An interesting blurb and an even more interesting character and very entertaining if a bit too crazy maybe for some readers??,none the less it kept reading and reading quick as as well as being shocked I had to see what would happen next

Mother's Day had the most original premise I've read in a while - abandoned baby grows up to find that she's pregnant herself, finally meets her birth mother, who wants to make up for the thirty five years they missed out on, but there's an undercurrent of darkness in their burgeoning relationship....domestic thrillers are my favourite, and this one sounded right up my alley.

Had this been a little more restrained, I would have loved it - it's inarguably well written, the dark family drama element is there from the beginning, and I related to the central protagonist, Anna, who seemed fairly likeable. But once it got going, it spiralled into full blown crazy pretty quickly, and left me questioning every single character's choices and behaviours. Would anyone really have tolerated Marlene for so long, even before it gets so ludicrously out of control that I had to suspend every ounce of disbelief in my body? I hope not. And Anna's response to her mugging had me completely frustrated. There are also several instances where it seems that part of the story may have been overly edited because we just skip onto the next bit before something is resolved, or something changes but we don't know why - for instance, Samyra, the mugger, suddenly becomes "Sammy" to Anna, despite the two of them having no relationship whatsoever.

I actually think this one will be like Marmite. Some people will revel in the absolutely demented twists the plot takes later on, and others, like me, will think it too much. I find my villains much scarier when they are calculating, cruel but understated; Marlene was too much of a caricature for me to take seriously.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, for granting me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book was an interesting read and definitely a lot different to what I was expecting as I was not expecting it to focus so heavily on Anna's pregnancy. There are a lot of heavy topics in this book so definitely check out content warnings (I have included them below) before thinking about reading this book. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking that it was not a thriller, it was more of a contemporary tale - there were definitely moments where it felt like it was a play or theatre performance as it just seemed like Anna was living through a nightmare.

Within the last 20%, it felt like it was a mad craze where everything seemed to be happening all at once which I think was just too much. There were definitely scenarios in this book that could have been taken out and it would have still packed just as much of a punch. A lot of things felt like they were just added in for the shock factor.

The chapters at the end are very short. It jumps to multiple narratives which feels like it is trying to tie up lose ends very fast and not in a way that makes total sense. There feels like there is quite a few plot holes as things have been left to be ambiguous or have not been concluded. It is weird how there is a wrap up at the end of what some of the characters are doing a year later but it does not include all of the characters, which I think would have answered some questions I still had left.

I did not feel like there any twists within this book as it felt kind of predictable in terms of what was going to happen - from the start, it was only going to end one way or another. However, I did enjoy this book and I struggled to put the book down as I wanted to see what dark route this book was going to take. This book does contain representation for Jewish characters (Nicholas; Sarah; Anna; baby Sarah), deaf characters (Charmaine and her father) and bisexual characters (Neil and Dermot).

⚠️ Content warnings: blood, pregnancy, sexual situations, vomiting, alcohol and drug use, profanity, derogatory language, fertility issues, mentions terrorists, torture and organised violence, survivor's guilt, slavery, scars, child soldier, cancer, post-natal depression, miscarriage and suicide, physical assault, adoption, fatphobia, death, murder, vehicle accident, sexual harassment, mental health illness (PTSD; antidepressants; antipsychotics; dissociation), cycling accident, cheating, intrusive thoughts, intoxication, masturbation, rape (also attempted and resulting in pregnancy), underage pregnancy, self harm, alcoholism, car crash, passive bystander to sexual harassment, indecent exposure, sexual violence, imprisonment, fat shaming, domestic abuse, drugging, racism and sexism ⚠️

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher Headline, Wildfire for the opportunity to read this book!

I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (2nd March 2023). This book will be available to purchase as an hardback for £16.99, audiobook for £19.24 or an e-book for £7.99.

This was twisted and bonkers and does indeed feature a "mother like no other". Entertaining in a crazy way.

Sharp Edged..
When Anna, about to become a mother herself, meets her own birth mother a catalogue of bizarre events begin to unfold. Marlene is certainly generous with her wealth and seems delighted to become a grandmother- but with that comes her eccentricity and way, way more. What will Anna have to sacrifice for this woman? Dark and disturbing suspense littered with sharp edged yet bleak humour, twists and turns aplenty and a cast of deftly drawn characters- Marlene herself is compellingly ghastly. Certainly a contemporary take on a mother/daughter relationship and the trials of motherhood.

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately it just didn't live up to the hype of the blurb. I can see what Abigail Burdess is trying to do but the writing isn't strong enough to carry it off - you can tell she's a screenwriter rather than a natural long-from writer. The plot is definitely dark and twisted, but mostly just unhinged in a confusing, borderline unreadable way. I almost gave up several times but I wanted to see if Burdess could somehow pull it off in the end. I wish she had but sadly not.

This book is an engaging and gripping read. I was highly entertained by the storyline. The characters were gritty. I hope this gets the hype it deserves.

This was an incredible read, it was completely gripping right from the start and full of twists and unpredictability. I couldn't put it dow, I loved it.