2.25/5 stars

An interesting concept with an eerie tone throughout. I enjoyed how easy it was to read and the fast paced nature of the story. However, I found problems with various aspects of the novel. The imagery of breasts was quite unsettling and seemed a bit unnecessary in the long run along with the milk aspects. Of course it’s maternal imagery but just felt underdeveloped to truly make the impact it was trying to give. I found the characterisation of the characters to not be the best. The way Mary spoke and her internal monologue didn’t seem to align with a middle aged woman and the other characters seemed to come across as exaggerated and not well thought out. The sensitive topics brought up in the novel were only touched upon and seemed to be chucked in to add more depth to it! The middle part of the novel was particularly boring for me and I found myself having to push through it. I liked the end but it felt odd when compared to the rest of the novel especially in regards to Girl and Mary’s relationship. Overall, whilst the novel was unique and easy to read, I found it too short and undeveloped. I think the novel could benefit from being longer with more detail put into certain aspects.

This was an intriguing horror novel exploring women and … insects? I’m not really sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was definitely horror and gave me the gross, spooked feeling that there were bugs all over. On the other hand, it was just straight up gross? Congrats to the author though on writing an unputdownable book about one of my least favorite creatures on the planet. Intrigued and disgusted - feels appropriate for The Brood.