Hanna seems normal. She's the best stepmother to Joelle and wife to Jacob. But when things take a turn to Hanna's dislike, the sociopath in her is unleashed.

I love dark, twisted tales and Zoje Stage has spun a clever one in this novel. When I thought things couldn't get any worse, the author threw in another jaw dropping twist. And it kept going right until the end! I haven't read Baby Teeth but after reading Dear Hanna, I will definitely be picking it up soon. Thriller fans will devour this one - be sure to get yourself a copy!

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage was crazy, claustrophobic, atmospheric. I eagerly devoured it in one sitting.
The story is absolutely terrifying.
It was engaging and it draws you in, you just want to settle in and rip through the pages and find out everything you possibly can about these characters. They're fascinating and damaged, slightly unhinged.
I was completely immersed in this clever story which was executed brilliantly with some nerve-jittering suspense and, for me, the ending was great.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Zoje Stage’s sequel to “Baby Teeth,” “Dear Hanna” brings back Hanna & she’s all grown up. Hanna is 24 & married to Jacob, a widower, with a teen daughter, Joelle. All seems normal for Hanna, until Joelle finds herself pregnant & Hanna slowly unravels.

I liked this book. It was a quick & easy read & Hanna is still diabolical. The first book was more messed up, but Hanna still has some of her old deviousness.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book.

This sequel was incredible! I couldn’t stop reading and I needed to know what would happen next! It was suspenseful and dark, and seeing Hanna deal with “her other self” was interesting!

[3.5 stars]

I have to start by saying that I really did not enjoy Baby Teeth. However, Dear Hanna is everything I hoped Baby Teeth would be. The story picks up with Hanna as a young adult with a career as a phlebotomist. She’s searching for the perfect husband, with the perfect life, and finds her match in Jacob - who has brought his daughter in to get her blood drawn. Fast forward a few more years and Hanna is happily married to Jacob and the step-mother (more like big sister) to Joelle. Hanna’s life is everything she had hoped it would be - until Joelle announces she’s pregnant. Hanna cannot have a young child in her house and will do anything to avoid this happening. As Joelle nears her due date, Hanna becomes more desperate and begins to involuntarily push her husband away. The baby is coming; can Hanna reconcile with her past and open up to Jacob? Or will her idyllic life be over?

The story was a little slow at first, but I read the last 75% of the book in one sitting. I couldn’t remember too many details from Baby Teeth, but this read as a good standalone. The last 10% of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t know if it was just me not remembering things, but the final twist caught me completely off guard. I am so glad I read this, even though I did not enjoy Baby Teeth. If you felt the same way, I’d give this one a try! And if you loved Baby Teeth, I think you’ll really enjoy Dear Hanna.

Zoje Stage is an auto-read for me and should be for you if you're looking for:
--gorgeous writing
--nuanced conflict, both internal and external
--off-putting characters that you can't automatically dislike because they resonate and/or are relatable

I was thrilled when I saw Dear Hanna, the follow-up to Baby Teeth, announced and couldn't wait to dive in. It should be noted that you do not need to have read Baby Teeth to understand this book, though I highly recommend giving that a read first because it amplifies the eerie, unhinged tone as you progress.

Hanna is living the dream with her new husband and stepdaughter, but not everything is as it seems. Despite the normalcy, Hanna wants more. And when unexpected news hits the family, Hanna is more determined than ever to get what she wants.

I left the summary purposely vague, but let me tell you: this is a page-turner from the get go. Hanna's voice is incredibly honest but simultaneously detached. She feels things deeply but doesn't always understand what they mean, nor how these feelings affect those around her. The result of which is both jarring and unsettling. Combine that with a series of letters that helps you explore the inner workings of Hanna's mind when she's pushed or questioned by someone else, you get a character-driven narration that knocks it out of the park.

One thing I always appreciate about Stage's work is the care and attention she gives to relevant real-world themes, including societal pressures of becoming a mother, quantifying traits of a Good Mother, gender imbalances in power, and (one of my personal favorites) the inherent competition that mothers often face with each other.

Without giving anything away, Dear Hanna is a twisted, quietly complex stunner that will leave you numb in the best possible way. I loved every minute of this one.

Huge thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Wow wow wow! Thank you Netgalley, Zoje Stage and Thomas & Mercer for the ebook. I honestly have no words this book was everything I could have wanted and expected and then some!!! I absolutely loved Baby Teeth when it came out and I was a bit skeptical but excited for a sequel ... to see what ever happened to Little Hanna. Dear Hanna delivered!! If you want psychological, creepy any horror all combined with a plot that will have you just needing more you must read this book and the prequel Baby Teeth. The coolest part, confirmed in the authors note, is you don't have to read in specific order. Stop, drop whatever you're currently reading and read this!!!

Dear Hanna is the sequel to the wonderfully creeptastic Baby Teeth. While they can be read in any order, definitely go back and read the first if you start with Dear Hanna as it will explain the "problems" Hanna had growing up. A part of me wishes Hanna had stay exactly the same but I think this is a more accurate portrayal of a sociopath grown up. Afterall, none of us are the same as our 7-year-old selves. Witnessing Hanna have an awareness of her abnormal thoughts and adjusting her behavior to hide in plain sight was more interesting. As they say, 1 in 25 people are sociopaths, so we should all be more careful at potlucks, LOL. After all, one could be your next-door neighbor or even... me? Muwahahahahaha

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I just loved how freaked out I was when reading Baby Teeth where we are introduced to Hanna as a young girl who tried to kill her mother to get her out of the way. I could not help wondering what had become of young Hanna and I can honestly say that it was worth the wait. She really does try but people inevitably disappoint leaving Hanna no choice….well you’ll just have to read it and find out!

Dear Hanna is the sequel to 2018’s Baby Teeth, about a psychopathic child competing with her mother for the love of her father. As the author explains in her afterword, you don’t need to have read that one first, although I’m glad I did, as while the first book is disturbingly creepy, but in a good way, this one was a bit of a letdown. Obviously reading this one first would spoil the suspense and twists, such as they are, of the first book - but also make it easier to read, by removing the uncomfortable sense of dread that accompanied it.

After being sent away to a residential treatment centre for disturbed children by her broken and terrified parents, and learning how to function in a socially acceptable way, at least outwardly, Hanna is now grown up. Having found a kind widower to marry and provide the lifestyle she wants, she’s comfortable with her work as a phlebotomist, her art projects and her relationship with his teenaged daughter Joelle. Then Jo makes an announcement which threatens everything, and Hanna reverts to thoughts of murder as the best solution…

This had a great premise - I was curious to see how the voluntarily mute 7 year old from Baby Teeth would behave as an adult wife and stepmother, but unfortunately it took so long for anything to happen that I was just bored for most of it. Unlike the first book, where we also got her mother Suzette’s perspective, this is all told from Hanna’s third person point of view and in a series of letters between Hanna and her younger brother Goose. You know that the relationship is not a normal sibling one when he cheerfully encourages her murderous impulses, and the main suspense centres on whether she will go ahead with it or not. I was disappointed by the ending which was a bit of a damp squib, and was unsurprised by the twist. If you loved Baby Teeth, you may yet enjoy this more than I did, but if you haven’t read it and like dark psychological suspense, read it instead of this.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. Dear Hanna is published on August 13th.

I really enjoyed Baby Teeth, and I was excited for this sequel. This can definitely be read as a standalone, but you'll have a much better understanding of Hanna's character having read the first book. This story is character-driven by Hanna as she struggles to cope with unexpected events in her structured family life with her husband Jacob and stepdaughter Joelle. I don't want to say more and spoil anything, but the plot is intriguing and fans of darker characters will love this one.

We first met Hanna as a child in the fantastic BABY TEETH, and now she is a twenty something trying her best to navigate a “normal” life as a wife and stepmother. This book can absolutely be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the first book if you haven’t yet read it.

Hanna still has very dark thoughts but seems to have learned to manage her sociopathic tendencies through her intensive therapy as a child. She is employed as a phlebotomist which is the perfect job for her. She regularly corresponds with her younger brother (nicknamed Goose) who was sent to boarding school at a young age. I love an epistolary novel!

I enjoyed how the author dealt with Hanna’s parents in this book and how the tension was slowly built up from the very beginning. There’s a big reveal at the end which I guessed early on, but that still did not affect my enjoyment of this creepy novel.

Many thanks to the publisher Thomas + Mercer for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not sure why I decided to read this because I wasn't the biggest fan of Baby Teeth (also by this author) but I thought this might have been more interesting since we are following the main character Hanna as an adult. I did appreciate how the author referenced the events of Baby Teeth making it easier to remember situations from that book since it had been a while since I read it. At times I thought the story was really interesting especially in the beginning because we got so many of Hanna's inner thoughts and learned how unstable her mental state still is. There were moments when Hanna was unhinged in the plans she wanted to carry out which made the story entertaining. However, I felt the pacing was extremely slow since we are only following Hanna. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on with her and the ending 'reveal' really wasn't shocking but I'm not sure it was meant to be. I did not think a sequel was needed and I don't think this added anything to Hanna's character. If you are a fan of Baby Teeth I think you would enjoy this more than I did but if you are like me and didn't care for that one not sure this one will be for you...

Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage is a dark thriller dripping with tension and chilling undercurrents. It is about control, manipulation and relationships, drenched in deceit.

Hanna married an older man, Jacob, four years ago at the age of twenty. Her immaturity level is obvious throughout the story and her past isn't exactly squeaky clean, either. But she's not the only one with secrets. Hanna's step daughter is only eight years younger which creates a bond of sorts. Life happens and Hanna finds herself reverting back to old habits when things don't go as planned. Hanna and her brother exchange letters which reveal the back story and an additional layer of interest and suspense.

Though the premise very much appealed to me, I didn't feel any emotional connection with the characters or enthusiasm for parts of the story. I felt at arm's length. However, the writing is excellent and the letters are a great touch. I did enjoy the slow burn aspect. The author's notes are enlightening.

My sincere thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this captivating novel.

Thank you @otrpr #partner for the gifted copy of this book. Stick with me because you can enter for a copy for yourself below!

Weeeeee! This one was SO dark and delicious I ate it up! I could not put this down because Hanna, my friends, was quite the plotter and planner! She has grown up with devious, dangerous and murderous thoughts. Therapy can fix all that right?! 👀 Well now that she’s 24 she wants to settle down and she finds herself a perfect victim…errr I mean partner. She couldn’t be happier in her new life as wife and stepmom. All is just perfect until things start to change with her step daughter which ultimately throws everything off kilter for Hanna. She feels like her life is out of control but don’t worry…she has a backup plan for everything!

I didn’t know when I grabbed this one that Baby Teeth was the prequel to Dear Hanna. Knowing how much I loved Hanna and her completely psycho thoughts I am running to get myself a copy because I hear Baby Teeth is even more unhinged. Even though Hanna is not remotely normal in her thoughts there is just something about her that I couldn’t get enough of. She’s crazy yes but she’s a likeable crazy with a tinge of funny. Don’t get me wrong this book is chilling and filled with suspense but I certainly kind of felt myself rooting for her! Loved this one and I hope you too! Check out the below because you can enter to win yourself a copy of this one! Follow the rules below!

I read Baby Teeth shortly after it came out. And when I tell you it's a good thing these books are so spaced out that you don't need to read Baby Teeth to understand what Hanna is dong in this book, it's true. I have no recollection of Baby Teeth because my brain has been made mush by children. But the whole time I'm reading Dear Hanna I'm trying to figure out if Hanna actually has any redeeming qualities. I don't think so. Which is great for the book. I've also watched the same episode of Dateline about the antifreeze woman. I won't spoil it but how far would you go to save your family? Even if they don't want to be saved? How far would you go to save the life you know and want?

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

I was a big fan of Baby Teeth and I was excited to read Zoje’s follow up. Dear Hanna is a quick and creepy read that fans of Baby Teeth will eat up!

Personally, I wanted more from the ending. It felt slightly anticlimactic, but nevertheless I enjoyed Dear Hanna. I’m excited to read more from Zoje in the future!

2.5 stars, rounding up. I am no stranger to reading books about psychopaths (although I have not read <i>Baby Teeth</i> -- I didn't see that this was a sequel to that book until the author's afterword; to its credit, it can easily be read stand-alone). When those books work best, it's because the character is especially compelling or well-written (think Patrick Bateman) or because they're perpetrating especially clever schemes (think Tom Ripley).

Hanna, in this book, doesn't really check either box. She's definitely insane, and the book does a fine job of initially drawing you in wondering what exactly her deal is, but it never really paid off for me, and her insane plotting kind of farts around abortively in various directions and each plan, when it was even explained, was so self-evidently nonsensical that I was more impatient with them than I was interested. I'd always heard a lot of good things about <i>Baby Teeth</i> and it's been on my list to get to, but between this and <i>Mothered</i> I'm wondering if Zoje Stage isn't quite for me.

If you haven't dived into the prequel, make sure you grab it first! In "Baby Teeth," we meet young Hannah, a kid with serious issues and a massive grudge against her mom. Now, in "Dear Hannah," she’s back at 24, married, and dealing with a 16-year-old stepdaughter. Sounds like a recipe for drama, right? Well, it starts off almost too normal, a bit too tame for my taste. I was waiting for the old craziness to kick in, and it took more than half the book to get there. But once it did, wow, the last few chapters were a wild ride! Still, the ending left me wanting more. I enjoyed peeking into Hannah's life after her rough start, but I craved more of the dark and twisty stuff. Big thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for letting me read and review this ARC!

I'm back with a book review for one of my highly anticipated reads for 2024. You probably remember the popular book Baby Teeth, and if you haven't read it, you are missing out. This one is described as a sequel to that book, although it can be read as a standalone. Our favorite little sociopath, Hanna, is all grown up with a family of her own. She works as a phlebotomist, drawing blood and using needles, which seems to satisfy her sociopath tendencies. When her teenage stepdaughter becomes pregnant, all hell breaks loose, as she tries to keep it together. This one was fun and entertaining, with fun domestic twists. I would describe it as a slowburn domestic thriller. As I mentioned, it is a standalone, but you can definitely read it by itself. It was interesting to see how she navigated interactions as a wife and mother and employee. Hanna's parents even make an appearance in Dear Hanna. Thank you @otrpr for the gifted ARC and for inviting to be a part of the tour! #readingmamareviews #dearhanna #zojestage #babyteeth #domesticthriller #arc #gifted