Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Nichelle Giraldes for an early copy of this book.

Essie never planned to be a mother. Her family seems to have a curse. The women birth only daughters, and their husband is taken from them. When Essie finds herself pregnant, she’s determined the same thing won’t happen to her husband.

This book is told as a mix of Essie’s story in the present and letters between two best friends and soul mates in the past. You simultaneously see Essie’s plight while finding out how this curse began.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. As an attorney, I was impressed with how realistic Essie’s situation was as a 3rd year law student expecting a baby. There are some serious haunted house vibes when Essie’s husband suddenly starts spending the entire night, every night, pacing the attic. He becomes a shell of a person before her eyes, and there’s nothing she can do while on bed rest.

I loved the storyline of Essie’s (I don’t know how many “greats”) grandmother, Isabel, and learning how this curse was formed. I thought it was very well written.

The only thing that disappointed me was the abrupt ending. Without giving away spoilers, it seemed far too simple of a solution for how in depth the book was.

Overall, it’s a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in some light horror/mystery without the blood and gore.

I enjoyed this story and the fact that it had multiple POVs however I did feel that there was something lacking. I would recommend it to people who want to get into horrors, but maybe for the seasoned horror reader it may be a little predictable. It was still very well written and I enjoyed the story! 3.5 Stars

𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔' 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔' 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏. 𝑫𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏.

Can a person be haunted just as a house can be? That certainly seems to be the case with Essie and Sanjay, an ambitious couple who just bought a house and are working to transform it into their dream space. Sanjay is settled in his job, and Essie is in her last semester of law school when she realizes she's pregnant, something she never wanted to be. The pregnancy is difficult, and when she finds herself on bedrest, she can't determine if the woman she keeps seeing is real or the product of her isolation.

Told in alternating timelines and points of view, this is just as much the story of Ana and Isabel as it is of Essie and Sanjay. The letters that Ana and Isabel share are poignant, lyrical, and a stark reminder that they must keep their feelings hidden. When something terrible threatens their relationship, a pact is made with something that whispers in the dark, and the repercussions will threaten generations to come.

The sense of foreboding and unease was perfectly executed, and I can't wait to see what else this author creates. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my early copy. NO CHILD OF MINE will publish September 12, 2023.

Things are finally on track for Essie to finish law school. It’s taking her longer than she hoped, but falling in love and marrying Sanjay was also not part of her plan. Everything is going to work out fine, if they can avoid the family curse that Essie’s grandmother June is positive exists. However, an unexpected pregnancy might change Essie’s mind, though up until this point, she hasn’t believed in family curses and superstition. A difficult pregnancy becomes a nightmare,especially once Essie is bedridden and Sanjay just doesn’t seem like himself.Before the final page of No Child of Mine, she might change her mind.
Told in alternating chapters from Essie( in the now)and Ana(in the then) we discover just what Essie is actually facing. Essie’s chapters are much longer, but both POV’s kept me flipping pages and trying to guess what was going on. Personal spoiler, I was so wrong! I had such a different ending in my mind. It’s a good thing the author didn’t ask for my advice. I’m so curious to start reading reviews. I wonder if other readers figured this out sooner than I did.
Oh, I guessed the connection between Essie and Ana, but not the why or even if Essie was just dreaming. There were so many good things about the story, but the one that stands out the most to me is how both POV’s just kept that feeling of dread going throughout the whole story.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Nichelle Giraldes for this ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

We’re introduced to Essie and Sanjay (present day) and Ana and Isabel (past). One is a traditional love story and the other a forbidden love between friends. I found myself enthralled by Ana and Isabel’s story and couldn’t wait to get to their chapters! Not that Essie and Sanjay were boring, but it was a lot of the same stuff over and over (e.g., pregnancy, nausea/vomiting, ghostly occurrences).

The ghostly occurrences in Essie and Sanjay’s timeline created a sense of unease and foreboding that weren’t as heavily present in Ana and Isabel’s chapters.

One of my favorite things about this book were the letters! I know we all enjoy letters in romance books, but I enjoyed having them in this ghost story.

The ending reminded me of The Ex Hex in that the conclusion was almost too quick for what seemed to be a very complex problem. But overall I enjoyed this female-centered ghost story!

TW: Pregnancy (just soooo much pregnancy), vomiting, depression, talk of suicide, domestic violence.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the multiple POV’s and timelines and how the whole story played out and came to a nice and tidy conclusion.
It’s a very gripping story that keeps you turning the page, and the characters were all developed perfectly. I look forward to more by Nichelle Giraldes

I wouldn't recommend this book to a couple starting out with a new pregnancy but then what do I know. I enjoyed this story and the way it tells of one couple during this time and another couple from the past. All revolve around this old house they have just moved into. The other couple, they also come into each other chapter. So it goes back and forth to keep you interested I think. Also there is the curse from the expecting woman's family tree having all daughters, I won't tell you the rest. Get busy reading because it's going to grab you. Thank you NetGalley and Publishers!