Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book. A bit disgusting at times and suspense.
Mary, a lawyer trying to get away from paparazzi, finds herself lost in a forest. Crashes. Found by a woman who goes by the name Girl.
But Mary is not allowed to leave....

What a great read! Rebecca Baum's The Brood follows Mary, a cut throat New York lawyer known for representing defendants who exploit their female employees. The complexity of her character is quickly revealed as her professional success starkly contrasts with her lonely and troubled personal life.
After attending her mentor’s funeral, the story takes a dark turn when Mary heads to her isolated second home to prepare for an upcoming trial. She gets in a single car accident in the middle of nowhere and later awakens to find she is in the clutches of a deranged woman, named Girl who mistakes Mary for her long-lost mother. Girl is convinced the two of them are part of a brood of cicadas. This bizarre belief sets the stage for a chilling story that mixes elements of psychological horror with themes of motherhood, belonging, and the consequences of one’s choices.
Baum's writing masterfully captures Mary's downward spiral as she struggles to use her cold and calculating professional skills to control her new reality - being imprisoned by Girl and carrying a brood of cicadas within her leg. The vivid descriptions of Mary’s physical and psychological journey are haunting. As she fades in and out of consciousness, memories of her painful past are brought to fore. These childhood flashbacks were super painful to read but they made me understand the root of Mary’s loner, hard-ass mentality and her compulsion to compartmentalize her emotions.
I thought the symbolism of the cicadas served as a powerful metaphor for rebirth and the cyclical nature of trauma. For example, when Girl restrains Mary and Mary loses control of her physical condition she fights to maintain control of her mind. In doing so, she is forced to confront her own past and to recognize the moral ambiguities of her professional life.
The Brood is not just about survival; it is reflection on the human condition, the choices we make, and the scars we carry. It made for a great day of reading, I couldn’t put it down. With its blend of psychological depth and unsettling imagery, The Brood stands out as a bold and original work that repulses you just enough to draw you all the way in. Bravo.

Whoa guys. This book is WEIRD and SCARY!!! I have been enjoying exploring more nature-based fiction over the last year. I guess this is nature horror mostly. I've been vibing with fungal horror but this...this is bugs. **Shudder**

I am not typically into horror media so I can't say that I like being scared but this book was creepy and scary and I mostly enjoyed those feelings in the course of the book but it's still not my absolute favorite thing. This book does not shy away from gnarly descriptions of things so, if that's not your bag, certainly don't pick this one up.

This book follows our protagonist who is a high-powered lawyer leaving the funeral of a part time colleague/mentor/employer. She's gotten the dead guy out of a lot of sticky situations and, generally, she feels okay about using her power to get high-powered individuals or companies out of trouble. She is driving to a remote beach cottage to prepare for her next trial as is her traditional when facing a big project. Her staff know to leave her alone for a week. However, in the course of her drive she crashes her car in a remote stretch of woods. She wakes up and immediately finds herself in a dilapidated cabin having been rescued by a young woman constantly referred to as simply "Girl." Girl does not appear to be on the same frequency as the rest of the world and immediately starts to display bizarre behavior that turns scary and gives kidnappy vibes pretty quick. Our protagonist tries repeatedly to use her savvy to get herself out of this bizarre situation with no success. I would say that was my least favorite part of the book. After a while, the escape attempts and failures felt repetitive in a way that made the book feel a little slow. Things get weirder as Girl begins to share information about "Her in the Cave" seemingly some mystical being living on the property who is maybe connected to the abundance of cicadas. The cicadas become a huge part of the story. I don't know if it's a good thing for me but I think it says good thinks about Baum's writing that I am going to have some of the imagery from this book stuck in my brain for a looooooong time. It was creepy and gross but compelling?? Ugh. I don't know. I imagine that feeling has to be kind of the point of books like this.

If you're down with gnarly description, creepy woods, odd characters and bug horror then this might just be the book for you.

Cutthroat NYC lawyer Mary Whelton just buried her problematic old mentor. But as she leaves the mourners and protesters behind, the press stays hot on her heels. Desperate to escape, she unwittingly barrels deep into a remote forest in upstate New York. Until a collision—with a buzzing, oozing throng of cicadas—stops her dead in her tracks.

She awakens in a crude cabin, held captive by Girl, a simple, hulking woman who mistakes Mary for her derelict mother and obsesses over a mysterious Brood. While tortured echoes from Mary’s past feed her growing sense of fear, it becomes clear that she’s destined to bear an unthinkable role in the cicadas’ cyclical reemergence. But when Girl’s grisly past comes back to haunt them both, Mary is thrust into a violent battle of wills.

Confoundingly creepy and atmospheric, The Brood peels back the hurt and pain of the female experience, laying bare the messy necessity for transformation and growth.

Loved it. Will recommend to others

✨✨✨This freaked me out!✨✨✨

I’m not going to lie, the backwoods/body horror and insects in this one FREAKED me out!!! This one is UNSETTLING and will make you squirm!!

The Brood is an excellent feminist horror novel and I love that there are so many themes explored in here such as motherhood, trauma, abuse, and etc. I won’t say more, it’s better to just read it!

I can’t say I “enjoyed” this one as uncomfortable as it made me, but I did love it!! This is definitely a very well done horror novel. I will be thinking about it (with shivers and cringing) for ages!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released October 28, 2025.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley. Sadly I didn’t fully enjoy this one. I liked the first few chapters and the concept was so unsettling and interesting! But for such a short book this really drags in the middle. One problem is that our main character Mary was trapped or tied up often. When she did try to escape she was just captured again and it got very repetitive and I just felt like the main character Twas very passive in this story which just isn’t compelling.

I've been on the Romantasy train lately, so it was nice getting back to my "women abducted in the woods" reading roots. Is it weird that this is my preferred thriller sub-genre? Probably, but this book fit the bill perfectly. Plus, there's a 17 year brood emerging as I read this, so it was an excellent moody vibe.

I really enjoyed this book. It took reconnecting with nature to a whole new level. The pacing was great and I never felt a lull in the plot. I really liked Girl's growth and the progression of her character (it's not everyday that I root for the kidnapper), as well as how Mary's past was incorporated into the story. Both characters were complex and had their own individual trauma that didn't feel forced or contrived, but moved the story forward in a meaningful way.

4.5 stars, rounded up

Thank you NetGalley for considering me for this ARC. Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me. I struggled with the pacing and the flashback sections, which slowed the first half of the book down for me. For such a short book, it took me too long to read it. I love bug themed horror, and I think I wanted more than just hulking, thoraxed bugs crawling all over everything and the occasional well-timed cicada scream.
The biggest plot hole for me was Mary crashing the car. It would have immediately sent out a crash notification, and no one seemed to think about this. This took me out of the book every time Mary mentioned the car, the few times she was actually in her car. It also seemed like it did not fit with Mary, as we were told constantly who she was, that she would not have this safety feature available.
I wanted to enjoy the book more than I did, the premise seemed very solid, but the pacing, the unnecessary first chapter to explain who Mary was and why she was in upstate NY didn't create a good set up for me. It felt like exposition, telling me about Mary, instead of showing me who she was. I think there were some great sections that played on the unbelievability to the Brood, the body horror, and the thriller aspect. The pace definitely quickens in the latter half, but I didn't feel very satisfied at the ending. Also, I know this is labeled as magical realism, but I think thriller and body horror are the real genres/themes for this book.
Again, there is definitely potential. The technical aspect of the writing was spot on, but the dialogue was hit or miss. But I have to say, there were parts that made me feel uncomfortable or squeamish, so good job on the author's part for that.

This is a fast-paced, Appalachian-esque horror thriller that explores themes of childhood trauma, motherhood, reproduction, and transformation. On one hand, it was gripping and stress-inducing, but on the other, some aspects felt problematic and rubbed me the wrong way.

Mary, the FMC, is a successful callous woman who worked her way up from the bottom. Despite her past of abuse, she spends her time as a hot shot lawyer covering up her boss’s sexual assaults and affairs. The other FMC, “Girl,” is a backwoods woman who, due to childhood trauma and lack of parental figures, behaves very childlike. She has a very strong motherly obsession with a brood of cicadas.

Some of the things I enjoyed (but also hated)…the CICADAS. I’m no fan of big flying bugs, so the eerie, plague-like descriptions creeped me out. The slight body horror was gross in the best way, and the tension had me on edge. There’s a fever-dream reawakening that sets Mary up for a pleasant ending with some self-reflection and growth.

Some things added nothing to the story, while others were left unexplained. My main issue is the glaring fatphobia the author has not sprinkled but DUMPED throughout the entire book. Every single description or mention of Girl, anytime Mary thinks about her, includes some new cruel way of calling her fat. It passed the point of simply describing her and quickly descended into the author just writing horrible things about fat people. It almost seemed like the author was trying to use her weight as a grotesque way to make the reader’s skin crawl, using fatness as a “horror” aspect that bordered on obsession. This grew old fast and honestly tainted the book for me.

Overall, I give this 3 stars. It’s a quick read with an interesting premise, fascinating body horror, and gripping thrills, but the fatphobic comments and minor plot holes really held it back for me. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

⭐⭐⭐

I love a good thriller, and this new release had such a creepy edge that kept me turning the pages! It leans more into horror than I usually read, with some gore and really vivid descriptions. What really stood out to me was the powerful main female character—I loved her strength throughout. The author’s writing is fantastic, but overall this landed as a solid three-star read for me: entertaining, unsettling in a good way, but just not fully my usual style.

A debut author, Rebecca Baum’s The Brood (2025) is a magical realism tale. Mary Whelton is an elite trial lawyer on the way to her private island, leaving instructions she is not to be disturbed. After having a car crash, she awakens bound and gagged in a cabin in the woods in upstate New York. She is being cared for by a young woman who is calling her mama. It soon becomes apparent that Mary cannot talk her way out of being released and her several attempts at escape are all futile. A dark thriller, with building narrative tension and added complication of visitors, spooky climax and all too rosy ending. It’s a mild horror and fantasy story with some repugnant scenes that make for a solid three and a half star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

At the beginning, I assumed the narrative would follow a path similar to Misery. However, despite certain similarities, The Brood goes far beyond that. I have never encountered a fantasy quite like this — highly creative and well-constructed. The author also does not shy away from gore, which is quite present throughout the book and contributes significantly to the atmosphere. Regarding the writing, I didn’t particularly like the font choice, and as English is not my native language, the extensive vocabulary posed a minor challenge; nevertheless, I was able to learn many new terms.

intensely ominous and intensely grotesque. the vibes are very interesting, too. the characters are well written. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Brood is a chilling, genre-blending tale that hooked me from page one. After a car crash, a woman wakes in a remote cabin where an unsettling stranger insists she’s her mother—and escape is blocked by a terrifying swarm of cicadas. What follows is a suspenseful, surreal descent into horror and fantasy, with twists I never saw coming. The book explores themes of transformation, motherhood, and identity. Perfect for fans of psychological horror and anyone fascinated by cicadas, The Brood left me simultaneously unnerved and totally enthralled.

I thought this was a very interesting take on horror that I feel is rarely explored in books, and only sometimes in movies— I thought the psychology of Girl/Kallie was very interesting to witness and the atmosphere was unique and smothering. A lot of the plant/fungi references were a little lost on me, but overall I felt I could really engage with this book. I was happy for Kallie in the end!

A feminist horror novel with insects, body horror, and lots and lots of pus and body fluids, some of which is probably not naturally occurring in Homo sapiens. This book reminded me in many ways of Daryl Gregory’s Revelator, with its secret reproduction in the backwoods populated replete with hicks and sticks. There’s the sacred and the sacrificial, twisted up in a special brood of 17-year periodical cicadas.

The story follows a rich and powerful lawyer, Mary, quite the bitch type really, who ends up in the clutches of Girl, who has been awaiting the return of her “mama” and the 17-year Brood. Bloody and painful catastrophe awaits Mary, as she becomes hostage to the insanity of the place. There are other themes that permeate the story, dealing with childhood trauma, abandonment, abuse, motherhood. And it is these themes, I think, that elevate this story above a simple body horror tale of insect infestation with some incredibly jaw-dropping scenes. The one with Real Mother in the cave will stay with me for a long time.

I certainly fell down the internet rabbit hold chasing after knowledge of periodical cicadas after reading this book. I learned that cicada broods are differentiated by geographical location and length of hibernation, most commonly 17-year cycles and 13-year cycles. I read up on the male’s tymbals, which creates the unique cicada song that attracts the females.

As I am typing this, I can hear the tzitzikas’ songs in the trees by our house. The windows and doors are open to let in the breeze, and the sounds of the annual summer tzitzikas are timeless, as their chorus swells and then fades in the sunlight.

WOWWWW this one was truly un-put-down-able and fairly unhinged right from the get-go. Think “the hills have eyes”-type setting and old school, nature-driven horror. The prose is so descriptive and the plot is fairly fast-paced, so this story really grips you right from the start.

Mary Whelton is one of NYC’s finest attorneys, well established and self-built after a childhood of neglect and self-loathing. On her way to a quiet retreat on the Cape, she crashes her car somewhere off the beaten path. When she comes to, she finds herself held captive by Girl, who has mistaken Mary as her mother. Girl’s own childhood was riddled with abuse, setting the scene for wild mood swings, tumultuous daughterly love, and a ritualistic obsession with cicadas. There are quite a few dark, disturbing moments during Mary’s captivity, both at the hands of her captor and at the creepy legs of the cicadas, and her will is tested over and over again. Yet somehow, beyond the reader’s wildest imagination, you’re swept away in the prose and suddenly, reluctantly, appreciative of the whimsy of the brood of cicadas - and no, I can’t believe I’m even saying that. This book is absolutely bonkers in all the right ways. Bravo, Rebecca Baum!!!

I really wanted to love this book, but I ended up just liking it. As a misery stan I was expecting something a bit knock off-y but was pleasantly surprised that the story could hold its own. However i dont know, I found myself losing interest in the middle

With a astunning cover, this book is phenomenal. I really liked the plot and the characters. The story is truly unsettling from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thus wa a really weird and interesting g read
I loved the horror vibes and the setting.
The chatacters where very good developed.