There was so much to enjoy and appreciate here - the themes of postpartum depression and changelings, and the queer relationship. I really enjoyed it, though I didn’t 100% connect with it.

I really enjoyed Graveyard of the Forgotten Children, which is an intense psychological and supernatural horror that explores the depths of a mother's loneliness as well as terror associated with it. The novel's fast-paced and character-driven plot follows Olivia, a new mother whose mind and body begin to deteriorate as she grapples with caring for herself, her new baby, and dealing with her family's traumatic past. It was suspenseful and constantly had me on the edge of my seat, excitedly turning each page.

Oh my goodness. This story was creepy and dark, and explores post partum depression and mental illness. It is a gripping story and you won’t soon forget it.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Graveyard of Lost Children
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Katina Monroe

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: ONCE SHE HAS HER GRIP ON YOU, SHE'LL NEVER LET YOU GO.

At four months old, Olivia Dahl was almost murdered. Driven by haunting visions, her mother became obsessed with the idea that Olivia was a changeling, and that the only way to get her real baby back was to make a trade with the "dead women" living at the bottom of the well. Now Olivia is ready to give birth to a daughter of her own…and for the first time, she hears the women whispering.

Everyone tells Olivia she should be happy. She should be glowing, but the birth of her daughter only fills Olivia with dread. As Olivia's body starts giving out, slowly deteriorating as the baby eats and eats and eats, she begins to fear that the baby isn't her daughter at all and, despite her best efforts, history is repeating itself. Soon images of a black-haired woman plague Olivia's nightmares, drawing her back to the well that almost claimed her life—tying mother and daughter together in a desperate cycle of fear and violence that must be broken if Olivia has any hope of saving her child…or herself.

My Thoughts: This story was a dark, creepy, disturbing thriller. It focuses on a new mother, the realizations of new motherhood, and the fear that can come about from being a new mother. This is more character driven than plot driven. Olivia, our MC, is struggling to adjuster to new motherhood, and her mind and body begins to suffer as she struggles with self-care, taking care of her new baby, and her traumatic past. The story is part thriller and part supernatural, and all dark.

This story is narrated in two timelines, primarily from Olivia whom just had a baby, and voice of her mother. I did appreciate that the author delineated between the two timelines, so you had a clear understanding which timeline you were reading. However, some of the parts appeared to be repetitive. Postpartum depression is a mental illness and the significant backbone to this story, and I could appreciate how the author presents this in a raw, unfiltered way, and the devastating consequences of not receiving the help when needed. Olivia’s character was developed well and our mysterious black hair woman had the right amount of creepiness.

This is a creepy, chilling read and I would recommend to other readers. The twisted spin on this novel is portraying postpartum depression as a horror tale. While this disorder is very real and very disabling, it gives a unique physical spin on it.

I had to DNF this book unfortunately!

I feel bad because I think a lot of other people enjoy this book, but the first 10% was a little too much for me and I couldn't finish it. I think it is important to discuss postpartum depression and how it may be difficult to be a mother but I think this wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really well written psychological thriller. I have read a lot of books that deal with new motherhood and postpartum psychosis and depression. This book was an interesting take on that subject and parts were downright creepy and unsettling!

The addition of the black haired woman was very effective as a supernatural element to the story as well as a physical representation of postpartum depression. I liked the two POVs: Olivia and her mother. Both dealing with the questions all new mothers face: is my baby normal? Does my baby love me? Why don’t I connect with my child? Where is my new mom glow? I could easily relate to all the questions and even the fears that come with a newborn.

This was a gripping tale that left me feeling creeped out! I did appreciate the author note about trigger warnings in the beginning of the book

I read Katrina Monroe’s book, They Drown Their Daughters last year and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Still, when I read the synopsis for this book I was willing to give her another try.

What I did like-
*The fact that this is a psychological thriller with elements of horror- the black haired woman trope is effective and chilling. *The mental health and psychological aspects which were disturbing and also keep the reader in the dark as to what is real and what is imagined. *The use of motherhood as a vehicle for horror. We’re seeing a lot of this lately and I’m loving it.

What I didn’t like-
*The dual timelines, which I usually love, but unfortunately in this one the present day narrative was much more compelling and I found myself wanting to skip over the parts set in the past. *And finally, the inability to really connect to the characters. I had the same problem with her other novel and still can’t quite figure out why it’s not working for me. So, overall a mixed bag for me. Thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for an e-arc of this book.

Graveyard of Lost Children is about two mothers and their infant daughters, one being the mother of the other. There is Olivia, the contemporary mother, who has recently given birth to a daughter, but something is off. The baby doesn’t smell right, she doesn’t seem right, as though she is a changeling. Olivia begins to hear voices and is haunted by the story of the woman in the well.

Shannon is Olivia’s mother who thought Olivia was a changeling and nearly drowned her a generation earlier. She is institutionalized and keeps a journal that gives us insight into her story.

So, today we know what post-partum depression is and could do something about it, but Olivia is too ashamed to ask for the help she needs, instead she seems ready to repeat her mother’s horrific act.



Graveyard of Lost Children begins with an excellent premise that would make a great film mainly because to finish with the obligatory two hours, a lot of unnecessary repetition would be cut. I confess I had to put this book down several times and, incredibly, because I was bored. The premise is full of tension and at times the book set my teeth on edge from the horror of what I suspected might happen. But it was repetitive and tired me out.

In the end, I felt there was a fabulous book that was about sixty pages shorter. What is sad, though, in spite of all the pages and pages of narrative, the ending felt rushed.

I received an e-galley of Graveyard of Lost Children from the publisher through NetGalley

Graveyard of Lost Children at Poisoned Pen Press | Sourcebooks
Katrina Monroe author website

Graveyard of Lost Children made me think of the girl from The Ring with her long stringy black hair and the well. For a long time I couldn’t figure out where this story was going. Once I got to the half way point I realized it was a story of women struggling with their new identity as mothers and postpartum depression. I thought it was a good lesson in how we as mothers are constantly doubting whether we are doing right by our children.

Utterly disturbing in the best way. A well written horror book that leaves you wondering what the hell you just read and without a for sure answer at the end.

As a mother, I found moments in the story to be quite relatable - from the unsettling body dysmorphia to the steadily increasing feeling of unease and discomfort. We watch Olivia spiral while constantly wondering if it's mental (postpartum) or paranormal.

A perfect choice for fans of motherhood horror such as Just Like Mother by Heltzel.

Katrina Monroe puts postpartum depression into the spotlight in this creepy novel! Graveyard or Lost Children had me absolutely captivated from the beginning - I had to know what was going on, and read it in less than two days! I like when thrillers play with the idea of whether something is supernatural or psychological, and I think Monroe walked that line masterfully.

Olivia has just given birth to beautiful baby Flora…but she can’t help but feel that Flora is destroying her. Breastfeeding is a nightmare, Olivia cannot sleep, and Flora only seems to calm down when Olivia is the one soothing her. Kris, Olivia’s wife, is trying to help…but Olivia seems to be slipping farther and farther away.

Meanwhile, we get a second POV: Shannon,
Olivia’s mother, who has been locked in a psychiatric historical since Olivia was four months old. After weeks of erratic behavior & telling people about the strange dark haired woman she keeps seeing, Shannon tried to kill baby Olivia, claiming the baby was actually a changeling. So…there’s a lot going on here!

This novel brings all of the creepiness, but also really explores the concept of motherhood: what it takes from women, and how society expect women to step into the role of a mother. I cared for the protagonist and felt her anxiety as she began questioning her own sanity; some scenes really had me on edge!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys light horror or psychological thrillers.

I love stories involving familial trauma and difficult mother/daughter relationships SO much -- this is up there now among some other favorites! This was SO good!

Graveyard for Lost Children delves into postpartum depression and the supernatural. The book is an eerie and creepy story about Olivia who has just had a baby with her partner Kris. She’s feeling overwhelmed and emotional and thinks about how her mother had her and went a bit crazy. The story is told via dual timelines of Olivia (3rd person)and her mother, Shannon (1st person) via Shannon’s journal. Both encounter a woman who wants to swap out the babies for monstrous changelings. Both women question themselves and deal with possible insanity.

As a mother who had postpartum anxiety with my first child, this book was way more chilling and twisted than I was anticipating. The descriptions of postpartum psychosis and the inadequacy, anxiety and mom guilt really got to me. New motherhood is a confusing state and often, so sleep deprived, you don’t know which way is up. This book really adhered to that and drove the creepiness home.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC. Graveyard of Lost Children is out now.

This is a story dealing something like postpartum depression. At the beginning I did really feel for Olivia and Shannon as characters but after a while I thought the story just didn’t really pick up pace and got a little boring and repetitive.

As someone who hasn’t had a child, I am not sure if I might have felt differently having been in a situation like this. I think it is very important to make talking about postpartum depression but I was personally not too happy with how it was portrayed and how the characters dealt with it.

Overall, a solid read. There were some issues between mental health and supernatural elements that I feel could have been thought through better, but it was definitely a page turner!

This was so well written. I was engrossed from the first page and it ticked all the boxes of my expectations. The character development was excellent. I would definitely recommend to others, a must read!

This book was pretty dark. It took me a bit longer to finish due to having to take more breaks due to intensity and content.

This book flips back and forth between Olivia and Shannon. We learn about Olivia's struggles after having her daughter. Is the darkness inside something from the mother she didn't know? We get to see the past from Olivia starting to learn about her mother and Shannon's account of the past including trying to harm her baby.

This book gets deep into mental health and the darkness really tries to drown our characters. While this book was pretty intense, I thought it was interesting and kept reading trying to figure out the conclusion. I think the ending could have been a bit more, but it held enough drama to explain.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I liked the premise of this story better than I actually enjoyed the story. I couldn't get invested, I just kept getting mad at all the women in the story.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I loved the overall premise of this. Unfortunately, as well written as it was, the supernatural element didn't work for me. It's spooky and has a good grasp on postpartum depression. I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy changelings and ghost stories meshed with horror.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy.

What a thrillingly entertaining horror(able) book the read! (see what I did there). this isn't my normal genre, and I was thoroughly surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. Entertaining read, will read more of this author in future.