What will happen next? How will the mother and daughter live together? This is a book of mystery and intrigue...family dynamics...the past and the present...can the two manage to be under the same roof without the dynamics turning? This author is talented at writing a cannot put down novel. It does move slowly, at times, but comes to a resounding ending. This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy. It was just a little too much for me.

I wanted to really love this one so much and I did enjoy it and kept reading, eager to find out what happens. But it also just felt a little flat and I still don't really have a grasp on what was actually going on between Jackie and Grace.

This started off with a very well written message and continued to be a fascinating read. The story line got a bit confusing with jumping back and forth between dreams and reality. The storyline seemed to lose focus, that may have been intentional yet not necessary.

Filled with prickly, disquieting tension and mounting claustrophobia, each page posed a dark new question that I couldn't wait to learn the answer to. I flew through this completely original book with bated breath all the way to its shocking conclusion.

I love the premise of this book but because of the pacing of this story, this will be a DNF from me. I didn't find any of the characters to be captivating or likeable enough to continue. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and Grace’s estranged mother, Jackie, moves into Grace’s new home with her. With Jackie around, Grace begins to have strange dreams that make it difficult for her to differentiate the dream world from reality. Life also becomes difficult as Jackie learns more about her daughter’s life and the past becomes hard to ignore.

Mothered is a good example of early pandemic life and the troubled relationship between a newly reunited mother and daughter. The dream scenes are as disturbing and confusing for the reader as they are for Grace, as distinguishing dreams from reality is also difficult for the reader (which I loved!). Definitely a slow burn thriller, Mothered is a psychological trip for the reader nonetheless.

Enjoyed this book a lot. Takes place during the pandemic, which all of us had a hard time dealing with, so that hit close to home. The back and forth between the real and dream state really made ME feel like I was going crazy. Zoje Stage is such an entertaining author. Mothered was extremely enjoyable.

This book takes place at the beginning of the pandemic (2020) when most of the country all had to be on lockdown. Grace allows her elderly mother (Jackie) to move in because she just purchased a house and due to the pandemic she is afraid she won't be able to keep up with her bills. She and her mother have never been close so this is a recipe for disaster!
The story was interesting though it dragged on a few parts for me. It was confusing at times due to switching to a dream Grace was having without any warning. I'm still not completely sure what causes the dreams though the epilogue makes it seem like it could be a little supernatural? I would also have liked to see the reactions from the "damsels" after Grace came clean.
I'm also not quite clear on who was the crazy one (Grace, Jackie, or Hope) or if Grace actually did what her mother accused her of doing.
Overall it was a decent read.

Just wow! Zoje Stage does it again! This was a really deliciously dark and creepy read. I literally felt like I needed to peel my skin off! Gosh so intense an incredibly well written and executed. This one is not for sissies! Loved it.
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

I knew Stage was good, but her newest novel show just how great of a writer she truly is.
Mothered by Zoje Stage is a masterful, compulsively gripping, chilling, and an absolutely unputdownable book.
This was difficult to leave alone once started. Stage's characterization is great; her characters are so realistic and raw. I believe this heart-racing story will appeal to many. Her writing drew me in from the first sentence.
Zoje Stage is a twisty, remarkable genius!
This book totally captivated me and had my complete attention right to the very end. I absolutely loved it!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thomas & Mercer,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I'm so glad I picked Mothered by Zoje Stage up on a whim. I read the author's earlier book Baby Teeth and was underwhelmed by it, so I had low expectations for Mothered and was blown away by how much I loved it. It follows Grace, who has agreed to let her estranged mom move in with her during the pandemic, and how they slowly drive each other to be the worst versions of themselves. As someone with a complicated relationship with my mother it was a wild and sometimes cathartic read. If you're looking for a thriller this one is non-stop bonkers in the best way.

I hardly know where to start with "Mothered" by Zoje Stage. Grace allows her mother Jackie to move in to her new home at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Jackie was just released from the hospital (unrelated to Covid) and has nowhere else to go, really. Though the two don't have a great relationship, Grace has to admit she could use the help with the mortgage since she just lost her job in the service industry at the start of lockdown. Almost immediately, Grace regrets the decision. Her mother quickly rearranges the kitchen, hangs her own photos on the living room wall, and takes Grace's favorite spot on the couch as her own.

Not long after her mother moves in, Grace starts experiencing intense nightmares that seem very real. Many of the nightmares are focused on her twin sister, who was born disabled and died when the girls were young. Jackie seems obsessed with the dead girl, who Grace hardly thinks about anymore. When Grace's best friend becomes sick and Jackie and Grace have to quarantine again as a result, the feeling of foreboding grows stronger. An explosive accusation leads to a shocking act of violence that will change everything forever.

I'm not someone who typically remembers my dreams, but while I was reading this book I had some of the most intense nightmares I've had in my life. Some echoed a bit of the plot in the book, honestly. Since finishing the book, I've gone back to not remembering my dreams. I think this story seriously messed with my head in a way that has never happened to me before now. I've rarely, if ever, had that sinking "something is wrong" feeling in my gut as when I was reading this novel. It was creepy and it really got under my skin in a strange way. I'm definitely excited to read more by this author and have already picked up "Baby Teeth" because I loved this book so much.

Love this author, definitely excited to get a chance to read this book as ARC.
Set during during quarantine but yet it didn’t take away from the story. The tension between mother and daughter is very present. There a bit of a slow burn feel here and there. The end makes up for any doubts you had while reading.

Kept me more engaged than I have been in a while. A lot of what’s going on is relatable when it comes to mother/daughter dynamics.

4 stars for me! A really good family drama thriller. Grace and her mom are together during covid and all their past issues come to light. Captivating and creepy thriller that I could not put down

Graces mother, Jackie, moves in with her during the pandemic. They did not have the best relationship growing up, but Grace is hopeful that will change. Well, they don’t and they seem to be the same as they were when she was younger. Grace starts having nightmares about her twin sister that died when she was younger, and then Jackie makes an accusation against Grace that they cannot come back from. 4/5 stars. I loved Baby Teeth and I loved this story as well!

Zoje Stage once again proves she is the queen of creep. Each page of Mothered leaves you unsettled, uncomfortable, then BAM smacked in the face with the 'oh shit' moment, and it's a wild ride from there. So grateful to get my hands on an early copy of this book. She will forever live on my 'buy it without needing to read the blurb' list.

My expectations were high with this one since I really enjoyed Baby Teeth. This one didn’t live up to the hype I was hoping for. It’s very slow paced, lots of descriptions, very little dialogue. The storyline doesn’t have much to it. Grace has nightmares and is quarantined during the pandemic with her estranged mother who has come to live with her. Nothing else extraordinary really happens. I thought there would be an explosive ending to bring it all together but there wasn’t. It just ended abruptly.

Zoje Stage strikes gold with her pandemic novel--of course, while it's never mentioned to be COVID, through the context clues we can tell that's what is being hinted at. But, there is something more sinister laying beneath the surface.

Grace, lovingly nicknamed "Gray" by her mother, finds herself in a lockdown situation most of us wouldn't be fond of; her recently widowed [for the second time] mother comes to stay with her while Grace is dealing with being recently unemployed. Throughout the novel we get a sense of just how messed up her relationship with her mother is, and that there are dark secrets lurking in the past regarding Grace's twin sister, Hope. The novel is told between past, present, and a dream world where everything is sinister and against Grace.

By proxy, Grace is not a reliable narrator. By the end of the novel, the reader is left unaware of what was real, what was a dream, and what was purely her imagination...but even Grace isn't sure.

Mothered does a great job of telling the mental effects of the COVID lockdown, and just how claustrophobic it felt. But, as hinted at throughout the novel, there is another sickness coming to the surface. As the reader, we have no idea if it's a real thing or not, but are made aware that now multiple people have encountered this "sickness," one that is more mental than the physical toll of COVID-19. One that could possibly drive more people to Grace and her mother's end in the long run.

Zoje Stage has never, ever, ever let me down and I'm so honored to have been able to read this early on NetGalley. This is right up there with her other three novels, and exceeds the "messed up" category of her other books completely. Stage is a master in psychological horror, and when it comes time for her to be up to bat, she never misses a home run with her swings.

A special thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this ARC for reviewing purposes. The publication date on this book is March 1, 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of "Mothered" by Zoje Stage. I raced through this book in a few days as I really felt at first that it was going somewhere. What isn't to like about a 30-something being stuck quarantined in a house during COVID with their overbearing mother? I know for me, that sounds like a horror. While I really wanted to enjoy this book, the ending pretty much ruined it for me. A number of things that happen throughout the book were never explained or given any weight. The side story of the main character being into catfishing women online served no real purpose. This had great potential but I felt as though the execution was just a little off. Overall, a fast read but I wish things had been wrapped up differently.