This was such a bizarre little book but I absolutely loved it. Odd, creepy, and surprisingly funny. I can't wait to read more from Hogarth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

What a wild ride this was! The structure of this book was so different and interesting. The inner monologue and fever dreams of the main character at times were confusing, but I think that was the whole point. This book was entertaining, chaotic, haunting, and creepy! All great things. Thank you to netgalley and Knopf Doubleday publishing group for access to this title in exchange of my honest review.

I did not enjoy this book. Nothing about it kept me engaged or interested and it was a slog to get through it. I had high hopes but was disappointed.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage for this arc.

This review is the one I m finding very difficult to write. I thought a lot about what I was going to say, and I am here really trying to do my best with what I just read. That said, let me start saying this book did not work out for me. I requested this arc because i loved the cover, it reminds me of a graphic novel or an 80’s movie poster, and because the premise sounded fantastic.

In Motherthing we follow Abby and Ralph grieving the passing of Laura, Ralph’s mother. Abby never got along with her mother-in-law, and now she thinks that she and her husband will finally start living the life she always dreamed of. But Laura’s ghost comes back, and her presence lingers over their lives.

Yes, it sounded great. And it was, until I reached 50% of this story. Then the story lost me. I was confused and had no clue where the narrative was going. I lost interest in this story. There is nothing new in here, no big twist, nothing mind-blowing. By the midway point the story got boring. I thought it was going to have humor, and maybe there was. It just not humored me.

I am sure this is going to be a great book for someone else, it was just not an ok book for me.

A romp through horror both psychological and bodily, told by a main character who clearly has PTSD and may or may not also be a psychopath. I sympathized with Abby's frustration in dealing with her husband and his mother's ghost, and understood her compulsion towards her patients. The ending, though, was the pièce de résistance, which quite honestly left me gobsmacked, until I burst into laughter. Perfect for anyone who likes unexpected twists.

Thank you NetGalley for another ARC!

Dear god, I did not like this book AT ALL! I don’t know what made me dislike this book so much, if it was the main character or the whole thing.

I can see, kind of, why people would like this book, but not me, dead god, not me.

What an unpredictable ending!! A married couple is faced with the death of parent that then brings a series of life-altering events. I laughed, felt sad, was shocked and creeped out. A quirky and easy read!

Ainslie Hogarth has an almost poetic style of writing with her witty vocabulary.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for allowing me early access to this novel in exchange for an honest review. To be released on the 27th September 2022.

Now THIS is the mother-in-law from hell book I've been looking for.

I have been waiting along time for this book. I read The Boy Meets Girl Massacre by Hogarth I think in 2015 or 2016 and I loved it (ignore the 3.45 rating because those readers are wrong 😉) and have been waiting patiently for her next offering and here we have it. And just look at it. Look at it and appreciate that super amazing retro looking cover. Perfection. 👌

Abby and Ralph Lamb decide it's time to move in with Ralph's mother, Laura, to help her around the house. She's a needy woman, controlling, manipulative, and 100% devoted to her son. No one will ever be good enough for him, especially Abby. This breaks Abby's heart because after growing up with a mother that liked booze and men more than her own offspring she was hoping she'd make a connection she so desperately needs in her life with Laura. Eventually Abby succumbs to defeat and spends her time wishing for Laura's death behind a polite smile.

Laura, having long dealt with depression since her husband abandoned her, has decide to take her own life. A threat she's wielded time and time again but that has finally come to fruition.

Abby thinks they are finally free of her but that's not really Laura's style. Nope, in fact, Ralph mentions that her ghost is actually living in the basement. Ralph continues to spiral down into his depression and Abby needs to figure out a way to get her good husband back and banish the ghost of her mother-in-law once and for all.

I've met my new favorite fictional character in Abby Lamb. She is hilarious and she had me giggling throughout the book.

Admittedly, my humor isn't quite like everyone else's and I am a-okay with that knowledge. Hogarth get's me right in the funny bone but it WON'T be for everyone. Also, this book gets dark at the end. Gross-out dark. Gag worthy for some. I loved it. Though if you're a lover of Chicken al a King you may want to give this one a pass!


Lastly, everyone should wish for a relationship like Abby and Ralph. They're perfect together! ALL. THE. STARS.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for my complimentary copy.

I absolutely love the cover of this book! That, however, is where the love ends. I expected this to be a horror novel, that's how I've been hearing it advertised, and talked about. It is not.
Abbey and her husband move in with her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law commits suicide.
While her mother in laws haunting is something brought up a couple times, the rest of the book is about Abbey not having a mother figure and how it's affected her life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Well that was... umm.. different.. to say the least..

In all honesty this was quite entertaining. Abby is one of those crazy character types who you just can't help but be completely intrigued by. When she finally succeeds in her task all you can do is smile and say "good for you Abby, good for you" a little out of awe, a little out of fear but mainly that she managed to do it with her determination and a creative recipe.

I really enjoyed this book a lot although it's not going to be for everyone. I think it would be best enjoyed by those who enjoy things a little weird. There are some Paranormal and gory scenes throughout the story but I wouldn't classify this as horror. It's more like a nod to horror in a funny and entertaining way.

If you are someone who requires trigger warnings I do recommend looking those up before reading.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was really excited about this book but it just was a pass for me. The cover instantly attracted my attention towards it. And the synopsis sounds very interesting... But the writing itself was just odd. It seemed like it was someone's diary thoughts instead of an edited book. It was a weird style of writing

This isn't classic horror by any means, but it's clearly not trying to be - it's "elevated horror", which has been becoming more and more popular throughout the years. So if you're looking for a book that's classically scary, this isn't going to be it. If you're looking for a novel that explores the complexity of emotions behind families and expected familial roles, while focusing on the terror that comes from the home + the family, this will be more your thing.

As for my actual review, I liked this. I expected it to be more of a classic horror based on the way it was marketed, but I wasn't disappointed that it wasn't. This is well-written and Hogarth successfully weaves in such a feeling of despair throughout. It's so emotional and smart, I can't recommend it enough.

This is far from horror.

I was excited to read this book, thinking it was going to be scary. Instead, it just made me depressed. The author honestly did a great job cultivating that strong of an emotion immediately in chapter one!

It truly was dark and irreverent to the max. If you’re looking for something that breaks the mold, give this a try. For me, I just hoped it was something different.

Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this proof copy of this weird-ass fever dream of a book!

For much of this book, I was feeling a bit unsure. The middle portion is a bit hard to work through, and there are a lot of mixed timelines, unclear memories, and just generally unhinged narration from Abby, so it was easy to get a bit lost. While this confusion was important and I believe purposeful, I think it hindered the plot somewhat, because it did slow down my involvement and enthrallment in the story and in Abby and Ralph's plight. I feel like if some organization were changed, I would have been able to better connect to the characters, and thereby feel more when conflict arose and unfolded.
I also think that while this book was fun and the concept was great, the beginning was a bit contrived, and there were some points where the dialogue was forced or uncomfortable. HOWEVER, the central conflict of Ralph losing his mother was intriguing enough that I pushed on anyway.

I will say, at about 80% through, I was set on giving this three stars. And then a development that had actually been built up to quite well (definitely the summit of the story's creative genius) (I'm looking at you chapter 30) and surprisingly subtly, came out and just knocked my feet out from under me.
Also, despite the chaos, I could never have guessed the precise ending, nor can I think of a better way it could have ended. Hat's off there, Hogarth! You're bloody weird!!!!!!

Came for the cover, stayed for the comical absurdity this book is teeming with.

Abby Lamb is married to one of The Good Ones- her husband Ralph is matchless among men and all Abby wants to do is be a wonderful wife to him. Unfortunately, Abby has shared Ralph with his mentally ill and codependent mother their entire relationship. Despite Abby's best, Ralphs mother Laura is not willing to allow Abby to penetrate her bond with her son.

The book begins after Laura's demise at her own hands, and follows Abby as things spiral more and more out of control within her marriage and her working life. It doesn't help that even from beyond the grave, Laura can not give Abby the satisfaction of having Ralph all to herself.

I absolutely could not put this book down. I am particularly fond of characters like Abby- well meaning but unhinged. A product of childhood trauma, she aims to please those she loves most and will go to drastic lengths to do it. This both propelled the story further and also endeared Abby to me.

The combination of the paranormal with the reality of mental health struggles was so interesting to me, and Hogarth kept me on the edge of my seat bouncing between the two. If you are looking for a wild ride you can't stop thinking about, RUN, don't walk to preorder this book!

Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday and Netgalley for a copy of Motherthing in exchange for my honest thoughts.

*Are you tired of boring, rinse-and-repeat novels? Are you fed-up with the same old, same old? Do you desperately need more jellied salmon in your life? Then stay tuned for a !!!!SPECIAL OFFER!!!!*
~
~
~
Introducing, Ainslie Hogarth's MOTHERTHING: a suburban nightmare that's sure to melt your popsicle mind! Horror! Humor! Jellied salmon! MOTHERTHING has it all! It'll have you screaming, it'll have you crying, it'll have you dying...of LAUGHTER!!
~
Don't believe me? In just pages, watch how MOTHERTHING quickly crafts interesting, dynamic characters, people that could easily be your next door neighbors; WOW! Just like that! Again, watch how fast MOTHERTHING does it...just like that! No flat-character residue, no boring-character stink!
~
Not only does it have fantastic characters, MOTHERTHING also balances tone like nobody's business! It can do horror...it can do humor...it can EVEN blend the two. It's seamless! No more inconsistent tones! No more uneven pacing! With MOTHERTHING, experience a story like no other!
~
But WAIT! THERE'S MORE! If you pre-order MOTHERTHING in the next 20 minutes, we'll throw in two extra jellied salmons at no extra cost! That's right, not one but TWO jellied salmons -- absolutely FREE!! Don't wait on this exclusive, special offer, available only for a limited time! (stolen engagement ring sold separately)
~
Nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! Just buy, buy, buy, buy!

I grinned and grimaced and gritted my teeth all through Motherthing — I would actually love to see a time-lapse recording of my facial expressions as I read this — and as much as one can say, “This is a little bit horror and a little bit comedy”, Ainslie Hogarth seems to have invented something completely unique here. Sure: Ottessa Moshfegh and Mona Awad are doing something similar with their unhinged young female main characters, but Hogarth adds in a relatability factor that had me aching for Abby Lamb. The writing is crisp and fizzy (and so, so dark) — from the sentences to the overall plot — and I gobbled up the whole thing in a few short hours.

I don't think this really fits in the horror world. Sure there are aspects, But something seems like it didn't fully develop.
I managed to finish it, but was a little left wanting more.

I sometimes try to read outside my normal genres but this book did not do it for me at all. I'm not sure why it was described as both a horror and comedy story, I neither found it scary or funny. In order for me to like a book, I have to at least like some of the characters or find them relatable. There was not one single character that I liked nor could I figure out why Abby and Ralph were even together. In all honesty, the first 3/4 of the book wasn't that bad but they totally lost me on the last fourth.

(2.25)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth is 1 of my most anticipated releases of Q3 2022. You can check the other 17 here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcxyK...). So when I received an ARC I was over the moon.

Unfortunately from page 1 I got a feeling this wasn't going to be for me, because of the writing style. It didn't just not work, it actively put me off from the book and finishing turned out to be a bit of struggle. Overall the story was interesting enough, not necessarily scary but I understand that it's categorized as Horror.

Writing style is very personal, so I suggest trying out a sample of this book if its available or reading a few pages in your bookstore before picking it up. Because if the writing style works for you this is most likely a pretty solid read.