An absolutely wonderful horror anthology! Each short story fit well into the overall theme and were mostly enjoyable to read. There was a lot of raw emotion and some spots hit a bit close to home/were relatable to a degree. Each story had it's own unique voice and stood out from the others. Some were more "horrifying" or shocking than others that were a bit more repetitive. Overall a great read.

Would recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Black Spot Books and Lindy Ryan for a copy of the book. All opinions are of my own.

Thanks a lot for this ARC !

So this collection was rather well rounded : poetry, short stories, some things in between, with vibes that went from creepy to gory and a nice diversity of subgenres (lots of body horror, i would say, but it made sense with the themes).
I feel like motherhood is such a rich horror theme, and this collection explored a lot of aspects of that, so that was rather interesting.

Sadly, i didnt vibe with most of them, i suspect because they were so short, i felt like the writers didnt really have the opportunity to really get in there and dig. To me the horror aspect always felt a bit superficial and, at times, even performative - as if the story was peering back at me as I was looking at it, to see if i winced when i was supposed to.

All in all it feels like a nice addition to well stocked horror library, but maybe not a favourite book.

Great stories that are creepy but not necessarily in the traditional ways. I love collections written by women because of the perspective you get. Love a horror anthology and this one doesn't disappoint.

Each story within this anthology hit in a different way. They were each extremely well written with a lot of fresh and innovative ideas for horror. Definitely one of the best anthologies that I have ever read!

I loved this idea of a short story horror collection about mother and daughter relationships! There are some beautiful and also heartbreaking quotes about motherhood and being a daughter. The poetry chapters were nice pallet cleaner and I love how they can say so much In such a short layout. While I loved many of the stories/poetry, a lot of them did not work for me and some confused me. Overall, I think this is a fun and worthwhile short story collection.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This book was on my 2024 wishlist so I was excited to get to read it early. I love the premise of this short story collection Horror and mothers/motherhood are things that too often go hand in hand. The writing is exceptional. There are some pretty dark tales in here, but they all seem to have a message.
Rachel Harrison was a huge draw for me, and of course I loved her tale in this collection.

"Mother knows best, Listen to your mother...."

I'm a sucker for familial horror, especially terrifying, hauntingly beautiful, even psychotic mothers. Let's be honest, lots of us have our own horror stories about our mothers and some of the stories and poems in this anthology were like a punch to the gut. This is my kind of horror. Raw, real and rips your heart out.

I thought this was a unique collection showcasing all the ways in which mothers can be horrible, lots of diverse perspectives and this honestly put me through a slew of different emotions, mainly creeped out 😅 but also sad too, really enjoyed this!

An interesting mix of shorts and poems to paint the picture of so many ways mothers can be a horror. Controlling, manipulating, devouring.

I was happy to see Caitlin Marceau and Rachel Harrison work included and enjoyed the stories by several other authors (tangled web, mom upstairs, special medicine).

I will admit I didn’t fully understand every story though - that might be just the reality of reading shorts or more likely I just didn’t “get it”. As a disclaimer, I have been sick so it’s very possible my brain fog is to blame. I think others will enjoy it though so worth the read and no doubt will find some new authors to follow.
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New and exclusive short stories and poems inspired by bad mothers from some of today' s fiercest women in horror.

Excellent short story collection with lots of great and creepy stories.

Dark, gory, female-focused collection of short stories. Sometimes the scariest thing in life is the person we came from

Thank you Black Spot Books & Netgalley for the ARC!

“Mother Knows Best” is a great anthology, right up my alley (I love horror and mommy issues). Some stories were either very interesting or managed to actually freak me out, namely ‘Mother, Daemon, Ghost’, ‘The House Mother’ and ‘Oh, What a Tangled Web’.

Some stories, though, either felt very repetitive or didn’t really hit the horror spot for me. Some symbols or storylines felt very “easy” or obvious to approach and I felt they weren’t interesting enough for a whole story.

But that’s usually how anthologies go, and this one is still a great book for those who enjoy a homage to the monstrous feminine.

When I saw the the description of this book, I knew this would be right up my alley especially since I saw one of the stories was written by Rachel Harrison. I love a good horror anthology and I was excited about the theme. Some stories were better than others but overall, I really enjoyed this book. Some stories were terrifying, some were creepy, some were gross/cringe, and some were overwhelmingly sad. I actually cried reading the last story. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who understands the complicated relationships that we have with our moms and also love a good scary story to read at night.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

"Mother Knows Best" was a delightfully creepy read! The stories evoked various forms of unease, from moments of sadness and grief leading to unsettling events to downright unhinged scenarios that kept me on edge. The unsettling portrayal of mothers in unexpected roles added an extra layer of discomfort and enjoyment. This collection offers something for everyone, including cursed lipstick, creepy dolls, and plenty more to send shivers down your spine. The stories flowed well, keeping me engaged with suspense and anticipation. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a quick and unsettling horror fix.

Awesome and creepy set of horror short stories and poems all tied together by antagonistic mother figures. Thanks for the arc

I have to admit that I'm not that into short stories or collections of short stories. Although I'm sure many others adore them and swear by them, I never did. I'm not sure why precisely, but this was sufficient to motivate me to look for more of its like. I had a wide range of emotions while reading through this anthology of stories. There were also incredibly depressing stories that I found to be about how grief caused horrible things. Some made my skin feel as though it were literally crawling. Some seemed obviously insane right away, and I had no idea what would happen on the following page or even the following sentence.

One story from this anthology pretty much sums up the feeling that I'm left with at the end of this collection: if you know how to love, you're a mother.

Some mothers shrink away from you. Some mothers loom large above you. Some mothers have children. Some mothers don't. Some mothers are daughters. Some mothers have daughters. Some don't. Thematically, these aren't just horror stories about mothers, but about something much deeper. About the cruelty, fear, responsibility, and legacy that women carry inside, asking: "can you ever love someone too much, and what happens to those you love when you do?"

Each story and poem sneak up on you and leave you breathless at the end. The curation is excellent as well. Each story bleeds seamlessly into the next, some of them connected splendidly with poetry.

I have zero complaints.

Overall I thought it was good - most of the stories were very strong but there were a couple that could have used clearer writing (the one with Stacie and Lorna comes to mind). I did think most of the poetry was pretty weak, but that might be a matter of preference. A few stories were triggering but cathartic which I think makes for the best horror! That said, I don’t think any particular story blew my socks off as something that has never been done before.

𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭
𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝘙𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘚 𝘔𝘈𝘠 7, 2024
𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝟰 ⭐️
A very dark and twisty anthology of horror poems and short stories.

I’ve definitely found some new amazing horror authors whilst reading this anthology. I enjoyed that some of the short stories were broken up by the poems. All with and about mothers. Relationships with mothers, disturbing things about mothers…. This will be great for Mothers Day next year!

Some poems//stories really really resonated with me, Others were downright weird, creepy and disturbing…. Just the way I like them!

100% recommend if you want to dip your toe into horror.

Thanks to Netgalley & Black Spot Books, this book releases 7th May 2024

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This was such a good book! I LOVE books that are a compilation of stories put together. TBH my mother and I have a tough relationship so some of these stories really hit home. I don’t think I could pick out just 1 story that I loved more. Absolutely need more books like this!