Summer Scares Resources

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Thursday, April 21, 2022

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 79: Just Like Mother

Today I have a copy of one of Tor NightFire's upcoming Horror novels; a title I reviewed in the April 2022 issue of Library Journal. Details, including  my Library Journal review below, but first, how to enter: 

  1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
  2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
  3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
  4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #78Our  winner was Sarah from the Staunton Public Library [VA].  Now on to today's giveaway.

I reviewed Just Like a Mother by Anne Heltzel in the April 2022 issue of Library Journal.  This is a title that will have wide appeal from readers who like Horror to Psychological Suspense and of course, fans of cult stories [of which there are many]. From my Goodreads account about this book:


Three Words That Describe This Book: intense, disturbing cults.

DRAFT REVIEW: 
Sucking the reader in immediately, Heltzel introduces Maeve and her cousin Andrea as children, living in nontraditional, probably abusive, conditions. Now an adult, having been rescued from a matriarchal cult, Maeve is a successful book editor, but except for a casual boyfriend and work friends, she is completely alone. With no family and a murky past, Maeve misses her cousin, deeply, that is until a DNA test reunites them. Andrea, now a wealthy CEO of a female wellness empire, rushes back into Maeve’s life, offering her love, family, and even wealth, but it may all be too good to be true. Maeve’s strong first person narration, including scenes from her past as they flood back to her, keeps the story moving, allowing the reader to both understand and root for Maeve as her world begins to dangerously unravel. Readers will think they have the twists figured out, even as Maeve is clearly a few steps behind, but this hubris would be a grave mistake. Flooded with visceral dread from the first scene and never letting up, this is a tale that will disturb readers to their core, leaving them looking over their shoulders, trusting no one, for weeks after completion.

Verdict: An excellent suggestion for fans of Cult stories, but also, with a menace that leaps off the page and grabs hold of the reader, Just Like A Mother is also a great choice for fans of intense Horror-Thriller hybrids such as those by Sarah Pinborough.

NOTES: 

This book sucks you in and even though you think you know what is happening, you don't, you underestimate it. 

Very strong first person narration by Maeve with the scenes from the past sprinkled throughout-- with the proper amount of restraint.

There is a lot of detail and repetitive actions but all of it is there to build the tension and it keeps you turning the pages. 

I have read very few books that are more disturbing than this one.

Add this title, coming May 17th, to your collections. 

Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the ARC. Good luck!

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