I really wanted to love Normal Women after being so taken with Motherthing, but this one fell flat for me. The story starts with an interesting premise-a new mother, Dani, finding herself worried about her future, financially and emotionally—but it just didn’t deliver the same punch I was expecting. The first half dragged, and I found myself struggling to stay invested. It felt like the plot wasn’t really going anywhere, and I kept waiting for something to hook me.

Things did start to pick up about three quarters of the way in, but by then, it was a little too late. The ending didn’t satisfy me either—it felt like there was all this build-up, only to fizzle out without much payoff. Dani as a narrator didn’t have the same sharpness or dark humor that I loved in Motherthing. It lacked that biting edge that made Hogarth’s previous book such a standout.

Overall, Normal Women left me feeling disappointed. I could see what Hogarth was going for with the whole conspiracy and mystery angle, but it just didn’t come together in a way that kept my attention.

i wanted more out of this one. i was such a huge fan of Motherthing so i was super excited for this one. but it didn't hit the way i was hoping it would. pretty boring read, super slow burn without a big payoff in the end. womp womp.

I had high hopes for this considering Motherthing quickly became one of my favorite books upon reading it, but honestly I was a little disappointed.

The synopsis made it seem like it was going to be a darkly humorous mystery surrounding a yoga center that may or may not be a cult, but it was not really that at all. The owner of the yoga center doesn't even go missing until more than halfway through the book and there is only one short conversation that I can recall pertaining to cults. Renata's disappearance is such a small aspect of the novel so I'm surprised it's included in the description at all.

I do appreciate some of the social commentary and as always, Hogarth's writing style, but unfortunately, that is where my enjoyment ends. Hopefully whatever she puts out next will be more to my tastes.

I was interested in this because of the authors debut, but unfortunately this was not for me. The story fell flat around the halfway mark and the ending was unsatisfying and unrealistic.

I appreciated the suppressed rage infusing the book, but I thought the plot was belabored and the end rather rushed -- I don't think the payoff was quite what the author intended. It was well-written, though.

~thank you to netgalley & the publisher with gifting me this arc~

this one was a miss for me. I really enjoyed Hogarths first book “motherthing” and I was so excited for this books release. Unfortunately I found it to be repetitive and lackluster compared to her previous book. I really enjoyed the first 1/3 of this book. Listening to our FMC talk about motherhood & all her inner turmoils was so enthralling for me. The last 2/3 I found to just be repetitive and I don’t enjoy reading pages upon pages without paragraph breaks

SHE IS JUST MY FAVE I LOVE HER WRITING AND THE WAY HER BRAIN WORKS THANK YOU SO MUCH TO NETGALLEY FOR THE ADVANCED READER COPY VERY COOL!

I wanted to love this book so much, like truly an insane amount. My coworkers and I were really excited for this after we all read 'MotherThing' by the same author. We all got so excited when we all got approved for the ARC of this.

But it just didn't deliver for me. Maybe I'm not the target audience to relate to the content as I don't have children nor do I ever plan to. But I found the characters, and story to be so directionless.

I'll still pick up whatever Ainslie Hogarth puts out next, but maybe with more contained expectations 😓

Motherthing was an absolute hit in the literary horror circles I like to run in. It set incredibly high expectations for Normal Women. Though I was warned that the new books is much different I still expected a wild ride, a bold, weird women narrative, and while I did get that in the first half of the book, I felt like the second half, and especially the ending, left me a little confused as to what the books was trying to say. The message, if there was one, got muddled , resulting in a not so satisfying read.

2.5/5 Stars

After loving Ainslie Hogarth's other books I was so excited to be reading her newest, Normal Women, especially after reading that summary. But the story fell flat, it wasn't horrifying or weird, and just left me wanting something else. Upon reflection, this is a book that won't stay with me, and was a letdown from what I thought I was getting.

God I am heartbroken to be rating this two stars but I am so disappointed!

I loved Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth and so I was I incredibly excited for her next novel (thank you Atlantic Books for an early copy). The cover is amazing and the blurb definitely had me enticed but it was such a let down.

The story follows Dani grappling with motherhood, and balancing this with her marriage, her friends, and her searching for belonging. She stumbles across ‘The Temple’ which is a mysterious organisation that help men ‘reach their full potential and befriends one of the staff members.

When I reached the half way point I was already bored and felt the story was so slow but I was open minded as Motherthing was definitely a slow burner too. However, the 300 pages built up to practically nothing. The story definitely could have been chopped down to 150-200 pages without losing anything of importance.

I still enjoyed Hogarth’s writing style and will read future releases from her, but I’m sad to say Normal Women was not it.

I wanted to love this - as I loved Ainslie's Motherthing - but I just... didn't. It felt too flat, and the ending did NOT work for me a single bit.

Loved this book by Ainslie Hogarth, a favourite author of mine with her debut Motherthing. I thought this book was a great conversation starter and we picked it for our November book club!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. Not my kind of book DNF. I read Motherthing, and was intrigues but this book didn’t meet my expectations.

This is my second read from Ainslie Hogarth and it has cemented her as an auto buy. This story is dark and twisty, but is ultimately about how we do and don't value female labor, female bodies, and how it takes validation from a man, and his capital, for those to be considered worth something. The story follows Dani, a new mother who initially relished the chance to stay home with her daughter Lotte, but is now hyper-focused on the idea that if her husband Clark were to die, she and Lotte would be left destitute. She finds solace in the idea of The Temple, a yoga studio/sex work hub/wellness center in her town, and begins a friendship with the maternal force behind the Temple, Renata.

Things I liked: the interrogation of what it means to be productive, particularly as a woman; the discussion of toxic masculinity, the darkly comedic writing

Things I didn't like: the implication that toxic masculinity can (or should) be fixed by female labor.

Thanks to Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Normal Women was very enjoyable! I loved the mix of motherhood and more morbid themes and horror. It was funny at times too.

This had all the makings of my type of “weird” and “is the woman crazy or is the world against her” type of book, but it was simply just not very good. I oftentimes wanted to DNF it but the mystery element was the one and only thing that compelled me to finish…
All I gotta say is: it’s not worth it.

I am still really interested in Motherthing and have hopes that I will really enjoy that one. From the reviews that i’ve seen, it seems like everyone who loved Motherthing was somewhat disappointed by this one, so I am not deterred in the slightest.

Unfortunately a rare DNF for me. Compared to her first book, I found this to lack momentum and a unique perspective. The story felt flat and I was hoping for the same spark MOTHERTHING carried throughout. I wonder if the author aimed to tone down from the fun chaos of her first book, but it wasn’t working for me. I’ll be curious to see what she puts out next to see how it compares.

Much like her debut MOTHERTHING, NORMAL WOMEN is a surreal romp from the incredible Ainslie Hogarth. A hot take on motherhood, feminism, and sex work, I was enthralled by both the mystery at the core of the story, and Hogarth’s thoughts on the themes of the book.

another wild ride from Ainslie Hogarth. Her writing is mesmerizing chaos. She always keeps you on your toes