This was interesting... it didn't quite have the horror fear that I was looking for but then at times the book was just plain creepy. I know it's about motherhood but I really didn't like the imagery of things happening to the baby

I didn't know what to expect going into this debut. Twisty and filled with gore, this is certainly a horror for you list. Trigger warnings so please research.

Dearest by Jacquie Walters was such a surprise! Flora is a new mum whose husband is deployed, and she is exhausted to the point in which she starts thinking she is losing her mind. I was so invested in the story from the beginning, and I definitely feel there was a bit of everything: mystery, horror and creepiness, and it conveys topics like motherhood, marriage, and mother-daughter relationships, and I think it was a good combination overall. None of it would have been the same without the phenomenal narration of the author, it really makes a difference.

Dearest by Jacquie Walters
Narrated by author herself
Audiobook rating : 4.5 stars
Book rating : 2.5 stars
Overall rating :3.5 stars


The narration was definitely good. The voice of author and her narration was perfect for the setting. She was able to give a spooky and claustrophobic feeling throughout the book. I think that's why it is almost always a hit when an author decides to narrate their own book as they know what they are aiming at.

This book started out great and I was enjoying it quite well or to say I was trying not to be too frightened until towards the end. The ending was too simplistic and dull for the whole book which was full of scary energy.

I was quite sure that I was going to enjoy it but it went totally South towards the end and it left me feeling disappointed because it had so much potential and then it just went in exactly different direction and it lost my interest.

In Dearest, we follow Flora and her story, she has just delivered baby girl, Iris, 6 weeks ago and struggling to keep her sleepless tired mind sane. Being alone, as her husband is still deployed, she is trying to manage her motherhood single handedly. I liked how the book did not glorify motherhood and was kind of point blank and clear about horrors of postpartum.

Some gory details I just couldn't deal with being a mom myself and it was hard for me to continue reading it after a particularly disturbing scene that takes place in the book. I feel it was overdone as it just made me feel cringe. After that particular incident, I just couldn't enjoy the book. So it was my personal experience with the book and others might not feel same as I did but it was definitely off-putting for me.

If ending had been different I might have given it more stars but I was hugely disappointed with it.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette audio and author Jacquie Walters for the audiobook ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This was such a unique book! It was hard to track what was going on at times but it was a great mix of unreliable narrator, spooky, post partum depression/psychosis. Great October read! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

I don't know what I was expecting from this debut, but nothing could have prepared me for what I got!

First, this has body horror. A LOT of body horror—or at least it felt that way for someone like me who wasn't expecting that,

Second, this is a harrowing, fresh take on postpartum depression, grappling with being a new mother, and the hard moments that can arise when you raise a child without a village. Walters' commentary on these topics is straightforward and intentional while not being too heavy handed or dragging it out unnecessarily. For these reasons, I also found Dearest to be completely terrifying! It got a little too real at some points, and I can only imagine how much more pointed these stances felt for people who either have children or have seen how postpartum depression and fear can completely change someone you've known forever.

The supernatural aspect was a bit sloppy for me. Not because it wasn't unbelievable, but because as soon as the possibility of a supernatural explanation is presented in an undeniable way, the narrative also seeks to blame postpartum depression for everything that's happened simultaneously. If the supernatural tie-in was meant to be reliant on the mental state of Flora to explain away her susceptibility to it, it wasn't neatly presented that way here, so it felt like more of a hole in the narrative more than anything else.

The narration was okay—it wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad whatsoever. I just felt like the story could have done well with a spookier narrator!

I am very much looking forward to more horrors and thrillers by Jacquie Walters!

4 ⭐️s

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Mulholland Books, and NetGalley for providing an ALC!

**3.5-stars rounded up**

💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Dearest is a unique take on the New Mother story and an impressive debut. I really enjoyed the topics explored, as well as the Supernatural bits and Body Horror.

In this story we are following, Flora, who just had her first child, a girl, Iris, 6-weeks ago. Iris arrived a little early and unfortunately, Flora's husband is still deployed, so she's left to navigate these early stages of 1st-time parenthood alone. As adorable as Iris is, it's not an easy thing. As time passes, Flora feels herself slipping. Her sleep-deprived brain is playing tricks on her and she's struggling navigating the endless lonely days.

When it reaches the point where Flora feels like she's losing it, she receives an unexpected visitor; her estranged mother. Even though her mom hasn't been a part of her life in years, Flora hesitantly accepts the help being offering. Her mother agrees to stay with her and Iris, at least until her husband returns. Even with her mother around, Flora is still experiencing odd occurrences that cause her to believe something is going on in the house, or like someone is after her and Iris. Is it in her head, or are there actually much darker forces at work?

I enjoyed this quite a bit. The audiobook was fabulously narrated by the author herself, which I felt was a nice touch. It felt like experiencing the story exactly how the author wanted it to be told, and I think she did a great job with it.

Stories of new motherhood are sometimes tough for me to relate to, or become invested in. NGL, I've had a few that have annoyed the heck out of me, but I never felt that way here and had no problem becoming invested in Flora's story. I did love the overall mysterious vibe and how in depth it explored feelings of isolation, as well as the oftentimes complicated mother-daughter relationship. Additionally, Walters's Horror descriptions were great, including some stellar Body Horror, which I always love to see.

I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy women-centered Horror, or weird 'is it supernatural, is it not' stories. I would also highly recommend the audiobook format, should you have that available to you.

Thank you to the publisher, Hachette Audio and Mulholland Books, for providing me copies to read and review. If this Walters debut, I cannot wait to see what's up next!

Obsessed does not begin to cover it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio arc that was expertly narrated by the author! I absolutely loved this. This book was the perfect blend of spooky, thrilling and twisty! I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future!

The theme of motherhood is one that has been growing in focus for thriller and horror books over the years and is 100% something I’m here for! I think there are so many fascinating ways the theme can be taken that I’m always up to see what an author will scheme up.

First off, I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I mean come on! How am I not supposed to be intrigued by this one? And then there’s the synopsis…yeah put those two together and I was instantly sold on snagging a copy!

Walters has delivered an unsettling horror debut that takes a nod from the thriller genre with the fast pacing. I was instantly on edge when I started this one. I love when creepy, unexplained things are happening in a house. Are they real? Are they in the imagination of our narrator? Walters does a great job of playing with those questions and making the reader regularly second guess if they should be trusting Flora while Flora is also busy deciding if she trusts herself.

There’s a fantastic generational motherhood aspect with this story that examines the challenges of being a new mother, how different people handle it, and mental health. Mix in a handful of long buried family secrets and things spiral out of control quickly in this story.

I wanted just a bit more from the ending, but what Walters delivered fit the pacing and overall fever dream mood of the story completely.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from Jacquie Walters!

This one was creeeeepy, and sometimes I was like - what is happening here?

Definitely did not listen before bed.

Narrator did a great job of upping the creep factor.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an ALC.

OMG, I loved this. Immediately five starts for horror lovers, especially those of the female or AFAB persuasion. A horror take on postpartum, the book hit all the buttons for me. 10 out of 10!

Excellent! I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this story. The audio of this title is my preferred method of ingesting this title. The author narrates the audio and she does an amazing job. It was definitely a treat!! I am always excited to listen to author narrated books.

I was immediately immersed in characters, the setting, the story, all of it. Turns out this is paranormal horror. Given the genre of the book, there is always a risk of becoming cheesy but this book had me shaking my head in disbelief. The author conjured up images in my head that will give me nightmares!

***trigger warnings***

Flora is a new mom struggling to care for her 6 week old daughter Iris. With her husband deployed, flora is absolutely exhausted. Then she starts hearing and seeing things. They can't possibly be real can they? Flora is caught between reality and something else where her fears as a mother mingle with her past.

This is my first by this author and i will definitely read more!

4 out of 5 stars

This was a brilliant, creepy and frightening novel. I loved how atmospheric this was. Jacquie Walters did a fantastic job not only as the author with a creeping sense of dread but she is also the narrator. I really enjoyed this because it felt really personal and believable. I will say that my heart was actually broken. I really felt for Flora.

Wow, I loved this. A creepy horror story that feels like a fever dream but is also emotional and heartfelt -HOW?! Instant 5 stars.

Jacque Walter’s knows how to grab her readers attention and hold tight. This book hit close to home as I am a newly first time mom- although I am happy to report no beetle sightings over here for me 😅.

Dearest is about Flora, a new mom to beautiful baby gir Iris. She’s tackling the first weeks of motherhood alone as her husband is on deployment. Her dad and stepmom helped a bit in the first weeks but had to return home. Eventually Flora reaches out to her estranged mother, which results in her showing up on Floras doorstep ready to help. And this my friends is when Floras story went from weird and a bit creepy to downright supernatural.


I couldn’t stop listening to this book- I needed to know who was going crazy. Was it Flora, her mother, or heck even times I thought it was me. 😂.
5 starts to Jacquie on this book; I cannot wait to read more!

3.5 rounded up — Right off the bat, I think I benefited for having listening to this vs reading it because the atmosphere is helped by the sort of unhinged nature of the author’s voice. It feels frantic and twisted, something I attributed almost solely to the audio.

If I think about the content itself, it really didn’t give me any real thrills, just mostly disgust over some of the details. I didn’t find the mother’s presence very scary or looming. It was more like a severe mental breakdown instead of haunting, at least until the end. Our main character is more irritating than sympathetic and I was just worried about something happening to the daughter instead of the other.

I was just expecting much more and it didn’t get to the peak I wanted from it, based on the description. It did have a lot of merit though and that’s where I give it the benefit of the doubt.

This book is really just breastfeeding horror. I had no interest in finishing. The repeated breastfeeding descriptions were unnecessary.

This was a thrilling, creepy novel that will have you hooked as you listen along. An enjoyable book that I would recommend to others. This was my first novel by this author and I look forward to more.

Listening to DEAREST by Jacquie Walter’s was a very pleasant (and shocking) surprise. I’m not a huge horror fan, so I was a bit reluctant to give it a listen. In the end, I’m so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it a try because I ended up really enjoying it. When I think of horror, blood, guts, murder, and gore immediately come to mind. Thankfully, DEAREST was pretty tame in that department. Sure, there’s a bit of blood, a LOT of creepy crawlies, and some icky moments, but it’s pretty manageable overall for a horror lightweight like myself. I especially loved how themes of new motherhood, complex mother-daughter relationships, marriage, and family drama were incorporated into this novel. I think that’s why it worked so well for me. If you’re a fan of dark and creepy reads with a good mix of horror, mystery, and the supernatural, then you gotta give this one a go. Oh, and I highly recommend the audiobook as the author herself narrates, and does a phenomenal job with it. It’s a super duper solid debut that’s perfect for spooky season!

This was such a rollercoaster of a book! Flora is a newly struggling mom who is desperate enough to reach out to her estranged mother for help. When her mom shows up on her doorstep one day, things start to get strange. I really enjoyed this book, it was a page-turner and definitely kept me on my toes. It took a turn that I was not anticipating and got super weird, but in the best way possible. *Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio/Mulholland Books for the opportunity to listen to the ARC of this book.*