Full disclosure: I chose this book knowing absolutely nothing about it, but based solely on the cool, creepy cover. It was different. It caught my eye.

The publisher describes it as “modern gothic” prompting me to find the definition of that phrase. From the internet, I learned it is atmospheric, with mystery and fear, suspense, emotional distress and more. I can agree “Just Like Mother” fits that criteria.

I am a long time fan of writers Ira Levin, Shirley Jackson, Bentley Little, John Saul…..I was raised in the horror genre, so I believe I fit the audience for this novel.

Listening on audio, I thought narrator Elizabeth Evans did an excellent job voicing the many and varied characters. I began the book late one night in bed and I can say Chapter 1 scared me. The pacing was on point, and while I normally tend to speed up the narration, I listened to this one as delivered.

Without giving away too much, this book details the life of former cult members, cousins who reconnect after decades providing them both with the first real family they’ve known. Much of the book takes place in a remote Catskills estate, a very creepy location well suited to the gothic storytelling intent.

It’s a solid 4 from the point that it kept my interest. I appreciated the plot and I enjoy horror. If horror and a disturbing story are not your thing, you will not enjoy this read. This book felt like a mixture of Stepford Wives/Rosemary’s Baby with a modern feminist vibe. As an Ira Levin devotee (he wrote both of those books), I did guess the outcome of this one early on. If horror is your thing, give it a go.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for allowing me to listen in advance of the May 17, 2022 release.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This review is mainly on the audio. I toggled back and forth from the audio to the print versions. You can see my full review below.

The audio was fantastic. Great narrator and she didn't try to make ridiculous male voices.

Here's my full review on the book itself:

"WOW! Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did toggle back and forth between the print edition and the audiobook. This story was intense from start to finish and had me cringing numerous times. The story was creepy and shocking and although I did see a few twists coming, it was still shocking when they were finally revealed. This was "feminism" to the extreme.

Maeve escaped from a cult as a young child and has desperately tried to make a normal life for herself. One day, Maeve's cousin Andrea, who also grew up in the cult, resurfaces and Maeve and her rekindle their relationship. Shortly after Andrea reappears, Maeve's life begins to unravel. Just in time for Andrea to help pick up the pieces.

This was such an intense, nightmare of a book that I devoured it in a just over a day. I couldn't find out what happened. I did have one complaint about the book, which drops it from a five star to a four and a half star rating and that is the excessive sex. While the acts were essential to the story, I found the graphic depictions to be a bit much. However, it wasn't enough to take away from the quality of the story or writing too much."

As a pro-choice woman and all the chaos of forced childbirth going on in the real world right now, some of the aspects of this were downright terrifying. I got major Handmaids Tale vibes from some parts of it. Maeve doesn't want children. If you don't want to have kids, I'm sure you have had at least one person questioning that decision and explaining how amazing parenthood is. You will certainly feel for Maeve's character. The lengths they go in this book to prove that point is astonishing.

The beginning and ending of this one were great, while the middle was a little bogged down for me. For a person that has escaped a cult already, Maeve was so naive. It was mostly predictable, but I did not see that final twist coming!

Just Like Mother is Anne Heltzel's adult debut and I'll be looking for her next one when it comes out for sure.

Thank you to @netgalley @tornightfire and @macmillan.audio for the advanced copies of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"A girl would be such a blessing…"

Just Like Mother started with a bang: my jaw was left agape, wondering how much someone would be affected by the living conditions that the children survived, and acknowledging that this actually happens in real life!

But let me back up to the beginning… Maeve and her cousin, Andrea, last saw each other the night they escaped the cult they were raised in. This is what drew me in. I didn't have to read past this line of the book description, because I knew I had to read it. This novel is described as a "suspenseful modern gothic debut" by author Anne Heltzel, and she definitely lives up to that expectation.

Although it was a bit predictable in the middle, it really makes you question all relationships in this book and who can you trust? Everyone seems to have a secret hidden in their closets just waiting to come out.

While you can imagine all the psychological pieces to this puzzle for poor Maeve and Andrea, it covers a lot of tough topics of some who do actually go through an event like this. But then this novel just turns even more dark and twisty with the topic of fertility and procreating. There are so many ethical qualms in this one that really make you think how far can and will someone go to get what they want.

Maeve and her cousin, Andrea were raised by a group of women, “Mothers" on a commune. That is until one night when Maeve flees the commune with BOY. Leaving both the commune and Andrea behind. But Maeve and Andrea find each other again after being matched by a DNA website. Maeve is an editor who keeps others at arm’s length. Andrea is a successful woman working in the technology and fertility industry.

They soon reconnect and Maeve finds herself immersed in her cousin's life and when Andrea asks a question of her, Maeve is unsettled. When memories begin bubbling to the surface, she must face that the past might not be as terrorizing as her present.

I did feel that insta love with this book that others found. I found it to be an okay read from beginning to end. I often wondered if I was reading the same book that others had read. We can't love them all, and this was the case with this book. I listened to the audiobook and had a copy of the book on kindle so I could dive in to either when I wanted.

I would put this in my good not great pile. Enjoyable but left me wanting more. The creepy factor fell short for me.


Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire and NetGalley and Macmillan Audio who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you're looking for a creepy book with an unreliable narrator and some cult action this one is a good pick! I don't want to give a lot away. But first of all how creepy is that cover?? Maeve and Andrea, cousins who escaped the Mother Cult as kids find each other again and catch up about their lives since the Cult was raided. It's a rough time for Maeve in her life and as she spends more time with Andrea things start to unravel.
I really really enjoyed the twists in this one and the ending was awesome. I really ended up enjoying the narration on the audiobook, and I think it added to the creepy factor. There are some CW that should come with this book. I would have loved a more in depth view to the cult itself. But overall I really liked how the book made the points it was making known.
Thank you MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Wow, I loved this one and that might even be an understatement. It was slow getting in, but about 25% thru I was hooked! I finished this one in about 24 hours and could hardly put it down. Definitely a slow burn psychological thriller, but not slow paced at all!

4 5 ☆

I had my moments with this one that I thought, hmm is this too much. However, I stuck with it, and I am so glad that I did. This book is creepy with some fantastic twists. I thought the characters were perfect for this intense plot. If you like a thriller/horror book, I would recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio version of Just Like Mother. This is my honest review.

This horror/thriller had a unique plot with a strong feminist vibe. The narrator was excellent. All in all it was a bit more disturbing and far fetched for me, but I do think the right audience is going to love it.

I’m rounding this up to 4.5 stars and it would totally have been 5, but I still can’t shake off the creepiness of this book! And the ending!!!!! I cannot believe the author had the audacity to end the novel that way. You could almost see it coming but I wouldn’t have believed it until it was right there.
Maeve escaped a cult when she was 8 years old. After being found in the wreckage of a car accident, the Mother Collective is broken up and Maeve is separated from her cousin, Andrea. Later, Maeve and Andrea connect again and almost from the first reconnection, this story spirals quickly. There are definitely some predictive elements to the novel but the creepiness factor and the sprinkling of childhood details keep you guessing. Anne Heltzel just might be my new favorite!

*Special thanks to NetGalley & Tor/Nightfire for an e-arc of this novel.*

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC.

“The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything―and everyone―at a safe distance.

When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had.

The more Maeve immerses herself in Andrea’s world, the more disconnected she feels from her life back in the city; and the cousins’ increasing attachment triggers memories Maeve has fought hard to bury. But confronting the terrors of her childhood may be the only way for Maeve to transcend the nightmare still to come…”

Spoiler free review:

So i LOVED this book. Wow it was so creepy and kept me on edge the entire time. It was a little predictable which is why it’s rated 4 stars instead of 5. But I enjoyed the entire ride, never a dull moment. If you like cults, horror, psychological thrillers, or just total creepiness - this is the book for you.

Just Like Mother audiobook, written by Anne Heltzel, and narrated by Elizabeth Evans, is a cult classic debut that is atmospheric and creepy. Partially set in an eerie mansion, Anne Heltzel creates a sinister background for this unusual gothic thriller.

After escaping from a cult during their childhood, Maeve and her cousin Andrea reunite after years of separation. Andrea and Maeve celebrate getting together as adults at Andrea's massive residence in the Catskills. Andrea has put her past trauma behind her, but Maeve still suffers from paralyzing panic attacks and nightmares. Maeve is unaware that her childhood trauma is trivial compared to the bone-chilling terror she faces in her future.

Just Like Mother audiobook is available for purchase on May 17th. Elizabeth Evans's narration in the audio adds to the spine-tingling tension and spooky vibes of the novel. Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel has all the frightening elements to be a perfect scary horror movie, but until then, listen to the audiobook.

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio, for the opportunity to review this extraordinary book. Your kindness is appreciated.

Maeve hasn’t seen her cousin, Andrea since Maeve escaped from the cult they were born into, twenty years ago. Maeve has built a relatively normal life for herself in New York City where she keeps to herself, but now that she’s found Andrea via a DNA website, Maeve begins to let her guard down. She eagerly agrees to spend her birthday at the vast estate that Andrea and her husband own in the Catskill Mountains, even though Andrea’s friends act appalled at Maeve’s decision to remain single and unattached. Motherhood drives these women and Andrea has made a fortune with her lifestyle brand NewLife and now Andrea has developed Olivia Doll, a realistic baby doll that is supposed to help both parents expecting a child and parents (like Andrea and her husband) who have lost a child. This is a creppy, sometime graphically violent story, but oh, man, is it good!

4.5 stars

This book made me think that we need a subgenre called personal horror wherein the novelist manages to encapsulate most of the elements that we find particularly awful in one direct attack on our ability to sleep ever again. For me, this is very much "personal horror," and I loved it for that exact reason.

Maeve, the m.c., is a moderately isolated adult in the present day, and this makes a lot of sense when readers learn - quickly - that she is a cult survivor. After escaping from the cult physically, she is - for obvious reasons - still very much impacted by the horrors that continue to haunt her memories. Many of these memories seem to reflect an unusual combination of closeness to and terror because of her little cousin, Andrea. It's intriguing, then, that Andrea suddenly reappears in her life many years later and has a wildly successful company to show for it. Andrea has also experienced some recent heartbreak, and it's this information that helps readers realize faster than Maeve that some weirdness is afoot.

Quick question: How do you feel about creepy, lifelike dolls? Even if you are a bit neutral on this point, you will likely still find the ones here HORRIFYING. I absolutely loved this element of the novel and think that Heltzel expertly creates a plausible scenario for their existence and acceptance AND makes them utterly frightening at the same time.

Along with the world's creepiest dolls, Maeve is dealing with some other unique aspects. Her aversion to motherhood is powerful (speak my language, Maeve!), but Andrea and crew just keep pressing her about how great it'll be once she finally comes to her sense on the subject. Horrifying events also evolve in this area.

There are some really challenging scenes relating to rape and medical procedures, and for me, engaging with this work as an audiobook was very helpful in moving through some of those. For obvious reasons, these scenes are meant to be challenging, but readers should still be aware of their presence.

In Maeve and Andrea, Heltzel creates two deeply flawed characters whose actions - though shocking at times - are totally understandable as a result of their traumatic childhoods. I was engaged with their joint stories from start to finish, and while there are some visceral scenes that I found particularly awful in here, these add to the terror of the characters (which, admittedly, fits the purpose of this genre). Here, horror/thriller/cult literature fans will find an engaging read that will burrow into their brains and never let go.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy.

First, as for the audiobook book… the narrator was great. Easy to listen to.

Now, the book…,I was not a fan.

As for my score. Audiobook 5. Story 2.

What a mindbending thriller! Maeve escaped a cult and reconnects with her childhood friend 25 years later. Very interesting flashbacks to the cult and how it affects her view of the world now. Very well written and loved the plot twists!

I enjoyed the narrator, she had a good pace and variation in tone.