No Child of Mine and Essie's story will captivate you from the very beginning of her journey. Is the house haunted? Are the characters themselves? Is the baby the one making all these changes for Essie and her husband? Will we ever know?

I liked the dual timelines with Essie and her husband in the now and the story of Isabel and Ana in the "then". I thought the idea of the story was great, and it was executed nicely. Everything was tied up nicely for us at the end.

This would be a perfect October or haunted themed book club read. I would recommend this to my fellow book lovers!

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC and chance to read this.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. As horror is one of my top genre's I tend to think I enjoy every variation of it. Whether slow burn, extreme gore, or your standard haunted house fare. This would be in the category of slow burn with a side of horror. Those expecting to have instant gratification will be disappointed. If you appreciate slow burns with past and present flips and seeing the good and horrors of family then this would be more your cup of tea. As for me, while it wasn't memorable and at times a chore to want to keep flipping to the next page; I appreciated that the author didn't take ang easy or quick way to get to their intended destination.

Please keep in mind I almost never give 5 star reviews so please consider this when considering my reviews.

I really liked the idea of the dual timelines in this book, however I felt that execution was missing. I was really wanting to see the results of the curse in the home. It did not really seem there was anything at stake and it really dulled any form of suspense. I felt that the main character and the plotline surrounding her became repetitive and there really needed to be some more activity to break this up. In the end, the generation curse was broken in minutes and the ending was rushed. This book was just ok for me. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Thank you to the publishers at Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read No Child of Mine and write an honest review. This book is not one that I would typically pick, but it did allow me to venture out and read and interesting book with a very complex story line. I struggled to get into the book and for it to capture my attention. Around 60-70%, the book finally started getting me curious as to what was going to happen next.

This is a slow-burn book looking into a family curse where the husband of each female in the family has some serious accident shortly after their child is born. It builds throughout the pregnancy, with more stress accumulating as the due date comes closer. As the story progresses, you never really know what is going to happen to the two main characters. When the baby is born, I was ready to see what the curse had in store for the couple. I will not reveal the ending, but it felt rushed and too easy. It just kind of ended with the easiest resolution possible. If the curse didn't span many generations, maybe the ending would have been better, but I felt it was too simple of a solution to be missed by many, many generations of women in the family. The ride there was enjoyable, but I was left wanting more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchanged for an honest review.

What would you do for the person you love? this book was a slow burn with different POV's that told the story of Essie, Isabel and Ana. separated apart by centuries but joined by the same desired to save the person they love and the consequences that follow that decision.

I read this book in one day because it was so hard to put down. It took some time for everything to come together but the emotions and suspense factor was in every chapter.

I would definitely recommend this book.

3.5 (*) This was a duel time line book. I feel like that went on for a long time before the connection to today was made. This is definitely a slow burn book. That’s not my favorite kind and usually I have to drag myself through them. This one however slow was very interesting. It was a great read. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me access to this book. I’d definitely check out others by this author. This review is left voluntarily.

This was a great thriller/mystery!

My appreciation goes to the publishers at @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for this advanced copy of No Child of Mine in exchange for an honest review.

This was a spooky, twisty ghost story carried along from the viewpoint of Essie. Something is happening in their house, affecting her husband Sanjay. Her dreams and reality are blurring and she can't work out where the shadows are flowing from.

The alternate chapters gave the viewpoint of two women from decades ago. A generational curse has affected them all... but what is it? How did it come to be? Can it be changed? These are all questions that the reader is trying to sort out, and it keeps you guessing.

Sanjay is pacing, the walls are whispering, and Essie is doing everything she can to protect her family. It kept me on my toes and I found it very intriguing and had no idea how it could be resolved or if it would be resolved.

I really enjoyed this book, loved the eerie vibe and found it an engaging page-turner of a mystery. I look forward to reading more from this author!

This book is for people who likes ghost stories entangled with romance. I really enjoyed the different POV on this book, between Essie, Isabel and Ana. This book is a debut for Nichelle Giraldes, and I can't wait to see what will be her next novel. Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC copy.

The cover is spooky as heck and made me pick up this arc from Netgalley.

It gave me the chills and mysterious vibes. A bit slow for me in the beginning but got into it soon after. Found the ending to be predictable but still entertaining.

I thought this story was interesting to follow along with, a fast paced read and generally entertaining while reading. It’s however nothing that sticks out to me in the long run. There are some great spooks throughout, but could definitely be more. I enjoyed the multiple different point of views, Essie’s specifically because it kept me on my toes. So overall, a good, entertaining book but I don’t see it being an all time favorite.

Unfortunately, I was expecting a lot more from this story based on the cover blurb.

While some parts are weird/uncomfortable (maybe even a bit creepy), I didn’t find it overly thrilling or scary. In fact, it was quite a slow read with too much repetition.

I found the characters all unlikeable, and maybe this skewed my opinion of the overall story, but it just wasn’t up my alley at all in regards to what I want to read.

I do love the cover art, although the feelings of horror it induces are not found within the pages of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy.

A story that focuses on a generational curse and it's impact on three couples. I really enjoyed the different timelines and the switches in POV. It was done well and did not create any confusion. I appreciated the slow burn, and the gradual coming together of the timelines. I was pleased to find that the author didn't rely on body horror or jump scares but rather tried to immerse the reader in the creepiness and discomfort the characters were experiencing.
Ultimately, where this one fell short for me was the main character. I really could not connect with her at all. She came across as self centered and rude. Unfortunately, she was truly the central character that the entire story revolved around. I did really like the other two time lines and wish that we had spent more time with those characters instead.
The ending was good and wrapped things up well.

This was a super interesting story! Definitely some horror aspects but I loved how the story dealt with motherhood. Essie was an interesting character and her and Sanjay’s relationship was also very interesting to watch. I liked the spooky shadows and the dual timeline. It worked out really well and gave a perspective on the family curse and how it came to be.

Good read but overall not for me. Didn't care much for the writing sadly. Did not finish and skimmed most of it.

I had to read this in one go! It was so well written, and it perfectly captured my own twisted feelings of motherhood, even though now I am even more afraid of getting pregnant. Ana ans Isabels love story was just so touching, and I really did love them both so much. I found it a bit unfair that the author kinda made me hate Sanjay at some point, so that I wasn't sure that I even wanted him to be saved.
The pacing was quite ok, although it was a bit slow at times, I can see why it had to be so. My only complaint is the fact that the shadows were quite easy to defeat in the end, and I expected Isabel and Ana to fight some more for salvation, and maybe even have a conflict between them. Still, a marvelously written book!

I typically enjoy ghost stories with haunted houses and family curses, but this story of a couple's unraveling after moving into a new house and learning of their unplanned pregnancy really missed the mark for me. It wasn't the dual timeline element, I really enjoyed learning of Essie and Sanjay's relationship in the present day, as well as Ana and Isabel's beautiful bond in the past; it wasn't the slow-burn pacing, I can appreciate taking the time to thoughtfully build a story up. No, I think what was missing is that the circumstances which connected these two couples across time was a more complicated situation than the author ultimately addressed, and I think the whys and hows of it even occurring at all needed more exploring. I get that the mystery of the paranormal should leave something up to the reader's imagination, but I think, as a reader, I needed just a little bit more to work with.

No Child Of Mine
By Nichelle Giraldes

5 Stars

A family curse follows two females. One past, one present. This book gives a spooky ride through the shadows, tinged with romance and happiness. Essie and Sanjay are happy. They just bought a house, and all is well until the one thing happens they never planned for, Essie falls pregnant. Can she save the one she loves unlike so many before her?

This book was awesome. This is a new author and so I didn't know what I would get. I want to thank the author as well as Netgalley for this opportunity. I was enthralled with this story. It was spooky and romantic. It was haunting. I hated to put it down, so wrapped up in the curse. If you want horror and spook, you get that here. If you want romance, you also get that here. Powerful characters and magical writing left me reading late into the night. This will be a story I spread the word about. It is definitely worth the read.

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

- Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the free copy! -

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to offend the author with my review. I'm simply offering it because of the NetGalley program. I'm a writer myself, and happen to be in the middle of my own horror novel about motherhood, so I hope my opinion's helpful.


First of all, this is not a horror story. It's more like a drama/romance with a little bit of psychological thriller, and it has ghosts. Not the same thing as horror. I'm not sure if the marketing was misleading, but that caused me to be extremely frustrated with the narrative, because I was expecting other storylines and symbols. Even if there's a curse, it's not enough to be horrifying. I did feel anxious, but overall had no pervasive dread or climatic moment to cling to. I felt a bit cheated.

Second, I had sooo much trouble with connecting to any of the characters, especially the main couple. They have no flaws! 'Not wanting to be a mom' is not a narrative flaw. 'Depressed' is not one either. I would've loved to see actual taboos and edgy dynamics between them, since this premise had a lot of promise for those.

I guess the past narrative was more interesting to me, personally, because it had more "colors" to the characters, and they felt more real and complex. The other aspect that bothered me was the repetition of sequences. The attic, the dreams, the "how are you feeling" questions... Perhaps nobody noticed it, but the majority of the novel is repetition of the same spaces and actions. Maybe there could've been a more diverse environment or worldbuilding that added to the horror conventions.

Even so, I think the theme is very cool, and the depiction of this risky pregnancy is captivating.

It was really very very awesome book. The binding between the sisters I liked it amde me cry. It has parallel plotlines. Essie along with her husband has shifted to a new appartment. Essie didnt wanted to get pregnant while pursuing her studies in Law. But she get pregnant. And things began to change afterwards, Meddling between her pregnancy and studies, Essie began to feel strange during the night in that apartment. Strange things began to happen, she could hear murmurings from behind the closed doors, something like a shadow she would always see even at day time. She didn't knew that she belongs to family where the father of the every daughter in the family are bound to die.
Even the death couldn't part the sisters, they became the stars they wanted to .

It has domestic violence, sisters bonding, horror, and many more emotional events.