Want a book dripping with dread? This book was iconic !! Full of folk lore and drenched in dread! This is an edge of your seat ride full of that tension you need from a story like this !! Highly recommend 5 star read !

A deep dark secret in a town that seems otherwise idyllic, with a wildly urgent beating heart...loved this. Urgent and necessary and GOOD.

Genuinely interesting folk horror vibes with great pacing towards the reveal. The main character isn't the most memorable or compelling but the story has strong enough legs to stand on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel.

I loved this one. One of my favorites for this year so far. A wonderful mix of folk horror, small town monsters and generational trauma.

So many great characters that were so likable but flawed. Marshall was a strong female protagonist. An outsider to the small town, she came fighting her own demons. She got swept up in the hysteria and lore surrounding the town. I also loved Roswell; a teen dad trying to do his best to raise a baby, while the monster in the woods stalks them.

For fans of folk horror, small town conspiracy and monsters.

Where to begin with this one? This literary fiction take on folk horror offered an original and strange premise. Filled with beautiful and evocative prose, it is clear that the author is a master at capturing a mood. I loved the descriptive passages of the town and the eerie atmosphere that was created. The unique premise held a lot of potential. The problem I had with this book is that it simply took way to long to really get going and by the time it did, I was starting to lose interest. The problem with this book is that not a lot happens which seems weird for a book with such a great idea at its core. Also, for a novel promoted as folk horror there is very little horror here. I found little to fear. I love a beautifully written book, but I love a great story more and while this book was heavy on the first it was lacking in the latter and that was a bit of a problem for me. Not bad but not what I hoped it would be. Thank you to @netgalley and @quirkbooks for an e arc.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. Way too many POVs and a sluggish pace made it feel like an uphill battle to care about the well-crafted mystery. I like quirky and I especially love a small town Appalachian inspired folk horror. But this was just too scattered to be a cohesive story.

Thank you NetGalley, Leslie J. Anderson, and Quirk books for the ARC!

Man I had high expectations for this one! As some of you may know, I hate horses. I also know I'm not alone in this because when you think about it, horses are really and truly frightening creatures. That's why I was ultimately disappointed to find out there was a severe lack of scary horses in this book.
The premise seemed intriguing enough, a reporter travels to a small town famous for breeding horses to investigate a likely sensationalized story about a horse giving birth to a human baby. It started out strong with this lead, but ultimately petered out into a different kind of mystery that I didn't find nearly as enjoyable. It also leans heavily into marketing itself as "folk horror"- but I wouldn't say that's quite correct. There is a legend and ritual associated with the town, but the big bad folk monster seemed like an afterthought, not something truly fleshed out that adds to the richness of the town's mythology.
Additionally, the multiple POVs made me not care about any of the characters. It's a pretty short book, but I think we have something like 10 different POVs. As a result, I couldn't connect with any of the characters because we kept jumpin around. Had we just stuck to Marshall's POV, I think it could've been more emotionally effective.
I did like the premise and the message overall because it's obviously a metaphor for abortion as an option for women in this town- especially when it comes to teen pregnancy, poverty and drug abuse, and the tolls that pregnancy takes on the body. Oddly enough, I feel like the messages were either too heavy handed, or went over my head completely. None of them really stuck the landing for me in a way that was both understandable and satisfying. It was simultaneously all over the place giving me whiplash and boring at the same time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eb00k copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off with a bang and I was so excited to see where it was headed. Unfortunately it didn't lead where I was hoping it was going. The story just started falling a little flat and by the time it picked up again, it didn't; cohere together, like it was missing an ingredient. This made the story feel unbelievable. I did enjoy the ending so the story was redeemed a little. But overall it was just okay.
I have no doubt this book will have it's audience.. It's just not me.

This was just ok for ke. I was hoping for more horror and less crime procedural, and I think there were too many POVs. But the writing was good, and I’m interested to see what else the author writes!

A fantastic slow burn folk horror novel. It wasn’t what I was expecting (horse horror?) and I loved it! Anderson’s writing is beautiful, atmospheric and it absolutely blew me away! Thank you Netgalley for the ebook!

My first spooky season read!

The Unmothers is a psychological, folk horror that follows a reporter, Marshall, who while grieving the recent death of her husband has been sent to a small town to cover a story of a horse that has supposedly given birth to a human baby. Weird, right? While she's there, she uncovers the small town's dark secrets and something sinister that lurks in the forest.

The Unmothers delivers a truly unsettling, eerie atmosphere throughout the book where you're never quite sure what's real, who to believe, and what lurks in the woods. While it sits under the horror genre (specifically 'horse horror' if that's a thing?!), it definitely sways towards a mystery thriller as the narrative also follows a string of murders in the town.

Before reading it, I purely expected it to be all spooky folk horror vibes, BUT I didn't expect it to touch upon the lack of reproductive healthcare, the opioid epidemic, poverty in small rural America, dealing with grief, and a strong feminist outcome that I had a such a visceral response to in the epilogue.

There were parts of it that reminded me of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and I would implore anyone that enjoyed Sharp Objects to pick this up too! There are also A LOT of horses so if you're a horse person who loves horror, this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for the e-copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

All in all, I liked this. There were a few instances were the pacing was off and the reveals which felt like they were supposed to be surprising got little more than a ‘huh’ from me but I loved the concept. It was such an interesting premise and could have been really creepy and unsettling with a little more focus on the setting and the pacing - the main thing that shines through is the author’s love for and familiarity with horses, it really feels like what could be a new genre of ‘horse girl horror fiction’. For me, the themes of body autonomy could have been explored a lot more throughout instead of taped onto the tail end of the narrative - but on the whole it was an enjoyable and mildly unsettling read.

Rural folk horror horse creature story. Couldn’t put it down! My one little criticism is that while the vibe is spooky horror I wish there had been more of the creature. I wanted things to get scarier and creepier and even weirder! Still, really enjoyed.

This book is eerie, atmospheric, and creepy, and it messes with your perception of what is real. This book is folk horror at its finest.

Marshall feels like she is losing her grip on reality. In the wake of a traumatic event in her own life, she finds herself in on a bizarre work project in a small rural town chasing a story that, while fantastical, might actually have some teeth. Has a horse really given birth to a human baby? As she bears witness to a small town's strange culture and reaction to a grizzly murder, it becomes clear that something sinister is at play.

As someone drawn to literary fiction, I appreciated how heavy themes of generational trauma and sexism are explore through symbolism and mythology. Bodily autonomy, for example, is a huge theme in this book. Yet, while that topic and its subsequent female rage was found throughout the story, it was done so in a that felt interlaced as opposed to stamped all over the page. It reminded me of God of the Woods by Liz Moore, or Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - this book works at a slower pace, featuring a character-driven story, with a driving plotline underpinning the narrative. For that reason, I would classify this as a literary horror.

Overall a great read, and one that I will absolutely be highlighting on my Bookstagram.

Leslie J. Anderson's *The Unmothers* is an absolutely mesmerizing debut that lingers long after the last page. This haunting folk horror is set in a small, insular rural town, where the atmosphere is thick with tension and dread. Anderson's writing is masterful—suspenseful, evocative, and deeply atmospheric, pulling you into a world where generational trauma and small-town politics collide with chilling supernatural elements.

What starts as a seemingly quirky premise—a horse giving birth to a human—quickly unravels into a complex and devastating narrative that explores themes of womanhood, body autonomy, and the raw power of female rage. Anderson's storytelling is fluid and compelling, with multiple POVs that are expertly handled, adding depth and perspective to the story without ever losing its momentum. The claustrophobic, almost suffocating feel of the town is brilliantly portrayed, making the reader feel every ounce of the characters' anguish and fear.

This isn't just a horror novel—it's a slow-burn, introspective thriller that delves into the darkest corners of grief, religion, and identity. Anderson has crafted a tale that is not only a gripping read but also a powerful commentary on the complexities of womanhood. *The Unmothers* is a must-read for anyone who loves horror with substance and emotional depth. Five stars, without a doubt!

I love folk horror stories and this one was no exception. Written in an almost poetic manner the at times barebones plot is elevated by the exquisite and sharp language.

The story is a folk horror set in a rural run down horse industry town where Marshall a reporter is sent to do a story on an unlikely miracle. A horse giving birth to a human baby!
What Marshall finds in this town is more than she bargained for and will change her life forever.

What I didn’t love : This story is very slow and I wouldn’t call it horror per se. I was also sold this book on the idea it was a female rage story and I don’t feel that’s accurate either.

What I loved: Basically everything thing else. First and foremost the writing, this book has some of the best and most beautiful writing I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I’m not someone who annotates or tabs books much if ever but this book had me underlining and tabbing all throughout.
While the story was a slow burn it managed to keep me interested the whole ride with mood and atmosphere that I can only liken to that sense of trepidation and excitement that comes from watching a large storm rolling in.
While it’s not a “scary” book it does have a solid folk creature to explore and I highly recommend to anyone who likes interesting stories that burn beautifully all be it slowly.

This book managed to keep me guessing, which is no small feat. Anderson is a real wordsmith, infusing characters and events with poetry and emotion without venturing into purple prose. Her ability to create an atmosphere and fully fleshed out characters meant that even when the action flagged, it was never boring. Definitely recommend!