Not what I was looking for when I went into it but still enjoyed it so much I gave it 5 stars! I thought it would have been more of a horror or scary type story but the only part that creeped me out was with those dolls. OMG them dolls were freaking something else. I wouldn't have one of them things in my house no way. Reminds me of the "Chuckie Dolls" to much. The actual cult itself "The Mother Collective" was also another disturbing thing as we find out their purpose and all.

I really despised Andrea the "cousin" but I had to keep reminding myself it was how she was raised and what beliefs were pounded into her that made her how she was and I would get easily irritated with our main character Maeve who was far more trusting and gullible than she should have been. I would be literally clenching my fists and hollering silently in my mind for her to wake up and smell the coffee or just smack her to see what was right in front of her!

Entertaining to the end as the pace kept up and always had something to tug you along to want to see what happened next. There probably should be a few trigger warnings though as there were a few scenes involving sexual assaults/rape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

That was completely creeptastic!!! I have an aversion to dolls as it is, and this certainly didn't do anything to help that phobia. I was on edge through this whole book. Cults, creepy life-like dolls, bat crap crazy characters. Nothing about this not to love!!

I devoured this book in a single day (much faster than I've read anything in ages). It was fast and compelling, and I was hooked the entire time. It's a thriller with a nice dash of horror. It's a lot of things at once, all of them right up my alley.
Full review to come on YouTube.

A modern day gothic. The creepy atmosphere will keep you questioning what is real. The author created a fantastic main character who’s persona insecurities lead the reader to question everything.

This was a genuinely scary book that I finished in one night. The cult was super creepy and I could see references to current politics and attitudes about womanhood that was twisted into an anti feminist but also anti male view of women. Nice little twists that reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby or Invasion of the Body Snatchers-don’t trust anyone!

Just Like Mother is a chilling Rosemary's Baby-esque thriller. I was drawn to reading it as soon as I saw the creepy cover. The story flashes from past to present following Maeve and her escape as a child from a motherhood cult. Her entire adult life Maeve has been searching for her cousin, Andrea, who also escaped the cult. They reconnect but will their past allow them to move on?

This book was definitely a fast paced thriller! I read it in one sitting and stayed up way too late to finish. Although, I figured out the twist towards the end I still found the ending to be very gratifying. I thought this was a well written and unique book that keeps a reader on the edge of their seat. I look forward to reading Heltzel's future novels.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anne Heltzel, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #justlikemother #anneheltzel

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and Anne Heltzel for a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Motherhood, bodily autonomy, and the power of the female collective are at the center of this chilling tale. Maeve is a survivor of a motherhood cult and years after being on her own, rekindles a relationship with her biological cousin whom she grew up with. What starts out as a troubling series of events quickly unfolds into a veritable nightmare scenario. This is one novel that will raise the hair on your arms and keep you up at night.

In a world with ever increasing couples choosing not to have a family, Just Like Mother hits a little too close to home with the idealogical fanatacism of its Motherhood Collective and the power and control over women and their only worth in life being the ability to bring forth life.

I felt the ending left enough open for a prequel or a sequel. I would have loved to learn more about the origins of the Collective, as details were just vague enough to keep the reader intrigued and desperate for more answers.

For fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and cult survivor stories.

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to resist a book with a disembodied creepy doll’s head on the cover.

Just Like Mother is a twisty thriller. Maeve managed to escape from a strange, misandrist cult when she was a child, but left her cousin Andrea behind. As adults, Maeve and Andrea track each other down online; Andrea is now at the head of a huge global corporation, and Maeve a struggling publisher. When Andrea welcomes Maeve back into her life, Maeve experiences a run of uncommonly bad luck, forcing her to unwillingly stay at Andrea’s estate for a while. There, she discovers the cult she fled as a child may not be as dormant as she once thought.

The most gripping thing in this novel is the uneasy relationship between Maeve and Andrea. What was this grave betrayal that Maeve committed, that leaves her so emotionally indebted to Andrea. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns; no matter how many times I thought I had it all figured out, something else happened that threw my theories right out of the water.

Along with the entrancing story, there are also many points to consider in this book. The value of motherhood, but also the validity of the choice to remain childless. And the cult’s treatment of men may be considered ghastly, but not too far removed from the levels of sexism women have faced for hundreds of years.

I would have loved for the author to expand further on the creepy dolls that serve as a replacement for real children; always a great avenue for potential terror.

Just Like Mother is an incredibly entertaining read, a real page-turner. And, if weird cult-ish childhood trauma is your thing, I also highly recommend Catriona Ward’s latest novel, Sundial, also from Nightfire.

I was lucky to get an ARC of this upcoming release in exchange for my honest review so many thanks to NetGalley!

Now let's get started.
The cover of this book is chef's kiss! It is so freaking creepy I could barely contain myself!

This book follows two cousins who are separated when they are younger and through a DNA test website are brought back into each other’s lives after over 20 years. What follows is some pretty messed up stuff.

This book gives you small glimpses into the cousin's past to show you basically why they are the way they are in the present. I felt the main character Maeve was so strong! I loved when she talked about why she didn't want to have children and embraced the fact that all women do not have to give birth to be valuable, or an asset to society (yas! couldn't have loved that part of the storyline more). Maeve was only a child when she stood up to the "Mothers" who were basically in a cult-like entity where birthing more girls was their mission in life. So yea even with all her "issues" she kept that stuff together and knew what she wanted out of life. She is my favorite kind of protagonist. The way the story ended was nice and not what I was expecting. I really felt it was wrapped up with a creepy little bow at the end.

Loved the concept! I really enjoyed the way the author told the story, and I could not put it down! However, some of the things that icked me out were triggering for me and could be triggering for others (just so you are aware). There is much talk about SA, Post Partum Depression, Attempted Self-Abortion, and Child Abuse. With all that said I gave it 4/5 stars I will recommend.

Unfortunately this will be a DNF for me, as there were lots of disturbing triggers that arose surrounding rape and child abuse. Another deciding factor for not finishing the book was that the characters were not likeable. This book didn’t feel like a horror novel, it felt as though they incorporated dolls and cults into the story just for the creep factor. On a positive note, I did enjoy Heltzel’s style of writing. Her words flowed nicely and she’s wonderful with descriptive scenes. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian-Tor/Forge Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a pretty twisted story. I didn't particularly like the characters, but the plot kept me reading.

Andrea and Maeve are subjected to a strange upbringing in a motherhood cult until Maeve escapes and they go their separate ways. Later as adults they are reunited and Andrea pushes hard for Maeve to give up her eggs allowing Andrea and her husband to have the child they are desperate for but unable to conceive. Maeve is going through a hard time and Andrea is more than happy to help for a price. Strange events and flashbacks of when they were young take the story on a course similar to HANDMAIDS TALE or ROSEMARY'S BABY. Horror, creepy motherhood cults and paranoia for all - this is a scary book that reminds us that mother is always watching. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Y'all, I have to say that horror is definitely not a genre I read ever. That said, this was a wild ride that kept me reading! The story focuses on Maeve and Andrea. Maeve and Andrea were both children in a cult. Maeve escaped, and she's always wondered what happened to Andrea. Then, they find one another again in New York. Andrea has taken on some new ventures in the fertility industry, and Maeve is invited to be part of these. Maeve has some hesitations, and then as she is drawn more into Andrea's world, more things start happening. As a reader, there were lots of moments where I could totally see what was happening, but the characters couldn't which was part of the solid horror experience. This was quite intense, and I'm glad I jumped out of my normal genres for some emotional thrills!

I would offer the content warning that this might not be a good read for anyone who is trying to conceive, struggling to conceive and/or pregnant. I'm a new mom and did okay with the content, but thinking about other stages of my motherhood journey, this would've landed differently with me.

Cue the discomfort people, you are going to have shivers up your spine with this one.

I am a total cover snob, lets be serious for a moment, just look at this cover. It is not only frightening but its absolutely captivating. It screams "read me" because come on, anything that has a premise with a creepy child like doll head on the cover is going to instantly grab my attention.

This book is beyond a thriller, I would more or less classify it as a thrilling, psychological horror novel.

I am completely and utterly obsessed with this book and have become an instant fan of Anne Heltzel. This book screams book of the year. I will put my bet out now that this book will break the internet on release day.

I am still in shock..

The character development is perfection, the plot is executed well, there is not one thing I could critique with this book. I read it in one sitting, I will most likely even read it again, I just could not get enough.

I would absolutely love to see this book made into a movie or mini series. It was such a honor to read and review this book prior to the big release!

A true gut-pinch of a book, Just Like Mother is a body horror focused on birth and motherhood. Years ago, Maeve escaped the cult where she was born, leaving behind her cousin Amanda. When Amanda wants to reconnect, Maeve jumps at the chance, spending more and more time in Amanda's huge home in Upstate New York. Nothing is quite right here, as Amanda and her friends obsess over motherhood and birth while more of Maeve's connections disappear from her life. Utterly terrifying, with the worst horrors reserved for scenes that are, for women, all too real. Creepy dolls, claustrophobic nightmares, murderous cults, and societal expectations: what could be scarier than that?

I will admit it was the cover of this book that made me request it and it did not disappoint. Maeve and Andrea are cousins, both lived with their 'Mothers' in a cult like complex, some of what happens at the complex and how Maeve brought it to an end is told in flashbacks. Maeve is living in New York working for a publisher and having occasional get togethers with a bartender and she's actively looking for Andrea whom she has not seen since the night she shut the complex down. She eventually makes contact through a genealogy website and eagerly agrees to visit Andrea's house in the Catskills area. It's a large old mansion and Maeve quickly realizes that Andrea is loaded as the owner of a company that provides expectant and new mothers support in the form of (really creepy) lifelike dolls that behave almost like real babies, they cry, need to be breastfed, need to be held (a lot) and are intended to help mothers bond with their baby. At first things between Andrea and Maeve go well, until Andrea makes a request of Maeve that she's not willing to grant. Then things start to go really bad for Maeve, to say more would be a spoiler, I did read this book very quickly. I would recommend, it is a very good read. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Nightfire for the ARC.

First and fore most let's talk about the creepyiness of this cover?? The cover is what made me really want to read this book. Why Yes, I did judge this one by its cover.

Now... This book is a about a crazy motherhood cult that despises men and the children who survived it.. or they thought! Maeve is the child in question, she thought she was moving on with her life when suddenly she realizes that her cousin is trying to reach her through one of those ancestry type sites. Excited by the possibility of having family around, Maeve allows herself to be swallowed whole by her cousin and her upscale lifestyle.

Parts of this book were disturbing to say the least.. you have rape, kidnapping, child abuse, gaslighting, suicide, murder, and creepy little life like dolls. The author real went above and beyond to make this one trigger happy.

I personally was not a huge fan of the main character, she was sheepish and naive. The supporting characters were terribly manipulative and condensing from the very beginning of the book. I felt like the plot was predicable and it just made me sad.

Okay y'all, best fasten your seat belts for this one - JUST LIKE MOTHER is a messed up, thrilling ride.

Although I loved this one, it is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It deals with a lot of heavy topics (specifically around motherhood, child loss and reproductive rights) Even though I am happily #childfree this one got me in the feels and brought out a lot of resentment towards the characters in the book (which, I'm sure, was the author's intention.)

Full of twists, backstabbing and a great ambiguous ending, JUST LIKE MOTHER will delight fans of twisted, psychological horror.

Thank you to Netgalley for my #arc

Horror, psychological thriller, gaslighting – this one has it all! Maeve reunites with her cousin Andrea after a 20-year hiatus when she escaped the cult, they were both raised in. Since that time, Maeve has built a safe, normal life in New York City. Andrea was the only friend Maeve ever had, and even though Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry, Maeve is happy to be spending time with her in her estate in the Catskill mountains. Then Maeve begins having flashbacks of her time in the cult, and the terror of those times may be the only way she will survive Mother, as Andrea is now called. A chilling story about women, expectations, and nightmares.

Anxieties around motherhood creep into horror from many different angles. Nightmares about birth, for example, appear in horror literature and films such as ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE BROOD. Newer novels like THE PUSH and BABY TEETH, and films like THE BAD SEED, highlight the fear of raising manipulative, sociopathic children. Even stories like PSYCHO, CARRIE, and MOMMY DEAREST feature monstrous mothers as the main focus. One concept not yet thoroughly explored appears in Anne Heltzel's upcoming book, JUST LIKE MOTHER, where the societal pressures to pursue motherhood serve as the primary horror and manifest in the form of a literal cult.

Mauve and her cousin, Andrea, grew up as close as sisters until the cult that raised them collapsed. After this separates the cousins, Mauve tries to build a new life in New York City as an editor, but, due to her traumatic past, continues to distance herself from friends, family, and romantic partners. Two decades later, a DNA search reunites Mauve and Andrea, pulling the two closer to each other and their shared past.

Suddenly spending more time at her cousin's remote mansion in the Catskills, Mauve becomes immersed in Andrea's life, meeting her pregnant friends and learning more about the fertility tech company that made her rich. Motherhood falls in the center of everything, and Mauve— single and without intentions of changing that anytime soon—begins feeling isolated from the life she built back in the city. Soon, Andrea's life and devotion to motherhood starts to consume Mauve who must look to her past to break free from her current nightmare.

JUST LIKE MOTHER gives us a unique type of horror with a page-turning plot. I heard Heltzel's social message loud and clear, finding myself engaged by her creative, critical, and creepy expression of motherhood as a cult. The book pretty directly calls attention to the harm caused by the exclusionary, essentialist ideology that often grounds the view that only motherhood gives women their power or that womanhood equals motherhood, which I had never seen in horror fiction before reading this book. This message combined with uncanny AI babies, feelings of confinement, and the presence of cults makes for a gripping take on the horrors of motherhood as a concept rather than only its tangible, messy realities.

I do wish we learned more about the cult that raised Mauve and Andrea, but understand that giving us deeper descriptions of it would probably impede the forward-movement of the plot. I also wanted more scenes with creepy babies, but again, I think I'm just greedy for a good scare.

In summary, readers who want a new twist on the horrors of motherhood with social commentary will get that all in a fast-paced package with JUST LIKE MOTHER. But, as a heads up, this book focuses heavily on pregnancy and infertility so if you are sensitive to these topics you may want to pass.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Tornightfire for the electronic advanced reviewer copy! Keep an eye out for JUST LIKE MOTHER, scheduled to release on May 17, 2022.