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.*

GOSH DANGIT. I hate men. That’s the moral of this story.

I wanted to hurl my phone across the room during so many chapters of this audiobook, but I persevered. Men are just the absolute worst, especially when it comes to them thinking they know more about Women’s health than WOMEN.

The freshly married couple and soon to be parents, Jacy and Jed, are jetting off to visit with Jed’s father in their Upper Peninsula escape. Intimidated by Jed’s father, the former Doctor, Jacy is eager to please and feeling all of the butterflies that come along with this rite of passage.

As she progresses further in her pregnancy, Dr. Ash and his slew of male doctor friends begin to misdiagnose Jacy and judge her for her previous sexual encounters, placing women on the stocks and mocking them for their bodily autonomy. Jacy falls under the wings of their mysterious housekeeper who has her best intentions in mind, while also protecting an ages-old secret that Jed and his father are unaware of and could break them if it got loose.

If a man ever spoke to me how Jed, his father, or his greater-than-thou doctor friends talked to Jacy, I would surely be in prison, lol. Trust all women, and ladies, trust your gut and stick together to support each other.

Beware the Woman hits shelves on May 30, 2023, and I’m really eager to see what other people think. I am so thankful to @PRHAudio, Megan Abbott, and Putnam Books for granting me advanced audiobook access prior to pub day.

This is pregnancy horror. I don’t know why I keep reading Abbott’s books- I respect her as an author but they are just not for me.

Beware the woman follows a pregnant woman who visits her husband’s father in remote Michigan. When she starts to experience worrying pregnancy symptoms, she realizes how isolated she is with no cell reception or access to a car. She starts to realize that her father in law isn’t who she initially thought he was. I thought this novel was slow and creepy. Even though it was creepy, it was hard to figure out why. I thought this book was just ok.

Another solid thriller from Megan Abbott, from whom I must read every new book! This one was particularly creepy and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone pregnant because it will freak you out. That said, it was unique, the setting was alarming but arresting at the same time and it will make you SO mad if you are a woman. Just the way the author was able to write exactly what is it is like to be a woman in the world, pregnant or not . . . timely and horrifying.

Beware the Woman comes out next week on May 30, 2023 and you can purchase HERE.

But you always remember the first thing your mom says when you deliver big news.

So soon! she'd said, a look of alarm she couldn't hide. Soon for what? I kept asking, but she wouldn't answer and it troubled me all day.

“Beware the man who wants to protect you; he will protect you from everything but himself” -Erica Jong

When Jacy told her mom she married Jed she was met with: “We all marry strangers.” Now they have a baby on the way and are finally heading to visit Jed’s father in the back woods of Michigan. Jacy is enjoying being checked out of the world, until she starts to feel less than stellar about her pregnancy. As she starts to feel more and more trapped in the cabin, Jacy begins to feel like she needs to get out.

Megan Abbot knows how to write one damn messed up book. Well more than one, she has perfected the craft! Whew. I seriously wanted to crawl out of my skin so many times while reading this book. Jed’s father was so overbearing and constantly telling Jacy what she needed to do to protect her baby and her pregnancy. I understood he had lost his wife in childbirth and wanted to protect her, but back off dude. There were so many cringey moments but I don’t want to give too much away!

Thank you Putnam for the review copy via NetGalley. This is for fans of the darker moodier books that tackle a lot of ways women's bodies and lives are negatively impacted by (some) men and larger societal and other forces. It's slow burn, atmospheric, and unnerving to read, which is the point, and it's done well. There are a lot of layers to this story and despite a strong plot, it is also very much a character story and study. Think less action until a climatic end, more of a rosemary's baby kind of vibe. 3.5 stars, there is a story here that's a win for a some readers but not a book that's going to land with all readers.


This is a complex book to review, I have loved previous books from Megan Abbott but this one read differently for me but... the plot, the topics, the focus all won me over, though the pacing at the beginning for me was a little challenging as well as the nature of the story, pregnancy plots always feel tenuous to me and aren't my personal favorite theme for a lot of reasons. It's not my favorite read from Abbott to be honest but I also appreciate the work here.
I can see this one being a miss for some fans of this author, a win for readers looking for something dark, moody, and slow burn creepy vibes, and a middle of the ground read for others. I do think it works well for book clubs because there are a lot of themes and topics/scenes to discuss.

I preface my review by stating that I have read two other books from this author and gave them both 5 stars. What happened here? We get a book that feels like it is supposed to be building suspense but misses the mark. Jacy has internal conversations with her mother which made me feel like her mother was dead, but she's not (that isn't a spoiler, just an example of how off this book felt to me), and there are more than necessary rather crude sexual encounters. Jacy is pregnant horny, great, but it adds nothing to the story and just wastes time. After the weird but lacking-suspense build up, the ending was super quick. It felt like a kid taking an essay test and hearing the 5 minute bell and cramming everything they could in before time ran out. I could have used less lead time and more reveal time. Also, I read an arc and wonder if perhaps they hadn't finished going through and adding quotation marks because there were some and then there weren't and I couldn't discern a pattern to when they would or wouldn't appear. I am not a fan of no quotation marks but having them pop in and out was even more annoying than none at all. So, after two 5 star books and one 2 star book, that is still a 4 star average. I'm hoping this was a one off. I'm willing to give it a chance!

Jacy and Jed are newlyweds who are in the beginning of Jacy’s pregnancy. They are going to visit Jed’s dad in the UP of Michigan, a really remote area with no cell service. Once there, Jacy starts to notice weird things about his dad and their groundskeeper. Jacy also starts bleeding and is seen by a doctor friend of the family, which is when things really get interesting.

This one was a page turner for sure. I knew something was off about the dad the whole time. Jed was also kind of awful to Jacy. I felt bad for her. The ending felt so abrupt and like… unresolved. I want to know what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to review Beware The Woman by Megan Abbott as a ARC through Netgally. The description caught my attention and I was looking forward to reading this one. It was a slow burn, and I just could not get into enough to finish all the way.

This was a fantastic read. I'm so happy it was a new author for me plus I read it in one day. Wow. I got bite by this book from the first page and the was disappointed when it ended.

Wow it was a thrill of a ride. I never suspected what happened at the end.

Thank you net gallery for the opportunity to read such a thrilling book. Great job!