Welcome to Litsy!

Well this was batshit crazy. Jaw on the floor by the end. Really really enjoyed it, and another one down for #trappedinaspookyhouse

I am simultaneously moved and disgusted by this novel. It's kind of a bleak view of mothers, but it's also an interesting picture of the ways that different people cope with poor parenting and how that bleeds into their other relationships. There's a lot of blurring of fantasy and reality, which is quite unsettling. This is one that I can say I "like" but that I would only recommend with a lot of caveats.

Book club choice. I don‘t know how I feel about this story. It had the potential to be spooky; mother in law who killed herself haunting her son and wife-in-law. Barely got that, instead this odd obsession of said wife with pregnancy and whatever that was about making the old lady her baby. I know it was supposed to be about mother issues, but it just didn‘t click for me, at all. Just kept dragging on to me, not making sense.

Funny horror is my jam, so this was a big fiction hit in a month full of mediocre books! Hogarth still manages to make great insights about mother/child relationships, too.

Ralph and Abby were a happy couple until they moved in with his codependent mother. Since she committed suicide, Ralph has been seeing her alive, and she‘s been haunting Abby, too. Abby has to think way outside the box to snap Ralph out of it and start their family.

Well, this was certainly the right time of year for this book-dark and disturbing doesn‘t begin to cover it. Hogarth looks at mothering from different directions, but the focus is on how much damage a bad mother can do, and how that reverberates. There was some humor, but again, very dark. Trigger warnings a-plenty - its not for everyone.
That said, I‘ll be thinking about this one for a while. I‘ll NEVER get that jellied salmon out of my head.

Did my second last library book chat (for the year)last week - much better turn out than last month & I was really pleased with how chatty people were. These were not necessarily titles I was going to talk about but I did run out of time so they were the ones that I ended up talking about. My colleague said to me after - Sharni, I never have to worry that we are going to double up with our books 🤣 and I love that for me!

Great October read 👍🏽 A young woman named Abby is deeply in love with her husband, Ralph, and willing to do anything for him. Ralph loses his overbearing mother to suicide, and later his mom torments him in her afterlife. Abby is in the fight of her life to rescue her husband from his Demon mother… the story is dark, funny, and quirky. Filled with mommy issues, lonely childhoods, unhealthy attachments and more! Lol

Started this one yesterday! So far it‘s pretty great. Loving the writing and how morbid it is from the start.

This was deranged. Deeply sad but also funny, it was so weird being in Abby‘s head. It was also disturbing how many bits and pieces of this story felt relatable. Gosh, relationships with people (and with yourself!!!) are hard. This heavily centers motherhood and marriage as seen thru the eyes of an unhinged MC, parading around her childhood and mental health. For 3/4 of the book I wondered if I‘d consider this a horror, but it‘s a yes after all.

I wispered "WTF" multiple times reading this book...in the best ways. It was gross, uncomfortable and an overall emotional confusion

The moment I worked out where this book was going.

This was so unhinged but then what I was I expecting from a book I decided to read based on a goodreads review that started with WHAT THE FREAKING HECK DID I JUST READ?

because, yeah - what the heck did I just read?

CW : for characters in extreme emotional distress

Starting to get a little bit creepy 🫣

TBD if I will listen to any over the weekend or save it for the work week

Definitely weird, definitely funny, definitely left me feeling some type of way. My issue with it will be in the comments under a spoiler tag.

#booked2023 #weirdreview #BNbookchallenge #scaresthepantsoffyou

Super dark, witty and weird, viscerally stomach-churning and a psychological horror of sorts. A cruel mother-in-law from hell with a borderline disorder, haunts a young couple both before and after her suicide…. Brilliant writing and completely unhinged, I haven‘t stopped thinking about it since I finished it….and too many content warnings to mention! And it got me out of my slump!!!

Wow I‘m so far behind on so much.

I still have 2 months worth of book reviews to post.

I can‘t remember the last time I sent a #LitsyLove letter.

I always get so far behind to the point I feel overwhelmed.

On the bright side, look at this amazing cover 😱😍

4/5 stars.. my initial reaction to the ending was
“well.” #horror #mom #mother

#library haul

2-22-23: My 22nd finished book of 2023! What a bizarre and graphic story. Trigger warning: suicide. Ralph and Abby move in with Ralph‘s mom, Laura, to help her through a deep depression. When things don‘t work out and Laura passes, Ralph becomes certain she is haunting him. Abby must save Ralph from spiraling into a similar depression and get out from under Laura‘s ghost while trying to start a family of her own. Very well written. Love the cover.

Current read - not bad so far 👍🏼

Our gang of nutters ❤️

This was definitely an interesting read. I really liked the way it was written, it captured the descent into craziness really well and in an almost relatable way (obviously the ending isn‘t relatable but i guess what‘s relatable is how wanting to belong and be loved unconditionally can be maddening)

Thank you @Julsmarshall for everything! I can't wait to read the books and Motherthing sounds very interesting, definitely putting it on my tbr next year! The snacks looks so delicious, I love chocolate pretzels! I hope you have a merry Happy holiday and a happy new year! #jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon

Abby and her husband, Ralph, are haunted by her vengeful mother-in-law.

Trauma ✨ Horror ✨ SMother

Notes: Not a book for the faint of heart. Similar to Milk Fed and The Bell Jar, the unstable mental state of the narrator makes you feel crazy too.

This book was out there, but entertaining. Hogarth used great descriptions that helped the scenes come alive.

Book 190📚 3⭐️

I love the cover of this one👌🏻 But I wouldn‘t call this horror, I was hoping for a bit more spook. It does hit you mentally - how the brain likes to spiral with thoughts 💭 🌀

More of a psychological thriller.

🐔👑

Oooooo boy! I better get reading😂

What a stack though!😍 I‘ve been so excited for all of these!

A little Shadow & Bone in the background👌🏻🦌

Thank you, @mcctrish , for this wonderful #AllHallowsReadSwap package! 🖤🖤

I‘m especially excited for your recommended book (tagged) about “the vengeful ghost of her mother-in-law” 😆 and I‘ve been eagerly wanting to read The Castleton Massacre.

The chocolates are lovely (and sampled already) and let me just say … this bookmark is THE BEST. 🤣🤣

Thanks so much again and thank you to our host, @MaleficentBookDragon . 😘😘

At a book event tonight - how amazing do these two look? Unfortunately the author of Waiting for Ted can't make it any longer, but still excited to hear about Motherthing.

Now Available! 🥳🎉📚

Book Review- https://www.boleybooks.com/2022//motherthing/

#boleybooks #motherthing #ainsliehogarth #bookbeast #bookjoy #pubday #bookreview #bookbuds

This is a quick read. It's labelled as horror. But I'd equate it to creepy Roald Dahl stories. You know, the one where the housewife murders the husband with a ham hock and then serves it to the officers. If that's your jam, definitely try this.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Pub date is 9/27/22
#ARC #Netgalley

This was a…fun??? book?? 😂 I don‘t read much psychological horror so I didn‘t know what to expect from this. It was definitely strange and definitely horrifying. That vintage cover is epic though. And it was very funny in a disconcerting way. So I gave it a “pick” because I think it accomplished what it set out to do. I will let the horror readers be the ultimate deciders on this one. Out in October.

#BookSpin #DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A psychological thriller horror. Starving for maternal affection, caregiver Abby is saddened when her late, disapproving mother-in-law returns as a vengeful spirit to haunt her. In addition her elderly patient that she cares for and loves is being transferred to a different facility. Desperate, Abby resorts to extremes to protect her patient and deal with ghostly in-laws that goes completely off the rails in this novel of trauma and mental health

Tackle the TBR 🤓📚 #boleybooks #motherthing #ainsliehogarth #bookbeast #bookjoy #netgalley #bookbuds
What are you reading? 😊

#NetGalley #ARC

I found the dark humor of this wildly entertaining. People who are fans of Mona Awad would probably enjoy this one.

Abby longs for a mother. When she marries Ralph she feels like maybe finally her mother-in-law can fill that void. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

This book is weird and I never knew where it was headed but it was an interesting journey. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more from the ghost story.