Book Review 📚
What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman - 3/5 ⭐

Unfortunately this was DNF for me. From the title and blurb I had high expectations and they was hard to be met. I might try again and see if I get a better opinion. But for me, it was very difficult to get into.

It’s admirable (really!) how committed What Kind of Mother is to being nasty. The narration drips and oozes. But it’s not just cheap exploitation. The nastiness is in service of a story that’s about the kind of magical thinking that comes with grief, about the denial and delusions that can be contagious when broken people, like our protagonists Madi and Henry, are forced together.

The book isn’t perfect. Some passages could have been tighter, and other reviewers have rightly pointed out that the motivation behind Madi’s actions aren’t always clear. Personally, I found the pacing to be strong, although there are occasional perspective shifts that interrupt the flow of the narrative. But, both perspectives are compelling in their own ways. I don’t usually like star ratings, but I’d probably give a four or 4.5 just because of how quickly I zipped through, dying to see where the next twist would take me. There was a 50/50 chance it would either be bonkers or devastatingly sad. More horror novels should dare to be so unashamedly weird and uncomfortable.

Thanks to the publicist at Titan Books for sending a digital arc.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
I really enjoyed the first part of Clay McLeod Chapman’s latest novel, What Kind of Mother. The mysterious disappearance of a child, the apparent suicide of the mother, even the palm-reader, who maybe has more power than imagined.
I then it turned into something else, the pace completely changed and I could not entirely understand some of the characters’ changes of attitude, but I waited for the reason.
It got weird pretty quickly; abruptly, I would dare to say. I know the clues were there, almost from the beginning, but it just did not work for me. I understand the idea behind it all, I really liked the idea, and I like how the author writes. It just… didn’t click.

This story is all kinds of weird. I loved it. I also loved that finally we get a mother who isn't doing so well and doesn't suddenly get a huge redemptive arc!

Madi returns to her hometown, barely scraping by as a palm reader. When an old friend comes to her, asking her to read his palm, all she wants is to ease his grief. To give him hope. But there's so much more beneath the surface.

This book was creepy and unsettling and grotesque, and lived up to every good thing I'd heard about it.

I received this arc for free on netgalley in exchange for a review.

I would have honestly given this a higher rating if I was told what a peeler was haha

I really enjoyed the start of this, I thought the story was going to go in one direction but then it went in a complete other which grabbed my attention even more but then I lost some of it because I was waiting to find out what exacly a peeler was.

Despite this, actually enjoyed it. Unique horror story that I really wasn’t expecting.

3.25 stars!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC

I really enjoyed this book! It had a very southern gothic feel to it, and the horror was immensely gratifying. The author plays with structure between the acts, which I felt added to the beauty of the narrative and the horror. Madi's characterisation was done really well, and I especially liked the almost 'love letter' written by Henry to Skyler in the second part. Would definitely read any other book by this author!

I have mixed feelings on this book! I really did enjoy the writing, I thought it was so whimsical and haunting. However, I think I struggled with the concept itself and how it was executed, I think it was such a strong premise but at points it felt a little disjointed and all over the place. But overall I found myself enjoying the majority of the story, and desperately wanting to read on. I just wish the plot itself was a little better planned.

This started out as a mystery and ended up as a very weird horror. The first and second half of the book were very different. The character work was good and the story was quite the page turner
If you like weird this will be for you

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc

Well, this went places I didn't expect it to... but that's good.
It kept me reading right to the end, faster than I might have.
It was weird, in a good way ,without feeling ridiculous.


There was a bit near the end, that for me just didn't sit with the tone of the rest of the book. So felt a bit off.
However , the line "parenting is exhausting" has never been truer.

An interesting one.