I would like to extend thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a digital arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

During the height of the pandemic, devoted hairstylist Grace finds herself out of a job and scrambling to make payments for her newly bought house. Grace’s mother Jackie, recently widowed, moves in Grace’s house with her to help make ends meet. Despite Grace and Jackie’s strained relationship, Grace initially believes living with her mother will do them both some good. However, as time passes, Grace begins to feel suffocated by her fraught past with her mother and the confinement to her home.

This narrative weaves perceived, dream-like reality with actuality as Grace begins to lose grasp of her mental and emotional state. Stage does a good job making the reader second guess everything in Grace’s memoryscape as well as within her claustrophobic environment.

Neither Grace nor Jackie are likable or relatable characters. I had a hard time staying with and coming back to the story because I personally didn’t care about what happened to them. The plot is an incredibly slow burn, which I felt was definitely reminiscent of what quarantine felt like.
I really enjoyed Stage’s other work Baby Teeth, but this work mostly fell flat for me. The tone was too casual for me to take what was happening seriously, especially in COVID-related fiction.

Mothered is an interesting concept and breaks down what it means and what it takes to achieve closeness and acceptance with oneself and with others. I appreciate NetGalley and the publishers for offering the opportunity to read this work.

Struggling to make mortgage payments due to the pandemic, Grace agrees to let her mother Jackie move in to help out financially. The two have never had a great relationship, so Grace is hesitant at first, keeping her mother at a distance. After Jackie moves in, Grace begins to experience horrible nightmares about her disabled sister. Their relationship starts to deteriorate as both women attempt to cohabitate in Grace’s small new home. Mothered: A Novel is a psychological thriller that shares the claustrophobia of being stuck in close quarters with someone who has less than good intentions.

Zoje crafts the slow descent of Grace in a way that is foreboding and jarring; starting off with small incidents of hair cutting and later followed by larger incidents that show the extent of her spiral. The tone of the novel contributed to an easy to devour story that examines Grace’s mental health and the impact that her deceased sister has had on her life. As the story unravels we are given more and more insight into Grace’s difficult childhood being a caregiver for her sister while their mother worked. The relationship between Grace and Jackie is depicted as incredibly complicated—Grace always wary of every one of her mothers intentions.

Mothered starts as a slow paced psychological thriller and develops into a fast and spiralling game of reality vs skewed perceptions. A game of manipulation, truth, and anger flows between Jackie and Grace, maintaining a high level of suspense right through each chapter. I couldn’t get enough of the paranoia that Grace was experiencing in regards to her mother and her presence in the home. The entire novel was an absolute pleasure to read

I've read all of Zoje Stage's novels so far and they're always quick and entertaining reads. Mothered is no different, though I must admit that I enjoyed it a bit less than Baby Teeth or even Getaway, perhaps because I wasn't in the mood to read something set during the pandemic. However, the book was sufficiently creepy to keep me interested through to the end.

The author mentions that writing this book wasn't as fluid in the sense that she took breaks along the way because of different life events. This can be felt a little bit throughout the novel but particularly in the second half where you sometimes get the sense that a couple of chapters were cobbled to together and added as an afterthought. Yet, the character's own experience is meant to be a bit disjointed so it's not a particularly serious flaw.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was TERRIFYING! Zoje Smith has done it again! I was on the edge of my seat. You’re definitely going to want to read this one.

This book started off crazy, I mean COVID quarantine is stressful enough, add in a crappy relationship with a mother who has to move in with you because you lost your job, and add in secrets that start to come out and it is now in code red territory. We have two people that are trying to ‘survive’ close quarters and they each have their resentments and secrets. Things come to a head when these secrets start to be exposed. Add in some catfishing, murder and nightmares and you have yourself quite a psychological ride you know will crash and burn! Great read I really enjoyed and literally had no idea how it would wrap up, kept me guessing! Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book, the opinions are my own.

The Pandemic hit everyone hard and this book really captures that. Grace, a hairstylist, is struggling to find work due to the pandemic. She had just bought a house before it hit and now is worried about how she is going to pay her mortgage. Jackie, her mother, calls from the hospital and offers to help pay it if she can move in.

These 2 have been estranged for many years but maybe now is a good time to make amends. Or maybe not....

Grace is still angry with her mother for leaving her to be responsible for her twin sister Hope, who was wheelchair bound and very demanding. Jackie was at work the night Hope died and Grace shoulders the blame.

I really enjoyed this book.

After reading Baby Teeth, I was incredibly excited to read another novel by Zoje Stage. The trauma from the recent pandemic is something we can all relate to, and I was looking forward to how Stage would incorporate this into the story.

Grace is a hairstylist (and an online catfish) who is struggling with lost hours and wages due to the pandemic. She allows her mother, Jackie, to move in to help ease the financial burden. Grace soon starts to experience disturbingly vivid dreams, which lead the reader on a wild ride.

I felt that this book was at times, a difficult read. It was well written and interesting, but the covid content proved to be hard to get through. I would definitely caution reading this to anyone who struggled to get through the last two years.

Anyways, back to the story. Zoje Stage is incredibly talented at blending nightmares with reality throughout this book. I was constantly questioning what I had read, and my attention was held from start to finish. I only wish that I had a physical copy because the cover is absolutely beautiful and I would love to add it to my library! Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

I wasn’t super crazy about this one. It was thankfully short but nothing much happened, so I think I was expecting something entirely different and the bar was set too high. Not for me.

This was my first novel from Zoje Stage and I have heard so many good things. I was very excited to dip my toes into what this book/author had to offer. This book tackles the very trick relationship between a mother and a daughter. It deals with trauma, grief, and the thoughts that we have when those very things take hold in a relationship that is so near and dear to our hearts/wellbeing. I really enjoyed this book overall, it does get darker than I was expecting but nonetheless, I still really love it!

I had high expectations for this book and I am disappointed it didn’t deliver the thrill I was anticipating. Maybe part of it was my own fault for reading back-to-back books set during the pandemic, but it was more than that too. At times it was confusing trying to differentiate between dreams, memories, and reality, and I’m still not certain I ever sorted all of that out completely. I was reading on my kindle, but a hard copy of the book would have been a bit more helpful as I scrolled back several pages from time to time. The ending wasn’t a surprise, although I did find parts of it very strange. The last part with the therapist wasn’t satisfying either. It simply needed MORE. I would read a sequel of it would bring all of it together.

I do like the author’s previous book Baby Teeth, but Mothered just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Zoje Stage best book to date. I will definitely be picking this up when it comes out in print, as well.

Mothered
Zoje Stage

- [ ] Just the introduction sucks you in. Be sure to read authors note.
- [ ] You immediately sense tension between two characters as they begin to develop in the book plus another sister
- [ ] Little things also immediately come to your mind to keep track of for later on IF needed.
- [ ] Rollercoaster ride of the relationship of mother and daughter in the past and present
- [ ] Sat within the times of quarantine without making it the main focus
- [ ] The dreamscapes keep your attention and have perfect visuals
- [ ] Fever dream aspects
- [ ] Little slow burn at times
- [ ] Accusations making you question what you think
- [ ] Keeps you questioning what is real and what isn’t
- [ ] Ending was chef’s kiss
- [ ] 100% recommend reading

Review Copy

I knew I had to read MOTHERED. The little I knew told me it was a must read, and Zoje Stage killed it! This book about the pandemic and it's effects on a mother/daughter is fantastic.

Parts of it mirrored my own recent life. My husband of 26 years passed away during the pandemic (unrelated cause) and I found myself living with my daughter. She's married, so similarities end there. But the related stress was all too familiar.

Grace and Jackie haven't lived together since Grace was 18. She's now 38 and both of them have changed. It ain't easy, just imagine...

Lockdown, no vaccine, tiny house - and it all adds up to book you won't want to put down. Recommended reading for all.

Fevered,nightmarish and claustrophobic. I mean that in all the best ways. I’ve been a fan of Zoje Stage since her brilliant debut Baby Teeth and this novel might be her most chilling yet. It’ll be awhile before I get this one out of my head.

Highly recommended.

Baby Teeth is one of those books that I still think about. I was excited to get a copy of Stage’s newest book. This one is so weird and creepy and totally confusing. Is this real? Is it a dream? It is set in the beginning of the pandemic, so if isolation is triggering, you might not like it; however, being quarantined with your mom is a great premise for a horror book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Well, this being my first Zoje Stage novel, I wasn’t disappointed. I happened to see a tiktok of her showing off the physical arc and the cover drew me in (I like scissors for some reason. Idk.)

I started this one not knowing much, just that it was a thriller. I was quickly sucked in and my mind kept going back and forth about what’s going to happen. It was pretty slow to begin with but still had be wondering what was real and what was a dream and just when I thought I had it, nope. It was a dream. I loved that aspect of this book. I was a little underwhelmed by the ending and it seemed rushed and missing pieces. I wish it had more explanation of what was actually wrong with Jackie and Robert. I’d love to read a second book about Grace and how she does after the pandemic. That’s another thing! I try not to read pandemic related things. I lived it don’t need to read it. So I wish there was something in the synopsis about it being a pandemic novel.

Overall I was so pleased with this book and will more than likely buy a physical copy when it’s released. I can’t wait to read more from Zoje!

Interesting read. Not one I would normally choose to read. But I’m glad I did. It was very different. But exciting. Very well written

I really loved this book and its storyline. Stage does such a good job at blending nightmares and reality, to the point where I was constantly questioning what was memory, reality, or another nightmare. Yet another creepy story that highlights the relationship between mother and child!

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. The cover alone caught my eye right away! I absolutely loved Baby Teeth so when I saw Mothered was available for an early read I couldn’t resist. This author has a way of making almost anything creepy (in the best way possible) Although this book is heavy on the Covid pandemic it gives us an inside look on how very differently it can affect your mental state. Grace & Jackies relationship was destined for disaster from the very beginning but that ending had me speechless. Overall this book was wonderful, but I still have questions!

After Baby Teeth I had so much excitement for Mothered. This was a slow spiral into madness in an elderly mother/ daughter household during quarantine which has been super relevant these days so it made it that much more real. So much unresolved trauma and stress can only lead to trouble. The open ended ending is classic Zoje Stage and left me wanting to know more.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc