Any woman who has had a baby knows what a nightmare the postpartum stage is like. Juggling learning how to look after a helpless newborn with recovering from delivery/ c-sections, extreme sleep deprivation, troubles with breastfeeding, and unhelpful partners is actual torture, add to all that the constant fear that you’re going to do something wrong and the baby is going to end up dead…. Perfect for the horror genre.

Jacquie Walters explores all this in raw, genuine, no holds barred writing that had me in tears at moments, constantly terrified, and unable to stop reading. It’s hard to believe that this is a debut!

Being a new mother isn’t easy but doing it while your husband is deployed makes it a bit harder. Flora, alone with a new baby, feels like she’s losing her mind and then, her estranged mother arrives. This should ease the burden but instead, things take a turn for the worse. What’s actually happening here?

This book had me questioning everything I read and everything I thought. Best to go into this one with an open mind and don’t think you know what’s happening because chances are, you don’t!

Deeply unsettling and still gives me the heebs every time I think about it.

Thank you Mulholland Books for this gifted DRC!

There are very few things that make me uncomfortable right off the bat, and in depth descriptions of motherhood pretty much top the list. This may say a lot about me as a woman but we’ll dive into that another day.

Dearest is about Flora, who is desperately trying to survive the challenges of being a new mom. The lack of sleep, the toll its taken on her body (oh god the descriptions are ever so clear, thank you Jacquie) as she waits for her husband to return from being deployed, so she’ll have assistance raising sweet Iris. It becomes too much for her, and she reaches out to her estranged mother for help - this doesn’t feel like a great idea, but desperate times call for desperate measures. When her mother arrives, Flora tries to ignore the signs that this woman may not be the distance yet the same mother she remembers from her childhood - as sleep deprivation sets in and strange things begin to happen, Flora’s grasp on reality starts to slip and the clarity between what is true and what is not hours beyond recognition.

I was blown away by this debut novel - horror is such an odd genre to tackle because everyone likes and appreciates something different but this one really hit the mark for me. It made my skin crawl (really, the body horror and real life descriptions in this one were enough to make me shiver), it evoked emotion, it further solidified my choice of being a childfree adult… It was absolutely fantastic.

I’d give this book 5 terribly infected nipples (and somehow, I DO mean that as a good thing). I cannot wait to read Jacquie’s new book being released later this year. Thank you NetGalley, Jacquie Walters and Mulholland Books for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

More potential than actual substance here - frustrating, uneven pacing combines with surface-level depth for an unsatisfying read.

I value the opportunity I was given to read this in advance, but I still haven't read this. With so many books ahead of me, I cannot return to this title.

I Recieved a copy of this book to review. I really enjoyed it couldn’t put the book down reading in two days. Suspenseful and mysterious making you want to know what will happen next. The end of the story left you wanting more. Hoping there is a sequel

Love love love! This was so well-written. It was emotional and creepy in the best ways. It really felt like I was going through what Flora was going through. I read this on kindle and it still managed to scare me with the sudden sound parts like the toy that wouldn’t turn off! Highly recommend and will read more by this author.

I love "mother" related horror stories... I can't quite put my finger on why! But there's something to be said about this sub-genre in that it never bores me, seems redundant, etc. And Jacquie Walters does just an excellent job at crafting something so unique and eerie! I could NOT put this one down and it might go down as one of the best horror books released last year (for me!)

This book was fine. There were definitely creepy moments that made me feel super unsettled but I think because I’ve just read other books about overwhelmed/sleep deprived moms that this one didn’t really stand out for me.

Let me start by saying this: if you’re a new mother, Dearest might just be the most horrifying thing you’ll ever read. Thankfully, I’m past that stage, but even so, this book unsettled me to my core. Jacquie Walters masterfully captures the raw, unfiltered dread of early motherhood, blending it seamlessly with an eerie, slow-burning horror.

One thing that really pulled me in was the author’s incredible writing style. It’s hard to believe this is a debut—Walters knows how to pace a story. I flew through the book in no time, caught up in Flora’s unraveling reality and the oppressive sense of unease that builds with every page.

That said, there was one aspect that brought me straight back to cringe town: breastfeeding. As someone who personally wasn’t a fan of that part of motherhood (though I still powered through it for as long as I could), the mentions of it in the book gave me the ick. It’s not a critique of the story—it’s just my own visceral reaction, and I imagine other readers might feel differently.

Despite that personal squirm factor, Dearest is an astonishing debut. Walters crafts a narrative that’s both deeply human and profoundly unsettling. If you’re looking for a book that will leave you with a lingering sense of dread and a pit in your stomach, this one delivers.

This was one deck of a debut novel and I cant wait to see what this author comes out with next.

Check with any trigger warnings you have before diving in if mental health is a difficult topic for you.

This story is creepy, unsettling, at times heart pounding and really makes you look at horror from a psychological level.

It also got me with the short chapters. You know how it is. Late at night you think, im just going to read ONE more. Then boom. An hour as gone by.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read this fantastic book.

Wow. This novel felt like a horrifying fever dream.

Flora, a new mom struggling with the isolation of early motherhood and her husband’s deployment, finds herself unraveling as she begins to question her own sanity. Just as she feels the weight of her sleepless nights and creeping paranoia, her estranged mother suddenly appears on her doorstep, offering help and the possibility of reconciliation. But what seems like a chance for healing quickly turns into something far more sinister.

The tension builds steadily throughout the novel, expertly blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s imagined. Flora’s fear of losing control of her mind becomes all the more palpable as eerie events unfold in her home, leaving her—and me—wondering if the house itself is haunted or if something darker is at play. Flora’s unreliable perspective only amplifies the terror as I felt I was losing my grip on reality right alongside her.

Walters’s debut is fast-paced, terrifying, atmospheric, and layered with mystery, making it an absolute must-read for thriller lovers.

I really enjoyed this one! Even more than I had anticipated. It was super fast paced and kept me interested and guessing until the end. I’m not a huge paranormal elements fan but this was done really well. The entire time I was reading I kept thinking how this would make a great horror movie and then I read the author’s acknowledgements and realized she’s a screenwriter!

This book follows a first time mom Flora navigate her new life in motherhood. Mother knows best so who does Flora call when she realizes she needs help getting the hang of being a mother …her mother Jodi. Told with a gripping mystery and a dash of horror suspense you won’t be able to put this one down.

Women have to endure so much during and after pregnancy that I really liked that the author put it all out there.


Special thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the gifted copy of Dearest. I definitely recommend this one unless you are pregnant or a new mom…maybe steer clear of it then…

I have no idea where to even start with this one lol it literally felt like I was reading a fever dream the entire time, which I’m pretty sure is the point..? I liked the beginning, but it just went so far south by the end I had no idea wtf I was reading. A 2 feels too low, but a 3 too high?

This book was not for me. I personally couldn't relate to the characters or the plot so I found it hard to get into. This is just my opinion and by no means means that I think that this book was "bad" or "poorly written" in anyway. I just did not feel connected to the story and I wouldn't be able to give a review or any constructive criticism. Thank you for the opportunity to give feedback and access to the e-arc.

*Rating does not reflect my feelings on this book.

This author captured early days of motherhood perfectly- breastfeeding was a nightmare, at least in my case. I like the troupe of an unwelcome person coming to visit. I didn’t care for the imaginary friend. Maybe it would play better on audio.

Dearest is an enjoyable supernatural horror novel and I found it to be an easy and fast paced read. While I didn't care for the constant talk about her nipples I thought this was a decent horror!

This was a bit of a disappointment. I thought the Egyptian icongraphy was a bit random and I didn't like the description baby scenes from the mother

I am so thankful to Mulholland Books, Jacquie Walters, Libro.fm, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

Every woman’s worst dream is becoming her mother, right?

I really enjoyed this- good combination of body and psychological horror. I did think it got a little confusing at the end in trying to separate the different “versions” of Jodi, but I appreciated the nuance.