I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

This book was DARK and CREEPY, but soooo good!

This book is told from the perspectives of Olivia and Shannon, who both after birth suffer issues with postpartum depression and mental heath. However, there is also the dark haired women who is seem by both women. This book has you wondering if there is a dark presence taking over the women, or is it mental health?

I highly suggest this book if mental health and post partum depression are not triggers.

This was so dark and I loved it so much. It captured me wholly. I couldn't put this story down for anything. Dinner? Who is she? I can eat this Kindle, I'll be fine.
It's creepy and heartbreaking!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. Katrina Monroe has written an extremely dark, chilling, creepy novel heavily based on postpartum depression and mental health issues.

There is definitely a build up of suspense in this book but for me it wasn’t ‘edge-of-your-seat-need-to-keep-going’ thrill. I found there to be some sections that were quite dull but overall the pacing was okay.

Told from two perspectives, Olivia and Shannon, both after birth of their children and the issues they have faced. This book makes you confront mental health issues and really makes you wonder if something more sinister is going on. Definitely recommend if PP depression is not a trigger for you!

Graveyard of Lost Children is a spooky story about the post-partum hauntings of a teenager who gave birth to a child and that child's own hauntings when she gives birth to her own daughter. In the mix is a doctor who is also trying to understand the trauma her own mother experienced. The novel follows up with discussion questions for readers. A good read for horror fans and book clubs that want to explore the genre.

Trigger warnings for: postpartum depression, psychiatric hospitalization, paranoia, mental health issues, anxiety, death, self-harm, suicide attempt, graphic description of childbirth, attempted murder, manipulation.

Well, Graveyard of Lost Children is a very heavy and creepy book, but very good. It's the kind of book you start reading and can't stop. It is divided into two POVs: Olivia in present times and Shannon, her mother, when she was young.

There are some things that I didn't like, for example, some parts are kinda slow-pacing, repetitive and dull and ends up making the book too long.

But overall it's a very good book, a biting-my-nails book, disconcerting and scary. I found the ending quite interesting and innovative because it's not one of those "everything worked out perfectly and everyone lived happily ever after" endings, it's realistic and relatable.

This book was something else! This is the first book I’ve ever read that falls into the horror/thriller category and it was AWESOME. I highly suggest reading the trigger warnings before reading this book. Especially if you are a mother or recently had a child. This book will really mess with you mentally. With that said, I loved this book! Olivia, the main character was VERY relatable. It really makes you question your sanity, especially as a mother. This book is a dual POV with switching timelines so some points are hard to keep up with at first but once you get into the groove of the story it’s very easy to move through it. This book will definitely be on my list to suggest to those who love a good scary story. I could not put it down and I love that this was my first book in this genre. Great job to the author! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!

My goodness this was a dark read! It's relatable and representative of the LGBTQ community which makes it even more gripping. I had to take a berak several times to breath. Thoroughly creepy and unsettling in the best possible ways.

This book was an interesting read for me. I am not a fan of horror types of books. This story was scary in so many parts. The book was very very descriptive.

The story is told from two perspectives. The first is told from Shannon and is a mix of the past but in different times. Shannon got pregnant at the age of 16 and started seeing a black haired woman. She is struggling with extreme mental issues and postpartum depression. She unsuccessfully tries to kill her daughter, Olivia. After this, she is committed to a mental health institution.

The second perspective is Olivia, she is a new young mother and also sees the black haired woman. She is struggling with mental health and likely postpartum depression as well. She is struggling with her past and the present.

Overall, this book was enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the book. It was pretty scary at certain parts. I couldn’t put my kindle down. I had to finish it from beginning to end. I couldn’t get enough of this book. I’m definitely going to recommend this book to others

I think this was objectively good, I just am not the target audience for horror allegories about postpartum anxiety/depression. My one major complaint was that I think the "abrupt ending with a time jump epilogue to wrap things up" is a lazy way to end a thriller/mystery/horror book. But I would recommend this to moms that like horror!

Before getting started on this review, we need to preface that there are several trigger warnings for this book. This book contains a lot of mental health issues, particularly postpartum depression. Suicide, self-harm, and graphic depictions of childbirth are also noted.

Once we are past that, we dive into the story of 16 year old Shannon, who gets pregnant with her daughter Olivia. Shannon attempts to murder infant daughter Olivia and is sent to a mental health treatment facility. We see Shannon’s story unravel from past to present throughout her chapters.

Shannon’s daughter Olivia is now having a daughter of her own. Olivia is worried about having the same responses to motherhood as her own mother, and as postpartum depression sets in, her fear heightens.

Both women in this story believe that their children we’re taken and switched with another child. The concept of this was confusing throughout the story and was hard to connect at times. I wish the book had more focus on mental health and postpartum depression without the changeling concept. I did, however, find that the writing, character development, and twists were strong. I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!

A disturbing story to say the least but one that kept me turning the pages quickly to find out what was going to happen.

This story is told from two different perspectives - that of Shannon and that of Shannon's daughter, Olivia. Shannon has Olivia as a teenager and there is something that isn't right...she believes that Olivia is a changeling. After seeing the dark haired woman and seemingly losing her mind, she is sent to stay in a psychiatric facility leaving Olivia to be raised by her grandparents.

Olivia seems to be leading a normal life, married to her wife and pregnant. When she has Flora it is one of the happiest days of her life. But soon she realizes that something is wrong with her baby. Something only she sees. And the only person that might be able to understand is her mother who she has never spoken to. Why is the black haired woman around all the time? What is her significance? And where is her true baby, not the infant that everyone else thinks is normal but Olivia knows is not.

An interesting take on motherhood and what pregnancy can do to you, I really enjoyed the story and what the black haired woman truly represented. A lot of suspense which is one of my favorite things. Were these infants human or not? Were the mothers crazy or was something more sinister going on? You'll have to read to find out!

4.5 Stars
This book was hard to put down. It was dark, eerie and unsettling. Told from two perspectives, Mother and daughter, you start to wonder if there is something paranormal going on or if there is a heredity mental illness. This book sucks you in and keeps you guessing. It is confronting and uncomfortable at times, but so is post-natal depression and this is what this book focuses on. A fantastic page turner.

Another stunning and spellbinding novel by Katrina Monroe. Kept me awake for nights on end, turning the pages and keeping the night light on.. Couldn't ask for a better book to help occupy the long nights. Scary and satisfying.

After They Drown Our Daughters, I had high expectations about Graveyard of Lost Children, and let me tell you right away that they were not only met, but surpassed. Katrina Monroe threads an eery story about the significance and the expectations of motherhood, the silence(d) trauma of depression, and she does it in a very thoughtful way; no scene feels out of place nor morbid, an adjective I was terrified I might have to use because of the theme (thankfully, it was not the case, and that is an absolute triumph bearing in mind the scene with which the novel opens with).

Again, she is thoughtful and thorough, each moment important, each conversation a labyrinth you know you will end up finding the key for. The reader feels the whirlwind in Olivia’s mind, the fear of her spouse, suddenly facing something she can’t understand; And Shannon’s journal-like letters to her lost, then found, then lost again daughter were a portal to another part of the mind and the way they evolved made me shudder.
Everything related to mental health is still kind of a slippery slope nowadays, but it is easy to feel the change coming, people realizing its importance and its darkness if not treated correctly.
And, even with all the triggers in the novel (perfectly summarized in the beginning, which some readers might like or not, but I feel they are as good as an introduction to the journey you’re about to take), the angst and the lump in my throat every time the black-haired woman was around (or wasn’t, but you could feel her presence anyway), I ended up with the sensation of having found a light in the heart of all the darkness; hope, somehow. There’s always an ending to a long-feared nightmare.
I can’t wait to read whatever Monroe brings us next.

Unfortunately, I did have to DNF this at halfway through. It was so hard for me to get into and stay interested it. It did have spooky qualities, but even those became repetitive and boring.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to read this, however it just didn't work for me.

So dark and delicious read. I love books like these. Been a good while since I’ve sinker my teeth in these kinds books. Loved it. Couldn’t put it down. Hands down one of the best books I’ve read a while.

Olivia has just given birth to her daughter Flora via artificial insemination. Her and her wife Kris are first time parents and Olivia is immediately exhausted by the responsibilities of motherhood. It seems the lack of sleep is making her see and hear things that may or may not be real.

The chapters flip between Olivia’s story and her mother Shannon’s. Shannon became pregnant with Olivia as a teenager and then attempted to murder her due to postpartum depression and mental illness.

First, I must bring up the confusion in whether Shannon was part of an 8 person household or a 6 person household. At the beginning of the book it described her as being part of an 8 person household and then later stated it was 6. There were also several typos in the book.

Honestly, I got bored after reading 70% of the book but forced myself to finish.

After the birth of her daughter, Olivia is feeling anything but glowing and gushy. Feeling the dread building inside her, she feels as though all she does is feed her ever hungry baby. Sensing something isn't right, Olivia starts noticing little changes in her baby - her eyes changing colour, her smell and all of those things start adding up that this baby is not hers. Meanwhile, in a dual POV, Olivia's mother Shannon, was admitted to a women's hospital after believing Olivia was a changeling and the only way to get her own daughter back was to make a trade with the black-haired women living in the bottom of the well near her property. Now Olivia is also seeing the black-haired women too - can madness be hereditary? Or is something more sinister going on with Olivia's baby.

Katrina Monroe has successfully created a deeply dark and delicious read, worthy of a one sitting read. Told over dual POV from Olivia, a mother who is struggling with the appearance of being a good mother and Shannon, told through journal entries, a woman who has lost her child due to mental instability. It's confronting and sometimes a little scary going through the motions with Olivia as she dives deeper and deeper into a post-natal depression, and the physical manifesting "the black-haired women" is thoroughly chilling. As someone who has experienced these kinds of mindset and attitudes, it had a spark of realism, making this read even scarier and much heavier than it probably intended to be. I would be highly recommending this to reading groups and book clubs as this is a read that would be fantastic to discuss and compare how each person is interpreting the read - as it would be good representation of how depression and mental illnesses affect everyone differently.

Graveyard of Lost Children is heavily focused on post-natal (postpartum) depression, mental health issues, feelings of inadequacy and failure to live up to expectations. If that may be upsetting for you, this may not be a read for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Graveyard of Lost Children is scheduled for release 9th May, 2023.