This was a solid four star read/listen for me. The plot kept me involved the whole time. I loved the witch angle, and the way they were able to piece together the background information that they needed kept me on edge. I was curious to see how all the falling parts were going to fall together. For most of the book, I was at a 5 star rating. The ending, for me, was predictable, and that's why I rated it four stars. Without the very last piece, this is a 5 Star read for sure.



I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Mother May I is a great Thriller that kept me intrigued until the very end. Great story about a Mother who would do anything it takes to keep her family safe. The story starts with the kidnapping of Bree Cabbat's son Robert and quickly turns into a thrilling hunt for the kidnapper while also playing her nasty games. Bree is a great character for the mother role and she shows how she will do whatever it takes to get her son back.

Great book and can't wait to read more from Joshilyn Jackson.

I listened to the Audiobook and Read along with the EBook. I loved the narration but also found the audiobook fairly slow and needing to bump up the speed to almost 2x. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from listening to this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this early copy.

This novel is fantastic. I've long been a fan of Joshilyn Jackson's Southern family dramas. I was a little bit less a fan of her most recent novel, Never Have I Ever, where she dipped into the thriller genre. Mother May I manages to capture the best of both the family drama and the mystery/thriller. There are so many twists in this story, but they all feel realistic and earned. I raced through this book and highly recommend it. If you haven't experienced Joshilyn Jackson narrating her own audiobooks, that's definitely the way to go.

DNF'd at 32.5% on audio. I did not realize there was so much talk of harm to a child in this book when I requested this ARC. I found it too disturbing to continue. I think the audio may have exacerbated the feeling, but I wouldn't have felt good about reading it either.

The suspense was there and the writing was good, but this book was just not for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and William Morrow for the chance to read this GREAT book. Bree has a wonderful life with three children in Georgia. One day, while watching her daughter’s play practice, her three month old baby is stolen. She is instructed not to tell her husband, or anyone else. She is supposed to give her husband’s law partner three rohipnols and go on with her life as usual and then she’ll get her baby back. Things don’t work out so well. This book kept me wondering if she would get her baby back, if the sins of the father would be visited on the son, and how far will some one go to protect their family. The audio version was narrated by the author which, in my opinion, always adds something because they know where the book is heading. This is coming out in Spring 2021 and that will be just the thing you need to read after a long, dark winter! Read this book!

Mother May I was the first audiobook that I had ever listened to! I really enjoyed the experience and Joshilyn Jackson has written another fabulous book. From the very first chilling sentence until the end, I was captivated and needed to know what happened next. The characters were flawed yet I couldn’t wait to see what they were going to do next. Every Joshilyn Jackson book gets better and better!

I know I am in the minority for this one, but I really didn't enjoy this book. It was long winded and a lot of it could have been taken out because it had no point to the story. I listened to the audio book so maybe that was the difference...but I wouldn't read this one again. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I kept thinking this book was near it's end, only to check my audio app and see I had so far to go. Not that I didn't like it just that there were so many natural conclusions that turned into twists. A book for anyone who loves a familial drama and mystery/crime.

Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Joshilyn Jackson for this ARC audiobook! It was one of the best audiobooks I've listened to recently.

How far would I go to protect my children?

What would I be willing to do to uphold the sanctity of my family?

The line between right and wrong is sometimes so very faint that it almost disappears completely...

Mother May I poses as a psychological thriller but delves deep into the caverns of motherhood, grief, addiction, male dominance, and how the past can shape our futures, regardless of how hard we try to bury our shames.

On more than one occasion while listening, I felt myself holding my breath. I could so intimately identify with the protagonist, coming from a low-income background, having a childhood with incredibly strict moral standards, and also currently mothering a very young child. I was shocked to actually have had some nightmares similar to Bree while making my way through- which was totally weird as this rarely happens when I read thrillers. I naturally became emotionally invested in the plot even when there were actions of characters that I heavily disagreed with.

I so appreciated how Jackson exposed several very real societal problems that continue to exist yet each are still brushed under the carpet and are regularly ignored.

There were so many layers to the plot that were unpredictable, and yet, the ending was satisfying in an odd, almost uncomfortable way. But, how true that sometimes it seems near impossible to overcome the encounters that deeply bruise us. Time and experience dramatically change us. And, though we may not be able to fully move on, we can accept reality and try to make the best of it. I loved how real that ending felt. It was so human and raw.

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, drugs, terminal illness, & sexual assault

Reviews will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram accounts later today. :)

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mother May I was such a good mystery book to dive into! From the very beginning, everything was creepy and it just sucked me in. In it, you will meet Bree. Now I felt bad for her because was thrown into some pretty awful situations. I don't know about you.. but if I felt someone watching me and then caught them doing so? Well, I would probably run away screaming.

Also, if someone stole my kid (which is completely imaginary) then I would have so many questions. Mostly because I have dogs (Dobermans) and I would give them a very stern talking about letting someone take my damn (imaginary) baby.

Back to the book, Bree ends up having to give someone drugs while also trying to figure out a way to get her baby back. It also helps that her friend Marshall is tagging along because I just loved him. Oh and he loved her.

I'm not going to lie, this book had me on the edge of my couch the entire time. I loved each and every creepy twist that came my way. I was also cheering at the end because hot damn - it made me so freaking happy.

I think my love for mystery murders will continue to grow and I can't wait to dive into another book by this author!

This was Ok.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Harper Audio for my advanced copy of this book.

What I Enjoyed-

*The Audio- This audiobook is narrated by the author, Joshilyn Jackson. She did a great job narrating each character and making them unique. I felt like each character stood apart and it mad the audio flow nicely. It was very easy to follow and to multitask. I listen to a lot of my audiobooks on my commute to work and while running errands.

*The Creepiness- This book had a special kind of creep factor. The predator in this novel is targeting children. I found this to be so horrific and so evil. It made me feel so many unwelcome feelings of anger and unease. It was different than anything I've read thriller wise.

*The Different POVs- I appreciated that the author used multiple POV's. It gives the reader a better understanding of the characters and makes the story feel complete.

Why This Book Lost Stars-

This book started off very strong. As the story progressed it kinda fell off for me. I had a few questions while reading and as things were being explained I felt disappointed. It was twisty and I do appreciate a good revenge story but in the end it just wasn't for me.

Overall- I'm not sorry I read this book. I'm not super eager to pick something else up by this author but I'd give her a second chance.

I'm in the minority with this one but it just didn't fully work for me. I felt there were too many holes and exaggerations. I just couldn't buy Coral doing everything she did because of what happened to Lexi. (Trying to stay vague to avoid spoilers.) I guess the idea was "a mother's love" but it seemed awful far-fetched to me, and normally I can suspend belief for stories. I also just felt like the book never really hit its crescendo. I kept waiting for more to happen and was a little disappointed, even in the ending. Not a bad read, and it was interesting and entertaining at times, just not my favorite. I preferred Ms. Jackson's "Never Have I Ever" to this one.

Many thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Mother May I: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson was one of my highly anticipated books of 2021 and I was so excited to get an early copy. Joshilyn Jackson is a must read author for me and I was able to meet her in 2019 during her Louisville author event (remember the days of in person events). She narrates the audiobook and did a fantastic job. This book was suspenseful and had some unexpected twists. There are some heavy topics covered and trigger warnings. The characters were well developed and Bree, the main character, had so much depth. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this review copy.

This book is so spooky and well done! While the “missing child” storyline can be a bit overdone, I found this one had more depth and unexpected turns. There is so much action, at times you wonder what the author could possibly pull off next, but she finds a way to take it to another level.

I had slight issues with the last ~20% - it became too long for the way it ended up concluding. Also, I prefer less graphic thrillers and there’s portions of this story that go too far for me.

Content warnings: stolen child, sexual assault, blackmail, drugs/addiction

Recommend to readers who enjoy: Grady Hendrix books

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and William Morrow for the advance readers copy of this thriller. This was my first book by this author, and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

Hooked from the start, I was pulled into the story of Bree Cabbat and her beautiful family. With an attorney husband, two teenage daughters, a new baby, and a more than comfortable lifestyle, Bree seems to have it all, a dream from where she started in humble beginnings. But when she sees a mysterious woman and later discovers her baby is missing, she does what any mother would do to bring him home.

The first half was interesting and complex as the characters began to unravel. But I started to lose a bit of interest in the second half when Bree and Marshall start investigating the kidnapping and some of the mysterious past involving Bree’s family. It all worked out a bit too tidy for my liking in the type of read, however I still felt this was overall 4 out of 5 stars.

Also I had the audio copy of this and had there been an option for electronic or physical copy I would have dropped the audio early on as I found the narrators voice for Bree to be irritating/nasally but since it’s was unreleased and I was unsure if I would be granted an electronic option I powered through and enjoyed the story. But had this been released I definitely would have dropped the audio in the first hour.

This was not what I was expecting. Pretty wild ride. The beginning felt slightly slow and then pow! Surprise twist I was not ready for. It did feel long, but I enjoyed the story. I thought it was going to go one way, but Joshilyn Jackson said nope. This one kept me entertained and wanting more. Definitely purchasing hardcopy for a friend.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love this author but listening to the tale was torture. Audio are not my favorite but this was even worse. I won't rate the narrator as the book was good but I will skip audio henceforth.

A well-written, & suspenseful page turner!
An excellent option as an audiobook. Jackson gives each character their own voice and dialect.

Both terrifying and thoughtful, this is the excellent kidnapping book I’d hoped “The Chain” would be. In fact, this is very best “missing child” book I’ve read all year. A standout in a crowded field.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated very compellingly by the author. It’s rare when an author can narrate a book as well as a professional actor, but sometimes when they can, they add so much more to the feeling of the story, because only they truly knew what they were trying to convey. This was a great narration.

The story told here is original and fantastic. I am not going to summarize it because I think this is a good one to go into totally blind. I did that and was surprised at every turn. I will say that if you’ve read and like “The Chain,” I think you’ll love this one even more. It is a much better story. Told with fully developed characters and a crackling plot, “Mother May I” asks some thought-provoking questions, has a fantastic, fully realized plot, and a wonderful main character.

I will also say that if you’re like me, there will be points of the book where you might feel disappointed, and ask yourself, “that’s all?” But keep reading. That’s NOT all.

This book is so well thought out, plotted, and executed. It’s not the fastest paced thriller on the market — in fact it has a somewhat surprising plot progression - but all of these things make it more unique and interesting. I had a couple of nitpicks about the way a certain sensitive aspect of the plot was portrayed, but I could see how it could be viewed that way through the eyes of a crucial character.

A really good, 4.5 star audiobook that you won’t want to put down. I really recommend the audio for this one - I think the narration added a lot to the experience.

Many thanks to Harper Collins, NetGalley, and the talented author/narrator for the advance copy. I think this book will be on my mind gfor r awhile.

I was hooked from the beginning with this one! The suspense was so high and I just had to know what was going to happen. The ending to me though was somewhat of a let down. I was expecting a bigger twist or something that would make me go “omg”!


Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.