Tantrum is an exploration of motherhood, generational trauma, and the unsettling debts we inherit and pass along. The story follows Thea, whose pregnancy and birth of her daughter, Lucia, are unusual, and she is disturbingly drawn to all things wrong. Thea's anxiety-ridden realization about Lucia is a powerful metaphor for the ways familial trauma consumes and transforms lives. Lucia's hunger isn't merely physical. It represents an emotional void and abuse that women for generations have neglected to address, and here, the void is now staring back at Thea through the eyes of Lucia.

The author bravely confronts the truth that sometimes, mothers sacrifice their children's innocence for selfish ends, perpetuating cycles of trauma rather than facing their demons and loneliness. Through Thea's painful reckoning with her past, she makes the courageous decision to break these destructive cycles. Thea illustrates how mothers can consciously strive to be better for their children. She also finds that support and redemption often come from unexpected sources and the people who love us, but we are too afraid to reveal our struggles. Thea's emotional isolation gives way to profound moments of connection, offering a hopeful message that is less about the fear of what our children might become but rather about the bravery it takes to ensure they become better than what came before.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam / G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to review and provide my honest feedback.

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Random House, for the ARC.

It was very unique and very disturbing. There were times I was like, "wtf is even happening," but by the end, the trauma and healing woven throughout part 3 made everything kind of connect.

In the end, I enjoyed what the book was truly about and was able to stomach the disturbing part of the book, but I'm not sure it was really my kind of genre.

It is very well written and creative and I think some people will enjoy it 👌🏻

Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton is a delicious horror novel. It reminded me a lot of Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, both works a tantalizing and unexpected commentary on motherhood in the modern age. Do we call this postpartum horror? Maternal horror? Whatever it is - I am sold.

The ride Moulton takes us on is a wild one - frankly I didn't know what to expect as this was my first Moulton read, but now I want to dive head first into all of her work. The element of mother-daughter trauma here was portrayed really well and in a way that it wasn't overly triggering to those of us that may have this particular brand of trauma (ahem, me). I wouldn't say that's a reason to ignore that trigger warning, but I did find it tolerable and effective. Little Lucia was a great character in and of herself, which really kept me guessing until the big reveal.

Things to be aware of that may trigger and/or catch your eye about this book: mommy issues, creepy baby, isolated living, generational trauma, and a side of imposter syndrome. 5/5 for me, wish I could go on that ride again.

4 ⭐️. a visceral portrayal of generational trauma, motherhood & recovering from child abuse. this had be saying WTF at multiple times and giggling/ kicking my feet at others. this story certainly isn't for everybody, but it definitely scratched an itch for me.

thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons, Penguin Group & NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good story about the difficulties of new motherhood or just parenting young children in general so naturally gravitated to this new one that is part horror story and part story of female rage mixed in with childhood trauma (parental neglect and sexual assault). While it's short it packs a strong emotional punch and parts get a bit gory and out there (demon children, cannibalism) but trust me it's worth a read especially for fans of books like Chouette, Push or And then she fell. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Tantrum is a strange little book that feels like it’s trying really hard to say something Big and Important—but by the end, I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to be.

The first half had me hooked: eerie, atmospheric, and full of potential. I was genuinely excited to see where it would go. But somewhere in the second half, it veers into territory so unsubtle and over-the-top that it lost me. What had started as intriguing quickly became ridiculous.

The writing sounds deep—lots of poetic phrasing and heavy themes—but the actual story never digs beyond the surface. For a book that seems to be about trauma, it doesn’t do much actual exploring of it. Instead, it gestures vaguely in that direction and hopes the reader will fill in the gaps. It’s not a bad read, but for something so short, it really started to drag.

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of TANTRUM by Rachel Eve Moulton from a Shelf Awareness/Publisher's Weekly giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy summer!

I can't seem to get into this one, even though I thought it would be up my alley. I had a terrible postpartum experience, and I enjoy books that explore this time in a woman's life (even under the guise of a horror novel). I like dark comedy, but this one wasn't hitting the right notes for me.

I devoured this book in one day (see what I did there, wink, wink!). It is fast paced, has incredible character development, and centers female rage so I knew that I would get into it. What was especially poignant was the commentary on motherhood and how monstrous the demands can be. The description of a narcissistic parent also hit home to me because my partner deals with a narcissistic parent and the lines, "a narcissistic parent loves and hates an empathetic child. The empathetic child sucks up to other people's feelings like a sponge and tries to make everyone feel better. The narcissist loves them most, because that kid will care about them, take care of their every little need. They eventually hate them, because that's also the kid most likely to escape --to realize as an adult that the relationship is not healthy". That was like a mic drop moment. I also appreciated the surrealism and the horror. This was a wild ride of a book and I enjoyed it very much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this eARC novella.

Quite an interesting novella. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, where the line between realistic psychological terror and supernatural terror was still unclear. I really enjoyed the end, when the story's resolution provided a great wrap-up to the events. I thoroughly disliked the very odd hard right turn in the middle section that got us from the question posed in the first part to the resolving events of the final part. The middle section, which maybe was meant to be some sort of transcendent information dump, seemed very disconnected, not really bridging the opening with the closing.

Really enjoyed this take on motherhood. Rachel Eve Moulton offers a dark, simmering exploration of the raw emotional toll of forming a family — the inherited wounds we carry forward, the angst we bury, and the rage we swallow — revealing a provocative, poignant truth about what might surface when we stop pretending all is well.

A fascinating book in the vein of Melissa Broder's Death Valley, though this one centers on motherhood, mothers, daughters, female rage, and darkness. Just like the protagonist in Death Valley goes on a walkabout in the desert and finds strange healing inside a Saguaro cactus, Thea, the protagonist in Tantrum, crawls inside her ... newborn daughter ... to metabolize the darkness that has been passed down the maternal line in her own life. The opening reminded me a bit of the premise to Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin. Thea absolutely adores her two sons (though she resents her husband, Dillon's, easy life and having given up her filmmaking career to be a mother). But when her daughter Lucia is born, she instantly believes something's wrong. Similar to the mother in Clever Little Thing, she worries Lucia might be a demon. The baby rips a head off a chicken, which is the inciting incident. It gets darker and stranger from there, including Lucia growing in all of her baby teeth and then a full set of her adult teeth. Reality starts to blur and readers are left wondering if Thea is losing her mind or suffering from postpartum psychosis. Then Thea and Lucia journey through Thea's memories of bad men and her terrible relationship with a narcissistic mother and Lucia dutifully gobbles up the offenders and attempts to metabolize them to please mommy. Believe it or not, it goes on from there. Some people might think this one is too weird, but I am not those people. A trip but a deeply resonant one for any broken daughter or mother (or both).

I devoured this book. I am reluctant to give a full review because I do not want to spoil anything that is in these pages... if you are a fan of what social media has coined "weird girl lit fic," you will love this. As a horror fanatic, I give this a solid five stars. Horror written by women about the female experience is the BEST horror.

Tantrum is a delightfully unsettling blend of domestic drama and surreal horror, delivered with biting dark humor and razor-sharp prose. Rachel Eve Moulton crafts a story that’s as much about the monstrous demands of motherhood as it is about an actual possibly-monster child. Thea is a compelling narrator—funny, flawed, and deeply human—as she navigates the blurred lines between maternal instinct and growing dread. While some of the surreal elements may stretch believability, the emotional truths at the heart of the novel land hard. Creepy, clever, and unexpectedly moving, Tantrum is a weird, wild ride worth taking.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the early copy!

This was wild in the best way. Dark, weird, and totally original. Thea’s voice pulled me in right away—equal parts funny, unhinged, and heartbreaking. Lucia is such a strange, unsettling little force, and I couldn’t look away. There’s something so raw and real under all the horror, especially when it touches on motherhood and memory. It’s definitely not a book for everyone, but it hit the mark for me.

Postpartum is no cake walk. Its brutal and in so many ways can make us feel as if we are a monster. As if we don't who we are, what we want, and if everyone around us looks at us differently. The main character, Thea, is no exception. She is faced with new challenges and starts questioning if this is the life she truly wanted for herself. Her new daughter, Lucia, is not like any other 13 month old. She decapitates chickens, starts talking, walking around, and loves the taste of blood. Is she a monster that Thea fears for the safety of her other two children or is there something else going on? Tantrum explores so many things involving motherhood, aging, and generational trauma.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the conversation about being raised by a narcissist. This hit home for me personally and I appreciate the author exploring that topic. Overall I enjoyed this. Its short, so a quick read, and my only complaint is that I think a few things could have been more fleshed out and further explored towards the end. 3.5 stars rounded up

I figured this novella was going to be about just another evil child making the mom crazy.I enjoyed how the female rage was shown in the book and how it was embraced in the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
If you're into reading Generational trauma, imposter syndrome, maternity horror, mommy issues, and a weird baby, this book is for you.

I feel like I need to start this review by saying I am not a mother. But as an angry feminist, uterus-having woman who loves tiny humans.. omg I loved this. Its a novella or a short story about motherhood and how it's not all roses and rainbows. Thea is both cautious and ambivalent about her youngest, and only daughter. Having 2 elder boys who turned out bright and lovely toddlers, her youngest scares her and gives her the heebygeebies. But is it her daughters behavior or her own that is more disturbing??

I dunno what it is, but stories about parenthood that are raw and honest (and a little dark) really do something to my psyche. I think, as a society, we don't discuss the burdens and troubles of being a new parent enough, and we don't share the struggles. We're supposed to love the newborn months and glow in awe of our children, but pregnancy and parenthood isn't wonderful for everyone. That doesn't make you weird or wrong or bad. Its just how life goes. I think this was a very raw view of this experience (dramatized a bit, perhaps) and I loved it!!

It's definitely one of those stories you can't say too much about without spoiling things, but it's a short read (under 200 pages) and absolutely worth it if you want something hard-hitting and raw.

If you've enjoyed Ashley Adrain or Lucinda Berry, I think this'll very much be up your alley. Additionally, it somehow gives similar energy to Motherthing and a bit of Melissa Broder.

For those who need it, there are some major trigger warnings:
-parental neglect
-parental abuse (verbal & physical)
-post-partum psychosis or depression (my own interpretation)

This novel was really silly and campy. The cover art is what drew me in. If you like over the top books about the pitfalls of motherhood then you enjoy this. The writing style was pretty good but the overall story didn’t keep my undivided attention. I kept thinking of different movies while reading this like The Omen or The Ring. It’s a quick and easy read so go into this book suspending your disbelief.

an interesting entry in the “horror about mothers” category, though certainly not my favorite. this had a lot of great moments, still, it just didn’t quite connect with me as strongly as i think it wanted to, particularly the ending. still, moulton crafts a story that keeps the pages turning and all eyes on what comes next.