It was a bit of a slow burner to begin with but once the craziness of it started then it got my attention and I couldn’t put it down. I feel some readers will be able to relate to some aspects of the book. A difficult relationship between a mother and daughter and living in a pandemic.

If you enjoyed Zoje Stage's Baby Teeth, read this!!! Mothered does not disappoint, and I would argue it is even better than Baby Teeth.

I was given a copy from NetGalley for my honest review. This story took place during the pandemic. Grace and her mother, Jackie, were always at odds. Grace moved out and got a job and bought a house. During the pandemic she loses her job and her mother asks to move in with her. Grace takes her for one reason to help with the mortgage, obviously absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder, as Grace and Jackie are still at odds. Grace starts dreaming of her handicapped, deceased sister. An interesting turn of events ensues.

Oooof, I like How Zoe weaves her stories with domestic suspense and a thrill. Baby teeth was one of my favorite reads of all time when it comes to thriller or domestic suspense. And this book, was fantastic!!

This book was different for me. graces mother jackie moves in with her and the trauma to her life increases. jackie is pretty crazy. grace life take a turn with her crazy mom and on going dreams of her dead sister. Revenage can be a deadly thing especially for an unstable person.

I'm not sure if it was the COVID atmosphere or this particular story, but this book was not for me. The mentions of the pandemic made me feel almost claustrophobic, and I did not really like either Grace or Jackie. I also don't mind an unreliable narrator but they were unreliable to the point where I was getting annoyed. I also felt like there were a lot of random side plots that I wasn't sure were important or not and some panned out but others were not important at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

''Grace isn’t exactly thrilled when her newly widowed mother, Jackie, asks to move in with her. They’ve never had a great relationship, and Grace likes her space—especially now that she’s stuck at home during a pandemic. Then again, she needs help with the mortgage after losing her job. And maybe it’ll be a chance for them to bond—or at least give each other a hand.

But living with Mother isn’t for everyone. Good intentions turn bad soon after Jackie moves in. Old wounds fester; new ones open. Grace starts having nightmares about her disabled twin sister, who died when they were kids. And Jackie discovers that Grace secretly catfishes people online—a hobby Jackie thinks is unforgivable.''


I wasn’t really sure where this plot was headed throughout most of the book, which kept me reading. However, the second half of the book became very repetitive and didn’t include any plot twists. Unfortunately, I was also left with a few lingering questions.

I’m sure this was a difficult book to write so soon after Stage’s own mother died from Covid-19.

Read this: If you are looking for a book about the Covid-19 pandemic
Skip this: If it’s still too soon for you

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book triggered everything about my relationship with Mother. As much as I love my own mother, I could never imagine having to live with her again. We can have a beautiful relationship as long as we are apart. Some people have it better than others. So when I started reading this rollercoaster of emotions for Grace. I disturbingly hooked. Like Dr. Pimple Popper's type of videos. LOL

I really wanted to like this one as I did her other works but the covid thing was just maybe too soon for me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Ty @netgalley • 3 ⭐️

I loved “Baby Teeth”, by Zoje Stage, I grabbed a copy of her newest novel.

“Mothered” is a slow burn thriller that makes it difficult to distinguish dreams from reality.

Grace, a hairdresser with an unreliable income, bought a a home. after signing the mortgage, the pandemic starts and everything is locked down. In light of these life changing events, Grace allows her mother to move in with her. This has always been a turbulent relationship. Her house, her rules? 🤔

Stage hints that something bad has happened. This keeps me turning the pages. It invested me in the book until the end. As I was reading, there was this lingering feeling of claustrophobia and anxiety in the novel. Questions increased as the book progressed.. I had a difficult time connecting the dots for the plot. Sadly, the ending fell flat for me. It left me confused.

This pandemic-era slow burn filled me with dread and took me back to those mid-early days of the pandemic when everything was unsure and everyone was tired of being locked up at home. A truly disturbing read, especially because Stage draws you into connecting with Grace, the protagonist. Her flaws become more and more apparent as the book goes on, but by then it's too late.

What’s worse than creepy kids? A creepy elderly lady! I really enjoyed this book.. so much so that I didn’t want to put it down. The ending gave me actual chills. Will definitely recommend this to all thriller & horror lovers.

Time for pandemic fiction!! This is set in 2020 during the pandemic and Grace has to stay with her mom during lockdown.

This is kind of like watching a car accident and you can't look away. It just was so much chaos, Grace has trouble differentiating her vivid nightmares to reality and honestly me too. Did I ever know what was going on? Unsure. I like when books are unsettling, but I don't like when its paired with confusion. I might just be the wrong audience, but I know there are people who would eat this up!

3 stars.

Having loved both Baby Teeth and Wonderland, both by Zoje Stage, I was extremely enthusiastic to read Mothered.

It is a coincidence, but completely appropriate that I finished it on Mother’s Day!

I liked how Stage wrote about the pandemic and the feeling of isolation I think most of us felt. It felt… real, in that aspect.

But about half-way through the book, things got weird. I couldn’t tell what was a nightmare and what was real. I didn’t understand the motivation behind some of the things characters did or said, and the characters… well, they just lost their character to put it plainly.

It just kind of spiraled out of control with no explanation or reasoning.

I still don’t know what was wrong with Jackie. I don’t know what happened to Hope. I have no idea why Grace behaved the way she did. And I really, really have no clue who Silas is and why his personal life is put out there at the end.

I thought the plot was suspenseful, and it made me keep reading, but I was disappointed in the end.

Since finishing Baby Teeth, I have vowed to read everything Zoje Stage writes. I was that impressed!
Mothered was not a disappointment, either.
Grace, our hero, finds herself locked down with her recently widowed mother, Jackie. Their relationship has never been great, but now it slides into a miserable state.
Jackie eventually accuses Grace of a terrible act, sending her spiraling into a weird madness the reader will not soon forget.

Mothered was my first read by Zoje Stage but won’t be my last!

First impressions:
I loved the cover and was curious about the pair of scissors; were they a weapon? An implement of torture?

The mother/daughter main characters, Jackie and Grace, are getting to know each other as adults and as roommates. There’s a whole metric ton of trauma to unpack. Including Grace’s twin sister, Hope, and her death. Unreliable narrating galore.

This book has a ton of Dream sequences, which I usually hate. I did not hate them in this book and read them all thoroughly. There were moments where I didn’t know what was dream and what was reality.

Familial trauma, mother/daughter issues, Covid 19 isolation and some amazing dialogue. Loved this one!

I found this book super confusing and way too long. I really loved Baby Teeth so I was excited about this but I had to DNF at 40%. I tried but just couldn't do it

In the time of the pandemic, Grace's recently widowed mother asks to stay with her for awhile. The two have always had a rocky relationship, but Grace is hoping that maybe this will bring them closer, plus help to pay the bills since Grace lost her job. But she soon regrets it since Jackie is just as judgmental and critical as ever. To make matters worse Grace begins to have dreams of her deceased twin sister and as the dreams become stronger, Grace begins to descend to madness.
This book had such a creepy vibe throughout with the isolation of the characters, the flashbacks of her twin, and the unreliable thoughts of the narrator Grace. This is the craziest psychological thriller I've read in a long time.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Grace's first home purchase couldn't come at a worse time. She is laid off due to the pandemic shut downs, and finds herself with little choice but to allow her estranged, recently widowed mother to move in with her.
Initially, it seems like they might do okay. There is a little thawing of the cool relationship they've had since Grace's twin sister's death when they were children, due to complications from CP and pneumonia.
But... maybe it's the lockdown.. maybe it's her mother... maybe it's something else... Grace is suffering from increasingly vivid and disturbing nightmares that begin to take over her waking life.

I have enjoyed several of Stage's previous books, but this one.. left me a little disappointed. It never really took off for me, or felt resolved in the end.
There were some very creepy scenes, and I really enjoyed Grace's relationship with her best friend, and his sweet little cat. Overall, it felt very slow moving.

Enjoyed this book by Zoje Stage. First time reading her, and will need to read more. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the pacing with this book. #Mothered #NetGalley