Originally published in 2012, Mother’s Instinct is not a new book but rather newly translated from French to English, and also soon to be a major motion picture starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. The Brunelle’s and Geniot’s are next door neighbors and the best of friends. Their sons Milo and Maxime, born the same year, are as thick as thieves. One day tragedy strikes and Maxime is killed in an accident. Overcome with grief, this life altering event changes everything including the bond once shared by these two families. This is one of those books where I think the less you know going into it the better.

With short chapters and concise writing, this domestic suspense novel is the perfect length and kept me up late at night reading. Although I had a feeling where things were going, there were a few jaw dropping moments that left me with my mouth agape asking myself what the heck just happened. I could feel the tension building with each page turned. Minor critique is that although satisfying, the ending did feel a little abrupt. After reading this one, I hope more of this author’s work gets translated into English. I can’t wait to watch the movie! 4 stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for the opportunity to read this ARC.

𝑨 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆.

MOTHERS' INSTINCT follows two sets of friends who are brought together by nothing more mundane than living next door to one another. David and Laetitia and Sylvain and Tiphaine have sons born in the same year, Milo and Maxime, so they grow up together and share a special bond. But when Maxime is killed in a terrible freak accident, the lives of both families are irrevocably changed.

Laetitia is consumed with guilt for her perceived role in Maxime's death, and when her friends shun her and her husband, not even inviting them to the funeral, it becomes clear that they blame her as well. But when a series of mysterious accidents begin to happen to Milo, Laetitia is convinced that her neighbors and former friends are to blame. Is this her guilt or her intuition talking?

This book took me a little while to warm up to, but around the 25% mark, things really started picking up. It was easy to sympathize with both families, and though my guess was right, the ending was truly shocking.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for the early read. This book is out now.

Thanks to Netgalley for a arc of this book.
In this story we follow Tiphanie and Laetitia who are best friends. Tiphanie and Laetitia both find out their pregnant three months apart from each other. Their sons become best friends and are like brothers to one another. They live right next to each other. When the boys are about six years old, Tiphanie’s son Maxim, falls out the window from a fever. Laetitia sees him and runs to tell Tiphanie but by the time they get to Maxim’s room he is dead. Tiphanie and her husband are consumed by grief. Months later on Mio’s birthday Tiphanie stops by after his birthday to give him his gift as his godmother, Hot Wheels. They all go to Tiphanie’s house so Mio can play and Mio accidentally shallows a concoction that Tiphanie was making and Laetitia goes into hysterics believing that Tiphanie did it on purpose. Laetitia and her husband begin to fight because he doesn’t believe Tiphanie has done anything wrong. When Laetitia leaves home after a huge fight after Mio runs away the police show up because they believe he may have had something to do with his sons godfather’s death. He leaves Mio with Tiphanie and her husband and they decide to kill Laetitia and her husband to steal Mio and have the family that they once had. Since Tiphanie is Mio’s godmother it would be easy for them to adopt him. They begin the process for adopting him and take him to see a therapist. That’s the end of the novel. What a wild and crazy story.

Neighbors and friends fall out when one of their sons dies. Dark and twisty, this will appeal to fans of domestic thrillers.

David and Laetitia and Milo. Sylvain and Tiphaine and Maxime. Two perfect families, as well as the perfect next door neighbors. But what happens when things are no longer "perfect" and everything starts to unravel?

This was a fun, fast read. The characters were all a bit unhinged, but I guess that's what makes the story go. Great for the beach this summer.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

What did I just read?! That ending was SO MESSED UP! I hesitate to say too much as this book works best going in blind. Two couples live next door and have children the same age. Tensions build between them when tragedy befalls one couple. That ending though! 🤯
I was excited to learn that it’s going to be made into a movie with Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. I’m interested in how they’ll adapt this for the US since the underpinnings of the characters are rooted in French culture— but it could still be easily translated (pun intended) for an American audience.
*Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the review copy.

The book started off slow, but once it got going I couldn’t put it down. The novel is about two young couples that live next store to each other and become fast friends. They both end up pregnant within months of each other and have two boys. The boys are best friends and are the always together until tragedy strikes. Once the tragedy occurs — everything is changed forever.

Thank you to the publishers at Harpervia and Netgalley for this e-ARC of Mothers’ Instinct.

Translated from French and soon to be a major motion picture, Mothers Instinct tells the story of two couples who each have a child three months apart. The very best of friends, the couples live next door to each other and are included in each others lives. Everything starts to fall apart however after a tragic accident and things will never be the same.

All in all, I enjoyed the novel and did not see the end coming, although I did have a feeling towards the end that something momentous was going to happen. Still a real twist at the end!

My review was voluntary and my opinions are my own.

Brava!

Wow!! A tale of heartbreak, motherhood, friendship, and what happens when all that is called into question. This book will keep you flipping all night long as you read to get to the end and see what happens to all those involved.

What did I just read? I loved this! What a wild ride, I absolutely devoured this. I definitely recommend going into this one blind. The synopsis gives away too much information. This novel was translated from French and will soon be made into a film. This will make a great film adaptation.
Two neighbor couples become inseparable friends. Only a hedge separates their yards. They become pregnant only a few months apart and then have their sons who also become inseparable friends. One of the children is killed in a tragic accident and they parents have trouble maintaining their friendship. How far will the grieving parents be willing to go to make the devastating circumstances fair?

Wow this book was WILD with a capital W-I-L-D. Fast paced and binge worthy, if you need a book to get you out of a reading slump here you go.

When I saw this book was going to be a movie, I knew I needed to read it! This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. Every time I turned the page, I had no idea what to expect. There was so many twists and the ending was crazy! I can’t wait for the movie! Thank you NetGalley, Barbara and HarperVia for the ARC!

Mother’s Instinct by Barbara Abel was a wild read. I devoured this book in one day. Someone asked what I thought about it. The only thing I could think to say was something along the lines of, I liked it but I hated it!
I didn’t care for any of the characters. They all seemed to have something a little off about them that made it hard to like them. Despite this fact, I did care to know what was going to happen and couldn’t stop reading! It’s impressive when a book manages to do that!
This book made me question my neighbors, my friendships, my children, my hubby…..everyone. It’s creepy because we have all seen enough documentaries to know that people like the ones in this book are, in fact, walking among us.
It’s a crazy, dark and thrilling read and it is available now! Soon to be a major motion picture starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain!

I will be posting this review on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsWQ_sqL5gN/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5547599755

And Amazon.

Disturbing!!! WTH did I just read?!?! This is one that will have you side-eying your neighbors! I mean…if I had a physical copy this would have gone in the freezer! (Joey, I’m with you on that)

SCARY BOOKS BELONG IN THE FREEZER!
David and Laetitia Brunelle and Sylvain and Tiphaine Geniot are inseparable friends and next-door neighbors in a pretty, tranquil suburb. Their sons Milo and Maxime, born in the same year, grow up together as close as brothers. But when Maxime is killed in an accident, their idyllic world shatters. Maxime’s parents, Sylvain and Tiphaine, are consumed by grief and bitterness, while David and Laetitia are wracked with guilt for their role in the tragedy. Soon the couples are barely speaking, although they maintain a polite facade.

Then things get strange. The first half of the book is the set up. After Maxine dies, strange things start happening. At first, I thought, ok, people grieve in their own way. But as “accidents” start happening to Milo, I wondered if I was more worried than Laetitia and David. But Laetitia goes from trusting her BFF to paranoid pretty quickly. Thing escalate very fast and then the book comes to a “hit by a Mack truck” ending. I almost felt like I should re-read the last few chapters to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I literally felt like I was hit by a truck with this ending. Is that what the author intended? I think so! So…BRAVO Barbara Abel, you succeeded and what you set out to do. You totally floored me on this.

Mothers’ Instinct by Barbara Abel is soon to be a major US motion picture starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. I think this would be a great movie and now I am anxious to see it played out on the big screen. These characters are twisted and monstrous. I feel like I was warned, but I ignored it and kept thinking something else was coming. Now I only wonder if there is a sequel in the works?!?! I will be thinking about this one for a while.

This was a fun read. Drama filled, twisty, and mind bending. Do we ever really know our neighbors and be careful of those we call friend. The read was dark, twisty, and disturbing. This was a quick and fascinating read. While the characters weren't exactly likeable, the book was written in a way that it was a crazy read. Even now, the story won't leave me alone and rest in me. I can't wait to read more by this author.

#MOTHERSINSTINCT #NETGALLEY. #BARBARAABEL

This is about two couples who lived right next-door to each other had babies three months apart and were the best of friends. Unfortunately one of them lost their son due to an unfortunate accident his name was Max and after the loss of Max each couple respectively went crazy in the wrong way. David who is Milo‘s dad didn’t have parents he was an orphan but he was very close to his probation officer Ed and when Ed dies David becomes the prime suspect for his murder he conveniently gets arrested right after an argument with his wife and so he leaves Milo with his neighbors Sylvan and Tiffame. There’s a lot of stuff that happens in the end between but what happens next isn’t sanity this is a book that is nonstop boom boom boom one thing after another cannot put the book down kind of reading and OMG I loved it! This was originally written in A foreign language that has been translated into English and will soon be a major motion picture. You can tell when you’re reading it that it has been translated from another language but that doesn’t stop the enjoyment and thrilling suspense created by Barbara Abel in the book mother‘s instinct it is a book I highly recommend in a definite solid four-star read. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Overall the premise is good. The characters are interesting. While at times unbelievable it keeps you turning pages. However, this is an instance where I believe the movie will be better than the book.

After the death of her parents, Laetitia and her husband, David, have moved into the home she grew up in. They are overjoyed when another young couple, Tiphaine and Sylvain, move in next door. Becoming fast friends, the couples are always together and when they have baby boys three months apart, they draw even closer. As the boys (Maxine and Milo) grow they share everything and become closer than brothers. When a devastating accident occurs, the friendship is rocked to its very core. Accusations are thrown both ways but the rift is pretty deep. When a reconciliation does start to take place, Laetitia is sure that all is not what it seems, but as time goes on she is looking more and more deranged every day, but is she really? This domestic drama is a fast paced, but at times was difficult to read. A definite page turner from beginning to end with a mighty fine twist! Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

A domestic thriller at its finest! Fast paced, short chapters, and completely unputdownable. The changing POV added to the story, it was easy to follow and gave so much more perspective. 90% of what I read is thriller so some things were easy to pick up on… but let me tell you this is one of MAYBE two books so far this year that had me completely shook at the ending! This books comes out in may so do yourself a favor and read it! Then keep your eyes out for the film adaptation coming soon!

This was one of the best thrillers I read this year! Well written and engaging. This story is about relationships, mothers' love and grief. Lots of different emotions. The ending though...I still don't know how I feel about it. Is it shocking? YES very! I definitely didn't see that coming. Realistic? Not really. Could this end differently? Probably not. I think I loved it and hated it at the same time. Now I can't wait for the movie to come out.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperVia and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.