Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. However, I could not finish this book. I had really been excited as the premise sounds amazing, but the writing was just not for me, The idea of being haunted by your evil mother in love sounds so creepy and interesting, and normally I wouldn't be too put off, but this book doesn't seem to be living up to the haunted house promise.

One of my favorite books of the year. An excellent and unsettling look at mothers and the ways they impact our lives. Funny, unique, and engaging, this book's voice is one of the best I've ever read. This is definitely a weird one, but I love a horror novel with unhinged female characters. Recommended for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and A Touch of Jen.

This was truly a wild and haunting ride. This book was a combination of horror and psychological suspense that explored dark and disturbing subject matter in a way that was compulsively readable. The characters and the story were truly original and compelling. Not for the faint of heart.

MOTHERTHING didn't work for me, but it may work for others. Overall the story was interesting enough, not necessarily scary but I understand that it's categorized as horror.

This book has a great way of showing what grief can look like and I think it's very powerful and maybe good for someone that is also struggling with griefing someone.

When Abby’s mother in law moves in with her and her husband, Ralph, Abby is excited to finally have a mother figure in her life. But Laura is cruel to Abby, uninterested in bonding with her on any level. When Laura die, her ghost haunts Abby and Ralph. To break her mother in laws hold on their family, Abby has the most chilling plan. All it requires is a unique recipe for chicken a la king…

When a book has a slightly different pacing, tone, feel, etc it can be hard to get into. I desperately wanted to like this because I’m a fan of off beat and strange reads. Unfortunately, this one just went over my head and I felt dragged. I can definitely see this book as a polarizing title, you’ll either enjoy it or not. The synopsis calls it “darkly funny” but unfortunately there was no humour there for me, dark or otherwise.

I did think the writing and visuals were so well done but that just wasn’t enough to hold me. If you’d like to try something strange and unusual pick up Motherthing.

Thank you @penguinrandomca @penguincanada for sending me a copy of Motherthing in exchange for an honest review, 2.5✨.

I was so excited to dive into this book after reading the synopsis, unfortunately I didn't feel like the synopsis accurately described the story. This ending up being a let down for me and I don't enjoy reading about a grown man mamas boy. I think that this book is better suited for someone that ones to read about real life issues instead of creepy, dark stories. It's a mething (see what I did there? lol).

OK I loved this — spooky and unsettling and beautifully written. I thought a lot of the hype was coming from Bookstagram because of the cover, but it's worth it. This is a book about moms that touches on so much of the creepiness of motherhood and the spookiness of having a relationship with your offspring. I don't know how else to explain it. There were so many beautiful sentences. Well done.

Genre: Literary Fiction/Horror

Format: Audio

4 stars - I liked it!

Lit fic meets horror in this outlandish and wild ride of a book! I’ve been loving unhinged lit fic this this one fits the bill!

This book is dark, provocative, disturbing, but also so funny! I appreciated the commentary on motherhood, life, relationships, and enjoyed the complexities of all the characters throughout the book.

If you’re looking for a weird, razor-sharp, lit fic book definitely check this one out!

The summary is such a lie! The mother-in-law is dead from page one and there's no ghost haunting situation going on, it's all a metaphor for something I didn't care to find out. The wife (Abby) is a psycho and not one that's likeable or interesting to read about. The husband is such a mama's boy that I don't understand any woman would want to spend any more precious time married to this idiot- I know I wouldn't! And there's the "obsession with getting pregnant" trope, which I loathe. The writing style is not for me. It's similar to "Nightbitch" but worse, it's got these flashback scenes written in theater play mode. Nope. Not for me. Oh, and it's not horror! ☹️ For scary stuff: zero stars.

The writing in this book was phenomenal and I was sucked into the story of this woman trying desperately to help her grieving husband, even if his actions are getting more and more bizarre.

Loved and hated this title. Body horror is something I struggle to read and the end of this book was especially cringey to me, so it was hard to get through but I was constantly wanting to finish it. I read about this title a while back and it was not what I expected at all based on reviews.

I enjoyed this bold writing style even if the story was terrifying. It will shake you to the core.
Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was funny, yet weird. Do not go into this one thinking it is a horror novel. This seemed more like a weird fiction/comedy to me. It was funny, but not a new favorite. I think if you like weird fiction you should definitely pick this one up.

I received this copy in exchange for a review on Netgalley.

unhinged woman with an even more unhinged dead mother-in-law? sign me up

this book was so weird...but in a good way. i support women's wrongs. 3.5

Motherthing was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it was as everything I hoped it would be. Motherthing was the perfect blend of humerus and dark. Gross and bizarre.

Abby just wants to connect with her mother-in-law, Laura, hoping for a loving mother figure to help guide her. Laura returns Abby’s kindest with cruelty and makes Abby’s life a living hell. When Laura dies she comes back to haunt and terrorize Abby.

This book was bleak and disturbing and I loved every minute of it. I was enthralled from the very start and I did not want to put it down.

That being said, this novel was not a “scary” horror novel. It was more disturbing and gross.

In the interest of keeping this podcast spoiler free, I won’t tell you too much about Ainslie Hogarth’s newest book, Motherthing, but what I will share is that it’s a feminist horror story, and even sort of a love story.

It follows protagonist Abby Lamb immediately following the death of her overbearing, and maybe even a little bit evil mother-in-law Laura. Abby feels like she must act to prevent her depression-prone husband from following in his mother’s path, but her methods of protection are… suspect at best.

I recently spoke with Ainslie Hogarth about the multiple perspectives of motherhood, the efforts women make to protect their families, and why the horror genre shouldn’t be overlooked.

Here’s our conversation.

Where do I even begin with this book. It definitely took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. My rating went from two stars til four stars and back, so finally I just landed on three stars.
The writing style of the book and the twisted plot reminded me very much of Mona Awad writing and her famous Bunny. I won't be surprised if Anslie Hogharth was inspired by this book.
There's no way I can describe what was happening in this book without spoiling, and also because I still try to understand it myself.
The hole time we are comfortably sitting in our main characters head and , boy, how strange it is. The main character is completely unreliable and you get to the point where you start to question her (or maybe yours) sanity.
If you have a weak stomach - be wornd, the ending might test it.
I think this book can be a perfect bookclub book, so definitely reccomend it.

I featured this book on Instagram on my “Preorder Rec” list! It’s funny, disturbing, and gross! I devoured it! And the cover is absolute perfection!!

Interesting mix of comedy and horror. I liked watching Abby descend into madness and trying to decipher what was reality and what was in her head. I wanted more in the ending. The climax felt rushed and therefore fell a little flat and I would’ve loved to see the repercussions of the actions of the final chapters.