My review below is when I read the kindle Version of this book and having read the audio I can only say this is a top-notch five star read. The narrator was truly awesome I find lately when it comes to audiobooks they truly have top-notch performers reading their books and bringing new life into an already read book and this one is a great example of that. Like A Mother by Mina Hardy The audio version is almost like listening to a totally different book as a devote much more polarizing emotion than me I thoroughly and totally enjoyed it.Sarah is reeling from the loss of her beloved husband Adam they have a toddler name Ellie and shes also expecting again on the second to last day of her husband Shhiva Sarah is approached by Ava, Who is the wife of Adam‘s business partner Gram she tells Sarah that Adam wanted her to sign over guardianship papers for the new baby due to Sarah’s mom‘s history it takes Sarah threatening to punch Ava in the mouth for the other woman to move aside so Sarah can answer the door. At the door is a woman claiming to be the mother of Henry and after a bit of confusion she learns the woman means Adam and as far as Sarah new Addams mom was dead.. it doesn’t help that Sarah has her own mental disorder and she hasn’t even buried her husband yet. Eventually Sarah will learn that her husband who switched to to The Jewish religion before their marriage that Adams father Peter was a preacher of Christianity and that he and his father had a falling out when Adam was 18 which caused him to leave home and never look back. This is one of just many things that Adams mom Candace tells to the overwhelmed Sarah. Candace however seems very sincere about the loss of her son and wanting to get to know the pregnant widow in Little Ellie. This is why when the older woman learns about Graham in Ava’s underhanded harassment and blackmail just so Sarah could get the money due to her from her husband‘s company she invites Sarah and her daughter to move in with her until she has the new baby. Sarah is a smart and levelheaded woman but she is also basically alone in the world with her own parents dead and now her husband’s Business partner and his wife turning on Sarah she feels after some thought that this may just be a good thing… But OMG is she wrong! This was such a great book and although it may look like I told a lot of the story trust me when I say I did not! This book was so good and there is so much more to the story I do want to say in the story the two women Candice and Sarah get in a little tiff about Judaism and Christianity and each woman points out negatives about the other but here’s a newsflash for anyone who thinks their religion hasn’t historically been on the wrong side of goodness, religion is run by human humans or falable there’s no one religion that is better than any other religion and anyone who is a strict religious person and follows the Bible or Quran can’t be a bad thing after 911 a famous rabbi said any road to God is a good one it’s just what people do with those religions that make them look bad. But that is just a small part of the book and I totally went off topic this is an awesome twisty read and I mean twisty because I didn’t even mention honor Who is the woman that lives with Candace and doesn’t like the new incomer Sarah. I want to thank the publisher a NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Creepy take on motherhood, religion and gender all wrapped up with one meddling mother-in-law. My favorite Mina Hardy book so far.

4.5 rounded up. A very fun psychological thriller with creepy religious cult vibes!

Premise - when Sarah's husband dies while she's pregnant with their second child, she finds herself a sudden single mother with little resources and little hope. When her mother in law (the one her husband claimed was dead) shows up very alive, she seems like the answer to Sarah's prayers. But maybe this MIL should have stayed dead...

I love cult stories and this one absolutely delivered! I look forward to reading what Mina Hardy writes next.

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: psychological thriller
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: maybe
✨ Recommended For: fans of cult dramas, especially everyone who enjoyed followed the stories of NXIVM, Mother god, etc.

💕  Characters: 4/5
💕  Writing: 4/5
💕  Plot: 4/5
💕  Pacing: 5/5
💕  Unputdownability: 5/5
💕  Enjoyment: 5/5
💕  Book Cover: 5/5

Like a Mother was fantastic!!
Sarah just lost her beloved husband and she’s also pregnant. While coping with trying to figure out what to do next, grieving, raising a young child, and being pregnant, she discovers that Adam, her husband, was keeping many secrets from her. She begins to wonder if she even knew him at all!
Throw in the mother-in-law (whom she was told was died) who wants to take them in as they navigate this new life, and things get really weird.

So many little twists and jaw dropping moments while listening to this. The narration was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced audio book in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 06 Feb 2024

The characters were not very likeable. That said, this was a wild ride...

Adam.. sir... speechless.

There was a lot of good suspense and I just needed to keep listening to know how it all ended. I was frustrated with some of the main character's decisions, but overall, the book was wrapped up nicely. This was my first book by this author but certainly won't be my last.

I think the narrator did a fantastic job and added the suspense of this novel.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review

After losing her husband, Adam, to cancer, Sarah is left with their young child and a new baby on the way. Sarah quickly learns that her seemingly perfect life and husband weren't completely as they seemed. "Like a Mother" is fast-paced thriller that deals with themes like grief, messed up families, anxiety, and religion.

The more the story developed, the more awestruck I was. There were some bizarre plot points involving this very cult like church where soooo many of the people in this screwed up town are completely brainwashed and make cruel decisions in the name of the "church".

I was completely shocked when I learned the truth about the "brother" that Adam had told Sarah they got rid of when he was a child... & when I learned all the truth surrounding Adam..... YALLLLLL.

I was invested in the storyline from the beginning and think I would have liked the book overall better if any of the characters were likable.

This book was sooo good!!!!! After loosing her loving husband, pregnant Sarah was devastated but it seemed everywhere Sarah turned someone was out to get her or her baby!!!! I went in blind because I loved the cover and title! I really enjoyed that the family was Jewish! I have lots of Jewish friends and I enjoying learning about their religion! So much drama, you’ll love it!!

WOW! While i was not overly impressed about the psycho church part, this book was amazing! Great suspense! I actually expected the storyline to be more about Graham and his wife taking the baby, but this book held my interest and I couldn't get enough. Highly recommended!

Like a Mother is a tale of a seemingly perfect life that unravels after the death of Adam. His wife, Sarah is left to navigate a web of hidden truths, discovers shocking secrets about her late husbands past, including a strange woman pretending to be his estranged mother. I liked the narration until she voiced the toddler, it was almost painful to listen to. The story was faced-paced with some great twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Like a mother is a quick and fairly fast paced psychological thriller. Dealing with themes of grief and family and religion I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. There are some interesting twists and overall I enjoyed the experience. However I feel like some of the plot points were a little contrived and I found myself getting frustrated with the main character’s decisions and actions.
The narration by Gail Shalan was very good, it can be very difficult to believably narrate a child’s voice but she mostly succeeded. I would definitely listen to other audiobooks narrated by her.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah’s story had me on a roller coaster! I read this 6 weeks post partum so relating to her as a pregnant woman added to how invested I was. The narrator really kept me going.

That being said, I was wholly interested in the begging and again at the end, but there was a portion of the storyline in the middle that I felt myself losing interest. Shortly after she arrived to her new location (vague to avoid spoilers) the story seemed to slow down while simultaneously complicating. The new characters introduced almost seemed random until you got to the first twist in the book. For me, that twist felt solely for shock factor.

Then we get to the end and I felt myself sucked in and wanting to know why why why. I was pleasantly pleased by how the story wrapped up, I just wished the in between hadn’t lost me. Definitely recommend though.

Thanks so much NetGalley and Dreamscape for the audiobook for review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Mina Hart for an audio ARC of Like a Mother in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of Mina Hardy so was thrilled to receive her latest on audio.

This story starts off very intense as Sarah's husband Adam has died, leaving Sarah with an unborn baby and a 6-year old daughter, Ellie (short for Ellison, not Eleanor). Adam's business partner Graham and his wife Ava/Eva immediately tell Sarah they are going to step in and want to adopt her child. This floors Sarah because it came out of nowhere. Ava is very intense with hounding Sarah, following her, letting herself in Sarah's home. Ava has been unsuccessful at getting pregnant and she is persistent to get Sarah's child from her.

After Adam's death, his mother, Candace also shows up. Sarah believe that Candace was dead as that is what Adam told her. Candace is sweet as candy to Sarah & Ellie and wants to build a relationship with them. She offers for them to come and stay with her for a while but Sarah declines. That is, until Graham and Ava purchase Sarah's home that she has just put up for sale. She feels she HAS to get away from them or they are going to figure out a way to steal her child/children from her. So, she relents and goes to live with Candace.

While living with Candace, it is clear that she is who she says she is, but Sarah is also trying to come to terms with the reasoning Adam had to lie to her about his mother and childhood all these years. On the surface, everything is great, but as time passes and Sarah uncovers more secrets about Adam's childhood, she realizes she may have walked right into a trap and she will need to get herself and her children. She has realized that Adam had very good reasons for pretending his mother was dead.

This story was fast paced and intense. I had a strong feeling of wanting to protect Sarah from the very beginning. I could somewhat see what was coming and it reminded me a lot of The Hand That Rocked The Cradle.

Candace was sickeningly sweet - so much so that it was very eerie & just weird. The same can be said for Candace other tenant in the home, Honor, who handles all of the housework. Although, Honor is the opposite. She seems to hate Sarah, but at the same time is just as creepy as Candace.

This was a very good suspense/thriller that I look forward to recommending.

This is easily one of the best thrillers I've had the pleasure of reading in a long while. It was creepy as HECK and absolutely unputdownable. I could not BELIEVE the number of twists and turns, and every single one was completely plausible and fit right into the story. I am just blown away by this one! The tension between characters just bleeds from the page, I loved it.
The narrator was not my favorite on this audiobook, but she grew on me. I was particularly put off by her voice for Ellie, and her tone and inflection for Sarah at the beginning. By the end I had settled into this better but it is initially not very engaging.
Overall this book was spectacular. One of my favorites in recent weeks.

Sarah has everything she could ever want: a beautiful toddler daughter, an adoring husband, and a baby on the way. When Adam unexpectedly dies, her world is flipped upside down - especially when her mother-in-law she thought was dead shows up at her door. She quickly learns just how much she didn’t know about her husband.

While this book had an interesting premise, it fell short with characters that were hard to relate to and straight up bizarre plot points. I’m left with more questions than answers after finishing it and honestly just confused. The story was strange overall and a bit unbelievable.

For the most part I enjoyed the narration from Gail Shalan - except when she voiced the toddler speaking. It was multiple octaves louder than the regular narration and sooooo cringey! Every time it happened, I’d physically cringe like nails on a chalkboard. 🥴

Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

My rating: 3.5
I received an advance review copy of the audiobook Like a Mother by Mina Hardy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for feedback. Thank you!
I love when a thriller has plot twists and reveals that are unexpected but not unbelievable, and this book delivered on that for me! I really enjoyed the story’s tension and liked Sarah as a main character.
One thing I would have put in the plot description of this book is that it has major religious themes. A significant amount of time is spent discussing Judaism and Christianity and how they are practiced by some of the characters.
For me, the biggest issue with this book was the audiobook’s narrator. I found her narration difficult to get used to. My cat was startled awake by one of the narrator’s imitations of a child’s voice- the first time he’s ever reacted to an audiobook.
Overall, I would recommend this book to thriller fans, particularly those interested in religion.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fantastic! The book was fast paced and held my interest throughout. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, something crazy would be discovered and things would turn sideways. Loved this one and will definitely read more by this author!

✨ About the Book ✨

Writing as Mina Hardy, New York Times bestselling author Megan Hart delivers a nail-biting psychological suspense about the bonds of family, perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Jeneva Rose.

Sarah and Adam Morgan had the perfect suburban a beautiful house, an adorable daughter, a baby on the way, and a once-in-a-lifetime love. They were the couple everyone envied–until Adam died. 

In the wake of his death, Adam’s secrets begin to emerge. The first comes out when a woman named Candace introduces herself to Sarah as Adam’s mother. Adam had always said his mother was dead, so either Adam was lying to her, or this woman is not who she says she is. 

Candace proves that Adam was her son, but she admits that her relationship with her son was strained. But she’s still Sarah’s mother-in-law, and she’s here to help. Struggling with finances after Adam’s death, Sarah agrees to move in with Candace and to accept her help with her toddler and her pregnancy. 

Living in Adam’s childhood home, Sarah begins to understand the life he had before they met–the life he buried along with his relationship with his mother. When Sarah notices Candace’s strange obsession with her pregnancy, and the house begins to feel less like salvation and more like a cage, she realizes that Candace might not be the caring mother-in-law she seems. Maybe Adam had good reason to pretend that his mother was dead.

Author: Mina Hardy
Release Date: Expected publication February 6, 2024
Genre: Mystery thriller
Pages: 240 pages, Kindle Edition
Star Rating:


📚 How I See it 📚

Review pending but after reading 10 chapters, I am already hooked!

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Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own thoughts

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

I thought this was an interesting domestic suspense novel. I wouldn’t consider this a thriller, but the story does move fast. The narrator did a good job and kept me engaged into the story to the end.

All and all, I was a bit disappointed with the story and how it ended. This was my first read by this author, but I’d read more in the future.