Love love loved this book. It’s so unique. And don’t get me started on how much I LOVE the cover! This book is one where you’re constantly like,”oh no what’s going to happen next?”. You’re saying it all the way until the final line. This is such an emotional book and so well done. It talks about depression and suicide for those who may need a trigger warning.

I really tried to like this book because the summary seemed like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the writing style which felt disjointed. The conversations were weird and hard to follow. Too bad, because I love a good haunting/ghost story.

Reading Motherthing felt intense for so many reasons. Wild, funny, and pretty grim, this book took the haunting presence of generational mental illness and toxic family dynamics to a horrifying level.

The story follows Abby, a care professional whose mother-in-law recently took her own life. Already feeling in competition with mother-in-law for her husband’s attention, Abby feels even more distant from Ralph as the death of his mother pulls him into a grief-filled depression. To make a difficult situation worse, Abby begins seeing the ghost of her dead mother-in-law who continues to taunt Abby in death with the same cruelty she did in life. As Abby becomes more isolated, more haunted, and more desperate to pour forth her love, she begins to spiral. Her acute need to care for her husband, potential child, and Mrs. Bondy, a resident and mother-figure at the long-term care facility where she works, soon increases Abby’s profuse love to reckless and dangerous places.

At times, I wanted to shove this book between my couch cushions and forget about it for awhile. Not because of the writing quality or any other technical reason. No, instead Ainslie Hogarth's ability to tap into real-life challenges and turn them into an unhinged nightmare affected me in a way that made me feel very uncomfortable.

This discomfort, though, is a sign of Hogarth's skilful and darkly effective storytelling. From the absurd lengths Abby goes to express her love to her tactics for exorcising the ghost of her mother-in-law, Mothingthing really forces us to question who's the dangerous one here. I loved every second of this guessing game, and now that I'm finished with the book, I think I will hide it in my couch cushions.

I tried for a while to get into this book. I read half of it and it sadly wasn't keeping my attention throughout so I stopped. It took me longer to read half of this fairly short book than it usually does for me to complete books that are even longer. I found this too slow moving for what the synopsis promised.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for this e arc.
What a dark and twisted book. I will be buying a physical copy asap.

I enjoyed this book on an OK level. It's probably not something I would have chosen for myself, but after I got into the book, it blended with me more. Abby moves in with her MIL (something at least half the American population would dread on any given day) and hopes that this move will rekindle their friendship. Her MIL isn't interested in her however and suddenly dies. How will Abby progress from this and move forward?

I will say it also had a few odd turns and twists which I think again allowed me not too give it 100%.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***


Netgalley wish granted me a copy of Motherthing which was exciting. Hearing only good things, I expected to love it.

I didn't think it was terribly funny like some folks do, but dark humor is maybe not my thing. I found it traumatic but not scary.

I was immediately interested in the story and what was happening but that wanted a bit around the 20% mark. All trauma and depression, no ghost yet.

Once the odd things started happening, I was back into it.

I think it's an interesting idea and definitely a hot take on a mother-in-law from hell.

"What the hell did I just read?"

Was my initial reaction after I reached the last few pages;
It was the perfect 'surprise myself' kind of book and I honestly don't know what to feel about this.

I love the writing style, it reminded me so much of 'The Year of Rest and Relaxation' only this time I actually enjoyed reading. All throughout the experience I was conflicted with the thought of liking Abby or be scared of Abby or to rationalize her way of thinking and actions.

Another thing that I loved about this is the accurate if not close enough portrayal of Depression, Psychosis and Psychotic Delusions, I guess also of folie a deux.

It came to the point that it was actually triggering to read some of the passages but that only made the reading experience thrilling.
I wouldn't suggest doing what I did of course. Mind your mental space at all times.

What I'm saying is, the author didn't shy away from writing the dark, scary and messy truth of having this disease and that it's not something to be romanticised.

Besides the topic of mental health problems obviously this book talks about mothers and mother figures and I think it's brave to openly discuss about this, about the significance of not just a mother's guidance and love but both parents with how a child grows up, how it might affect their way of thinking and how they express their love and admiration and how they view a family and marriage in general.

I don't know if it's morally right to say that I loved this but I said it anyway. It's not something that I normally read and recommend openly and I still won't unless you tell me you want to be surprised or you want to try something new.

So if you're looking for a book that's out of your normal genre and you're not squeamish and scared so easily?

This one's for you.

Motherthing is creepy, weird and horrific. Dark humor at its best but the novel does carry a strong psychological undertone that managed to send more than a few shivers down my spine.
The writing is crisp and the narrative flow unrelenting.
It will definitely always come to my mind when discussing mother in law/daughter in law relationships in the future...

A delightful fictional weirdness that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever...

Many thanks to Vintage and Netgalley for this terrific ARC

A very original concept. Definitely have to get the print for my shelf. The tension was terrific. I finished the book in one sitting. Couldn‘t put it down.

This was not what I was expecting, and it honestly exceeded expectation! It was creepy, it was disturbing, it was heart-wrenching. *chef's kiss!*

Abby loves her husband Ralph and Ralph loves Abby but he’s also a mama‘s boy and when she dies and Abby take something that belongs to her Irene will not let her forget it. If Abby thought her mother-in-law was a problem when she was alive, she hasn’t seen anything yet! This was a really good book I thought the story went along quickly and although it can be pretty funny it’s definitely a horror story. I also thought Abby and Ralph had a really good relationship I just like this book all the way around. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I LOVED this book. It’s so uniquely well written. I went all in during a long layover and couldn’t put it down. It made me chuckle a good few times, and also make horrified faces.

This is soaked in dark humor and trauma. I’m not sure I would have marketed this so heavy on the humor part but I so appreciate the humor and writing style of this book. I can’t quite explain what I read, part ghost story, part trauma filled nightmare, and really I just wanted to hug Abby and never eat her food.

Awful mother-in-law stories always have a weird draw for me and Motherthing did not disappoint.

Have you ever had that guest that is downright horrible but just won't leave? You're forced to put up with them for what feels like forever, as if you might have died and this is now your own personal hell? To listen to this person nag and berate and belittle you for all of eternity?

Abby finds herself in the position of many wives' worst fears: her awful mother-in-law might be gone, but her ghost still is lingering and tormenting them. Abby is hilarious. She's witty and smart and snarky and her commentary had me burning through this book in hours. I have been there before with the significant other with the mother I couldn't help but loathe for her treatment of myself vs her son and her attachment issues.

Even with Abby's snark, the overall mood turns dark and dreadful as Ralph's depression over his mother's passing grows. The psychological horror aspect ramps up quickly and the sad undertone pulled at my heart for Abby. It is hard to not feel for her as the story progresses.

I loved this and will recommend it to anyone looking for a suspenseful, psychological thriller. Especially anyone that has had to deal with the monster-in-law or even giving their everything but their love never returned in the amount it is given.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Motherthing.

This was not for me. I couldn't do the writing style. It felt all over the place and took away from the point of the story. Just no.

Motherthing was the perfect blend of humor, horror, and what-the-f*ck is happening. I loved every hilarious and mildly terrifying second of it. The cover is absolute *chefs kiss.* I would recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor, a strong stomach, and possibly someone who read and enjoyed NightBitch

Mothering is a comic tragedy or a tragic comedy. Bad things and sad things happen, but all and all it is a clever, witty story. Some lines were so funny that I laughed out loud while reading. There was one big twist I never saw coming. The things we do for love....

Poor Abby had a brutal childhood, finally found love, only to be haunted by her crabby, dead mother-in-law. When I read ghost stories, I wonder if these are ghosts or mental illness. Motherthing has both going on. The way Abby breaks the haunting is not the normal way of doing things. (If there is a normal way of getting rid of a ghost.)

We have some blood, vomit, and chewed up bread getting caught in Abby's hair. The spraying bread gagged me out more than the blood, but that's the way I am.

Thanks to Netgalley and Vintage for allowing me to read, review, and gag over soggy bread in Motherthing.

This was such a fun and wild story! I thought this was a fast pace and entertaining book! I loved the characters and felt I could relate to some of them. Overall, fun and quirky with enough suspense to keep me going. Such a fun read that I will be telling my friends about!

Interesting and engaging opening and premise but I found the dialogue and plot development a bit trite. Might try it again later though.