3.5 stars

This book was weird, but I couldn't stop reading it. Zoje Stage can write some twisted stories, and this was no exception.

What I liked: the unlikeable characters, demented storylines, strange humor

What I disliked: the dream sequences, chaotic timelines, and too much COVID plot

I didn't know what to think about this book overall. It was one of the strangest books I've ever read but I kind of enjoyed it!

Wow what a nail-biting read the book is fantastic and keeps you hooked from the very first page and you will find it had to put down once you start.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC! I wanted to love this but it just left me confused. The delirious feeling throughout and growing sense of confusion was actually cool… but the ending raised more questions than it answered.

This one was just ok for me. It was a little slow, and i had a hard time keeping my focus to finish it. We follow Grace, who has begrudgingly allowed her estranged mother to move in with her during the pandemic. You start to get a peek into her childhood as she descends into a level of madness. It makes you question how truthful her own memories are at times.

Definitely a slow burn, but almost too slow for my liking. This was high on my TBR list, and I thought I'd love it, but unfortunately it was just ok and that was after struggling with the pace and lack of plot. Thanks for the ARC.

"It's so easy to make offers when there's nothing to give."

Honestly, even days later, I'm still unsure how I feel about this one.

One of the most unreliable narrators I've ever read, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't think I ever really knew what was real or what was madness and wasn't something that I felt got resolved. There was a lot of blended information that had memories and dreams of memories, only it took a minute to realize Grace was spiraling.

I am still not sure reading about the pandemic is for me. However, I recognize how hard this must have been to write when the author lost her mother during the pandemic.

I just really have no idea how to explain what I read. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but I would recommend another work by this author, Baby Teeth, that book is wild!!

This book was difficult to get through. The pandemic angle and quarantine was played out. I didn’t care for the premise and the twists. It was predictable.

The author said it best when she said this book is batshit crazy. It is a thriller set during lock down during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was such a trip to read.

There are so many layers to this story. It's like one giant fever dream. There is forced proximity between Grace and her mother, who already had a tense relationship. The chapters go back and forth in time between Grace's childhood and the present. For most of the book it is impossible to know what is real and what is a dream.

Reading this book is unsettling, but in the best way. I was thinking about it for long after I finished reading, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

This was just ok. I think the author has some great ideas - and felt the same about her first book - but doesn’t always execute them well. I will definitely continue to read her and see where she goes as she writes more books!

Zoje Stage will forever be a writer I will search for as I really enjoy just how macabre and fascinating and quite frankly, how messed up her books are.
Mothered is no exception to this. While this story will definitely not be for everyone, it is for the reader who enjoys something a little WTF, a little off, a little “whoaaaaa” (for lack of a better description with actual words).
Grace and her mother have not really ever had a great relationship. When her mother asks if she can move in, Grace feels as though it will be a chance for them to bond, and a chance to get some help with the mortgage. Reliving her childhood memories/nightmares is not part of the bargain, and Grace finds herself questioning everything.
The trips and turns this story takes at times can be a bit over the top, but I really did like where this story went and how the timeline progressed. The dream sequences were a little much, but I could see how they were adding to the story, so I kept reading to see how it would end. It was creepy, it was claustrophobic, it was definitely what I would say was a good read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage was extra twisted, and so is Mothered, And, that is high praise when it comes to this genre. It's taken me a while to come around to pandemic/quarantine reads, but if you like psychological thrillers and can handle that concept, this is one to check out.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This book just didn't work out for me. I guess I'm still not ready for a pandemic novel even if it's a horror novel. I need books for escapism not as a reminder of COVID-19. The dream sequences within the book I found to be confusing from the POV as well as whether it was the past or present. The remaining portion of the novel I struggled to stay interested in the plot.

Zoje Stage is a master at creating character tension on the page. The space between each sentence is packed with ratcheting anxiety that forces readers to keep the pages turning. Mothered is another example of Stage's ability to tap into domestic horror. It's quiet and psychological and brutal.

This novel, set during the pandemic, had many elements— an overbearing mother, a dead sister, job loss, covid-19, a pregnancy scare, mental illness, online catfishing— combining to form a contemporary horror story, unsettling and insidious. The terror and confusion slowly built throughout the book until it was hard to discern what was dream and what was reality.

The conclusion felt a bit predictable and rushed for such a wild ride of a story. But I can honestly say I haven’t read anything like this book in recent memory.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I read Baby Teeth when it came out and was blown away. It was in my top 10 reads of the year. When Wonderland came out, I was excited to revisit Stage’s writing but found that one a bit flat. Now that Mothered is here, I’m sad to say this one also didn’t work for me at all.

The story follows Grace, who is trying to survive the pandemic with her newly moved-in mother. They never got along when Grace was young, but her mother is there to help financially, while hairdresser Grace is out of work. Part of the story is simply Grace’s nightmares. They are jarring at times because they happen in the middle of a chapter with no warning, so it’s hard to tell if what is happening is real or not. But Stage relies too heavily on those dreams to supplement the weak plot. I was bummed this one wasn’t all that great.

I loved the creepiness of Baby Teeth so I was excited to get my hands on this latest book by the author!

This book was Set during the early weeks of COVID/Pandemic, in addition the entire plot was based around covid/pandemic! I’m seeing this more and more, I know some people aren’t ready for this but I feel it adds some truth to the stories.
We meet Grace she’s a hairdresser who likes to spend her downtime on the internet “catfishing” men and females. With the pandemic starting Grace’s mother Jackie asks if she can move in with Grace. We soon discover that they have had a volatile relationship since childhood. Against her better judgment she says yes with hopes for some company during the lockdown and maybe creating a better relationship with her mother. As we watch these two their old issues resurface, along with some new ones.
Grace soon starts to have horrific nightmares from her childhood that involve her twin sister who died at a young age. She soon sleep deprived and has a hard time determining whats a dream and what is real. The tension between mother and daughter grow which leads to a horrifying ending!

I never really felt claustrophobic before, but this book was deliciously suffocating and claustrophobic, tensions at an all time high while cooped up together Jackie and Grace are at odds almost immediately, and when the action really gets going this book is nigh impossible to put down.

I really enjoyed listening to this mesmerizing novel on Audible. I was 100% invested in the entire storyline. Definitely, a fan of this author's stories.

I loved Baby Teeth and was so excited to read this new story by Zoje Stage. Somehow this was just not the same for me. Maybe Im just not read to read pandemic set books yet. I had a hard time like others with the dream sequences and keeping the story timeline straight. Overall this was a 3 star read for me but that won’t keep me from reading more from the author.

Really, really... well, I don't know if enjoyed is the right word, but I absolutely devoured this one.

I do have to note that I work in a nursing home and did during the pandemic. Covid hit our building and wiped out nearly half our residents in a three week span. I lived in a hotel for a month, watched people I love die, wore all that fabulous gear... got the whole experience. Unsurprising, I have some PTSD from the experience- not as bad as it used to be, but it still gets triggered sometimes.

This book definitely triggered it. It was that shaky, anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach the entire read, but I still couldn't stop reading. Like a nightmare come to life.

Definitely a tense, bizarre, fucked up read, but I mean those things as compliments. I do recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.