Beware the Woman is a bit of a departure for Megan Abbott. The terrible, wonderfully written characters are still there, and her masterful ability to write around solid details is also very much present, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions when it comes to character backstory and motivation. It starts out rather slow, with unwitting Jacy on a trip to visit her new father-in-law, but as with Abbott books, there is a slow twist even at the beginning that things are not going to go as planned.

This book has a bit more of a flair for horror than Abbott's previous books. Jacy is at first charmed by Doctor Ash, her husband's father. But changes lurk: her husband, Jed, starts to act more distant, less himself, more influenced in a way by his surroundings. He tells her a dark story about his father that doesn't seem to make any sense to Jacy, who sees Doctor Ash as an affable sort happy to grill and hike and show her old photos. But then the housekeeper doesn't act quite right, throwing Jacy off. When Jacy wakes up covered in blood, she's whisked away to Doctor Ash's friend's medical practice, where his friend examines Jacy and discovers she has placenta previa.

Cue the horror. From here, Jacy's body is no longer her own, but even that is a slowly tightening screw. The men huddle, determining what to do with her, while the housekeeper lurks nearby, always watching and never quite giving up what she's thinking. It starts to churn together into a story of paranoia, both medical and patriarchal. Doctor Ash and Jed just want Jacy to be safe--to think about her unborn child, to be calm and rational, to do what they say above all. Jacy wants to get the hell out, but at every turn she's threatened or scolded or had all of her means stripped away. She has no internet, no wi-fi, no reliable land line after a while. They're off in the woods, far from help. Jacy has to help herself.

This is a story of women battling back--taking revenge, taking what's theirs, owning themselves, making decisions for their own bodies when the men around them would like to be calling all the shots. It is an addictive ride, and quite a fast one when the plot starts to spin and spin, upping the tension and paranoia and slowly peeling back all of Jacy's ability to trust in other people to make the right decisions for her.

My one quibble is the housekeeper. She speaks in riddles and I was not entirely sure she needed to be so vague without explanation. There is also an extremely abrupt ending, which works for a novel that leans toward horror, and of course I can infer what happens, but I just wish these aspects of the novel had been a little cleaner.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read Megan Abbott's Beware the Woman.

Wow!

I started reading and could not stop until i finished. I think i may have held my breath through the entire book. This was one superbly written novel. I loved it

I am very excited to have received a Digital Reader Copy of
BEWARE THE WOMAN by Megan Abbott.

Four months after Jacy meets Jed, they get married at City Hall. The wedding happens so fast, Jacy’s parents and Jed”s father aren’t able to come to the wedding. Jacy’s mother has given Jacy this warning—“But they’re lone wolves, these kinds of men. Most men.” Jed drives through Michigan with his pregnant wife, Jacy, to visit his father. Jed’s father, Dr. Ash, lives in Iron Mountain in the cottage Jed remembers from childhood.

Once Jacy and Jed enter the cottage, you will find it hard to set this book aside The anticipation of things to come is great when you are reading a suspenseful novel such as this.

I admire Megan Abbott’s writing and the way she makes you
immediately comfortable in the story’s surroundings. You are right there watching the scenes take place in front of you. Her writing is insistent. You can like or dislike the story, but you have to finish reading it.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

I was excited to read this book as it was recently chosen for an upcoming book club However, now that I have finished it, I am beyond confused by the choice. I can see some possible book club questions stemming from this novel, but overall I am not quite sure I understand the premise of the book.

Once I got past the first few pages before Day 1 it all made a little more sense. But once you got to know all the characters, you just get sucked in. I was immediately interested in Dr. Ash because he came off as kind but definitely hiding something. Learning more about Jacy and Jed’s relationship really pulled a lot together. It was hard to put this book down as it left you wanting to know what was going to happen.

Book: Beware The Woman
Author: Megan Abbott
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam
Pub Date: May 30, 2023

Okay. Honesty first. What the heck am I reading?!? I haven’t the first clue. That was my first thought. I read the summary but not going to lie I kept going back to the summary asking, “what is this?” It’s like I was reading a dream and was never being told the whole story. I always felt like I was missing something. The story felt breathless. Like a race. And it was! At the mid way point I finally knew the direction it was headed. It was a good read. The writing style worked. It created the atmosphere they were trying to create. And the ending. Wow.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is May 30, 2023.

Jacy and Jed are off on their first trip after their wedding to visit Jed's father who lives in a remote part of Michigan. Jacy is pregnant, but Jed's dad is a retired doctor, and she is really charmed by him when they first meet. But that changes when Jacy has a minor health issue. Suddenly, she is not allowed to leave the compound, and the charming doctor seems suddenly sinister. Good characters, but the whole premise was a bit much to swallow for me!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this upcoming Megan Abbott book. Beware the Woman is narrated by Jacy, a 30 something year old New Yorker, who marries Jed after only four months because she knows that he is the "one". The book begins two years later when Jacy, newly pregnant and Jed are on a road trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to spend 4th of July with Jed's. father, Dr. Ash, who Jacy is meeting for the first time. Dr. Ash is a charming charismatic character who raised Jed on his own, when Jed's mother died in childbirth. The majority of the story takes place in the UP at Dr. Ash's isolated estate. The scenery and sights of the area are so beautifully depicted that I had to keep stopping to google them. Additionally, there is a handful of secondary small town characters, and their tight-lipped ways, and a possible mountain lion roaming the area, that all add to the suspense.

From the very beginning, there is a sense that something is off, a tension that permeates the book. There is little action happening and the story moves along quite slowly, yet I still found it compelling and hard to put down. Jacy finds all these locals a bit strange, finds that Jed is also not acting like his usual self and every day that passes leaves us more and more unsettled. I'd describe this book as suspenseful, but not a thriller, eerily gothic, but not a horror, with a locked room mystery feel, without being a mystery. In other words, hard to describe. For readers with triggers, there are lots, so do some research before picking up this book. I gave this 4 stars because I found it evocative and compelling.

Beware the Woman
by Megan Abbott
This one was just ok. Very slow, and it became as if Jacy was as bright as most. The men Jeb and the father in law as well as the housekeeper were all in charge, It was pretty not really much to like.

Well, this was different. Set in the country, almost seemed to be in the past. Jacy & her hubs travel to visit his dad for the first time, while she’s pregnant. The dad, House & Housekeeper all have so many secrets. If Jacy discovers them, will they allow her to leave? Or only without the baby?

I struggle with how to write this review. There really isn’t a lot of action in the first 85% of the book and then everything that happens in the last chapters leaves you wanting more. The novel is about a couple that married after knowing each other for 4 months. The story keeps telling the reader that everything they did was quickly and how they don’t know each other, but she’s only 10 weeks pregnant and they’ve been together for 2 years? The couple decides to travel to upper Michigan to his father’s cabin out in the woods so his dad can get to know Jacy, the young, pregnant wife before they can’t travel due to pregnancy. Things get weird and uncomfortable, both for Jacy and the reader after they arrive. There are some elements of thriller, horror and supernatural even, but none of the genres really fit to describe the novel. I’d give this 2.5 stars. I love Megan Abbott’s other books, but this one fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam’s Books for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott-although I liked the writing style, the way Jacy described Jed, their love for each other, how they met, etc., the story itself was such a slow burn and unrealistic on so many levels. I finished reading this wondering if I had missed something along the way. A bunch of men controlling a woman, meh, kind of overdone. Of course she had to escape, but Jacy had so little common sense, it was laughable. A miss for me.

A superb fast paced thriller. I absolutely loved the story and couldn’t stop reading it. It’s perfect for all readers, especially thriller lovers.

Beware the Woman is the story of Jed and Jacy. They marry and are expecting a baby when they head up to meet Jed’s father in an isolated area of Wisconsin. Jed’s father acts increasingly creepy and protective of his unborn grandchild.
I rarely don’t enjoy a book. This wasn’t for me yet it felt like it would be with all of its thriller elements. I didn’t enjoy the writing style at all and was very confused.
Maybe fans of Megan Abbott will see what I missed in this story and enjoy it!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will confess that this is not my favorite Megan Abbott book. But I also didn’t go in expecting a Gothic Novel.

While a departure from her usual style, some of Abbott’s usual style is still here. Many of her characters are wonderfully written terrible people. She shows you all the not-so-pretty parts and makes you supremely uncomfortable.

But…I hated Jacy with a passion. Not because of what she was going through but because she LET herself go through this. Seriously, she was a freaking doormat and I’m really not used to that with Abbott’s women. Pregnant or not. Mountain lion or not. Weather or not. I didn’t understand why she just let things happen to her. Our mysterious housekeeper bugged me as well. What’s with the puzzling statements? Just…speak??? And don’t even get me started on Jed. Jed needs to be dead.

I left this one feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

• ARC via Publisher

Another okay read. This is an excellent author but this book just didn't do it for me. Throughout the majority of this I felt my eyes glazing over. Nothing really happens until the very end and then that's it. It just ends a little too abruptly. For such a long, drawn out build up I wanted more for the ending, even just an epilogue. I can't find myself to give this anymore than three stars and honestly, that's being generous.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC.

Shave some off the beginning and add a bit more to the end for stand-alone or a series Are there plans for a #2 for unanswered questions?

What I loved: pregnant newlyweds of 2 years meeting Dad for first time in the wilderness of Upper Michigan… Jed and Jacy’s story really starts to pick up half way through the pages with a few twists and turns leaving the reader to wonder who is on whose side. Is it all in Jacy’s head or is she trapped with her Father in Law. What secrets are buried? It finishes strong with suspenseful actions from all main characters but we’re left with unanswered questions….what happens to Jed, Jacy, their unborn child, or Rose?

Opportunities: I thought the backstory and Jed & Jacy’s meeting of Jed’s dad for the 1st time over the 4th of July holiday was much too long and labored. I would have loved more of Jed’s prior relationship with his Dad. There were some moments that didn’t seem to flow/fit especially with Jacy’s Mom. I see the necessity for her to be weaved in but found their interactions less plausible, with mom giving up too easily and then seemingly changing her mind.

Thank you to #NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam & Megan Abbott for the ARC of Beware the Woman (May 2023).

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley and Megan Abbott for the opportunity to read and review BEWARE THE WOMAN. This novel was from the heroine’s point of view and read like it was a history or retelling of the past. The characters were real and believable. The story line was different from any other book I’ve read - it was definitely unique. There was sexuality interspersed throughout which didn’t always seem to be in line with the story. However, it was a good read and particularly at the twisted finale. I recommend this novel to people who like psychological thrillers.

Megan Abbott’s previous thrillers have been more nuanced and have had more detailed plots. This one is simple: Jacy meets Jed, but not his family, they get married quickly and pregnant soon thereafter and decide to finally go visit his dad in isolated upper Wisconsin before the baby is born. Dad is a retired doctor, welcoming at first, then creepier and controlling. Jed’s mother died in childbirth, so maybe that explains it. It’s a slow, slow build for that description, and it’s only in the last chapters that the overwhelming and atmospheric sense of dread gets some explanations. And then the story abruptly stops, before really giving us a necessary epilogue.

I was tempted a lot of times to skip ahead — I actually did a couple of times and in the first three-quarters of the book I felt that I had not missed much. Jed, the husband, needed to be fleshed out more. His father, Dr. Ash, was a better written character, especially as he became creepier and more threatening to Jacy. But I predicted the twist, so the end was not surprising and the plot, unfortunately, seems forgettable. I can’t say I disliked this novel, but I just felt “meh” about the story. 3 stars.

Oh, and the cover could be much more enticing than just a plain red pink background.

Thank you to Penguin/ GP Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Just Dr. Ash’s piercingly blue ones.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The woods of the north act as a menacing character of isolation, dark and easy to get lost in.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC Megan Abbott is a hit or miss author for me. This one was a miss. I do not enjoy horror or supernatural and this had elements of both.