I have enjoyed other books by this Author, but this one was not for me.
I struggled to get into the story and gave up half way through.

In trying to address my TBR shelf I returned to this book after abandoning it 2 years ago.

For me the plot has all the factors of a brilliant thriller Lucy is losing her mind. Or is she? For me though the novel lacked suspense. And it just didn’t sit right. Lucy was a fun loving, independent, free spirit surely, she must be able to see what is going on.

Unfortunately, I got about half way through and then decided that I had enough.

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Really enjoyed this book! I sympathised with the lead character so much and felt really awful for her. A little bit predictable but still exciting to watch her on her journey of discovery

Deeply chilling and unnerving tale of gaslighting, new parenting and family secrets. Thoroughly gripping, can’t wait to read more by this author.

The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke is a psychological thriller about a married couple awaiting the birth of their first child. Lucy feels like she is losing her mind but puts it down to baby brain. Things just seem to get worse and her husband Adam is not exactly supportive.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a honest review.

A good mother doesn't forget things. A good mother isn't a danger to herself. A good mother isn't a danger to her baby. You want to be the the good mother you dreamed you could be. But you're not. You're the bad mother you were destined to become. At least, that's what he wants you to believe.

Wow. I'm in tears. Such a powerful emotional read that is definitely Amanda Brooke's best! Yes the reveal is very obvious from the very start but I found myself on edge as I turned every single page. Even though I didn't personally relate to the main character's situation, through the author's amazing writing, I developed a very strong connection. I felt every emotion that she was going through and genuinely felt terrified for her and her daughter's safety. This book didn't just pull at my heartstrings, it yanked my heart out and stamped on it. It was massively upsetting to read about what Lucy was going through and how she was being made to feel. No one should to be made to feel like that and my heart honestly broke for her. I won't go on too much as I don't want to spoil the book, but I strongly reccomend this one. This book is one I'm gonna be thinking about for a while.

This book had all the constituent parts that would usually make this a great read for me; psychology, family, relationships, threat - but in my (humble) opinion, it lacked one vital ingredient; suspense. It became pretty clear what was going on in Lucy and Adam's marriage fairly early on. I must admit I hadn't heard of the specific term 'gaslighting' prior to reading this book, but even without the technical term, I worked out what was going on. After that the book just turned into a constant string of domestic events in which Adam wrong-footed Lucy, which rapidly became quite boring after the first few. There was very little development outside of their relationship.
I don't like giving low scores as I really do appreciate the effort and hard work that goes into writing a book; it is like giving a piece of your self away to be publicly scrutinised, however, I'm afraid that despite my high expectations, I didn't enjoy this book.

The Bad Mother is a rather chilling tale of expectations and realities of becoming a new mother. Lucy is expecting her first baby but rather than all the excitement of buying all the baby things and decorating its room, Lucy is worrying about lapses in her memory, a complete loss of confidence and her capabilities of looking after a new baby. Lucy's mother puts it down to 'baby brain' and hormones but her husband isn't so sure it's as simple as hormones, he's convinced it is a mental problem which she may have inherited from her father.

For a good way through the book I was trying to convince myself that all Lucy's problems were down to her husband, Adam – well, the blurb on the cover tells us this – but thought that was too simple and that there must be a twist. I disliked Adam as a character from early on. He comes over as a whiny, spoilt, petulant person who likes to get his own way.

After Lucy and Adam's little girl is born, things don't get any better and Lucy is convinced that she is a danger to her baby and incapable of keeping her safe and cared for. The story moves at a reasonable pace and finally comes to a head in a breathtaking way.

This was a well written book touching on many issues but I didn't find it a page-turner, it should have been shorter instead of reiterating the same things. I would have liked to have known what made Adam tick. His upbringing was similar to many children but they don't all act like him, just what clicked in his brain to make him so selfish and duplicitous. Equally, why did Lucy so quickly and easily change from being a strong, confident, working woman with many friends into a whimpering wet lettuce.

I'm a huge fan of anything written by Amanda Brooke and just like all the previous books this doesn't disappoint!

Whilst I enjoyed the subject of this book (the gaslighting of Lucy) I thought it went on too long. The title of the book 'The Bad Mother' was followed up with the tag line 'that's what he wants you to think' so right from the start we knew that her husband Adam was behind Lucy and her memory falling apart, and so I spent the first two thirds of the book going 'well I know it's Adam so this is a little frustrating to keep reading' and there was far too much exploration of who left the gas on, or who left the door open etc. I wanted to get to the good bit when the deception was uncovered.
Also I really wanted to shake Lucy sometimes, I understand we were meant to think Adam had completely blindsided her with his ways but I'm sure at some point I'd have said 'oh sod off, I haven't done anything and I'm out of here!' I had little sympathy with her sometimes for not trusting her own mind (which might say more about me than the book).
Still it's good for a novel to explore the very many different ways in which a marriage can become abusive.

This is a 5 star plus book. It had me hooked from the first page, just brilliant. Lucy is recently married to Adam. She is pregnant and is an artist with a studio at home. Throughout the story Lucy is constantly misplacing items, leaving doors open and leaving the cooker on. We as the reader know that Adam is actually responsible for what's going on. He takes every amount of confidence away from Lucy. But why? Read on!

Lucy is pregnant with her first child. She is happy with her husband Adam, and has a strong relationship with her mother who has brought Lucy up since the death of her father. But not everything is as it seems to be.

Lucy, an artist, has left behind her days of festivals, of going out and having fun, and is looking forward to a steady future with Adam, who, at eight years older, seems dependable and steady, who she trusts and who makes her feel safe. But always lurking in her mind is the shadow of her dad, and his depression, and the fear that she could be the same.

As Lucy’s pregnancy continues, she finds herself forgetting things, minor things at first, like losing her keys and leaving the freezer door open. But soon the little slip ups become bigger ones, and she begins to worry that she’s a danger, not only to herself, but to the child she’s carrying.

This is a frustrating read – but only because the reader soon knows exactly what’s going on. I felt so angry on Lucy’s behalf as times, and that, to me, shows what a good book this is. I really cared about Lucy, and wanted her to wake up. The manipulation is so subtle, the undermining and the planting of little seeds of doubt; small things that build and build until Lucy no longer trusts herself. I’ve seen some reviews criticising the book for the way Lucy behaves, questioning how someone so confident could ‘allow’ this to happen. Unfortunately this happens to lots of women, whether they are ‘strong’ or not. And the author writes so well that you can really see how Lucy could end up in the position she’s in.

The relationship between Adam and Lucy is really well developed. Their arguments are authentic and Lucy’s reactions are believable. The shift in the balance of power between them is genuinely unsettling to read. My only quibble is that I wanted to understand more completely how Adam came to be the way he is and I do think that adding more depth to this would really add to the novel.

A difficult subject matter, and not an easy read, but definitely gripping.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

To say I enjoyed this probably isn’t the best analogy ! I found it an increasingly uncomfortable read , I raced through it though really hoping that Lucy would snap out of the increasingly unpleasant hold that Adam her husband has over her . It’s really well written and really sucks you in to Lucy’s increasingly desperate state , her husband really is a piece of work . As her mum and friends come to realise what he is up too unfortunately Lucy is still in the dark .Really good I would recommend

Lucy has always been independent and 'switched on' but since she's become pregnant it seems she's been forgetting things....not just the usual hormone induced baby brain but entire conversations, days lost. Her personality has changed too....she's become a danger to herself, her husband Adam and her unborn child....but is she? Or is that just what someone wants her to believe?

As psychological thrillers go this is pretty straightforward. It's very apparent from the beginning where this is going, the story is more about Lucy's realisation than the readers. The reader witnesses her descent into self doubt and desparation knowing full well who the real villain in. Was I the only one reading and shouting in my mind "he's behind you"? I'm pretty sure I wasn't!

Amanda Brooke has a real knack for these psychological thrillers/domestic dramas. They're undemanding but highly addictive. Does it veer into been OTT like some of these books can? Well maybe a wee bit but it only makes it all the more enjoyable. A compelling page turner, I'd highly recommend to fans of this genre.

Lucy's head over heels with her husband Adam, but she's worried about what sort of mother she'll be, especially now as she keeps forgetting, things, making endless mistakes. We already know Adam isn't the person Lucy thinks he is and we have to read through countless episodes until the penny finally drops which makes Lucy one of the most irritating characters around! How could the old Lucy turn into such a drip in such a short space of time? I enjoyed some of the second half of the book but this was overrided by utter exasperation with this woman and how absolutely pathetic she was. This was well written and easy to read but I just lacked patience with the people in the book.

This was a bit of a slow burner for me but I was soon gripped and wanted to know how it would all end!! Lucy is an artist married to Adam and they are expecting their first child. They appear to be very happy and look forward to their new arrival. Lucy starts forgetting things , not switching things off and leaving doors open - is this just babybrain or is it something else?
It's all about manipulation and control - makes you want to keep reading to see how /why / what is happening. . Good holiday read!

We meet newly married pregnant Lucy who is married to Adam....is she going crazy?! I’ll leave you to find out!! A gripping thrilling book that will have you gripped!

What makes a good mother?

Lucy is pregnant and wants to be a good mother, but her world is crumbling and her hormones are all over the place and soon veer towards dangerous.

Her husband keeps telling her things, but she keeps forgetting and soon starts to wonder if it is just ‘baby brain’ or something more sinister. A psychological thriller with many twists.

This book is very good if a little predictable. It is obvious from the beginning what is going on, but you still aren’t sure until the end, but that is still not enough for an extra star.

Well written and edited, I enjoyed it. The characters were solid and anybody who has had a baby will understand Lucy’s predicament with ‘baby brain’ and raging hormones and this makes her someone with whom you can empathize.

I look forward to reading more of this author’s books in the future.

Shesat

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

The plot of The Bad Mother is pretty simple: Lucy, an artist, is married to Adam and they are expecting their first child. But all is increasingly not as it should be - Lucy’s forgetting things, a lot of things, and she can’t put it all down to “baby brain”. Things get worse fast and it’s not long before Lucy’s confidence is completely destroyed.

It’s obvious almost from the start that Adam is a gaslighting bad ‘un and I was frustrated that Lucy couldn’t see how he was constantly undermining and manipulating her - even convincing her she is capable of terrible things. He’s really not that subtle; even when he’s being “nice”, the way Adam speaks to Lucy is intolerable and I wouldn’t put up with it for five minutes. Having said that, she’s pregnant, vulnerable, relatively young (late 20s) and naturally enough, heavily invested in the relationship with her new husband. It would take a lot for her to walk away and Adam wraps his emotionally abusive behaviour up in the guise of care and concern. Still, he’s a textbook abuser in many ways - discouraging her from working and seeing friends, continually undermining her confidence and causing her to doubt her own perceptions.

Angry as I felt at Adam’s behaviour I felt almost as angry with Lucy at times, willing her to wake up, stop the grovelling apologies for things that aren’t her fault, and grow a backbone. She seems almost wilfully determined not to see what’s under her nose and there’s nothing he can do which she won’t make excuses for and blame on herself. The longer this went on (and it’s quite a long book), the more annoyed I got. I carried on reading largely in anticipation of a point at which Lucy would finally discover some agency and stand up for herself. I was desperate for this to happen.

The Bad Mother is a good read and strong on the mother/daughter bond (thank goodness for Lucy’s mum Christine, who was great). However I did find it unrealistic that Lucy, who considered herself a “strong, confident woman”, was quite so easily manipulated and reduced. Adam’s motivations, and the reasons why he is the way he is, are never really clear. I did enjoy reading it though and looked forward to getting back to it every time, so four stars from me.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!