Maya Patel is a high-achieving CEO, new mother, and wife who seems to “have it all.” But behind the gloss—investor meetings, influencer posts, and a perfect infant—is a woman drowning in guilt. Pressured by her career ambitions, family expectations, and postpartum anxieties, she becomes desperate for relief. Enter Liz, a charismatic pharmacologist, who hands Maya a revolutionary “guilt pill”—an experimental supplement purporting to erase female guilt. At first it works beautifully, sharpening her confidence and freeing her from doubt. But soon, the boundaries blur and the guilt-free allure spirals into ruthlessness, threatening everything Maya holds dear—her career, her baby, and her identity.

This book spotlights the emotional turmoil of postpartum life and the internalized pressure to “do it all.” Maya’s struggle is especially poignant as a South Asian immigrant daughter and startup founder wrestling with cultural and generational expectations. I was impressed over how the author cleverly spun a speculative concept—an emotion-altering pill—into a moral test. I felt myself invited to question whether erasing guilt liberates or destroys us.

From the emotional rawness of caring for a colicky baby to boardroom tensions, the novel commits to authenticity. I felt this resonated with my younger self as a career minded mom. I felt the reading her was fast and compelling—blending satire, drama, and moral tension. I also appreciated that Maya’s layered identity as an Indian American and first-generation professional enriched the narrative.

I felt the Guilt Pill was a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant story that dove into the modern pressures on women—particularly those juggling motherhood, ambition, culture, and mental health. Thanks to the author's background as a psychiatrist, it’s rooted in emotional realism and ethical inquiry. While it's not a traditional thriller, its insight and pacing make it a compelling, conversation-provoking read—ideal for book clubs or anyone navigating the complexities of guilt and self-worth.

I requsted this one based on the cover and just couldnt get into it. I had a lot of other books going on at the same time, so it might have just been a timing thing for me. Thanks so much though for the gifted copy!

Women’s guilt is something that I don’t feel is touched on or acknowledged nearly enough, and this book did a fabulous job at shedding light on the topic. If you’re a woman and/or a mother, or even if you’re not, I highly recommend reading this book!

This book was a fantastic mix of corporate jockeying, ambition, motherhood and the dark side of the unregulated supplement and wellness industry. It did a great job portraying the crushing mental load that women carry at work and at home.

I read it quickly and would be interested to pick up this author’s future works.

DNF at 30%. I was intrigued by this premise, especially as a pharmacist. However, I could not get into this one. As a new mom, it may have just felt too fresh. We are all struggling to balance work and raising our families, so I don’t necessarily want to read about it. At 30%, we still haven’t seen much of the effect of the pill (what I thought was the point of the story), and I couldn’t trudge though any further to find out more. I may revisit this on audio later though.

Dave's writing is both engaging and poignant, blending humor and heartache as the protagonist confronts her struggles. The narrative addresses important themes such as the stigma surrounding mental health and the impact of cultural norms on individual identity. With relatable characters and a compelling storyline, "The Guilt Pill" offers both a heartfelt journey and a critical examination of how we cope with our inner demons. This novel is a must-read for anyone seeking an authentic portrayal of mental health and the pursuit of self-acceptance.

Really enjoyed this suspenseful commentary on motherhood, guilt, and societal pressures to be perfect in every aspect of life. Really makes you think!

(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was not what I expected - I thought it was more sci-fi/thriller, but it really came across more contemporary. Which is fine - just took some changing inside my head to accept the changes.

The CEO of a very successful company has it all on the outside - a thriving company, a beautiful family with a husband and a new baby. Only her new baby has a pretty severe case of colic and she feels ALL OF THE GUILT for being a working mom. She beats herself up and it's pretty rough - then her friend hands her a pill. A pill that can remove guilt.

But just like with any other meds - there are always side effects, and this one has some really serious ones.

I loved the exploration of motherhood, the fine line of balancing our professional and personal lives. It was written in a way that well - it's easy to relate too!

Thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for the ARC.

Plot: Maya is a new mother who is also the CEO of her own startup. She constantly feels like she is failing at everything that she is juggling. When Liz, another successful woman, offers her a pill that can make the female guilt evaporate, Maya finds that her life begins to spiral out of control.

Review: Overall, I liked this story, and I love that it discusses the hard aspects of being a working mom. It also introduced certain obstacles that women of color specifically face, which added another layer to the story.

Though the writing was easy to read and follow, I wish that the author had done a bit more showing than telling… sometimes it felt like we were being beat over the head with the message. Some parts of the story felt a bit repetitive as well. But overall, I did like this and would recommend it to other new moms who need a book that will help them to feel seen.

3.75⭐️

I loved the premise, the pacing, and the thought-provoking nature of The Guilt Pill. While it’s marketed as a thriller/mystery, I’d categorize this more as contemporary fiction with a light mystery thread woven in. As a mom, this story deeply resonated with me. It captures the all-consuming guilt of those early baby days—the pressure to be everything to everyone, even with support. Maya’s journey through motherhood, ambition, and identity was both unsettling and relatable. The “guilt pill” concept is bold and original, prompting big questions about womanhood, self-worth, and sacrifice.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.”
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯?”

Thank you Park Row Books, HTP Hive, HTP Books and Audio for the advanced readers copies via Netgalley. While I have Dave’s backlist on my shelves this is the first I have read by her and it won’t be my last.

We follow Maya in the past after she’s been placed on maternity leave with her firstborn and then begins to spiral, causing fallouts and everything starts to unravel. Each chapter briefly ends with a series of interviews/convos/media coverage regarding her present disappearance.

While I am not a mother I felt this one was a bit more easily identifiable as a woman overall and the guilt that we often carry due to societal and cultural pressures and expectations regarding work/career, relationships, marriage, motherhood, and the up keep of home; to have everything under control and be successful in all areas of our lives all the time. It’s not even always the guilt but also the resounding negative inner voice that constantly critiques every single aspect of who we are and our decisions.

It’s part contemporary women’s fiction, part mystery/thriller (this is more low key), and it took a little bit for it to gain some steam. However, I enjoyed it more as it went on and appreciated the honesty and growth that occurs in this story. Like I said, it’s very relatable and it would be nice to see it gain more exposure here on booksta!

Content includes profanity, mental health, drug use and addiction. I give it 3.75 out of 5 (rounded up to 4)

Thank you so much for this arc!!!

Wow I could not put this book down. Maya was such a relatable MC and her relationships with her husband, son, family, and friends were written so well.

I’m not a parent but my partner and I discuss “mental load” frequently and how it impacts our relationship. Every feeling and action Maya went through was just so real and palpable.

My only wish is that the parts when we find out about Maya’s location and then later when see her resolving things with Dev were more fleshed out. Maybe it’s the “romantic” in me but I wanted to witness more of Dev’s fear for Maya’s safety. I also wanted him to more clearly acknowledge how society treats him differently compared to Maya (ex. Her mother praising him for basic things like changing diapers, his mom blaming everything on Maya).

Also the ending???? Omg.

3.5 🌟 rounded up

Maya seemingly has it all - a loving husband, adorable baby, a fast-growing start-up company, and a loving family. But she can't handle it all alone. Behind the scenes though, she's struggling with her identity as a mother, her role as a wife, the delicate balance of being a CEO and a mom. After a chance encounter leads her closer to fellow #girlboss (god I hate that term) Liz, Maya is introduced to the little pink "guilt pill". It's meant to erase female guilt. At first the pill works wonderfully, but then things quickly spiral out of control.

Odd that this is categorized as sci-fi & thriller, it feels more like contemporary women's fiction with a little bit of speculative fiction? Either way, I thought it was pretty good. It highlighted two things I already know about myself - that I'm not cut out for motherhood or being a CEO. That shit sounds exhausting, which Saumya Dave did a great job detailing. Also, the frustration of being a woman in an industry where you're not heard felt all too relatable. I also liked the interspersed news articles, forum comments, interview transcripts, etc. It really fleshed out the plot. It did drag a little for me at spots, and things got repetitive.

Recommended for fans of women's speculative fiction and any woman who is also tired of the BS that's expected of them compared to men.

Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️Loved this book! If there was ever a pill created that could take away the guilt and noise that always going on in your head as a mom I would definitely take it. Maya is a new mom, who hasn’t gone on maternity leave yet from her company she created. She’s stressed to the max, resentful of her husband’s lack of empathy and skill to anticipate all the babies needs on his own. When she meets another successful Boss girl, who introduces her to this magic pill, she embraces her as a friend and ally in motherhood. The book covers so many good topics, like the mental load of motherhood, how women in business are perceived once they have kids, how our attitudes on parenting are very highly affected by our parents. I really enjoyed Dave’s previous book, What a happy family, so happy this was also an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

If you could take a pill that allowed you to do it all and no longer feel any sort of guilt, would you? This story is told in flashbacks leading up to the “event” with present timeline news articles and interviews interwoven between. We find out about Maya’s struggles with becoming a new mom and her feeling inadequate because she is unable to bond with her baby. In addition to all the postpartum stress, she feels pressure to stay involved with her company as they are moving ahead to bigger things but she needs to remain as the face to stay relevant. Throw in cultural expectations and marital strife and it’s a lot for one person to handle. The concept of this book is fascinating because what Maya is struggling with is an issue that many women have to face on a daily basis. Can women truly have it all and still feel like they are good enough?

This book is a page turner. I needed to know what happened, how it happened, and what was the end result. I have loved Saumya Dave’s previous books so I knew how good of a storyteller she is and this book is no different. I felt connected to the characters and the plot to be thoroughly engaging.

For me, the biggest pushback she kept facing were the shareholders at her company. I feel like everything else was Maya needing to come to terms with herself and figure out what she could handle and what she could let go. However, the men on the board were extremely dismissive, unsupportive, and misogynists who refused to believe that she could run her own company. I think had it not been for them, Maya would not have felt so much pressure to start taking more pills in order to feel like she needed them to survive.

I am not in the same situation that Maya was in so if I were given the opportunity to take that pill, I could not say if I would or not. I’d probably put it away for safekeeping if the need arose but I honestly cannot say if I would go down the same path as her. However, what the book does do is give good discussion about the pressures that women, especially women of color, feel and have to go through on a regular basis and how society does not do that to men. This is one of those books that you’ll be thinking about long after you finish it.

This was a good one! More action/mystery than speculative (not a complaint, just an observation!), it follows Maya, a new mom and CEO of a rising sustainable company. She's feeling overwhelmed, as you can imagine, by the pressure to "do it all". There is a lot of commentary in here about the pressures of being a woman in business, or a working mom in general. How Maya is taken less seriously than her male counterparts, how she is expected to be the "face" of the company on social media as well as the brains of the operation, how her male colleagues are eager to jump in her stead anytime she needs to miss a meeting, etc. Even Liz, her new "bestie" is a performative white woman who definitely doesn't understand the cultural, racial, or socioeconomic issues that Maya is dealing with, both from the outside world and within her own family.

Enter the "guilt pill", which Liz describes as a supplement with no side effects (sure, Jan 🙄) that will just free Maya of all those pesky societal and familial pressures. We know from the start of the book that Maya goes missing. What has happened? Has the guilt pill made her really not care about her husband and baby, and she's just taken off? Is something else at play? It certainly makes you want to keep reading to find out!

I think at some points, I had hoped for a little more sci-fi or speculative, but that is just a personal preference (and a character flaw where I need to know all the things), but it was still a very engaging story. Definitely thought provoking and reflective, and certainly relatable if you are or were ever a woman or mother in this patriarchal capitalist dystopia. And an excellent reminder of how much extra crap WOC have to deal with.

Bottom Line: An exciting and extremely relevant thriller about the guilt society foists upon mothers.

I devoured this book. Seriously, ate and left no crumbs! The emotions that it provoked and the validation it gave to sooo many aspects of motherhood was the most real and relatable representation I have seen.

This is a contemporary fiction (with a sprinkle of sci-fi) following the story of a new mother, who is also the founder/CEO of an up and coming company. The story follows her through the trials of new motherhood and the challenges MANY woman face with balancing work/family/friends/health/socials etc. It was so raw and beautifully done to capture the pure hell we all go through in some way or another.

To be totally honest, it was rather hard to read at some points because I almost had a PTSD response! As a working mother of three littles, I LOVE my kids and my husband more than life itself, but there is so much truth in this book. Those first few months/years are incredibly hard and unfortunately, most people just do not get it. The premise for this book is a reality for far too many woman. The idea of being able to take a pill to take away all your guilt and allow you to focus....very tempting (and perhaps a little closer to the truth than many would like to admit with various things on the market today!).

Overall, I was totally captivated and would not have changed a thing! Even the climax was perfect, it that it isn't all tidied up in a pretty bow- life rarely is...

May I suggest a few taglines for this book?
1. AMERICA RUNS ON DUNKIN'!!!!!
2. Boss Baby Business Bitch

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Several times throughout the book, I found myself thinking about the Netflix limited series "Apple Cider Vinegar," because just throwing around "magical cures" willy-nilly is really something that a white woman (and only a white woman) would do.

Anyways, in this story, we meet up with Maya (four weeks post-partum), who is on The Today Show talking about her company. We soon find out that she feels incredibly guilty about nearly everything. She cannot get her son to latch when feeding, she is out of the office and her fellow board members (and staffers) aren't communicating things with her, she wishes her husband would help out more but his job won't give him the parental leave that was promised, she feels bad that she feels resentful, the list just goes on and on. After her spot on The Today Show, another female CEO, Liz, reaches out to her and asks her out to coffee. Maya and Liz create a fast friendship, and Liz gives Maya some pills that she's working on that suppress guilt (especially in women). However, it's critical to note that Liz provides NO research to Maya, and there's no proof that this pill is in the process of attaining FDA approval.

From there, Maya starts taking the pill (a lot) and everything starts to change. Big things are happening within her business, her marriage, her friendships, her familial relationships- oh, and her son still won't latch and is now losing weight.

This book is so readable. I read it on the plane to Tucson, AZ, and it made time fly by, pun not intended. While the idea of the "pills" may seem fantastical, none of the stuff Maya is going through feels that way. It's all grounded in reality, which makes it so much more impactful. I felt anger at Maya for keeping secrets, I felt anger FOR her when she was getting sexist and racist microaggressions time and time again, and I felt triumph (to a degree) at the end when Dunkin' saves the day. :)

This book came out at the perfect time as it's a great travel read or beach read.

What working mom among us has not dealt with the guilt and impostor syndrome seemingly inherent in juggling career ambitions and family? Saumya Dave imagines a world where there’s a convenient little pill to take care of that problem… maybe too convenient.

I listened to 35% and it felt super repetitive - like, we get it... it's hard balancing motherhood and a career. Nothing was happening IMO.