Rounded up to 3.5

This book went super quick and was very easy to follow and read; I was definitely engrossed in both Essie's story and Ana and Isabel's story, however, I did feel like the ending was rushed and the conclusion happened way too easily/quickly. The ending itself also felt a little abrupt compared to the rest of the book as a whole, but overall I did enjoy the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

This was a slow burn book that I had a hard time getting into. I was very interested to read it as the premise sounded really interested.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC!

An interesting and heartfelt into the experiences of relationships and motherhood. Both mentally and physically it challenges beliefs, hopes and experiences. A haunting of a couple and a house and the past that follows them. A fascinating and challenging read, sometimes deep, emotional and scary.

I like the concept of this story but I didn't feel it had enough tension or suspense. The idea was quite clever and it wasn't a terrible read, but It just didn't have a lot of impact on me or leave me wanting to share it with others. I love a dark tale and this could have been so much more.

I found it a bit slow and got tired of reading "she hummed in reply" and "I'm fine."

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

ℕ𝕆 ℂℍ𝕀𝕃𝔻 𝕆𝔽 𝕄𝕀ℕ𝔼 𝔹𝕐 ℕ𝕀ℂℍ𝔼𝕃𝕃𝔼 𝔾𝕀ℝ𝔸𝕃𝔻𝔼𝕊


🍼🍼🍼🍼
4/5

Essie is an ambitious, strong willed woman, who’s only soft spot is for her husband Sunday. Essie never saw herself as a mother, but then she finds out she’s pregnant, and her family is cursed. Essie’s fear is Sunday dying, and having to raise their baby on her own.

This book talks about depression, through the character Sunjay. I appreciate that mental is talked about, and even discussed making sure to take your medication.

This book kept me guessing, and is full of suspense.

When happily married couple Essie and Sanjay move into what they plan to turn into their dream home, life unexpectedly unravels. Essie, concentrating on finishing law school and embarking on her career, is surprised by an unplanned pregnancy. As the pregnancy becomes increasingly difficult, she finds herself on bed rest, isolated in her home and Sanjay, once her rock, has become a stranger. Added to this, Essie has been warned by her grandmother that the descendants of her family, always daughters, are cursed to lose the one they love. Her story, overlapping with those of her ancestors, is a haunting tale of both the destructive and redeeming power of love.

Recommended.

Essie and Sanjay’s life together is turned upside down when Essie unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Now there are whispers in the house, brief glimpses of shadows seen, and a long standing family curse that may just rip their little family apart.
This book was a slow burn, but not dull by any means. The character and storyline building was top notch. I feel like we really got to deep dive into the characters lives and past and really build up the sense of dread. The ending was a little underwhelming, which is the only reason I didn’t give it 4 stars. With as much build up as I got, it felt like a quick resolution, but I was content with it. It was a good mix of haunted house and a Practical Magic vibe with the family curse. All in all, I definitely enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.

This was a bit of a let down for me. The premise sounded so promising but this story missed the mark. It was slow and lacked suspense. There weren't any twists or shocking reveals either. In fact, not much happened at all . . .

This is the story of Essie and Sanjay in their new home, but also of Ana and Isabel who came before them, and tie the 2 stories/times together.

This book contains a little bit if everything.
Essie and Sanjay share a traditional love story as well as an unplanned pregnancy.
Ana and Isabel share a "forbidden" relationship, that's shared through beautiful letters.
The story is also told in multiple POV/Times.

One thing to note for some readers. There are some triggers, such as abuse that happen in the story.

Over all, I really enjoyed the story. The one issue I had was with the pacing. There were some parts that seemed too drawn out, while others such as the ending, that finished to quickly for me.

This was a good debut for the author and I will be keeping and eye out for any future work from her.

A special thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

This was an okay read for me, I liked the dual timeline and how the stories came together in the end, the haunted house aspect and the writing style was good. What I missed was the suspense, I think you could have made the house so much creepier if that had been more majorly a focus, it was very much just a side storyline in this. The past timeline remained very surface-level, I didn't love the letters and I don't think you really got to know the characters there.

This was very slow burn, not much happened for most of this, but I didn't feel like the ending was worth the waiting. I wish there had been more action and suspense in the end, it was just kind of a letdown. Still, for a debut, this was pretty solid. I would read more from this author.

Thank you netgallery for allowing me to read this book early.
I literally couldn't put this book down. I fell in love with the couple right from the start and learning about the "family curse" and the book going back into time where the curse started. It was perfectly written. The ending of this book was perfect.
Watching his the main characters navigate this curse and learning about it was kind blowing.

I was drawn in by this creepy cover and I couldn’t wait to read. This book is spooky with whispering voices and dark shadows and nightmares that feel like they are real. Essie is pregnant and she has been warned that her family is cursed. She is worried she will have this baby and she will be left raising it on her own as her husband will die. Just like that I am hooked and can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Essie must figure out what happened to Ana and Isabelle and how to break the curse.

Sanjay suffers from depression and I liked how they discussed mental illness positively. They showed how important it is to take your medication and get help.

I liked the multiple points of views and that it was unpredictable.

I picked out the book based on the cover and the title without reading the description because I often enjoy the surprise and having no set expectations, so I didn't realize that the theme was not mystery but rather horror or supernatural that is not my favorite genre at all. But surprisingly, I really liked it so if you are also into the mystery, feel free to read this book as the horror is nothing too horrific that would interfere with your sleep. At least it wasn't for me.

The built up of the pregnancy was quite intense and I did not want to put the book down. I liked the parallel family stories and was curious to see how they will connect. The ending was a bit short and too easily resolved but it did not spoil the book for me.

WARNING: if you are pregnant or want to become pregnant, I would not recommend this book until after.

Thanks for Netgalley for introducing me to this author and this genre. I look forward to other books by this author.

Thank you to the publishers at Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this e-ARC of No Child of Mine.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🤰🏼 have ever been pregnant
👻 believe in ghosts
❤️ would do anything for your true love
👥 enjoy dual POVs

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After Essie and her husband Sanjay move into their new home, strange things start happening.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Essie and Sanjay have finally bought a house. High school sweethearts, they are now in their late 20s and Essie is finally going to pass her Bar and become a lawyer. An unexpected pregnancy forces her to put her plans on the back burner. But Essie isn’t just dealing with nausea; there’s a strange, unexplained presence in the house, and it’s changing Sanjay. Is the family curse her grandmother always warned her about coming true?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a really fun and fast paced read. I enjoyed the multiple POVs between Essie and two women, Isabel and Ana, that, at first, I wasn’t sure how were connected to Essie’s story. Eventually, it all starts to come together, and I loved the big reveal. I also related easily to the main character; pregnancy was very hard and uncomfortable for me with almost nonstop nausea until over halfway through. This wasn’t your average ghost story which made for a fun twist.

We’re introduced to Essie and Sanjay and Ana and Isabel. One is a modern day love story and the other a forbidden love between friends. I found myself enthralled by Ana and Isabel’s story and couldn’t wait to get to their chapters! The ghostly occurrences in Essie and Sanjay’s timeline created a sense of unease and foreboding that weren’t as heavily present in Ana and Isabel’s chapters.
Essie and Sanjay, an ambitious couple who just bought a house and are working to transform it into their dream home. Sanjay is settled in his job as an architecture and Essie is in her last semester of law school when she realizes she's pregnant, that, she never wanted to be. The pregnancy is difficult, and when she finds herself on bedrest, she can't determine if the woman she keeps seeing is real or the product of her isolation.
I can't wait to see what else this author has with her. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.


TW: Pregnancy, depression, suicide, domestic violence.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the ARC!!

Essie and Sanjay have just moved into their dream house. It's spacious and has a lovely attic which Sanjay turns into his office, and a massive third bedroom which Essie plans to use as her office while she studies during law school. Their lives couldn't be any more perfect....or could they? While at a routine check-up, Essie finds out that she's pregnant with their first child, something she hadn't planned for and resents at first, while Sanjay is absolutely thrilled. But as Essie's pregnancy progresses, she has terrible morning sickness, nausea, loses weight and every time she enters Sanjay's office, she smells a mossy, moldy smell that makes her gag, Meanwhile, Sanjay has begun staying up late at night, pacing his office, and beginning to worry Essie. Their story is told in parallel to the story of Isabel and Ana, two childhood friends who are married off to two totally different men; while Ana has dreamed of becoming a mother and living out her days with her best friend Isabel, Isabel dreds the prospect of marriage and cries when she finds out that her friend is married to a monster who is abusive towards her. Isabel promises to help Ana find a way out of this mess, but can she?

This book was a pretty good read, but I felt that it needed to be slimmed down a bit because of pacing issues. Some chapters between Essie and Sanjay seemed to drag and there is the issue of the actual plot being tied up so neatly at the very end despite carrying on for so long. I think a bit less of the middle section and a little more focus on the resolution would have helped, as well as explaining some issues surrounding the "curse" and it's breaking a bit earlier. Overall, this was a decent read and I would recommend it to some friends, but not others because a lot of the squicks involving pregnancy and spousal abuse.

Thanks to Netagalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced reader copy. Essie's story and history captivate you from the beginning of the story. The story is told between a few women from her family, which keeps you guessing where this "curse" started. The pregnancy is unexpected, and her husband, Sanjay, plays a major role in this thriller. How will everything end up? Turn the pages, and you will uncover the buried secrets in Essie's dreams that come to reality. Watch your back; this one is spooky.

This book was such a good read. The cover initially drew me but once I started reading I didn’t want to put it down. This was my first book I’ve read from Nichelle Giraldes and I promise I will be reading more. The plot was interesting a career driven ambitious woman (Essie) working hard and trying to accomplish life long career goals is held back by a multiple decades long family curse.

Thank you so much netgalley and author for this read! Truly enjoyed every minute of it.

DNF - This was not the Horror that I was hoping for. I recognize that because I have read many books & understand what my preferences are within each genre, almost to a fault, it’s difficult to maintain the eagerness of exploring books like this one. By that I mean to say, I know who will love this book. Contrary to what I know about myself, I was hoping it was going to be me but, I couldn’t engage with the story or the writing. I do think that this would play out well in film. The setting of the house - a structure throughout the plot lines - could really rev up the tension.

There's something in the dark. And it's starting to whisper...
Essie Kaur has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she's pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper.
As Essie's pregnancy progresses, both her and Sanjay's lives are warped by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, leaving a string of fatherless daughters in its wake. When she's put on bedrest, Essie trades the last aspects of her carefully planned life for isolation in what should be a welcoming home, but she isn't alone. There's something here that means to take everything from her…

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.