Intense psychological drama. Ámala and Rosie are in a battle of wills as they struggle to out con each other. It has great characters who are interesting and intense. Ámala is blackmailing the parents in the Circle to do her bidding all the while people are dying. Secrets and lies abound as the the story unfolds.

How far will a mother go to give her child the best? This drama / mystery follows Rose O'Connell as her young son reaches school age, and a high caliber, selective school may be a path forward. What will she do and what is she willing to risk?

The twists here kept me entertained, albeit certainly far fetched at times, it's a fast thrilling read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

#SuchaGoodMother #NetGalley

I’m on the fence with this one. I think the story was entertaining for sure but not what I was expecting based on the synopsis. I never felt invested or loved any of the characters. I need someone to root for! It was well written and the pace did pick up towards the latter half. I didn’t love the final direction. Some people seemed to love this one though, maybe I just couldn’t get into the ‘mean girls’ mom vibe. 3.5

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Such a Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar is a dark and twisted psychological thriller about the lasting effects of being bullied and a mother's need for her child to have a better life than she has known.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The cover is very creepy with a woman who must be watching a group of women because you can see them through a window reflected in her sunglasses. The little teaser on the cover says, "some women would do anything for their children," which sends chills down my spine. The blurb is rather long but also reflects the dark creepiness of the cover. I can just imagine what lengths a mother would go to, so my initial expectations are that this will be a dark and twisty psychological thriller.

Actual Reading Experience:
This story starts off relatively harmless with a school tour of the local school. The mother who is taking the tour, Rosie, lives just across the street and is looking for the school she wants her young son to attend. The school seems perfect, but she feels like an outsider and doubts her chances of getting her son in. And that's when the fun begins, with one creepy turn after another until all of the secrets are unveiled. Then the story becomes intensely dark and shocking, with one surprise following another until the very end. Of course, this review will be relatively brief so as not to give away any of those secrets, but let's just say my jaw hit the floor as the story ratcheted up the thrills to unbelievable heights.

The narration is in the first person, with Rosie, our courageous mother, telling her tale. As with all first-person narrations, you can assume there is at least a bit of unreliability, but this aids in the shocking revelations so that the reader doesn't see them coming, or at least I didn't. Never underestimate the lengths a mother will go for their children as the cover teases.

The pace stays fast throughout, with the thrills increasing as the story progresses. The story tells of a pin that signifies membership into an exclusive mom's group, the women in that group, and a host of minor and major events that occur with this particular group sitting right in the middle of the fray. The twists start slowly and then grow to such a breakneck speed toward the end that it becomes hard to keep up but keep up I did and enjoyed every minute of it.

The characters are deliciously devious and well-developed enough for the reader to realize the boundless depths of their darkness. The good characters never stood a chance, but who is good in this story? Everyone has a bit of darkness that can be tapped into with the right incentive.

I also loved the use of Instagram in this story. We all know how insidious and powerful social media is. This story shows that in concrete ways, leaving no doubt about this observation.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you enjoy dark and twisted psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators, you will love Such A Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar.

I love reading stories about rich women doing bad things and this one was pretty good! Rosie wants her son to attend the exclusive school she attended, but at what price? Careful what you wish for! I did have trouble fully connecting with the main character and feeling fully invested but this story is full of twists so pay attention.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available for purchase on August 2, 2022

This book is told through the eyes of Rose O'Connell, the daughter of a conman just trying to make life more for herself & her family (husband & child). I found it difficult to root for any character in this book. The twists & turns kept it somewhat interesting but the unredeemable characters made it hard to finish. I did have to finish though just to see what ended up happening. In the end, it was okay.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

I received a digital advance copy of Such A Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar via NetGalley. Such a Good Mother is scheduled for release on August 2, 2022.

Such a Good Mother begins with Rose attending an open house at the school she just knows will make all the difference for her son. Woolf Academy is tremendously hard to get into, and guided by a small circle of powerful women who are quick to judge what a potential new family can offer them and the school. To her own surprise, Rose manages to snag a coveted spot at the school for her son. When one of the women in the inner circle dies unexpectedly, Rose sets her sights on the open spot, just like every other mother at the school. After Amala, the center of the circle, chooses to bring her into the inner circle, Rose finds herself quickly pulled into a web of secrets and pressures she did not expect.

On the surface, the plot of this novel is driven by Rose’s wants. She wants things she can’t afford. She wants opportunities for her family. She wants prestige. She wants the envy of others. Underneath this outer shallow covering, Rose is also dealing with the pressures and challenges of being a wife and mother. She wants her family to be the best they can be, and would love for the world around her (and her husband) to help her get there, or at least not destroy her attempts at progress. As the only point of view character, we are seeing the events of the story through Rose. This became challenging for me as a reader. While I felt I should identify with her, based on the issues she is facing with her husband and job, the way she dealt with those issues was very unrelatable for me. This was true of almost all of the characters in the novel. I struggled to feel for any of the characters, and felt overall, that I couldn’t root for any of them. I also took issue with a reveal toward the end of the story. We have been in Rose’s mind for the length of the novel, in first person. When she suddenly revealed an important piece of information that she had known all along (and was really her motivation throughout the novel) it felt like a cheat to me.

Such a Good Mother had some interesting points, and a potentially intriguing premise, but did not deliver a fascinating thriller for me. I was missing a character to root for, and felt cheated by a twist at the end.

This was just OK for me. The reveal at the end was good but it was a slow buildup without much intensity. Nothing really gripped you and pulled you in. A very quiet approach.

Rose wants her son Charlie to have everything she didn't as a child- the child of a con man whose mom died young. And she thinks the Woolf Academy will do it for him, despite all the hints that this won't be the solution. The Circle are the mean moms who run everything and she wants to be part of this too, and she is- but is she really? Amala, who pulls her in, has secrets, as do the other members of the group (not everything is as shiny as it seems). And there's a murder. Hmm. This is trope-y in the way of this genre of outsider-mom novel but it's also intriguing because of Rose's back story, which is more important than it might appear at first. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a fast and entertaining read.

How much would you do for your child? Helen Monks Takhar's Such a Good Mother gets to the heart of modern motherhood.The deeper Rose O'Connell gets in with the elite and secretive group of mothers who rule the prestigious Woolf Academy (known as the Circle), the more she learns it's just as much for herself as it is for her son. Soon, things go awry.

This is a well-written domestic thriller, that builds slowly but surely to a satisfying (if almost unbelievable) close. I appreciated some of the wild twists in the latter half of the book. However, given Rose's history, it was frustrating how easily she fell for some of the tricks. But it's a fun, nicely paced read! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Some women would do anything for their children... Rose O'Connell, daughter of a con artist and barely scraping by in the present, desperately wants to enroll her son in the prestigious Woolf Academy located in her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. After a member of The Circle, a small group of elite moms on The Inside dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances, Rose yeans to fill her designer shoes. But the Woolf and all of the women in The Circle harbor dark secrets, drawing Rose into a dangerous game of cat mouse.

While I am so grateful for the chance to read this ARC, I didn't really care for it. Though it was written in a way that the story is supposed to unfold slowly while keeping the reader in the dark, it gave so few details that I was 70% in and not really even able to describe it to a friend. The characters were horrible people with the exception of MC's sister in law and her son, with no redeeming qualities to make you like them just a little. I was really excited for this one but it fell flat for me.

I received this ebook in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my views and all thoughts are my own.

Mostly shocked at the surprise ending (who is actually conning who???). Great cast of stepford wives clique at a rivals school. And what seems preferable is absolutely not! Enjoyed the story.

Rosie is a mom who would sacrifice anything and everything for her son, when a position opens up for The Circle, an elite club of horrifying women, because of a death, she wants to belong and join.

This tight knit group of mothers who run the school are awful human beings but Rosie is just driving to survive.

This was dark and twisty with turns I didn’t see coming and an enjoyable thriller. I enjoyed how the twists unraveled.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thank you @netgalley for an arc for my honest review.

If you enjoy reading about bitchy mom cliques this book is for you!

Unfortunately, I live in an area with these fancy kid prep schools and snobby rich moms and so this book was slow and drab compared to real life. Eh. I was sold on it because I wanted this "dark side of motherhood" it promised but it read more like Where'd You Go Bernadette? then a dark mothering novel.

Such a Good Mother is a slow burn that eventually leads up to a shocking conclusion. Rose’s frustration is clearly felt on the pages and her motivations make sense. The most interesting part of the story is hearing about Rose’s dad, a hustler. While I do wish the story was a bit faster, it was still a good read.

Be careful what you wish for, you never know, it might come true. For Rose who was horribly teased as a child and raised on the outside, she is determined to do better for her son, Charlie. The Woolf Academy is the prestigious school just across the street from her small flat. Of course these mums are so competitive and well put together, how will Rose ever fit in? Well for starters, there is a murder!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Such a Good Mother starts out with a bang and then slowly tells the tale of Rosie O'Connell who wants nothing more than to be part of "The Inner CIrcle" at the prestigious Woolf Academy where her son now attends.

The Inner CIrcle is powerful and Rosie just wants to belong .

Be careful what you wish for Rosie will soon learn.

Run Rosie run is what I think

You cant help but feel for Rosie who has had her share of problems and they seem never ending.

Not wanting to give anything away I will say that the twists and turns and the ending that took me totally by surprise will keep the lights on and the pages turning.

Treat yourself to Such a Good Mother, you will be glad you did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Random House Trade Paperbacks for a read I wont soon forget.

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. While it was captivating at first, I eventually found the plot and the events that took place to be insanely over the top. What started out as an interesting take on power dynamics in an elementary school quickly snowballed into an unbelievable story of deceit and corruption. I didn’t find this to be fresh or thrilling take on modern motherhood— the story is about a small clique of women led by one powerhouse who were scheming excessively to benefit themselves, but in a way that was highly unbelievable. It didn’t even delve into the motherhood aspects of their characters, more just their own social-climbing and selfishness. The characters were difficult to connect with, as those in The Circle were both shallow and mean, and the protagonist was sad and pathetic. It was hard to root for anyone or anything, and I trudged through this one.

Rose O'Connell is struggling, Her son got into the school of her dreams, but he isn't fitting in and hates it. Her husband is out of work and her salary is barely covering the bills. They are quickly becoming priced out of their neighborhood. So when the leader of her son's school takes Rose into her inner circle, it seems the answer to all her troubles. But quickly it becomes apparent that being part of the Circle won't help, and in fact, may make these worse.

This one dragged for me in the middle. It started off with a strong and shocking event but got bogged down in the unlikeable personalities for just about all the characters - except for sister-in-law Jacq - until another big event at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Group for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Availalbe August 2, 2022.