individual being induced due to the harrowing effects these procedures have on a women’s fragile body, but this doesn't appear to be much of a concern to the state. And even when you successfully conceive and a healthy baby is born, big brother, aka the OSIP (Office of Standards in Parenting), monitors everything you do from the moment you embark on your fertility journey right through to rearing the child, and anything they deem to be inappropriate is scrutinised and compiled into a wrap sheet. When a certain number of infractions have occurred they take your child away from you, known as Extraction, which is a terrifying and horrific prospect for any mother but especially when you have gone through hell to conceive. This is a riveting, fascinating and deeply disturbing book that held my attention throughout and reminded me very much of The Handmaid's Tale and Vox. The worldbuilding was incredible with intricate touches and thorough attention paid to the plot and characters and an unsettling, oppressive atmosphere that underpinned the whole novel. This is a dark, scintillating read with plenty to keep you turning the pages. Highly recommended.

The near future. In a world where infertility is the biggest problem, women are encouraged to have children through Induction. Once they embark on their fertility journey, they are monitored by OSIP (The Office of Standards in Parenting).
Once the baby is born, the OSIP scrutiny doesn't end. If the parents fail to be perfect, their child will be extracted from them.
Kit is an "out"; she doesn't want to have children. Having witnessed a few Extractions, she can't imagine ever going through the same. Until she meets Thomas.


I love dystopian fiction, so of course, I was drawn in by the blurb of this book.
It was a gripping read, but not in the sense of being fast-moving. What made me race through it was the knowledge of what was going to happen, and the need to get to that point as fast as possible to see how it would be resolved.
The story alternates between now and then, and I think that also helped to keep the suspense.
It's the first dystopian story I read that doesn't centre around trying to overthrow the government and getting rid of the predicament in which the characters found themselves. However, because of that, the ending, albeit good, wasn't entirely satisfactory.
Still, it was a great read, and I truly enjoyed it. If you're a dystopian fiction fan, be sure to check it out.

Wow what a read!!!

This book was Fantastic! It reminded me of an episode of the TV show black Mirrors. It was a such a different and kind of heartbreaking dystopian read. I would hate to ever think of a world with those kinds of secrets, lies and disturbances.

The author really captures the reader with the storyline as it’s something you never want to go through but can almost imagine it happening.

The book alternates from past to present painting the story with many twists and turns, it was dark, enthralling, gripping and absolutely BRILLIANT, I just couldn’t stop turning the pages.

Dark Lullaby is the latest release from Titan Books, one that presents a grim future for Britain, but one that seems so plausible it's absolutely frightening.

The book follows the life of Kit, a woman who's struggling to keep her family together in a world where the slightest deviation from what those in authority see as good parenting can cause your child to be taken away from you forever. Set in a future where the vast majority of humanity has become infertile, new technology has been developed to enable people to become pregnant, though it's not without significant risks.

We follow Kit through two different periods of her life, with chapters alternating between her as a young single woman and her as a mother who's trying to prevent her daughter daughter from being taken away. Through these intertwining narratives we start to unravel why Kit goes from someone who never wants to go through the dangers of having a child, to someone willing to go on the run to protect her daughter. 

One of the things that makes Dark Lullaby so engrossing, that really makes you want to keep on reading even though it's a pretty depressing book at times, is how much it feels like what you're reading here could actually come to pass. The Britain presented in Polly Ho-Yen's story isn't too far removed from what we have now, but for a few differences. There's an almost constant state presence in public and people homes, as government approved films and broadcasts are streamed out over devices, and not allowed to be turned off. We also learn that through some sly political manoeuvring there's only a one party system now, and that those in charge are pretty misogynistic, and unforgiving towards people. I'm sure some will argue that that doesn't seem realistic, but given some of the violence against women in the UK this last few weeks, and the government trying to make protest illegal it strikes me as very plausible that a government could reach that stage, especially if something like world wide infertility became an issue.

Despite setting up this new version of the United Kingdom the story isn't really about this future, but about one family, and the trials they go through. Over the course of the two time periods we learn a lot about Kit, and her sister, and the struggles they go through with their family. When Kit is at the point in her life that she doesn't want to be a parent her sister is going through the lengthy process of becoming a mother, followed by the frightening trials of keeping her child from being taken away. Kit is able to show her sister support, and can try to be there for her, but as she gets closer and closer to losing her son their relationship strains and the two sisters drift further apart; to the point where when Kit herself is a mother and finds herself in a similar situation to her sister she's suddenly alone and without her support.

The book examines family relationships, and how extreme stress and trauma can shape and change those dynamics. We see people who openly fall apart as the government breathes down their necks, and others who put on a brave public face. We see some marriages flourish, with partners coming together stronger than ever, whilst others fall to pieces thanks to the pressure of the loss of their child looms on the horizon. And this is what I think makes the book so engaging and affecting. It puts you in these peoples worlds at the most awful times in their lives, at times when they risk losing the thing they love the most.

I'm not a parent, and I have no intention of ever becoming one. Parenting isn't for me for a number of reasons. However, even as some one who never wants a child Polly Ho-Yen managed to make me feel something whilst reading this book. She got me to feel like I was in these people's shoes, experiencing the stress and trauma that they were living with; the desperation to hold onto their children as the world around them turned against them. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to feel like you're having to be constantly on the lookout, to not be able to trust anyone because you believe they could try to take your child from you, but I feel like I've had a little glimpse into that thanks to this book.

Dark Lullaby isn't a light read; the 'dark' in the title really gives that away. There aren't many moments of happiness, there's a constant fear and dread that permeates the book, yet despite that I wasn't able to stop reading it. I couldn't help but be drawn into this world and these characters, and I feel like it's a book I'm going to be remembering and recommending for a long time.

I love that there are more and more books being published with motherhood at their core. Dark Lullaby joins the ranks of Q, The Mother Fault and The Farm, imagining a dark future of suffocating control over women's reproduction and parenting.

The catalyst in Dark Lullaby is a dramatic rise in infertility, to 98% of the population. It's not the first novel to deal with such a future scenario, following in the footsteps of P.D. James' The Children of Men and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

Author Ho-Yen imagines a world where women are pressured to go through 'induction' - a process similar to IVF but which can cause serious illness and maternal death - and are monitored throughout the pregnancy and early childhood to make sure they're doing everything correctly. Even minor transgressions are met with a state-issued formal warning. Too many warnings, particularly in the first year of a child's life, and the baby will be 'extracted' - that is, taken away to be raised in the compounds where it can be cared for 'properly'.

Perhaps most concerning, to me, was that I didn't find it particularly surprising. Having birthed and raised two small children myself, level of monitoring and critique - both external and self-imposed - is enormous. It's not as formalised as in Dark Lullaby (nobody will knock on your door and issue you a warning for feeding your baby formula without permission) but the scrutiny and the pressure to do everything 'right' is certainly there.

For me, Dark Lullaby was an enjoyable read but felt a little predictable, although this is quite possibly simply because I've read so many similar books. It's well written, very plausible and an important conversation to have. Parents need to be responsible and accountable - that's a given - but how far should the state go to ensure this happens?

It was a bit hard for me to get into this book. In my opinion it was a bit slow paced for my taste, I didn't get that exciting feeling of expectation, the sensation of not being able to wait to find something out. Sometimes I even asked myself what should I be questioning or expecting, really.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel empathy for any of the characters in this story. Also, I don't think there was much depth to any of them and hence my difficulty to connect and relate with them.

However, I don't think by all means this a bad book, far from that. Even though I wasn't amazed with the writing style and the narrative, the story really left me thinking about it for a long time after I finished.
I always say this about dystopias, what I love the most about this genre is the ability to make us question our reality and its problems, as well as the perspectives about the future.

As a woman, it was frustrating reading this (and this is not a critique!). Imagining this possibility makes me absolutely sick, having no liberty whatsoever to chose or not to be a mother, not without some consequences at least, of course. Or, on the other hand, choosing maternity but having so much control over your life and your baby and how you're supposed to raise your children... absolutely nuts! In this case, if the book made me think so much about it and feel something, it cannot be bad!

In other words, the idea is great and I enjoyed it so much, however the writing style and character creation process were not my favourite part of this book.


I would like to add that this book would be an excelent choice for a book club reading, mainly because it sparks several ideas and promotes debate. Think about it!

Set in a not too unbelievably far away future, the world's fertility levels are higher than 98%. Linked to the overuse of microplastics, the population decline has sent the economies around the world into freefall, and the biggest resource becomes women(and in some case,girls) of child bearing age.

Kit and her sister are anomalies, one of the last set of 'organically' grown siblings and exist in a society where 'induction' into having a child means extensive, potentially fatal IVF procedures and constant monitoring of calorie intake, steps walked, mental health screening and so forth. There are massive benefits handed to those who procreate, those who are known as 'outs' are basiclly social pariahs.

Worse than this constant surveillance via next generation Alexas, known as 'Go Spheres' which provide you with government mandated news and public information programmes, are the enforcers.

They could be anyone.

They could be anywhere.

After you have your baby, they keep a very , very close eye on you and if you step out of line, you receive a ISP slip. Get 10 and your baby is 'extracted'. The race is on for Kit and her husband to conceive, deliver and look after baby Mimi until she turns one when the rate of extraction is lowered. But, having seen what her sister has gone through , is she prepared to deal with the ultimate consequence, and how far would she be prepared to go to get her baby back?

This is a brilliant and thoughtful novel which shines a light on the burden of motherhood and the way that society always seems to lay it on the woman's shoulders. The choice between career and parenthood is a constant source of awkward conversations about over population, personal choice and 'you'll change your mind when you are older'.

The falling birth rate and growing elderly population are already threatening to tip the balance and it is not inconceivable(pardon the pun) to envisage a future where abuse of the natural environment comes back with karmic fists swinging for humanity.

It sounds so bleak but honestly, what anchors the story is the relationship between Kit and Mimi. She is a complete badass single woman who is looked down upon and takes her lot in life on both shoulders as those around her are not surviving the induction process, or are facing a future without their child(or children. Post extraction procreation is highly encouraged, up to 8-9 times!)

I really enjoyed this future vision , it was so realistic and rounded, the reveals of family secrets and shocking mic drop moments keep you on your toes as the 'now' and the 'then' of the narrative , before and after Mimi's birth begin to dovetail.

It is a really timely subject on which to write, especially given the current climate of attack on the rights of women to have control over their biological process, specifically the outlawing of abortions in Poland, the eradication of Downs Syndrome in Iceland and the limiting of access to Planned Parenthood in the United States.

Access to appropriate support and healthcare seems to have always taken a back seat to the needs of society and in this terrifying vision, the way that women are treated as baby carriers has never seemed so close and realistic. Genuinely chilling and prescient, go read it!

DNF @ 20%

I had a really hard time getting into this book, And while that eerie and oppressive atmosphere was definitely there, I just couldn't connect to the story. I had a hard time caring about the characters and what was going on. I always give my books until at least 20% before deciding if I do or do not want to continue and I knew that this one just, unfortunately, wasn't for me. But I'm sure it'll work for a lot of other reviewers, and that's what's good about reading.

A quick Google of the term 'fertility crisis' provides a simple explanation for why, since The Handmaid's Tale, dystopic fiction about women forced or coerced into pregnancy has been so popular. Skimming down the entries, I can see a news article on the topic for almost every year. Although more recently, the concern has been over falling sperm counts. Still, it's an old habit to blame infertility on women. Why would we stop now?

Dark Lullaby doesn't shy away from what are likely to be quick associations with Margaret Atwood's perhaps best-known novel. The red cover is reminiscent of the handmaids' outfits, while also perhaps referencing recent 'feminist' dystopias such as Naomi Alderman's Baileys prize-winning The Power. Placing the book within such a well-known and popular canon engages early with a wide and loyal readership, but also sets up expectations for this author who is stepping into adult fiction for the first time.

Luckily for us, Polly Ho-Yen has got an excellent story to tell. While the world-building in the opening chapters of the book occasionally felt a little clunky, with some instances of characters reminding each other of information they surely already knew, once the story proper kicks into gear, it's a proper page-turner!

Dark Lullaby follows the stories of Kit and Evie, sisters who face the choice of whether to go through the government-encouraged system of induction to conceive children. The process itself is dangerous, and if a child is conceived, parenting is closely monitored and any minor slip-up could result in 'extraction'; the child being removed from the parents, never to be seen again. Kit and Evie seem to have very different views on the benefits of having children, despite strong financial, social and moral incentives to do so. This is a story about family relationships in a world where children are property, but with the almost obligatory 'twist' at the end.

Reading this book as a woman -- and as a woman who has made a conscious decision, for several reasons, not to have children -- was not always easy. The world Polly Ho-Yen describes is different from today's Britain, but it does highlight the social responsibility that's placed on reproduction and, in particular, on motherhood and the way new mothers are scrutinised. The emphasis on 'good' mothers and 'bad' mothers, and the ways these terms are used by institutions to manipulate public opinion, is an edge Dark Lullaby has that perhaps pushes it closer to home than other similar texts.

Although Polly Ho-Yen's world might feel familiar to Gilead or P.D. James's Britain in Children of Men, it is the relationships at the heart of this novel that make it unique and worthy. The way sisterhood is explored, and the things that can complicate romantic and familial relationships.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this book.