I love a good haunted house story. 😍 This was a fun murder mystery thriller with quite a lot of ghost action. 👻 it was interesting watching the mystery unfold and the main character get the answers she’s looking for. Her man was another thriller book husband that I wanted to beat up. 😂 I can’t stand the “no you didn’t see that you just need to rest” shit. 🔪🩸 other than that I recommend this for a spooky cozy read. 🥰

The book itself was a 2.5
The book heavily focuses on the infertility but doesn’t really speak about all the other issues this main character is going through yes I understand theirs a whole plot twist progressions but In this case it was drowned out with the “I wanna have a baby” repeat repeat repeat the ghost paranormal part of this wasn’t really a thing till the end. By half way I was already annoyed with this main character who the author is trying to make us sympathize with but truly the only thing j can think about is how selfish she is and how she’s not ready to be mother… or was dragged out and it was giving to much how to something that wasn’t even the plot….. this coupe ah e given major hunted hill house vibes if plotted more carefully but ended up flat

Let me blame myself for this one. The synopsis straight out told me this book wasn’t for me in the very first line, mentioning that the book blurs the line between reality and delusion. How did I miss that? I guess I got excited about a haunted house story and I blocked out the rest. I can see why some might find the book trippy, but as someone who finds the handling of mental illness and delusions this way distasteful, I was not impressed.

But I cannot completely blame myself. Even if this story hadn’t encompassed the very thing I despise, I would have still encountered other issues with the story.

What was obvious to me from the start was the lack of subtlety. I hate to sound like a broken record, but telling me everything instead of letting it surface naturally in a story only stifles my enjoyment. So much is laid bare very early on, and I was quickly annoyed with this.

The way the characters felt flimsy and inauthentic didn't help matters. I do especially wonder why the author chose to shape Lilly using countless stereotypes regarding women without any hint of nuance. She had a history that helped her look sympathetic, and this ultimately explained some of her irresponsible choices, but why not give her some redeeming qualities, as well? She should not have been only the product of her trauma and mental illness. We are all more than that.

The themes addressed in Ghost Mother are relevant ones, however, there isn’t anything in this story that is remotely original or unpredictable. It’s full of familiar tropes that lack genuinely creative development. While some may appreciate the familiarity of other stories mashed up within this one, I really wanted a fresher examination of the ideas it aimed to convey, and I don’t think the author proved anything positive through her dissection of potential madness. It is sad that Lilly lacked proper support, and my heart hurts for her in that respect, but I truly do not think this is how that topic should be managed.

I am immensely grateful to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

🎧4⭐️
A new to me author with this psychological ghost story.

I had the audiobook read by Renata Freidman who does a good job she imparts good emotion and adds to the suspense.

Lily and Jack move to a small town in Wisconsin, where Lily falls in love with a broken down mansion as she feels there she will be able to have the longed for child. They then find out that it’s known locally as the murder house. Lily becomes obsessed with the house’s history when strange occurrences happen.

I found Lily very irritating, she has spending issues created during her upbringing even though her current circumstances don’t have the funds to finance it, same with insisting on the house that they couldn’t afford. Jack doesn’t feature heavily, he is just out there trying to hold their crumbling lifestyle together.

I liked how the supernatural element was introduced and explored. The story builds nicely.
I felt that it was a bit different. I enjoyed it.

I want to start this review with all the trigger warnings for child loss, suicide, infertility, mental illness, and more. This book delved into those topics and there were times I wasn’t sure where it was going or if it was doing a good job.

It’s unsettling to be 100 percent clear. I am waffling between a 3 or 4, but to be honest, this book hit a lot of my trauma triggers and that’s a part where for me, this one can’t be a five or a favorite.

Literally, Lilly is me if I wasn’t medicated and I found myself sympathizing with Jack far too often. Unmedicated, I’ve done similar things to my husband that Lilly does in here. And she’s an unlikable character who never really redeems herself. She’s unwilling to help herself mentally and that’s where I struggle.

I didn’t feel as hard for the past ghost story and I saw the reveals of what really happened coming from a mile away.

I feel like my review is harsh, but ultimately, this was a creepy haunted house book with an extremely delusional, unreliable narrator. She had so much PTSD and untreated mental illness that it took me away from the story, but it’s a well written, entertaining, well plotted book. As long as you can look past Lilly being an awful human with no redeemable qualities.

A lady (Lily) falls in love with a falling down old mansion that is way outside her means and her dumb husband (I seriously just finished listening to this and cannot remember his name, so I will call him Chad) agrees to buy it even though he’s the financially responsible one? Chad(?) then proceeds to act like a giant man-baby when stuff is broken and the house is drafty and leaky and unpleasant to live in. Lily is wildly inept and very, very annoying. She grew up rich, which apparently makes her unable to function as a human in the world, especially now that she’s in debt up to her eyeballs. There are also maybe/probably some ghosts, and Lily goes off the deep end investigating what really happened to the last family that lived in the house.

I think I need to never read anything described as “Gothic” again bc I’ve finally realized that it’s code for an EXTREMELY slow burn. I did like the very end, but getting there was much more of a slog than I’m usually up for - but there was *just enough* going on to keep me listening. I honestly would have liked to hear more about Birdie - she was much more interesting than hot-mess Lily.

Anyway, I think people who loved September House and We Use to Live Here and Mexican Gothic would be into this one too.

HOWEVER: if dead babies and miscarriages and infertility are not ok topics for you to read about, definitely do not read this.

Lilly’s new house is haunted, but is it a literal paranormal ghost, or is it all in her head? The descriptions of the creepy, decrepit mansion are fantastic and made my skin crawl. Clearly Lilly has issues, but it wasn’t clear whether she was unravelling, or if there was something wrong with the house. Well, there is clearly something very wrong, the building is falling apart and she and her husband Jack can’t afford to fix it. Lilly is a seriously unlikable characters, she is a 37 year old woman with the mind and maturity of a child. She wants a baby but is clearly too unbalanced to be a mother. Why was I so invested in her story? A good plot, for one, and Renata Friedman’s outstanding audiobook narration for another. Her voice is so full of warmth that I liked her instantly, even when she was describing her irresponsible actions and obsessions. I enjoyed this story.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Dreamscape Media.

I was immediately and full in love with Lily. She is a mess but she is a relatable mess.
There is no way the author hasn't worked in a library. My lord, that is spot on. I love her journey to do home research and find out what is going on. I hated husband even when he made good points too. I was like "be nice to her!"
The stuff with the car spoke to my soul too. Actually this entire book spoke to my soul. You would think one of my best friends told this story. I was all in for Lily.
I loved it all. I felt like I was there in the house with her.
Honestly I think this might be one of the best books I've read all year.

Oh and I loved the narrator! The way she shifted her tones when reading was divine!

Lilly and Jack are desperate to have a baby (well, Lilly is...) and she falls in love with a dilapidated old mansion in a Wisconsin town. She is absolutely convinced that this is the house "she will become a mother in" and spooky shenanigans ensue.

So reading the other reviews, I feel like I'm a bit of an outlier when I say I didn't really enjoy this book. I SHOULD have, as it has all the things I like: gothic atmosphere, spooky ghosties, things going bump in the night- but I felt like this book just fell flat for me. I was absolutely sick of Lilly's whininess and self-victimization: her husband, quite reasonably I think, says they can't afford to live in the house she wants. It's a money pit, leaking every time it rains, old floors, busted windows etc, but no one can say no to Lilly when she wants something. So I was never really sympathetic to her, and I think that coloured my opinion. You may like this book, if you don't mind constant talk of miscarriages and fertility trouble, which I know is incredibly difficult for many people to read. The supernatural aspects didn't really gel and her and Jack's constant money troubles all come back to her being raised as her rich daddy's special girl and she was unable to leave that world behind.

So yeah, I'm being generous with 3 stars. But lots of others liked it, so who knows? It might be right for you!

I received a free audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to Kelly Dwyer, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meh. Didn't care for it. I didn't like Lily, who was the flakiest flake ever. Her difficulties with pregnancy were sympathetic, and that was the only thing sympathetic about her. Her husband, while ostensibly nice, patient, and considerate, was truly an egoist with a savior complex, and when trying to "save" Lily became expensive and difficult, he gave up on her. Didn't like him much either. Some of the horror parts were good, but because everything is filtered through Lily, whom I couldn't stand, I'm afraid the narrative in general irritated me. I wanted to DNF but pushed through. Overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was so glad when it was done.

This was a supernatural suspense that features a house with a dark past and its new inhabitants, Lilly and Jack. Lilly is not the most likable (spoiled and oblivious), but I still managed to get sucked in which is not easy to do. I enjoyed the story, and appreciated that it was not entirely predictable since I love some twists in my books. The narrator did a fantastic job, and I would recommend this audiobook to people who enjoy listening to their books. Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for an honest review.

You have heard the synopsis before—a woman falls in love with a house that has a dark history, buys it, and begins to experience unexplainable phenomena—but you haven’t read this story yet. Weaved in to Lilly’s haunting experiences with her new mansion is her deep, desperation but inability to have a child.

I always love stories like this: is the woman spiraling and losing her mind? Is the house really haunted? Maybe a little bit of both? Who knows. Lilly’s flaws and actions often made her difficult to sympathize with but she was layered, incredibly compelling, and I couldn’t stop following her down the rabbit hole.

Crawling with dark, gothic descriptions; well-executed pacing throughout with suspenseful paranormal scenes to drive the plot forward; an ending that is so deliciously chilling and satisfying; this propulsive narrative exploring the depths of one "troubled" woman’s mind is sure to satisfy readers. All with a wonderfully executed narration by Renata Friedman.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review! Available 08/06/2024!

Ghost Mother, by Kelly Dwyer, is a first person POV of a woman, mid+ 30’s, and her experience moving into her dream house. This haunted mansion has a dark history that captures her attention and is pushing the MC to uncover its secrets.

While moving in, Lily and Jack seem to be in way over their heads- already dealing with mountains of debt, one income, and lots of maintenance needed is a cause for friction between the two. Lily is also on an all too familiar journey of trying to conceive while mourning the loss of previous pregnancies. I think that this is super important in MY personal life- talking about mourning loss while others disregard it.

The more she learns about the history of the previous owners, the farther away she pushes her husband. With no supportive family, debt, no personal income, and an invisible tie to the house, she stays.

This story does have a paranormal aspect to it, but in a very easy to accept way. I’m not typically a reader of paranormal, but this hit all the places. I listened to the audiobook (Thank you NetGalley and DreamScape Media for this ALC), and I found the narrator to be easy to listen to. Overall a really great read/listen that I will highly recommend! Pub Date: 8/6/24

Ghost Mother is a suspenseful gothic/paranormal horror that had me eagerly turning pages. It is eerie, it is haunting, and it is thrilling- everything that makes a horror great!

Lilly Bly and her husband Jack find themselves moving into a dilapidated house in Wisconsin after Lilly absolutely fell in love with it. After moving there, Lilly learns of its terrible past and slowly starts believing it just may be haunted. A family has died in that house, mother, father. And young daughter, and when Lilly starts hearing voices and seeing things, she feels compelled to find out what really happened to the family. Her urge is driven by her desire to stay in that house. She believes that house will be the place she finally gets pregnant and creates not only a family but a home.

The paranormal activities in this book are insane! I found myself jaw-dropped at several moments, however, there were many where I found myself thinking the events occurring were completely outlandish and far-fetched. Those moments took me away from the story a bit, but they were usually followed by something insane and jaw-dropping that instantly reeled me right back in. Overall, it is a ghost story and the narration was perfectly executed.3 stars!

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Kelly Dwyer for an intriguing read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Lilly Bly and her husband Jack move to a small town in Wisconsin. She falls in love with an old mansion that is out of their price range and in horrible shape. She feels this is the place where she will become a mother. They buy the house only to discover it was the scene of a triple murder/suicide in the 1950s. Lilly starts hearing and seeing things...is the house haunted or is she going mad.

Very good ghost story. Lilly is a former actress and I enjoyed how she would change her persona like getting into character for different roles. Is she lying or playing a role?

Excellent narration by Renata Friedman.

Okay this audiobook was… definitely not what I had expected. I was really excited to get approved for this one, it just didn’t work for me but I’d def recommend it to people who would like it.

A super creepy and sad ghost story. Reminds me of classic stories like The Haunting of Hill House and The Yellow Wallpaper. The author does an amazing job of delving into the psyche of a very troubled woman. Builds to a really interesting climax and ending.

“Ghost mother” is a modern gothic thriller that follows Lilly and Jack as they purchase a run down mansion in Wisconsin.

Lilly is struggling to have a baby and is convinced this is the home she needs to get pregnant. Jack begrudgingly agrees to take on this home project but soon regrets his decision as things begin to crumble around them.

Lilly soon finds out their new home was the site of a triple homicide in the 1950s and things go from bad to worse when she starts to believe the house is haunting and she is seeing things. This puts a large stressor on their already damaged relationship as events reach a climax.

This book is sufficiently spooky with all the interesting components you would wish for in a potentially haunted house thriller.

There is lots of creepy events and aesthetics throughout leaving plenty to the readers imagination. Is Lilly really being haunted or is she losing it?

Triggers:
Lots of discussion based on infertility topics. Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Kelly Dwyer and Netgalley for the ALC!

Publish date: August 6th

3.75 stars

This is an insidious gothic/paranormal/horror mashup with undeniable chills throughout, but readers sensitive to certain topics may want to find a different source for their daily creeps.

Lilly Bly isn't doing well. She and her husband have recently moved into a dilapidated mansion in a small town in Wisconsin. While the idea is grand - a common theme throughout Lilly's life - in practice, things are falling apart. The house is literally coming down and the couple lacks the funds to handle the repairs or maintenance and the communication skills to resolve their growing issues. On top of these stressors, they are dealing with infertility.

Readers who are sensitive to discussions about infertility and detailed descriptions of miscarriages should look elsewhere. I am not sensitive to these issues, and the latter motif was a lot for even me at times.

What Lilly has wanted all along is to be a mother. Her current infertility, her past losses and choices, and her relationships with her parents - a distant mother and a father whose death traumatized Lilly in more ways than one - all work together to put her in a special position. Now, she's more willing than ever to fight for her children...even in the least traditional ways.

Assuming prospective readers can handle the aforementioned content, there's a lot of creepiness to enjoy here.