HOLY S. H. I. T!!! Oh my! WTF did I just read?! This book was so emotion inducing! My heart is still racing.

I read the premise of this book, and I thought it would be interesting. Well that’s the understatement of the year!

Elizabeth was such an awesome and strong female main character. She is fierce, loyal, intelligent, and just a bad ass!! I felt every emotion reading this book - fear, sadness, anger, rage, vindication, frustration, and anxiety.

The character development was great. I felt like I was friends with Elizabeth, and I was rooting for her! I wanted to see her come out on top. Her love for her son was heartwarming.

Being a mom and someone that has worked in a school before, this story was so relatable. The fear and the anger - so real. The author took those emotions we all have surrounding these incidents in our schools, and he created a masterpiece about one mom’s quest to seek retribution. The plot was captivating and thrilling. It developed in a way that I just couldn’t stop listening. Brittany Pressley did a phenomenal job narrating! She was perfection with every character and every emotion.

I’m still reeling. If you like suspenseful, emotional, engrossing thrillers, read this book. Better yet, buy the audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is excellent! I love how Rickstad captures the frustration that so many of us have in the face of these constant horrible shootings. And the anger that so many of us feel when in the aftermath of yet ANOTHER mass shooting people give "thoughts and prayers" and then insist that they answer is more guns. The irony of using violence because you're fed up with the violence is great. I sympathized so much with "Lilith" even as I am against violence as an answer. This book is just really well done.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance copy of this book for review.

Lilith by Eric Rickstad and narrated by Brittany Pressley is a powerful, soul-rending story of the often untold story of the aftermath of a school shooting and the devastatting effects it has on the hearts, minds, body and souls of the victims.

Elisabeth Ross is a fantastic protagonist and an even more incredible anti-hero. Elisabeth is a first grade teacher at the same school her young son attends. The book opens with Elisabeth talking to her son and the wonderful relationship between them is immediately apparent, right down to Elisabeths maternal instinct, feeling her sons fear of going to school that day. Lydan kept saying he had an "icky feeling" which Elisabeth interrets as him trying to pull a sicky. There is nothing more than she would love then to pull a sicky and call out to spend the day with him, but she has to go to work and as such Lydan has to go to school

Immediately, Brittany Pressley's incredible narrtion is apparent and just how perfectly she performs a powerful, difficult and highly emotionally charged narrative with grace, emotion and a huge strength. Outstanding

When Elisabeth gets to school, it is heartbreaking how she has a conversation with one of her students. It's the 3rd Monday of teh month and this means active-shooter drills across the school. Lydan's words are still playing on Elisabeths mind as she absent mindedly listens to how the little girls brother had said that hiding under the sand table would end up with the girl being hamburger and this I think also had a part to play in Elisabeths decisions

Elisabeth is an incredible character, not only does she take her entire class out of the school during the attack of an active shooter and secure them in the library across the street, but she goes back in for her son, finding him in a closet, in a room of bodies. Stay or go? Elisabeth decides to go, she grabs Lydan and smashes out the window, as the shooter shoots out the door lock, she dives through ad is shot in the side. If she had stayed, they would have both been unalived

The book talks about the aftermath from the pov of Elisabeth and how a mother deals with others after the attack and her powerful need for vengance for the life-changing injuries her son received, injuries that meant he was seconds from being unalive when the EMT's got there

Elisabeth sees a television report while she is in the hospital room watching over Lydan in an induced coma and she sees the face of the man who is the owner of the biggest gun shop in the world, the leader of a pro-gun group and now, candidate for president. The man who represents everything that has destroyed the lives of Elisabeth, her son and so many others

The power of this book is the human aspect of the surviving families and not the story of the shooter. It is a book that is an essential read no matter what side of the debate you are on

Thank you to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, the author Eric Rickstead and narrator Brittany Pressley for this incredible ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

A harrowing revenge fantasy come to life. I’d have a hard time believing anyone who says they have never felt rage like that of the main character in response to (literal trigger warning) a shooting at the school where she teaches and her son, who is badly wounded, attends. I love that we learned next to nothing about the school shooter—this was all about the people affected and maternal vigilante justice. Even the cover of the book is striking: stark black and white with grimly symbolic gray areas. Grisly and thought-provoking, this book will haunt you.

This book, Lilith, was the most hard-hitting, emotional, gut-wrenching book I’ve read in a long time. Many thanks to @blackstonepublishing for allowing me access to their titles in exchange for a fair and honest review. I listened to this on @netgalley as read by the amazing voice actor @britpressley !!! Brit!!!! This book was had such hard content, I don’t know how you did it, but you did it with a depth of emotion and grace, brava!!! Such a fantastically emotionally hard book to voice-act. I really felt so much from your performance! @ericrickstadauthor what an amazing story of heartache, bravery, and righteous anger! I find the cover of this book to be so fitting, as in life, and in this story, there is right and wrong and shades of grey, what a strikingly vetted cover - there’s light and darkness in all of us.
For you readers: this is a brutal story of a school shooting, a little boy who didn’t want to go to school that morning, and his mommy, a teacher at the school, feeling compelled to bring him there anyhow… the shooting and her acts of bravery. So there are major trigger warnings for school shootings, violence to young children, gun violence… and it is hard to read/listen to. The empathy and fear I felt (and anger) while listening to this story was intense. I don’t feel that meeting violence with more violence is the right way, and I have to say this book makes its stance on guns. Well it makes several points, one being that guns give people the means to easily kill other people, that more guns in a crowd doesn’t necessarily make it safer, especially if caught off guard, that there are too many unstable people with guns in America. I still believe we have the right even if I choose not to myself. There is SO much to chew on and debate in this book and the ending left me torn between wanting to cheer for Lilith and wanting to condemn her. Amazing job by the author for making a stance but leaving us to suss out our own feelings on this tough national issue.
A 5 star read for me, and I just bought his 2022 NYC Times best thriller “I Am Not Who you Think I Am” can’t wait to read that as well! A heartbreaking story, one so many know too well.

A gut-wrenching novel from the point of view of a school teacher who saves her classroom from an active shooter by NOT following the school's "cower in place" policy...and the fallout that results. The author has written thrillers and this ripped-from-the-headlines novel contains many elements of suspense. The well-narrated audiobook had me listening compulsively. It's a novel that imagines what might happen if a grieving mother took matters into her own hands when the government fails her and the all-too-many other victims of gun violence. Actions have consequences that have further consequences. Makes you grieve, makes you think.

There's a point in the story where men are blamed for everything (I'm generalizing of course) ... but then a man is especially helpful to the main character. Some magical realism (not my thing) and other minor nits, but not enough to deduct a star. It's still worth a read or listen on this important topic.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook for review purposes.

I absolutely loved this book as an audio read!

After her son is injured in a school shooting, a woman becomes enraged and decides to take matters into her own hands, vigilante style.

This book was horrifying and intense. It made me feel a wide range of feelings. The terror is only heightened by the fact that the danger is so real and prevalent in America today.

I thought the narrator did a fantastic job, and the pacing was just right for me.

I would recommend both the book and the audiobook to anyone and everyone.

Wow, this book is intense. There were times while I listened that I was holding my breath. This book made me so angry, made me cry and made me think . The narration from Brittany Presley was superb as always. She really has a way of drawing you in and bringing the characters to life through her storytelling. I will listen to anything that she reads. This was my first book by this author but will not be my last.

I am sure that you have seen this one around Bookstagram quite a bit. For a short book it certainly packs a punch. This is the 3rd book that I have read in recent months that deal with school shootings. They are always so shocking. It does make me feel lucky to live in a country that has really strict gun laws. After a mass shooting at a tourist attraction in Tasmania, we have not had another gun related incident in over 2 decades, maybe 3.

I could relate to Elisabeth, the mother in this story. She would do anything to protect her child and what mother wouldn’t. The way she was treated after her heroic actions was just disgusting. So much anger at the way people talked about the incident, and the way that these men view their right to bear arms.

Highly recommend this book, but as you can appreciate, there will be many trigger warnings for people.

Thanks so much Blackstone Publishing Audio for my copy of this audiobook to listen to.

Intense, well written story about an important subject, and a mom that takes "justice" into her own hands. I really enjoyed listening to the audio book "Lilith", by Eric Rickstad. The narrator did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. This is a really good story that would make a great movie. I hope to see it in the theaters.

If I’m being honest I didn’t go into this knowing what the book was about. I saw the cover and had heard so much about it I was excited to listen. Boy, did it blow my mind! It was so good. I finished listening in one sitting. The narrator added to the ambience with the way she told Lilith’s story. She was able to capture the essence of both Elisabeth and Lilith separately. I was sucked in from page ONE. The way she narrated the onomatopoeias was absolutely PERFECTION. I had chills!

Highly recommend this as an audiobook it was fantastic.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Blackstone media for the ALC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

While I was prepared for the subject matter of this novel from the summary, I wasn't prepared for just how brutal it would be to listen to the actual words. It was too much for me.

Thank you @blackstone for the gifted hardcover copy and the audio listen— Brittany Pressley did a great job bringing tension and eeriness to the story! 🎧

LILETH is about a mom— Elisabeth, who is completely pushed to the edge due to a mass shooting at the school she teaches at. Early that morning, her son Lydan told her that he felt “icky” about going to school that day. Against her initial thoughts, Elisabeth decides to go to work and send her son to his class and the unthinkable goes down.

What she does during and even after is completely heroic and just wild! The whole time I was listening/reading this all I kept thinking about was what if?!! This character Rickstad has created within Elisabeth is believable and really shines on a light on the violence that’s been taking place at schools all across the US.

LILETH is dark and it’s heavy so be sure to check the TW before jumping into it especially if this topic hits close to home for you.

Read if you like:
😡 Female Rage
💔 Heartbreaking Topics
🖤 Dark Reads
✝️ Biblical References

This is a very dark read with a lot of TW’s so I would strongly encourage readers to check out TWs and evaluate it a book that heavily focuses on gun violence and school shootings is for you before proceeding as this wasn’t for the faint of heart.

I really enjoyed the feminine rage written into the story, especially in that this book was written by a male that owns guns and found his blog to really solidify even more my enjoyment of the book and how little details were inspired by personal experience of what has become of the school system with the threat on a daily basis of school shootings in America.

If this sounds like a book and topic you would like to explore and read about, I would highly recommend checking out Lilith.

Thank you so much to Blackstone for my ALC & finished copy in exchange for my review.

WOW.

This was an absolutely incredible story and the audiobook made it all the more powerful... Rickstad hooked me from the outset with the "icky" feeling of a boy who doesn't want to go to school and held me by the throat through every painful second of this brilliantly characterized tale.

As the mother of a 10 year old, who has been mildly obsessed with the horror of school shootings since my baby girl came home from kindergarten all excited about the new drill they ran in which they all gathered behind their sweet young teacher (aka, the day she learned that the teacher she loved was expected to act as a human shield), this book rang every panic bell in my head. I read another review that said (paraphrased) "if this book doesn't make you angry, you aren't paying attention" and I couldn't possibly say it better myself. The blind fear, panic, and rage that Elisabeth cycles through were brilliantly portrayed, and the narration embodied that brilliance in a way that made the experience of the story even more harrowing.

I don't think I've ever listened to an audiobook that had such a profound impact on me while listening. Brittany Pressley was phenomenal and made the book an even more visceral experience than I could have imagined - and my imagination is pretty vivid, particularly when it comes to this particular topic. I was moved to tears on multiple occasions as my emotions seesawed right along with the characters'.

This is an all-too believable tale, unfortunately, and one that should not be missed. I hope its impact will be felt and that one day we won't have to read/watch/hear this story told over and over again - but fear that day won't come in my lifetime.

Elisabeth is a teacher at her son’s school. Lydan says he has an “icky feeling” and doesn’t want to go to school one morning. Elisabeth would love to stay home with him, but she convinces him to go. That day a shooter enters the school and both Elisabeth and Lydan’s lives are changed forever.

Although both Lydan and Elisabeth survive, Lydan is permanently disabled and they both suffer with tremendous PTSD. When the authorities give their pat answers on how to keep children safe from gun violence, Elisabeth takes matters into her own hands. The novel takes a close look at a possible scenario of what could happen to survivors after a horrific tragedy and the repercussions of vigilante justice.

The suspense here is intense and the story is absolutely terrifying because this preventable tragedy is all too real. I felt such a wide range of emotions from fear and sadness to frustration and anger. The United States has become a country that values its gun rights above the lives of children and the author has captured that perfectly. I was glad the murderer received no notoriety. Brittany Pressley narrates the audiobook beautifully from Elisabeth’s POV. Lilith is the most powerful and thought provoking novel I’ve read in 2024 and it would make an excellent book club read. While I give Lilith my highest recommendation, do read the trigger warnings if you have sensitivities.

Lilith is a compulsively readable novel about a mother who has been pushed to the edge because of a mass shooting at the school she teaches in. The narrator, Elisabeth, is a thirty something single mother of Lydan, a seven year old boy. Early on in the novel, a shooter targets their elementary school, leaving many children dead, injured, and/or traumatized. Lydan is grievously injured, but survives due to his mother's bravery.

Understandably, Elisabeth, becomes enraged by what happened at her school and continues to happen every week in the United States. She keeps seeing a gun enthusiast, Clay Akers, on the news, proudly proclaiming that the answer to gun violence is more guns. The writing style was a bit clunky and old fashioned for my tastes, but I was so enthralled in what might happen. Elisabeth is determined to quiet the voices of narcissistic, violent, foolish men like Akers.

This book is very thought-provoking and Elisabeth ponders what we're doing and why things have become so bad in the US. We express our opinions online, but to what end? Does anything actually change? How can we protect our children when mass shootings are so prevalent? Are school administrators helping or hurting when it comes to violence? Children are traumatized by drills and safety protocols may put children in the crossfire. Brittany Pressley is one of my absolute favorite narrators, so I was excited that she narrates the audiobook. She has such a fantastic voice and speaks with emotion, which really draws you into the story. Overall, a fascinating read about violence and how hard we can be pushed by it.

Thank you Blacstone Publishing and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.