Book Review 📚 🎧

4.5⭐

Publication date: Available Now 😉 5/17/22

*Girls born the the Mother Collective, A feminist commune (Big Ass CULT) were educated, important and independent. At the age of 13 each girl would be blessed to receive "the ritual" and become a mother. The sole purpose for womens existence.*

Everything about this book creeped me out. From the cover to the song they would sing for comfort. Creepy AF. I don't want to spoil this book for anyone because it was really good, but the doll carries a decent sized part in this and the whole concept of the doll creeped me the hell out as well. When you read it, you'll get it. I listened to this ARC from @netgalley and the narrator was BADASS! this is a huge deal for me, I have a hard time with a bad narrator. 🤷‍♀️
I would have rated this a 5 ⭐, but a lot of things I wish were revisited weren't. I also wish more information was given about the cult itself. The inside operations, how wide spread it was and so on.

Super good though. Read it. Now

👶🏼𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰👶🏼

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! It’s been busy busy for me but I getting some down time today and excited to dive back into INSOMNIA! Wanted to pop on briefly and share my thoughts over this book I finished last week🖤

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Domestic psychological thriller
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞: CULTS!!
𝐏𝐮𝐛. 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 5/17/22
𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3.91

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Maeve’s early life was shaped by a matriarchal cult where she and her cousin, Andrea, were raised by a radical feminist group called the Mothers. Her escape brought the cult down and during the fallout, her and Andrea were separated by the foster system. Decades later, a struggling Maeve finally manages to reconnect with Andrea, only to discover that she has grown rich off the success of her company, which supplies hyperrealistic baby dolls to women to either assist them in preparing for motherhood or help them grieve a lost child. As the two grow closer again, Andrea’s company and her network of baby-minded women unsettle Maeve, forcing her to confront what she and Andrea really mean to one another and the grip the cult still has on them both☠️

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

⚠️WE HAVE ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT A CULT PEOPLE!! ⚠️

If you guys have been around for a while, you know I LOVE a good culty book and it’s even better when it’s one with psychological thriller undertones🤩😬 Just Like Mother is an ERRIE, fast-paced psychological thriller that criticizes society’s obsession with motherhood. I devoured this one!! If you like sharp books about cults and dark hidden family secrets, this one is for you!

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭?! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤?!

As if the cover wasn't a big enough indicator, this book may be the creepiest book I've read.

Based around two adults who escaped the cult The Mother Collective when younger, this book is a wild ride. Although parts were slow and some things I wanted more of, it was addicting to read.

I feel like the overall pacing was off. Too much crammed in the ending, and too slow moving with not enough activity throughout the beginning/middle. I also wanted more about the cult experience. We got a couple chapters but that was what I really enjoyed and would love if the timelines altered back and forth more often. All in all, the unraveling of this novel was predictable and I saw it coming the second Andrea and Robert were brought into the story. Predictable is fine I just wish there was a little more to the story.

I would recommend this to people who want a creepy vibe and a culty story. Don't read if expecting though...

This ended up being a "Did not finish" for me. While it was weird, I found the characters annoying and the story wasn't really going anywhere for me. Stopped at 30%.

I don’t know if I’m just picking up more thrillers about reluctant mothers, or if there has been an actual influx of them in the publishing industry recently. But Just Like Mother is the latest edition to the bunch that's receiving a fair amount of buzz. It’s an ambitious attempt for sure, with a plot littered by cults, MLM-esque wellness retreats, arson, and the obligatory self-medicating protagonist. This book is like if Alice Feeney wrote Nightbitch - and if that mashup sounds confusing and discordant, it’s because it is.

Just Like Mother is not a mid-life crisis, it’s an identity crisis. This book doesn’t know if it wants to be a more highbrow literary-thriller or just straight up campy horror, and tries to be both. This leads to the actual commentary on the toxicity of white, cis feminism being buried by the ridiculousness of the plot itself. You can’t in good faith try to sell me a serious, meaningful discussion on these topics when we have moments in the story where women are discovered lurking in the hallways, stabbing plastic models of human babies. It’s absurd, to the extent of being comical. The switch in tone is just too jarring here.

I think if Just Like Mother had committed to being either literary fiction with slight mystery elements instead of an outright thriller novel, it would have been a more successful work. Unfortunately, while I recognize the importance of the message here and how exclusionary feminism sometimes is to the groups it so often pretends to champion - I just don’t think this attempt blended both the themes and the thriller elements in a way that left me with anything but lingering amusement for some of the more outrageous moments in the book. Maybe an actual mother could connect with this story more, someone with all the experience of the exhausting and often thankless task of raising a child. But in the end, this is not my personal flavor of thriller.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book early! This is a cult thriller unlike anything I've read lately! 2 young girls (Maeve and her cousin Andrea) were raised by a group called "mothers". One night the girls go out in the woods and Andrea scares Maeve so she runs back and things kind of explode and the girls are sent into foster care. Now its many years later and the girls are adults and they reunite but things aren't as they seem. I really don't feel like I can say much more about the synopsis without giving spoilers so I'll just leave it there and say that I enjoyed it. There are a lot of things that didn't ever quite add up, but nothing hugely integral to the story. The first twist is pretty obvious from early on so that made for some pacing issues in the middle for me, but the ending was so fast paced I felt like I couldn't look away. However, the very ending made no sense to me. Someone said she didn't want a certain thing the whole book and then the ending is her having that thing and being happy about it. Where did that come from?? Our main character is also painfully naive. Overall, I think this was a good and creepy book that was entertaining and worth the read.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Long story short, there was a boy with the girls at the mothers cult. After the night in the wood, Maeve ran back and saved the boy. She went to a good foster home but Andrea didn't have a great experience. Andrea was old enough that she was brainwashed by the cult and went on to keep it alive under the guise of being a life coach who mentors women on the joys of being a mother. The cult is an uber feminist cult that aims to use men simply to reproduce women and then kill off the men. Women who choose to not have kids have that choice taken from them, including Maeve. She doesn't want kids because of all the trauma she has endured but Andrea's husband repeatedly rapes her because Andrea CANT have kids and they want a baby to continue the cult. Maeve gets pregnant and a cult meeting gets exploded but Andrea gets away. Both of Maeve's love interests get killed by Andrea and the cult. Maeve wants to give the babies up since they're a product of rape and a really hard stage for her so she has someone lined up then decides to change her mind so she can protect the babies (twin girls). She keeps them safe until Andrea is arrested and then gives them to the adopted mom and has regular playdates with them. At one of these playdates, the girls start singing "a sailor went to sea-sea-sea" (the cult song) and we find out the adoptive mom is apart of the cult and is breeding the girls to continue it. Nobody is safe and Maeve can trust nobody. She's happily married and pregnant with another kid. Makes no sense. Other things that don't make sense: what happened to the boy? timelines of Maeve's relationships. Why did Maeve seek out a relationship with her cousin then act very meh when they actually got together? There are more but I want to leave the overall story in my head instead of my complaints!

I love a creepy cult story! Maeve was raised in a cult along with her cousin Andrea. They were separated as children and came back together as adults. You see the problems before poor Maeve does and you want so badly to save her. How long does it take Maeve to find out just how many people the cult has reached?

Thanks @netgalley for the audiobook

From the opening line I was enthralled with this story. It has a foreboding feel that only intensifies.

Two women, cousins, reconnect as adults after being separated as children. The circumstances surrounding their childhoods forms them into two completely different people, and the contrast causes tension.

Excellent characters, thrilling story, and one of the best reads of the year!

I just completed my #12hourreadathon and only finished one of my two current reads and OMG what a great story and fantastic on audio! Maeve grows up in a cult that worships mothers and female children while men and male offspring are seen as disposable and are there if at all to serve. Maeve breaks away at 12, wildly driving a car & a tragedy occurs. She is soon adopted and taught by her adopted parents never to bring up the past. They try to shield her from the publicity of the cult's news even as it is reported as dismantled. Maeve is safe now. She grows up to be an editor, working in NYC and casually dating a bartender who is just one step above friends with benefits...as far as Maeve is concerned. She keeps people at arm's length. When her cousin (who she lived with in the commune of the cult) reaches out to her and befriends her, Maeve is so happy; she craves the closeness they shared as children and wants to break out of her shell. Her cousin and her husband live in a mansion in the Catskills & invite Maeve to stay with them. Maeve visits, but winds up leaving to go back to the city. But when everything is slowly but surely taken from Maeve, and she has nowhere to turn... damn if her cousin isnt right there to give her a place to stay. BUT AT WHAT COST???
I knew something wasnt right about that woman and omg things go reeeeallly crazy, creepy, and the ending put chills up my spine.
5 star thriller & so happy that I dug into this last night & was able to finish it todat because it had me biting my nails and freaking out. This just came out this week. Its fantastic @macmillan.audio thanks as always for approving me for fantastic stories told masterfully by amazing audiobook productions!!!
#justlikemother #anneheltzel
#macmillan #audiobookstagram
#thrillerreads @anneheltzel

This is a good book with some interesting parts. It is well written, but just not for me. It is more of a romantic novel with a horrorish twist. Might make for a good movie adoption.

I would more accurately rate this at 3.5. This story is told in dual timelines and I enjoyed both. I will say the earlier timeline is a bit more unnerving for me and much less predictable. The mystery of what was happening in the earlier timeline propelled the story and kept me listening. I enjoy a good cult story and this one had a different feel. I went through it quickly and enjoyed the story overall. There were some creepy aspects for sure, but I do feel it was a bit too predictable in the latter timeline and could have been more atmospheric, which brought the overall score down for me. I haven't read from this author before, but I will definitely check out more. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good, quick read with cult vibes.

Just Like Mother
by Anne Heltzel narrated by Elizabeth Evans
5 stars

Since Maeve escaped from the cult she grew up in she has blocked her past the best way she can, don't talk about it and try to forget it. One day Maeve's life gets turned upside down when her long-lost cousin finds her and they start to reconnect. Slowly things start happening Maeve loses her job, so she wants to move in with her lover but then his place goes up in flames. Out of a place to stay and nowhere to go Andrea her cousin comes to her rescue and offers her a place to stay. Maeve doesn't think it can get any worse but surprise more weird stuff starts happening, it just doesn't seem to stop.

Jus Like Mother had me hooked from the beginning the eerie way it opened up gave me chills, so many different twists and turns throughout this whole book. The best part of the book for me was the ending Maeve finally happy and doing really good in life than bad her past just won't leave and it keeps following her no matter what. I kept getting goosebumps and my god beautiful writing, heart-thumping waiting to see what's going to happen next. I couldn't get enough it makes you wonder if you've ever come across cults like this and just never knew it.

Thank you, Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy for an honest review

📖 I love when you discover a book, think you know what’s happening every step of the way and then the ending still surprises you a bit. For me, I recognize the fact I read a lot of thrillers so I pretty much expect them to follow the same formulaic method, and I’m pretty used to congratulating myself on seeing what is coming along the way. This one definitely had enough of that, where you’re like ok main character, you aren’t thinking this is a little weird or coincidental? But I stayed along for the ride and felt like this was a well-written, nicely developed story that still managed to reward the reader with a 1-2 punch at the end and really isn’t that the best kind of thriller? 

I went in blind and I would recommend you do the same, but here’s a brief background for those who like to have some idea of what they are getting into– 

👩 Maeve lives a reclusive life, mainly due to trauma she endured as a child. She grew up with her cousin Andrea, as part of a cult (female empowerment group gone over the top) up until her escape at 8 years old, when the two were separated. 

“we were so much alike, she and I. It was hard to tell, sometimes, where one of us ended and the other began.” 

Much of her life, Maeve has been grieving the loss of her cousin, searching for her, wondering where she is, if she was ok. This prevents Maeve from having healthy relationships of her own, but she is doing her best as an editor in New York City. One day, the two cousins find each other. Desperate to reconnect, Maeve is swept up in Andrea’s orbit and off to her historic mansion in upstate New York (complete with hidden passageways). Andrea has a loss of her own, which leads her to create a business that offers workshops and uses life-like babies to support mothers (grieving and soon-to-be). 
Told in alternating timelines, Heltzel gives some background on the girls’ upbringing in the cult with present timeline. I absolutely loved the eerie vibe, damaged characters and overall WEIRDNESS of this book.  

🎧 The audio was fantastic! Narrated by Elizabeth Evans, she captured the suspenseful tone of the book perfectly. 

🌟 Thanks to @tornightfire  and @netgalley for the early digital copy and @macmillanaudio for the audio narration.

This book grabbed me with the cover and promise of a cult story! But the unbelievable circumstances and super easy to guess twists made it fall flat for me. I enjoyed the narrator. But this book was not for me. Down to the epilogue when I was almost at peace with the book, and then just furious.

This book was so much different than anything I’ve read before. I loved it. Don’t let the cover throw you off. Sure it has its creepy moments, but it’s so good. I wouldn’t put it in the horror category, probably more so suspenseful thriller but it was so enjoyable to read! And that ending!!!!!!! Wow.
The narration was also very good on the audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is going to be a great read for people who like things a little on the creepy side.

We start out on a cult compound with two young girls and then jump ahead to them as adults out in the real world reconnecting and discovering who's bad and who's innocent... if anyone actually is. Complete with creepy babies and more than a few murders.

It's a bit predictable but still a fun read or listen.

Elizabeth Evans does a fantastic job of narrating! The voices were all perfect and fit nicely with the story.

I really appreciated that this novel which dealt heavily with one of my favourite themes - motherhood. 

In terms of narrative, most of the story read more like a thriller, but I was pleased by an ending that felt decidedly horror. This novel also leaned heavily on a particular horror classic, which I personally love. It made the story quite predictable but I also happen to enjoy those tropes so I didn't mind.

However, I have to fully admit, I had conflicting feelings by the author's treatment of several thematic elements. I felt the author made narrative choices that unnecessarily fed into stereotypes surrounding consent and the choice of motherhood. I cannot go into much more details without spoiling the plot. This could have been an empowering novel if some different choices had been made.

So I liked this one, but I'll admit I had issues with it. I would cautiously recommend it if you enjoy modern narrative surrounding the topics of motherhood and choice.

Disclaimer I received this book from the publisher.

This was such a weird book. It was very predictable but creepy all the same. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan. There are much more compelling thrillers out there. This one felt like a whole book about the character in a horror movie who you keep yelling at to stop being so stupid and dense - if she somehow wasn't the first person to die.

Not my favorite thriller but if you enjoy books about cults or the people who escape them, then this might be a good choice for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nightfire for the ARC.

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.

Thanks netgalley for the chance to listen to this book! Wow! This book had me at the edge of my seat the entire time!
It was disturbing and truly hooked me. That ending… I really was not expecting it at all. The ending gives you chills.
I rate this one 4 stars!