DNF. The style of this book put me off immediately. The weirdly executed present-tense, overly cheeky narration and cringe-inducing dialogue. I am clearly not the right person for this book because I cannot continue.

Jacqueline Walters narrated her own novel and blew it away ten fold. It didn't dawn on me till the credits after the epilogue when she was named. The feeling and energy that went in to characterization and situations was just phenomenal.

Dearest is a book about motherhood, generational trauma, post partum depression and the fears and worries we develop as mothers after we have our babies. There was such careful intertwining with these elements as the author created this world and our main character, Flora. Flora asks if the brain organ changes during/after pregnancy because of all her new found fears and worries (which yeah, the amount of hormones and new neuro pathways...okay I digress). We get time to relate as she worries about Iris and her little comforts. If she is doing enough or the right things. On top of being a new mother, her husband is away on work and she is isolated in a home and its so very cold outside. There is a point where Flora starts to question her sanity when things in the house begin to place themselves in unusual spots, flashes of unknown memories arise and she starts hallucinating. Out of desperation, she reaches out to her estranged mom of four years, and just in time because her childhood friend makes a reappearance. I won't go beyond this because there is a twist that actually got me, and that's really hard to accomplish.

If you are a mom like I am, and if you suffered from postpartum depression like I did, I imagine this book will have a very special deep effect on you like it did me. The author who wrote this either had PPD or knew someone very close to them who did. I feel seen, that's for sure. It's written with understanding and sincerity. There's even a mentioning of The Yellow Wallpaper in her story when mentioning her mother.

I still can't believe this is a debut novel. The language, execution and complexity of plot is well done and outlined. It's moderately to fast paced, well carved out characters, imagery for effect is very well done and the ending including epilogue is wonderfully tied off.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC.

I found Dearest to be very creepy and there were a good amount of twists. The plot was definitely unique, but I found the book to drag a bit near the end. Personally, I think the ending fell flat for me as well.

I still enjoyed reading and I think Dearest is a great debut novel for Jacquie! I also enjoyed that she did the narration for the book.

Well, I read alot of mystery and thriller books. I would not classify this as either. This is speculative/horror. I hated it. But, to be fair, I don't like or read that genre. I would argue this is not a mystery.

wow. I finished in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. It was a good mix between horror and thriller. Everything that was lacking in 'Incidents around the house" this book had! A great mind-f. is it post partum psychosis or something else?

My god, this was wild! It follows Flora and her 6 week old baby as she navigates the newborn stage solo while her husband is deployed. Sleep deprived and desperate, she reaches out to her estranged mother and when she shows up to help, things take an extremely dark turn. This really got to the heart of the postpartum experience in realistic ways that keep you guessing - is this normal or true madness? There are some twists/reveals that I did not see coming and had me SHOOK. Very unsettling stuff.

“Dearest” is a creepy horror that surrounds Flora, a new mother who is caring for her daughter alone whilst her husband is away for work.

Flora is struggling with motherhood facing the difficulties of sleep deprivation, anxieties, breastfeeding difficulties, forgetfulness etc.

When Floras estranged mother arrives unexpectedly she is relieved, grateful for the extra help and an opportunity to mend broken relationship bonds.

As the days pass Floras forgetfulness and clumsiness worsens and she finds herself losing patches of time. She starts to suspect that she’s either going crazy or her mother has dark intentions. She begins to suffer from hallucinations and becomes increasingly paranoid and hysterical.

I really enjoyed this book, I found the horror components to be sufficiently creepy with a touch of gore, but not too disturbing giving the subject matter surrounding a young infant.

Read if you like:
Parenthood horror themes
Paranormal themes
Motherhood themes

Thank you to Jacquie Walter’s, Hachette Audio & Mulholland Books for the ALC & EARC!

Publish date: September 17th 2024

OH MY, this whole book was a roller coaster of eerie thriller. The Narrator does a perfect job inflicting the emotions and pace needed to tell this story. She hits the sensation of feeling of every emotion needed right on the head. The first half of this book I thought I knew for sure what was occurring and who the crazy person was, but that reveal at 52% my jaw dropped. I had to pause the book and stand up to gather my thoughts. THAN the book continues like that information wasn't just DROPPED on you and you again feel like you know how this story is going. Nope. This book took a whole different turn then what I expected and I couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this to all my thriller mystery horror loving friends.

Flora has just had her baby and she is all alone while her husband is deployed. Facing post partum emotions, she starts hearing things and seeing things. She blames it on sleep deprivation. When she reaches out to her mother who she hasn't spoken to since her wedding, her mother comes to her to help her and support her. Very quickly though Flora realizes her mother Jodi behaves weirdly about things and makes her feel even more crazy at times. Then when her mothers starts making Flora feel unsafe, Flora begins to wonder what exactly has she invited into her home.

Fantastic horror debut!

Jacquie Walters delivers a haunting tale about hidden family secrets and new motherhood.

Flora must take care of her six-week old daughter alone while her husband is deployed. Consumed with loneliness, guilt, boredom, and exhaustion, Flora longs to be reunited with her estranged mother. She is desperate for some help and guidance on how to manage new motherhood. When she begins seeing her childhood imaginary friend, having strange dreams, and hearing voices in the baby monitor, she breaks her silence and contacts her mother.

I am deliberately stopping there with the plot synopsis in order to avoid spoilers. I would compare this book to Ashley Audrain’s The Push meets Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper with an added supernatural twist.

I listened to the audiobook which is expertly read by the author. Move over January LaVoy (sacrilegious I know), but she is that good. I listened to it in one day!

The ending felt a bit rushed, as I needed a little more explanation. However, I really enjoyed this cuckoo plot!

Trigger Warnings: A lot of talk about breastfeeding and nipples (including a scene that left me speechless) and postpartum depression

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 9/17/24

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC of Dearest in exchange for an honest review.

Anything about new moms has been my jam lately - as I am one myself - so I was excited to finally find something that piqued my interest <i>and</i> was a thriller; I'm the pickiest when it comes to thrillers.

The ending to this wasn't for me AT ALL, had I known it would veer the way it did I wouldn't have chosen to read it in the first place. That first 75ish% though? WOW. The most hauntingly accurate glimpse into the mind of a new mother, bombarded by phantom cries and invasive thoughts. Not only that but the slippery slope of postpartum mental health, <spoiler>postpartum psychosis being an ending I would have MUCH preferred over a supernatural explanation (a sentence I'd never imagined saying in a million years). </spoiler>

The narrator's voice took me some time to get used to for some reason, but the changes in voice for some characters was spot on!

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Jacquie Walter's and publisher for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!}

This book was so good! I love books where you have reality bending because you never know what’s gonna happen next. The narration was great. The plot twists were unhinged in the best way. Def recommend this one!

I received this for review. Whoa this was a wild and crazy ride! It was like a crazy gross train wreck that I could not stop looking at. This was weird and good and creepy and scary! If you are into out of the box books that combine paranormal and creepy then this is for you. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

DEAREST by Jacquie Walters

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ARC of Dearest by Jacquie Walters

3.5 stars
Jacquie Walters also does the narration of her fast-paced psychological supernatural thriller debut of Dearest. I thought her narration was very well done and enjoyed listening to her.

Thirty-two year old, Flora, is sliding into postpartum psychosis six weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Iris. Her husband is deployed overseas. She reaches out to her estranged mother, Jodi, for some help. Flora isn’t sure if she and her mom will be able to mend their differences or not. Is Flora’s hold on reality slipping away? Or is she, in fact, the only thing standing between a terrifying visitor and her baby?

A fast-paced frightening debut of postpartum depression with lots of twist and turns. It got a bit strange toward the end with some supernatural weirdness going on. A terrifying exploration of maternal instinct, mental health, and the complex relationship of a mother and daughter. This book brought back memories of Rosemary’s Baby. I look forward to seeing what JW does next.

I listened to this book in less than 2 days! It was such an entertaining story!

I LOVE when you can’t trust the narrator’s psyche. It makes it that much more of a mystery. Who was real? Who isn’t real?

Having recently had a baby, I thought some of this was all too relatable.

This was such a twisty, chilling, and quick read for me.

Highly recommend

Is there anything better than an author narrating their own book? I think not. I love when they have the talent to do it because they will always do their own words justice and deliver the exact inflections you imagined. I had already read this book on my kindle but knew I had to see how the audio stacked up and if audiobooks are a format you enjoy, it’s a must for this one. So good!

After reading the last sentence, I literally said OUT LOUD “that was so freaking good.” I quite honestly said wtf 100x after finishing part 2. It’s a slow build of ‘something is seriously wrong here’ until about 60% and then it’s off the wall crazy until the end. Walters doesn’t shy away from grossness and gore either. Very vivid writing. The horror scenes were genuinely scary and everything had such a cinematic feel, I could absolutely see this adapted into a TV show or movie.

This is a must read if you loved Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, or Rosemary’s Baby. Actually, if you just love motherhood (particularly) or parenthood as a theme in horror you gotta read this.

One of my favorites of the year.

What an absolutely crazy story, and it's the author's first novel? I had no idea where this book was heading. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, the author surprised me, leaving me shocked. Usually, I'm not a fan of books with a lot of motherhood talk since I've chosen to be child-free. However, the brutally honest details about early life with a newborn just added to how shocking some scenes were. (The nipples to the belly button part - yikes!) The narrator did an incredible job of conveying the main character's intense emotions throughout the story. I'll definitely recommend this book's audio version to others because it was amazing.

Wow? I was lucky enough to be able to read/listen to Dearest. This was a thrilling story that kept me listening until the very end.

Fabulously twisted and viscerally maternal! Wow. This was a mindf**k and I loved every single second! Being narrated by the author was the way to GO!! Such a powerfully narrated read!

This perfectly encapsulates the incompetent feelings new moms in the face of their supposed instant ability to effortlessly keep a new life… alive. This was gratifying in that aspect. Flora was so human and I loved her!

Mixing the gory elements of new motherhood with this very terrifying anomaly of activity Flora is experiencing, we get a really unique horror read that kept me rapt!

No more needs to be said about this book besides it is so freaking good and you should check it out. But, take care of yourselves because there is some seriously intense content. Check trigger warnings!