Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ½
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Maeve was born in the cult “The Mother Collective”. This cult has some weird and radical views on women and motherhood. Maeve’s only friend during those days was her cousin Andrea. Many years later, the protagonist is an adult and out of that cult. She tries to lead a normal life but at the same time wants to find her cousin and reconnect with her. They find each other but soon Maeve realizes that Andrea is not what she thought she is.

The story is told in two timelines, the past and the present. On Goodreads, the book is shelved as a horror book which should not be the case. Yes, the prologue started creepy and atmospheric but that just diminished right from the first chapter. I feel that the cover is the main reason for categorizing it as a horror novel.

The story is intriguing, however, I feel the best parts are the beginning and the end. All that was in between was just OK. I wish the author gave us a better picture of how the cult worked. I mean the dynamics of the cult were missing. We just know through the protagonist that it was not a good thing and some tidbits here and there. All I got from the story about the cult was that their goal was to have the ideal society with women being the ideal mothers. Something similar to the Stepford Wives which is about the wives instead of mothers. The other thing I was not a fan of was making the protagonist so naive just to build up the ending of the story and making it a surprising factor. Although the ending is good it was still predictable for me. Somehow it resembled the ending of Rosemary's Baby.

Overall, Just Like Mother is a decent entertaining thriller with a strong concept and a few surprises. Whether it is a horror story or not that will depend on you and what truly scares you. Make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading it.

Many thanks to the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel is a novel about Motherhood and cults. Trigger warnings include rape, sexual assault, alcohol and prescription drug use/abuse, child abuse, child loss and infertility. The last time Maeve saw her cousin, Andrea, was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. Maeve has always yearned for the kindred friendship that she lost when they were separated. They reunite in adulthood and their lives quickly become intertwined. Maeve thinks she has survived her past horrors. Little does she know! Creepy. Disturbing. A page-turner. Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and TorNightfire for the ARC.

What a mindbending thriller! Maeve escaped a cult and reconnects with her childhood friend 25 years later. Very interesting flashbacks to the cult and how it affects her view of the world now. Very well written and loved the plot twists!

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This book is about a woman named Maeve who escaped from a motherhood cult when she was 7 years old. After Maeve escaped, she was adopted and became estranged from her best friend and cousin, Andrea, for 25 years. One day, Maeve and Andrea find each other online, reconnect, and become family once again. Maeve begins to notice strange things happening as she starts to get close to Andrea, but is it all in her head or is something really sinister going on?

This is an incredible psychological thriller! This book is a quick read but paced to perfection. I love how Maeve's trauma was portrayed with her mental processing and horrific visions, it is quite realistic. I did not feel connected with many of the characters, but that is due to Maeve's closed-off demeanor in her adulthood. I think that was intentional, along with every other miniscule detail in the story.

My favorite parts were the flashbacks from Maeve being in the cult and after she was adopted, which showed the disturbing reality and teachings of the cult in action. Maeve's actions as a child attempting to integrate into society with her warped thought processes were truly fascinating. All of the plot-twists were done very well. An impeccably written novel for sure.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This is basically a cult/thriller story about a woman in her 30's who thought she left the strange cult she grew up in in her past. Then someone from that cult reaches out to her to rekindle their friendship. You can imagine things kind of go downhill for our protagonist from there. There is a quite a bit of abuse, rape, general violence, drugging people, etc. I am not a huge fan of reading about that kind of stuff, so just a warning on content.

This was a very engrossing read and I was enjoying it up until the last third or so. I think my main issue here is how predictable this all is, the foreshadowing was too heavy and didn't leave enough mystery/thriller in this story. I kept reading hoping things were going to play out differently than I thought and when they started playing out exactly as I thought they would, I lost interest. The big mysteries of the strange animal in the girls' house growing up, the non-working toilets, etc….they all ended up being there for exactly the reasons I thought they were going to be there.

This is written in a very readable style and it was hard to put down for the first 60% of the book or so. Once things started happening exactly as predicted, there was no more mystery and I completely lost interest. The protagonist makes one bad decision after another and some of the other story elements were pretty far-fetched, there just wasn't much here to keep me engaged after the mystery went flat.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a very engaging read for the first ⅔’s of the book but things kind of went downhill from there. There was just too much foreshadowing and it made the mystery/thriller of this story too predictable. This isn’t a subject matter I really enjoy reading about much, for some reason I thought there was going to be some fantastical element here but there wasn’t…it was a straight-up cult thriller type of story. I don’t plan on checking out any more of this author’s books.

Well this was a creepy one. Fast paced with lots of tension and trauma. Kept me turning the pages and basically read it in one sitting. Yikes. Worth the read.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Maeve has spent her adulthood trying to survive the wreckage of her childhood. Born into a cult, the last time she saw her cousin Andrea was the night she escaped at 8 years old. So when Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had… even if something seems off.

I had such a hard time with this book. First, I was drawn in by the creepy cover, the overall premise and the long list of 5-star reviews. And at around 1/3 into the novel, it dawned on me that this genre might be too much for me. (You’ll know it when you get to it. 🤢) I literally put the book down and read a few others thinking I DNF. But… I decided to come back to it a month later and quickly jumped right back in.

While this wasn’t my favorite book, I’m glad I at least finished it. It’s twisted and outlandish, so you’ll need to suspend some belief at some parts. I’m not a fan of the gratuitous sex scenes — the story could’ve done without it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you judge this book boy the cover, you know you're in for something weird and creepy! This book was well written and had some great twists and turns. I will recommend this to friends who are looking for a fast paced thriller

Could not put it down! The first half of the book is creepy is such a subtle way that it felt very realistic. So much emotional and mental manipulation. It was something I, myself, would have easily fallen into. In my opinion, the twists were easily predictable but in a way that did not take away to much from the enjoyment of the read. I do wish there was a little more back story on the cult Mauve grew up in. Overall, really enjoyed reading though this book and would love to read from this author again.

Maeve and her cousin Andrea were raised in a cult called the Mother Collective but then lose contact with each other after the cult is busted. Maeve is placed into an adopted home and we see her later attempting to establish a normal adult life in Brooklyn NY. When an ancestry test puts her back in touch with Andrea, they resume a relationship and Maeve gets integrated into Andreas friends, life and home.

This book was hard to put down in a dark, twisty, captivating way. It opens with creepy tales of cult life: two girls playing Bloody Mary in the woods, a child referred to simply as “Boy” that nobody except Maeve seems to care about, a respect for the Mothers, and a noticeable absence of men. When Maeve is later put into an adoptive home, her parents encourage her to move on from her dark past, which she tries to do but it is understandably difficult. It made me both cringe and mourn when I read about her first day of school when she colored her face with makers and cut up her shirt to be more scandalous, thinking it made her appealing.

The manipulation and mistreatment of Andrea toward Maeve begins to be obvious and, as a reader, you want so badly for Maeve to see it and find a way out. The dark aspects of this story are very intense and much of what I read will stick with me. The author does an excellent job of instilling discomfort in the reader. I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted so badly for the story to have a happy ending.

That being said, without giving away any spoilers, the epilogue is chilling.

This was sort of like a 2022 Stepford Wives about motherhood. EEK! I hate think we haven’t moved forward but we all know we haven’t. I did find the writing a little stilted but the idea of a motherhood obsessed cult was interesting enough to push past that.

I am still thinking about this book and it’s been two days since I have finished it. My brain was twisted and turned and I am still contemplating it. This book was very disturbing I’m sure this might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But there must be something wrong with me because it clicked lots of check marks for me. Be warned not a lot of happy stuff happens in this story. Maeve is lonely and a survivor from a cult from her childhood. She has spent years missing her cousin who was like a sister to her. When the cult was discovered by authorities, Maeve was sent to live with adoptive parents. She lives a lonely life editing books until one day she finds her long lost cousin. They quickly reconnect and that is when the book starts to pick up. It’s fast paced, short chapters and keeps you wondering what is going on. If your looking for a happy ending I wouldn’t pick this one up. The ending was just so crazy my brain couldn’t compute it all. I dreamt about, I am still thinking about it, I was disturbed by it. All things I love when reading a thriller. I’m sure this will be a hit and I will read more from this author.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book privately and to NetGalley.

I just reviewed Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel. #JustLikeMother #NetGalley

You had me at the creepy baby doll cover! A deliciously frightening modern day gothic tale: cousins, raised as sisters in a Mother-centric cult, separated by the occurrence of a mysterious night when all hell broke loose at the cult compound. The girls, now women, in their thirties, meet again, through DNA testing. They are thrilled to have found each other once again, but something is just not quite right...

Anne Heltzel thoughtfully weaves a tale of mystery, intrigue, and horror. Oh, those babies! It's a fascinating socio-political take on women's issues: notably, the right to choose. Maeve and Andrea are strong characters and their personality traits are developed and described artfully. Plot building is superbly woven - the tension never lets up.

I was spellbound and enjoyed Just Like Mother immensely. Truly a Rosemary's Baby for the modern age.

5/5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley,Publisher Tor Nightmare, and the extraordinary author, Anne Heltzel, for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review, based solely on my independent opinion.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, Domestic Violence, Child Loss, Self Harm

Just Like Mother is a batshit crazy horror-thriller about a woman who escapes a "motherhood cult" as a child, and reconnects with her long-lost cousin as an adult. 



The book starts out reading like a domestic thriller (I wondered at first how it fit in the Nightfire lineup), but there's enough delightful nastiness by the end that I think it easily qualifies as horror. It's fast-paced, addictive, and very unsettling. It's also quite funny and truthful in places -- as a childfree woman I related to a lot of the dialogue Maeve had to deal with from other women who just knew she would want to be a mother one day.



One of my favourite tropes in thriller/horror novels is when you as the reader can see the evil coming, and the protagonist is so close to figuring it out...Just Like Mother had me stabbing a finger at my e-reader's screen turning pages and reading as quickly as I could.



I highly recommend this book if you want a paranoid, fun, strange thriller that goes off the deep end in the best way.



Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for my review copy of this book.

A must read! Lots of drama and mystery. Maeve and her cousin Are raised by a group of Mothers in a cult like setting. At age 8 Maeve escapes the cult trying to save a baby ‘boy’. She is adopted but misses her cousin. And when they meet up again, Maeve’s life is a horror story…..time to reread more!

A frightening novel book you will not want to put down, without giving anything away it’s Rosemary’s Baby meets the cult world. The writing style and editing of the story were spot on, and a page turner. I had to finish this book this morning before I accomplished anything (lol). Warning - don’t start the book till you can dedicate time to finish it because you just have to know what is happening….it’s that kind of nail biting novel. Thank you NetGalley for he early release. Buy this book! Looking forward to the author’s next story. She is a gifted storyteller. (Great cover too!)

MOTHER…

Anne Heltzel has given a frightening meaning to this term associated with female empowerment and caretaking.

Maeve is born into a cult called The Mother Collective, a Vermont based commune with a fanatical perspective on motherhood. She and her older cousin Andrea are tightly bonded and make a pact never to be apart from each other.

When Maeve hears strange noises coming from a locked room in their house, her curiosity gets the best of her. After she discovers what the MOTHERS have locked in the room, she escapes the commune with BOY, the only male child.

Years later, Maeve and Andrea reconnect after matching on a DNA website. Surprisingly, both women have been living in New York. However, while Maeve has been struggling to make ends meet as a book editor, Andrea has made a fortune in the tech and fertility industry. By the time Maeve learns more about Andrea’s business and true interests, it may be too late to escape!

This book can best be described as The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Stepford Wives.
The plot has a dark dystopian quality that will leave you very unsettled. I was intrigued by the misandry aspect of the plot, but do wish that more time was spent in the past timeline learning about the cult. The creepy grief dolls that Andrea invents are terrifying. Just look at that amazing book cover!

The plot kept my interest, despite the very predictable twists. I also have a few issues with believability, but this book still intrigued me with every flip of the page.

Please note the trigger warnings, as this book may not appeal to everyone.

Trigger warning: Cults, rape

Expected publication date: 5/17/22

3.5/5 stars rounded down

Thank you to NetGalley and Jordan Hanley from Macmillan-Tor/Forge Publishing for the widget of Just Like Mother in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well-paced thriller, but I definitely wouldn't consider it horror. That word being in the marketing made me think I was getting something I didn't. It's just fine for a beach read or a lazy afternoon, but it's ultimately pretty shallow and unsurprising.

Just Like Mother was another book which initially drew me in because of the cover. Dolls are just creepy AF so I needed this.

I had no idea what to expect as I went in totally blind and now I don’t want to say too much and give anything away. This is a great book to go into without any expectations and just enjoy the ride.
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What I loved: I was a fan of the writing, the book was weird and unique and perfectly put together. A spine tingling story with elements of horror and some gut wrenching moments with gothic vibes. I literally had a hard time putting this one down! Binge worthy for sure.

What I didn’t love: Nothing. This one had just about everything I love in a thriller/horror. Would totally recommend this!!! 4.5⭐️

I really wanted to love this book. The whole premise is super intriguing. I love the thriller parts and the twists and turns. I just wish some of the adult parts weren't quite so graphic, I think it took away from the book. I almost stopped reading mid way, but I just had to know what was going to happen. So, that says a lot. Great twists and good use of creepiness.