A review by thrillofthepage
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Mother May I is an intense story about a mother, Bree, and the lengths she will go to in order to get her son back. The book starts with Bree seeing a witch in her window and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to think 🤷🏻‍♀️ She sees this witch a second time and suddenly her baby is missing! Bree is convinced the witch lady has kidnapped her baby and that’s confirmed when she receives a note instructing her to return home and not call the police or her husband.

I thought the first half of the book flowed really well and I could not wait to see what hoops Bree would have to jump through next. However, I do think the second half dragged just a little bit. The story definitely held my attention and had me second guessing Bree’s decisions to blindly follow her baby’s kidnapper, but who wouldn’t? I needed to know why this woman took the baby and what her grand scheme was. It was definitely fun trying to figure it out! I did not see the final twist coming and that always bodes well for my overall opinion 👍🏼

The audiobook was narrated by Joshilyn Jackson herself and I always love when an author narrates their own book. It just adds something extra to the story through their inflection and pacing. I really enjoyed the audio and the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for my advanced listening copy.  All opinions are my own.  

TW: kidnapping, rape, murder, gun violence

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