I love a novel by author Megan Abbott, so when I got the chance to read this novel I could not wait.

Based upon a relationship between Jacy and Jed, newly weds and having a baby on the way their life should be total bliss, but not everything is as it appears.

Jacy and Jed go to meet Jed's father and stay at a lovely cottage that is only can be described as being in the wilderness.. There we meet the housekeeper Mrs Brandt who is a very unusual and quite scary character herself. Dr Ash appears to be very pedantic towards Jacy and I took an immediate dislike to him.

Obviously the trip is not as straightforward as planned and Jacy takes a turn for the worse. She is then thrust into being watched like a hawk by the characters in this novel and I really felt for Jacy as her life seems to shrink right before her eyes.

This, for me, was a slow burner read and I did find myself wondering and missing a few lines as I felt like some bits were repeated and not needed, but once overcome I am glad I stuck with this novel and managed to finish it.

Thanks to Megan Abbott, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What a very weird book. I didn’t like anything about it – the writing style, the characters, the plot. It was very creepy, with too many pages and too little happening. I was glad when I got to the end. Sorry NetGalley, but thanks for the opportunity to find another author that I won’t be reading again!

This book had a lot of promise and I read it having heard great things about the author's previous books.

The story revolves around Jacy, a happily pregnant woman, visiting her father-in-law's isolated home (uh oh) for the fourth of July holidays. But a possible possible health scare makes her think she's being isolated. And there's no help up in the mountains.

I really liked the theme of the book but on the whole this felt like a miss for me. For more than 60% of the book, nothing happens. It's just a bunch of people enjoying time, sight seeing and making conversation.

It doesn't help that Jacy is neither likable or relatable. She is not at all genre-savvy and takes a long time to understand what is happening around her.

But I will be reading `'The Turnout" soon as I've heard that it's supposed to be better.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Group for the e-copy. Much appreciated as always :)

2.75 rounded up to 3

Jacy - pregnant with her first child - is on vacation at her charming father-in-law's cabin when her health takes a turn. Fearful for the baby, she's at first relieved to be somewhere so relaxing, somewhere she can be coddled and taken care of. Until she begins to fear she might not be able to leave.

This was a huge step up from The Turnout, the last Megan Abbott book I read. The atmosphere was cloying and oppressive. I felt almost as on edge as Jacy herself. This was a spine-chilling blend of classic fairytale horror and very real present day dread.

After hearing a lot of other writers rave about Megan Abbott, I thought it would be a good time to check out one of her books. Maybe this one isn’t indicative of her previous style, I don’t know, but it didn’t entirely work for me.

There was a whole lot of build-up, creeping dread and portentous signs that something was off, but after a while I realised that I was more than halfway through the book and nothing had really happened yet. It was a bit of a slog at times.

However, she has an undeniable talent in stringing sentences together and creating characters. When the book finally ratcheted up the action, I was fully bought in…but then it just ended. A few revelations, some of the themes/imagery running through the book paid off, then it was done.

So…I’m not sure how to rate this novel. It was slow-going in places and I almost gave up, but now looking back at the whole thing I have a little more appreciation for what she’s done and what she is trying to say about damaged/toxic men and the damage they do to others.

Wow, totally blown away by this book. This is a powerful, disturbing and complicated story of Jacy, newly wed, newly pregnant, who visits her father in law with her husband and the visit turns from relatively pleasant to sinister in a matter of days.
Jacy uncovers the truth about her husbands long thought, dead mum, her father in laws part in it and his plans to get rid of her and take her unborn baby.
I won't give away much more in terms of plot, but share that I read this in a day. The book touched on one of my own worst fears, being made to feel like I'm going crazy and having my self control and will taken away. Because it tapped into my fear so well, I had to keep reading to know if Jacy survived.

Feminist Get Out ... ?

I'm not sure how I felt about this one! Some of it was cartoonish, and some of it beautifully subtle. Nevertheless I whipped through it and won't forget it in a hurry, especially Mrs Brandt, a very enjoyable Mrs Danvers type.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is Abbott back to her taut, tense, menacing best as this book mashes up a modern version of Rosemary's Baby with a whole Gothic tradition that puts women in jeopardy from the predations of men - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Yellow Wallpaper were especially prominent for me. I also felt traces of Rebecca, Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories as dreams and nightmares merge with memories, and an old Dickens story takes on an eerie life within this book.

Alongside the more fantastical elements which Abbott tames to make them feel realistic within the confines of the book, there are also insights into mother-daughter, father-son relationships. This didn't quite get a 5-star rating as at times the slow burn becomes a bit too glacial. Also the denouement requires some changes in personality from characters which were way too convenient.

Nevertheless, one of the punctuating phrases comes from the cynical view of Jacey's mother: 'Honey, we all marry strangers.' And there's probably nothing scarier in real life than that.

Beware the Woman is the latest complex thriller by author Megan Abbott. I've read this author before and can confirm this one doesn't disappoint. Megan Abbott expertly weaves feminist themes with thriller twists and turns. I adored this book and couldn't download the entire backlog by this author fast enough. At times I just had to stop and write down different sentences or phrases she used as I want to be able to remember them. The books opening quote gave me chills. Megan Abbott is an auto-buy author for me. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Cannot recommend enough. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Abbott writes like no-one else. Her prose is like a drug: I need more and more of it. I have been counting the days for this book to be released, and was over the moon to receive an ARC! It was worth the wait, oh boy was it. I usually keep a notebook when I read, to jot down starry quotes. I filled page after page. If you liked Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, you will luxuriate in this story.

I loved the terrifying story of Jacy and her bad taste in men, told in her own words, in an engaging, amusing and menacing tone. I liked the way the creepy, sinister characters evoked a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, which makes the reader aware that something evil is lurking and about to happen [though we don't know what or who to believe or trust].
Highly recommended.

Jacy and Jed, not long married and expecting their first baby, travel to Jed’s childhood home, so that Jacy can meet her father in law, Doctor Ash. The Doctor welcomes Jacy, and she immediately likes him, but that can’t be said for her feelings towards Mrs Brandt, the caretaker of the property.

Of course, all isn’t as it seems and soon Jacy begins to realise that the only reason she is made a fuss of is because of the baby. After all, it belongs to the “family” now doesn’t it?

To say this was a slow burn was an understatement. The “action” takes place over 9 days, but feels like 9 years. Repetitive, meandering and long winded, with changing personalities and with secrets galore, it felt like it would never end, and when the denouement finally arrived it was chaotic - in the woods, running, in the cottage, big reveal, confrontation, in the woods, running, the end!!

The plot line is not new, it’s typical of many a horror, but it’s was far too slow to gain any momentum.

Thank you NetGalley.

3.75⭐️ the atmosphere in the book was so creepy and the underlying sense of danger and menace only added to it. It will keep you on your toes and have you on edge till the very end!

This book follows Jacy, who’s pregnant, and her husband Jed as they go to spend some time with his father, Doctor Ash in his woodland cabin. It all starts off fine, everyone’s getting along well but then things start changing. Everyone is watching Jacy constantly with concerns for her and the baby, she begins feeling trapped in the house others keeps telling her it’s best for the baby to listen to them. But what could happen if she does or if she tries to follow her instincts and get out..

Beware the Woman is a slow burn mystery where you don't know who to trust or believe. I loved how slowly as you learn more about the characters and start to see their true colours start to show the suspense and tense atmosphere ramps up. The story is incredibly engaging, although I do wish this was more fast paced in parts, and full of intriguing characters I think this will be great for anyone wanting to get into the mystery/thriller genre.

Jed and Jacey are a young couple who are about to discover the truth in the old adage "marry in haste, repent at leisure". Within a short time of getting married, Jacey is pregnant. And as she enters her second trimester, Jed decides that it is time to visit his estranged father as a holiday weekend comes up.

Jed's father, Doctor Ash, initially appears charming and warm - so much so that Jacey is taken with him to a degree that's almost unseemly. His housekeeper though, is another story alltogether.

But as this slow burn story progresses, a very different side to both father and son begins to emerge. After she experiences a health scare, Jacey finds that the men's attitude shifts from concerned to controlling. The fact that Jed's mother died in childbirth may account for part of the problem, but Doctor Ash's attitude problem with regard to women goes a lot deeper. As Jacey quickly finds out!

Stuck in an isolated and heavily forested location with wild animals on the prowl nearby, Jacey begins to feel very differently about her marriage. But what are her options?

Abbott conveys very effectively the growing sense of menace that Jacey feels. Beset by her hormonal fluctuations and her dependency on the others at a time when she is vulnerable, Jacey is in an unenviable position.

Figuring out friend from foe is only part of the challenge she faces, as Abbott makes clear in this intense, slightly weird, borderline horror fiction offering. I have no doubt it will bring new fans into her fold to compensate for each reader who is uncomfortable about the shift into horror story territory!