This one really picked up steam as it went. By the last quarter of the book, I knew I wouldn't be doing anything that didn't also allow me to listen to this book. It started out a bit, meh. Our protagonist is a little too overboard on the whole "connecting" with the kidnapper thing. A bond and understanding, whatever, some one steals my baby I wouldn't be finding empathy, but that's just me. Also the strong push on her being an actress, pulling out her personalities, and roles felt forced. Once we got past that piece, it was truly a captivating story, and I was all in.
Jackson narrated her own book, which sometimes works and others don't. She came across a little more sing songy than I care for, but overall did a god job.
Thank you William Morrow Publishers and NetGalley for access to this pre-publication edition in exchange for a fair and honest review!

A fast paced thriller that was uncomfortable (for this mama!) to read at times, Mother May I tells the story of the kidnapping of baby Robert and his mother’s fight to get him back. Bree Cabbot grew up in rural Georgia with a single mother who was paranoid about almost everything. Bree always thought her mother was overreacting. She grows up, meets a wealthy and slightly older man, gets married, and has three beautiful children plus a very full bank account.

Then, one day, Bree thinks she sees a witch peering in her bedroom window. She thinks she sees her again at her daughter’s theater rehearsal. And next thing she knows, her newborn son Robert is gone. When she gets a phone call from the “witch”, her whole life is turned upside down. Enlisting the help of her best friend’s widowed husband Marshall, Bree begins to track down the woman who stole her son. But why Robert? And why would another mother do this to her? And what price will she need to pay to have her son returned?

I have a pretty irrational fear of someone kidnapping my kid. It all started after my husband and I watched Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu. I kept making sure the window was locked in her bedroom at night in case someone crawled in and took her (and somehow avoided detection from the baby monitor and my super mom hearing when I sleep in a room less than ten feet away). After the baby went to sleep I would check multiple times before finally settling down for the night, and no, it did not matter that it was a million degrees out and she might have benefitted from a nice breeze coming in her window. I thought I had finally recovered until this book came along!

And, to make it worse, I listened to this book on audio. The narration was excellent, but hearing the fear in Bree’s voice when Robert had vanished, or hearing the creaky voice of the woman who had taken Robert just made me so much more anxious than I feel like I would have been if I was reading this in print.

Anyway, this story kept me on the edge of my seat. Literally.

I wasn't quite sure about this audio in the beginning. One, I couldn't get past the voices and two, I wanted to strangle the main character. But, as the book went along, it got better and I am so glad I listened to it. Thank you NetGalley!

What would a mother do if she thought she was being stalked by someone who looks like a witch, and that witch kidnaps your baby son? What ends would you go to? Would you drug someone, or commit murder? That is exactly the position Bree Cabot finds herself in.

Bree is happily married to Trey, a lawyer and have 3 beautiful children, Peyton, Anna Claire, and Robert. She is very involved with her daughters school and social life, including Grease, her girls musical. While distracted, Bree takes her eyes off Robert in his car seat, and when she comes back, he is gone! Bree is contacted my the woman who kidnapped her son and when she finds out why he was taken, it is linked to a part of her husband's past. What will Bree do? Stick to the end. You will love this edge of your seat roller coaster ride thriller.

My sincere thanks to net galley and the publisher for this audio copy.

Family first is certainly the theme throughout this book. A small town girl —Bree— meets and marries into a gentrified southern family. They have three beautiful children, a lovely home and a life she never thought she would be a part of. That life becomes unhinged when her son is kidnapped by a woman who carries a grudge from the past. It’s this kidnapper’s love for HER family that is the impetus of this nightmare.
Both mothers are forces to be reckoned with and will go to any extreme to keep their family intact…..murder included.
Bree and the kidnapper form a bond as mothers in spite of the situation at hand, Bree always working the maternal angle when dealing with the demands of the other mother in hopes she would not harm her son.
An unexpected twist——as all good thrillers have— in the final scenes will probably reinforce your opinion about old money and the connections that thrive within that community.
The reader in the audio book was wonderful. She put a clear picture in my mind of how every character should sound and look.

This was a solid four star read/listen for me. The plot kept me involved the whole time. I loved the witch angle, and the way they were able to piece together the background information that they needed kept me on edge. I was curious to see how all the falling parts were going to fall together. For most of the book, I was at a 5 star rating. The ending, for me, was predictable, and that's why I rated it four stars. Without the very last piece, this is a 5 Star read for sure.



I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Mother May I is a great Thriller that kept me intrigued until the very end. Great story about a Mother who would do anything it takes to keep her family safe. The story starts with the kidnapping of Bree Cabbat's son Robert and quickly turns into a thrilling hunt for the kidnapper while also playing her nasty games. Bree is a great character for the mother role and she shows how she will do whatever it takes to get her son back.

Great book and can't wait to read more from Joshilyn Jackson.

I listened to the Audiobook and Read along with the EBook. I loved the narration but also found the audiobook fairly slow and needing to bump up the speed to almost 2x. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from listening to this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy.

This novel is fantastic. I've long been a fan of Joshilyn Jackson's Southern family dramas. I was a little bit less a fan of her most recent novel, Never Have I Ever, where she dipped into the thriller genre. Mother May I manages to capture the best of both the family drama and the mystery/thriller. There are so many twists in this story, but they all feel realistic and earned. I raced through this book and highly recommend it. If you haven't experienced Joshilyn Jackson narrating her own audiobooks, that's definitely the way to go.

DNF'd at 32.5% on audio. I did not realize there was so much talk of harm to a child in this book when I requested this ARC. I found it too disturbing to continue. I think the audio may have exacerbated the feeling, but I wouldn't have felt good about reading it either.

The suspense was there and the writing was good, but this book was just not for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and William Morrow for the chance to read this GREAT book. Bree has a wonderful life with three children in Georgia. One day, while watching her daughter’s play practice, her three month old baby is stolen. She is instructed not to tell her husband, or anyone else. She is supposed to give her husband’s law partner three rohipnols and go on with her life as usual and then she’ll get her baby back. Things don’t work out so well. This book kept me wondering if she would get her baby back, if the sins of the father would be visited on the son, and how far will some one go to protect their family. The audio version was narrated by the author which, in my opinion, always adds something because they know where the book is heading. This is coming out in Spring 2021 and that will be just the thing you need to read after a long, dark winter! Read this book!

Mother May I was the first audiobook that I had ever listened to! I really enjoyed the experience and Joshilyn Jackson has written another fabulous book. From the very first chilling sentence until the end, I was captivated and needed to know what happened next. The characters were flawed yet I couldn’t wait to see what they were going to do next. Every Joshilyn Jackson book gets better and better!

I know I am in the minority for this one, but I really didn't enjoy this book. It was long winded and a lot of it could have been taken out because it had no point to the story. I listened to the audio book so maybe that was the difference...but I wouldn't read this one again. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Joshilyn Jackson for this ARC audiobook! It was one of the best audiobooks I've listened to recently.

How far would I go to protect my children?

What would I be willing to do to uphold the sanctity of my family?

The line between right and wrong is sometimes so very faint that it almost disappears completely...

Mother May I poses as a psychological thriller but delves deep into the caverns of motherhood, grief, addiction, male dominance, and how the past can shape our futures, regardless of how hard we try to bury our shames.

On more than one occasion while listening, I felt myself holding my breath. I could so intimately identify with the protagonist, coming from a low-income background, having a childhood with incredibly strict moral standards, and also currently mothering a very young child. I was shocked to actually have had some nightmares similar to Bree while making my way through- which was totally weird as this rarely happens when I read thrillers. I naturally became emotionally invested in the plot even when there were actions of characters that I heavily disagreed with.

I so appreciated how Jackson exposed several very real societal problems that continue to exist yet each are still brushed under the carpet and are regularly ignored.

There were so many layers to the plot that were unpredictable, and yet, the ending was satisfying in an odd, almost uncomfortable way. But, how true that sometimes it seems near impossible to overcome the encounters that deeply bruise us. Time and experience dramatically change us. And, though we may not be able to fully move on, we can accept reality and try to make the best of it. I loved how real that ending felt. It was so human and raw.

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, drugs, terminal illness, & sexual assault

Reviews will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram accounts later today. :)

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mother May I was such a good mystery book to dive into! From the very beginning, everything was creepy and it just sucked me in. In it, you will meet Bree. Now I felt bad for her because was thrown into some pretty awful situations. I don't know about you.. but if I felt someone watching me and then caught them doing so? Well, I would probably run away screaming.

Also, if someone stole my kid (which is completely imaginary) then I would have so many questions. Mostly because I have dogs (Dobermans) and I would give them a very stern talking about letting someone take my damn (imaginary) baby.

Back to the book, Bree ends up having to give someone drugs while also trying to figure out a way to get her baby back. It also helps that her friend Marshall is tagging along because I just loved him. Oh and he loved her.

I'm not going to lie, this book had me on the edge of my couch the entire time. I loved each and every creepy twist that came my way. I was also cheering at the end because hot damn - it made me so freaking happy.

I think my love for mystery murders will continue to grow and I can't wait to dive into another book by this author!

This was Ok.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Harper Audio for my advanced copy of this book.

What I Enjoyed-

*The Audio- This audiobook is narrated by the author, Joshilyn Jackson. She did a great job narrating each character and making them unique. I felt like each character stood apart and it mad the audio flow nicely. It was very easy to follow and to multitask. I listen to a lot of my audiobooks on my commute to work and while running errands.

*The Creepiness- This book had a special kind of creep factor. The predator in this novel is targeting children. I found this to be so horrific and so evil. It made me feel so many unwelcome feelings of anger and unease. It was different than anything I've read thriller wise.

*The Different POVs- I appreciated that the author used multiple POV's. It gives the reader a better understanding of the characters and makes the story feel complete.

Why This Book Lost Stars-

This book started off very strong. As the story progressed it kinda fell off for me. I had a few questions while reading and as things were being explained I felt disappointed. It was twisty and I do appreciate a good revenge story but in the end it just wasn't for me.

Overall- I'm not sorry I read this book. I'm not super eager to pick something else up by this author but I'd give her a second chance.

I'm in the minority with this one but it just didn't fully work for me. I felt there were too many holes and exaggerations. I just couldn't buy Coral doing everything she did because of what happened to Lexi. (Trying to stay vague to avoid spoilers.) I guess the idea was "a mother's love" but it seemed awful far-fetched to me, and normally I can suspend belief for stories. I also just felt like the book never really hit its crescendo. I kept waiting for more to happen and was a little disappointed, even in the ending. Not a bad read, and it was interesting and entertaining at times, just not my favorite. I preferred Ms. Jackson's "Never Have I Ever" to this one.

Many thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Mother May I: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson was one of my highly anticipated books of 2021 and I was so excited to get an early copy. Joshilyn Jackson is a must read author for me and I was able to meet her in 2019 during her Louisville author event (remember the days of in person events). She narrates the audiobook and did a fantastic job. This book was suspenseful and had some unexpected twists. There are some heavy topics covered and trigger warnings. The characters were well developed and Bree, the main character, had so much depth. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this review copy.

This book is so spooky and well done! While the “missing child” storyline can be a bit overdone, I found this one had more depth and unexpected turns. There is so much action, at times you wonder what the author could possibly pull off next, but she finds a way to take it to another level.

I had slight issues with the last ~20% - it became too long for the way it ended up concluding. Also, I prefer less graphic thrillers and there’s portions of this story that go too far for me.

Content warnings: stolen child, sexual assault, blackmail, drugs/addiction

Recommend to readers who enjoy: Grady Hendrix books

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and William Morrow for the advance readers copy of this thriller. This was my first book by this author, and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

Hooked from the start, I was pulled into the story of Bree Cabbat and her beautiful family. With an attorney husband, two teenage daughters, a new baby, and a more than comfortable lifestyle, Bree seems to have it all, a dream from where she started in humble beginnings. But when she sees a mysterious woman and later discovers her baby is missing, she does what any mother would do to bring him home.

The first half was interesting and complex as the characters began to unravel. But I started to lose a bit of interest in the second half when Bree and Marshall start investigating the kidnapping and some of the mysterious past involving Bree’s family. It all worked out a bit too tidy for my liking in the type of read, however I still felt this was overall 4 out of 5 stars.

Also I had the audio copy of this and had there been an option for electronic or physical copy I would have dropped the audio early on as I found the narrators voice for Bree to be irritating/nasally but since it’s was unreleased and I was unsure if I would be granted an electronic option I powered through and enjoyed the story. But had this been released I definitely would have dropped the audio in the first hour.

I love this author but listening to the tale was torture. Audio are not my favorite but this was even worse. I won't rate the narrator as the book was good but I will skip audio henceforth.