Beware the woman follows a pregnant woman who visits her husband’s father in remote Michigan. When she starts to experience worrying pregnancy symptoms, she realizes how isolated she is with no cell reception or access to a car. She starts to realize that her father in law isn’t who she initially thought he was. I thought this novel was slow and creepy. Even though it was creepy, it was hard to figure out why. I thought this book was just ok.

Another solid thriller from Megan Abbott, from whom I must read every new book! This one was particularly creepy and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone pregnant because it will freak you out. That said, it was unique, the setting was alarming but arresting at the same time and it will make you SO mad if you are a woman. Just the way the author was able to write exactly what is it is like to be a woman in the world, pregnant or not . . . timely and horrifying.

Beware the Woman comes out next week on May 30, 2023 and you can purchase HERE.

But you always remember the first thing your mom says when you deliver big news.

So soon! she'd said, a look of alarm she couldn't hide. Soon for what? I kept asking, but she wouldn't answer and it troubled me all day.

“Beware the man who wants to protect you; he will protect you from everything but himself” -Erica Jong

When Jacy told her mom she married Jed she was met with: “We all marry strangers.” Now they have a baby on the way and are finally heading to visit Jed’s father in the back woods of Michigan. Jacy is enjoying being checked out of the world, until she starts to feel less than stellar about her pregnancy. As she starts to feel more and more trapped in the cabin, Jacy begins to feel like she needs to get out.

Megan Abbot knows how to write one damn messed up book. Well more than one, she has perfected the craft! Whew. I seriously wanted to crawl out of my skin so many times while reading this book. Jed’s father was so overbearing and constantly telling Jacy what she needed to do to protect her baby and her pregnancy. I understood he had lost his wife in childbirth and wanted to protect her, but back off dude. There were so many cringey moments but I don’t want to give too much away!

Thank you Putnam for the review copy via NetGalley. This is for fans of the darker moodier books that tackle a lot of ways women's bodies and lives are negatively impacted by (some) men and larger societal and other forces. It's slow burn, atmospheric, and unnerving to read, which is the point, and it's done well. There are a lot of layers to this story and despite a strong plot, it is also very much a character story and study. Think less action until a climatic end, more of a rosemary's baby kind of vibe. 3.5 stars, there is a story here that's a win for a some readers but not a book that's going to land with all readers.


This is a complex book to review, I have loved previous books from Megan Abbott but this one read differently for me but... the plot, the topics, the focus all won me over, though the pacing at the beginning for me was a little challenging as well as the nature of the story, pregnancy plots always feel tenuous to me and aren't my personal favorite theme for a lot of reasons. It's not my favorite read from Abbott to be honest but I also appreciate the work here.
I can see this one being a miss for some fans of this author, a win for readers looking for something dark, moody, and slow burn creepy vibes, and a middle of the ground read for others. I do think it works well for book clubs because there are a lot of themes and topics/scenes to discuss.

I preface my review by stating that I have read two other books from this author and gave them both 5 stars. What happened here? We get a book that feels like it is supposed to be building suspense but misses the mark. Jacy has internal conversations with her mother which made me feel like her mother was dead, but she's not (that isn't a spoiler, just an example of how off this book felt to me), and there are more than necessary rather crude sexual encounters. Jacy is pregnant horny, great, but it adds nothing to the story and just wastes time. After the weird but lacking-suspense build up, the ending was super quick. It felt like a kid taking an essay test and hearing the 5 minute bell and cramming everything they could in before time ran out. I could have used less lead time and more reveal time. Also, I read an arc and wonder if perhaps they hadn't finished going through and adding quotation marks because there were some and then there weren't and I couldn't discern a pattern to when they would or wouldn't appear. I am not a fan of no quotation marks but having them pop in and out was even more annoying than none at all. So, after two 5 star books and one 2 star book, that is still a 4 star average. I'm hoping this was a one off. I'm willing to give it a chance!

Jacy and Jed are newlyweds who are in the beginning of Jacy’s pregnancy. They are going to visit Jed’s dad in the UP of Michigan, a really remote area with no cell service. Once there, Jacy starts to notice weird things about his dad and their groundskeeper. Jacy also starts bleeding and is seen by a doctor friend of the family, which is when things really get interesting.

This one was a page turner for sure. I knew something was off about the dad the whole time. Jed was also kind of awful to Jacy. I felt bad for her. The ending felt so abrupt and like… unresolved. I want to know what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to review Beware The Woman by Megan Abbott as a ARC through Netgally. The description caught my attention and I was looking forward to reading this one. It was a slow burn, and I just could not get into enough to finish all the way.

This was a fantastic read. I'm so happy it was a new author for me plus I read it in one day. Wow. I got bite by this book from the first page and the was disappointed when it ended.

Wow it was a thrill of a ride. I never suspected what happened at the end.

Thank you net gallery for the opportunity to read such a thrilling book. Great job!

DNF~57%

This is very much a slow build and nothing big had happened by 57%. All of the characters annoyed me; the men were all super old fashioned and misogynistic, Mrs. Brandt was just weird and Jacy was so meek it was obnoxious. I can handle a slow build if the characters or the plot is interesting but this jumped around so much it felt like a fever dream.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC to me.

The tension and building of uncertain was fine really well… but the little pieces that didn’t seem super common threw me off… like meeting Jeds dad for the first time after being together for years.

Gahhh I LOVE Megan Abbott. There’s such a sense of claustrophobia in her writing and I mean that in the best way possible. The way she tells a story draws you in and creeps you to the core. This is a slow burn that I couldn’t put down. I will read anything she puts out.

I really enjoyed the noir/creepy book by Abbott The Turnout so I was excited to get this follow up. Again we have an ominous feel throughout this book about a pregnant woman visiting her husbands family in a remote town. The men at first are doting but then the creeping sinister moods and actions begin. Is something sinister happening or not? Abbott is very good at making you question yourself and is a master at gaslighting through her writing. I’m not sure I enjoyed this as much as the turnout but it kept me reading and wondering what was going to happen in the end.

I really loved the majority of this book. It’s a super frightening and disturbing misogynistic nightmare. The suspense build up was done so well—the use of language, imagery, dreams. It really brought you into this paranoid little world and made you question Jacey and what was actually happening. Sadly, I felt like Abbott didn’t quite stick the landing. After all the great setup, the ending was not the payoff that the book deserved.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a readers edition of Beware the Woman. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
The story centers on a pregnant woman and her husband who are vacationing with the husband’s father. After a medical incident, the atmosphere changes and things become tense and uncomfortable. The husbands behavior changes, as well as his father’s. The writing is a bit disjointed at times, with incomplete sentences but it doesn’t detract from the story. It is a passable suspense title. I have read better, but have also read way worse.

I have been a fan of Megan Abbott since I first read " The End of Everything" over a decade ago. I've read every book she has released since then and "Beware the Woman" is by far one of her best works. This book was thrilling, creepy, and a page turner. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the finale pf the story. I really enjoyed this book. Definitely a departure from her teenage woman themes in the previous books but an elevated adult story. Definitely worth a second and third read!

Pregnant newlyweds head out on a family trip. This is not the start of a joke. The is the start of suspense.

Abbott does it again. Time after time after time after time. Each book is better than the last. More so, each book is more suspenseful than the last, and I don't know how much more suspense I can take, though I'm no more hesitant to dive in because of it!

Really, what I'm getting at, here, is Abbott conducts suspense at an intricate, master level. Beware The Woman is no exception.

It's Rosemary's Baby at there dinner table, choking down a mysterious concoction while a resurrected Freud and Rasputine crack open her head and root around in a style that's half mad doctor and half wizard, all while, unbeknownst to all present, a time bomb tick tick ticks away under the table.

It's claustrophobic, it's a tension wire ready to snap.

Abbott's last book, The Turnout, completely blew me away. This one, Beware The Woman, well, this one shot me into outer space.

This is a heart-pounding novel that will captivate readers from start to finish. The author skillfully crafts a suspenseful narrative filled with unexpected twists and turns, ensuring an enthralling reading experience.

The story introduces readers to a diverse cast of characters, each with their own motivations and secrets. As the plot unfolds, their lives become intertwined in a high-stakes game of danger and deceit. The author expertly maintains a sense of suspense throughout the book, keeping readers guessing and eagerly turning the pages to uncover the truth.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its ability to create a palpable atmosphere of tension and unease. The author's vivid descriptions and attention to detail transport readers into the world of the story, making them feel as if they are right alongside the characters, experiencing the thrilling events firsthand.

Beware The Woman is a strange, compelling, and deeply feminist novel. With an echo of a very dark fairy tale retelling, this book drips atmosphere and menace.

Newly married and pregnant couple, Jacy and Jed, are on their way to a secluded island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to vacation with Jed's father. This is Jacy's first time meeting the dashing Dr. Ash, but she is immediately taken in by his warmth and compassion. Unfortunately, Jacy begins to feel ill within a few days of arriving, and things around the island no longer seem quite so idyllic. Dr. Ash and Jed are treating her like an invalid and she feels trapped. But how can Jacy protect herself or her unborn baby when she doesn't know what is real?

This book gave me all kinds of feelings. It's a rollercoaster that takes off on page one and never quite slows down. At no point did I have a clue where it was going, and I loved hurtling toward the unknown like a bullet train. There are some heavy themes explored in the story, but in a way that never felt overt. 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the chance to review this advance copy. Beware The Woman will publish on 5/30/23.

Let me start out by saying this was a very slow burn. I will admit I almost gave up on it. It really didn’t start to pick up until around 60% into it. I’m glad I stayed with it because the ending was quite exciting.
Thank you Netgalley and Putnam books for the e-arc

While I’ve been a huge fan of her other works this one didn’t work for me. It was just kind of weird. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review