Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

Thank you to @netgalley, @putnambooks, & @melizaabbott for the opportunity to read this #eARC in exchange for my #honestreview! This is available for preorder now and for purchase May 30.

Jacy has finally found a man she can build her happily ever after with, or so she thinks. Newly married to Jed, a neon sign maker, she is now pregnant with their first child when they decide to visit his somewhat estranged father, Dr. Ash in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Visiting the place where Jed grew up is straight out of a fairytale at first with Dr. Ash’s kind words doting on her. But after a minor health scare, all eyes become locked on Jacy and things turn from idyllic to straight out of a nightmare.

This was a wild ride! This is definitely a slow-builder with the end popping off twists like a series of fireworks. The way this is written adds to the suspenseful buildup - broken up with chapter breaks that pile on the suspense and urgency. I love the juxtaposition of the mountain lioness and her cubs against Jacy fighting for her own body and her unborn child. I highly recommend this for those who enjoy a slow-building thriller.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

This is a slow burn, character driven, claustrophobic thriller, and it might not be for those that like their thrillers fast paced. However, if you can get past the slow burn, you are in for a treat because as the intensity builds, you are drawn in, and it really comes to a head in the second half. I was beyond angry at these men and wanted to go help Jacy myself. Men can be the worst, I mean really. I did not know how this would end, and I will say it is extremely satisfying but abrupt, however it absolutely worked for me.

The audiobook is wonderful, building the suspense so well and bringing out all of my emotions in this one. I definitely recommend this, it was such a great read.

Thank you to PRH Audio, NetGalley, and GP Putnam’s Sons for the free copies to review.

Jacy has notoriously bad taste in men, so when she rushes into a marriage with neon artist, Jed, her mother is somewhat apprehensive. Jacy, however, is living in bliss. She's on her way to Jed's father's house in upper Michigan and she's in the early stages of pregnancy. She's finally getting everything she wants.

Until they arrive and Jacy meets Dr Ash and Mrs Brandt. Dr Ash is handsome, wise and smells like cinnamon. Mrs Brandt, the caretaker, is stoic and Jacy immediately feels intimidated by her. After a health scare, Jacy comes to learn that Mrs Brandt might be her only ally.

It's now surprise that I really enjoyed this book. With hints of Rebecca, Jane Eyre and Rosemary's Baby, this is the kind of story that I'm always drawn to. Jacy did come off fairly naive, but still was an enjoyable character. Jed was weak in character - he was too easily swayed by his father and friends. Dr Ash was the perfect villain, good looking, suave and terrifying all at once. And then there's Mrs Brandt. She's a modern Mrs Danvers, minus the house fire and with a bonus dose of a conscious.

Highly recommend this book for fans of gothic horror thriller as well as fans of domestic thrillers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

▪️REVIEW▪️

Beware the Woman ~ Megan Abbott

▪️QUICK TAKE:
* Genre: thriller
* Pages: 304
* Pub Date: May 30, 2023 (Tomorrow!)
* Gist: a horrifying take on motherhood in a post-Roe era

•Newly-married and pregnant, Jacy heads into the woods of Michigan with her husband Jed to spend some time at her father-in-law’s cabin. She is open to embracing the woodsy ambiance and new faces but after a pregnancy scare, the vibes quickly shift.

Paranoia sets in as Jacy is acutely aware of the focus on her health and body. Conversations occur without her and no one really seems to be listening to her feelings about her own developing pregnancy. When she pleads with Jed to leave, he insists they stay and it’s then when Jacy realizes she’s trapped.•

Ugh I don’t know guys - this one fell flat for me. Maybe wrong place, wrong time but I just never felt excited to read it or interested in the characters or story. I will say it’s super creepy and atmospheric and I kept thinking, “I would be curious to see how this would translate to film,” but it just never resonated with me on the page.

This is now my second Abbott read and I will say I don’t think she’s for everyone - but the people she’s for will find her writing buildable, thought-provoking, and uneasy. She writes females really well, paying attention to their voice and emotional tension - she’s really a master at writing the creepiest of thrillers. Although it was a flop for me, I would check out other reviews before dismissing it.

**2.5 stars rounded up for GoodReads**

Let me start my review by saying I’m not a mother and have never been pregnant so I’ve never experienced the helplessness of pregnancy and childbirth though I can imagine how scary that could be. This book and a few more that I’ve read recently all put motherhood in a horrific light, or try to. Without experiencing that myself I have found the horror aspect of the book to be lacking.

Sigh…I was so looking forward to this book. How could I not with it being described as Rosemary’s Baby meets Rebecca? Megan Abbott is an award winning author, I’ve only read one of her books several years ago but liked it. But I found this book to be very boring for the first 50% with a somewhat ridiculous ending. But I finished it when I really did not want to hoping it would get scary at some point but it didn’t.

**spoiler alert** Now some aspects were very very disturbing like being held prisoner or having men hold judgment against Jacy for her past actions or her husband turning into a Cro-Magnon man in front of her eyes, that was scary but that was pretty much it .

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.

When all is said and done, I liked it!

It started off slow for me. The characters were all a bit strange and the whole thing gives a weird foreboding vibe. I’m glad I stuck with it because I found the second half pretty unputdownable.

But that ending was unacceptable. I wanna hear why in the world it ended that way? I think Megan Abbott has some splaining to do! If not for the ending I would’ve made it a solid 4 star read.

I’d still recommend to others so they can share in my outrage at the ending. 😆😆

Beware the Woman is a slow-burn, psychological thriller where old school views on the role of the wife meets the modern women. A young couple goes on a trip to northern Michigan to visit the grooms father. The wife, who's pregnant, meets a creepy father-in-law who gets ALL up in her business, especially her medical history.

As the story unravels, we learn the horrific events of Jed's birth shaping his father's views of women. Jacy finds herself trapped in a home that's jeopardizing her unborn child. This story is a modern day Rosemary's baby.

I wasn't sure if this novel wanted to be a thriller or a horror novel. I believe if it would've committed to one it might have been a better story.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the complimentary copy.

Megan Abbott is a master in the twisty-turner suspense genre, and Beware the Woman is yet another success of a book from an author who manages to build incredible tension and a propulsive sense of foreboding without revealing where the book will end up--or even exactly who to be afraid of. There was one aspect to the ending that was inevitable that didn't quite come together for me, but overall I'm happy to have spent an afternoon devouring her latest.

Megan Abbott is an autoread for me, and she remains so, but this wasn’t my favorite of hers.

I did really love the Rebecca vibes, but I didn’t think this was Abbott’s strongest work. I kept comparing Beware the Woman to The Turnout, her last book, which I was obsessed with. So maybe that isn’t fair, but BTW fell short for me.

The ending is going to be polarizing but I actually liked it. It elevated the book in my opinion.

It started a little slow. Everyone seemed creepy and suspect. I was not sure where we were going with this. As things started to unfold I could feel the panic and fear as if it was happening to myself. A little Rosemary Baby vibes. The twist was a little meh but the suspense was good.

Megan Abbott continues her streak of excavating the darkness inside women and girls, as well as the potential dangers that surround them. After reading some of her other books, I appreciated how this one has more of a closed location, which increased Jacy's paranoia. I like to read about this history of resting cures and this touched on some of those themes. The pacing is perfect, and there are some TWISTS in here, baby!

Gothic thriller with feminist undertones, Beware the Woman was, for me, a slow burn that eventually became a raging fire. Newly(ish)weds Jacy and Jed trek to the Upper Peninsula, where Jed's father lives, for a summer visit. Jacy is about 3 months pregnant, excited to spend time in a cozy, secluded cabin the woods and learn more about her husband's childhood. But there is a darkness lurking; stories about Jed's mother's death, the seemingly omnipresent caretaker, Jed's mood swings, and loud noises in the night attributed to a mountain lion all contribute to Jacy's unease. After she experiences a health scare that puts their trip home on hold, she starts to feel trapped. Is she being paranoid, or is there something going on that she should be worried about? The first 75% or so of the story was a bit slow, but the mood is set and by the time I got to the last quarter, I couldn't put the book down! I, for one, appreciate a story that wraps up without the author feeling she has to explain every last detail of what happened afterwards, leaving some things to the imagination, but if you like everything wrapped up in a bow then you might be disgruntled by the ending.

There are so many words to describe Beware The Woman. Atmospheric, claustrophobic, ominous, frustrating, haunting, aching. None of these can accurately grasp the level of life in all of these words. Megan Abbott is a true wordsmith. Her descriptions are animated and make you a part of the story. You can tell each word is thought out for maximum impact. I couldn’t and wouldn’t stop reading. The relevance of Jacy’s situation to today’s world was accurate and chilling. Her phone calls to her mom felt like the helpline that we all need right now. This is a dark story, one that takes a while to snap out of and there was no where else I wanted to be.

This story was not a favorite of mine. The characters were odd, even the character we were supposed to like. This just wasn’t for me.

Slow burn and ominous-Beware the Woman is a departure tonally for Abbott as it veers slightly
Into the gothic. Jacy and Jed are expectant parents who to give his respected dr father in an isolated wilderness. Jacy has some complications with her pregnancy while there and dr ash begins to intervene and slowly becomes more and more controlling with her and her pregnancy, Jacy realizes that her complications mirror those of Jed’s mom who died in childbirth. Jacy tries to peel back the secrets of Jed’s moms death as she tries to deal with her own feelings of dread and impending doom as the walls and claustrophobia begin to close in on her. Abbott is a master of slow burn suspense and world building and she expands her voice and atmospheric abilities in this novel. Fast read that will keep you turning the pages as you follow Jacy in trying to piece everything together. Recommended for any of abbots fans and those who love slow burn suspense.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley for an honest review.

Slow burn suspense in this eerie tale of newly expectant parents who travels to MIchigan to visit the husband’s physician father, and the gradual sense of isolation and dread the wife experiences while spending time with her seemingly overly-protective father-in-law and his neighbors. Very strong heroine.

I had to force myself to get through this book. I think the author thought that the sex would make the slow book a little more exciting. It was really boring and silly sex, though. When something finally happened it was far too late to care. I liked Redruth, though.

Megan Abbott is a fabulous writer and I love how her mind works, but I think I wasn't wrapped up into this world enough to fully buy into it. I appreciate a big swing, though, and just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it won't be for others. There is a lot to enjoy -- the male characters in particular are especially creepy and there is a strong sense of dread throughout the novel, but it is a slow burn. Also, I thought our lead Jacy could have used more depth as a character. I didn't understand her attraction to Jed, which made me want her to make moves to exit much sooner. Will still read anything Megan writes in the future!

I definitely feel as though this book was missing something and fell short of the potential that it had. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but I had high hopes for this one and it definitely didn’t meet my expectations. I do agree with someone else who reviewed this book about it needing a prologue or an extra chapter because the ending just wasn’t it.. I have so many unanswered questions!

This novel reads like a fever dream. Jacy and Jed are newlyweds and expecting their first child. They are invited to Jed's childhood home to spend a little time w/ his father, Doctor Ash. But Dr. Ash isn't who he seems to be.When Jacy has a medical scare, things begin to get desperately intense. Her father-in-law won't let Jacy leave. He feels he knows what's best. Jed is no help in the face of his father's authority. And it seems there's a bit of mystery surrounding the death of Jed's mother.
Almost gothic in its sensibilities, Beware the Woman is a slow-burn of with a draw-dropping denouement.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this e-arc.*