Nightbitch: A Novel Hardcover – July 20, 2021

“Nightbitch” by Rachel Yoder will definitely go down as one of the weirdest novels I’ve ever read in my life. Now, before I jump into my review, I wanted to share a very important trigger warning for everyone so they fully know before reading this novel.There is major violence against cats, birds, and rabbits throughout this novel. I’m talking about extremely graphic, detailed violence against cats so if this is something that triggers you, please don’t read this. This didn’t bother me as a pet owner since it’s just words but I wanted to make that known for those that it might trigger.Besides that, I very much enjoyed “Nightbitch” and Yoder’s unique style of writing. It’s weird yet addictive. Gory yet intriguing. It’s a very psychological novel that deals with motherhood and all the ups and downs that come with it. I thought it was a brilliant look into all that when you’re stuck in situations “The Mother” was in.Speaking of which, I love how the majority of characters have no names at all. Again, it’s just a really unique and interesting way to write a novel that I’ve never seen before. It added a nice touch of reality and just made things very relatable for a reader. Especially all those weird social situations we find ourselves in from time to time.As I kept reading, I ended up having a lot of empathy for the mother as, my goodness, you just really feel for her at times. I loved how authentic everything was and how I felt bad for everything she was going through. It’s very rare for me to feel like that for characters as I’ve only had very few authors have the writing magic to do that for me (Stephen King, Freida McFadden, Grady Hendrix, just to name a few).There was a ton of dark humor in this novel as I thought those parts were fantastic and well, hilarious. It helped break things up nicely from this crazy, innovative, fun read. There even was one creepy and gruesome moment that was absolutely insane. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin anything for you but my goodness, that scene was wild and you’ll know exactly what I mean when you get to it.The only knock I have on “Nightbitch” is that there are some repetitive parts and instances that dragged on a bit. I felt some of that could have been trimmed to make this an even tighter read but it wasn’t anything too boring. The formatting of this novel is also a bit weird but I think that adds to the overall style of this unique novel. It’s not bad, just different.I also thought the ending was okay but was expecting a lot more, perhaps another wild and gory scene to wrap everything together nicely. It was a bit weird and something I somewhat got but I was hoping for a lot more, especially on the horror side of things. It was alright but not a drop-the-mic kind of ending I was excited to potentially get.I give “Nightbitch” by Rachel Yoder a 4/5 for being a genuinely unique, exciting, and wild kind of read. I’ve never read anything like this and it was a refreshing weird horror novel. I thought Yoder’s writing was excellent and for her debut novel, it’s quite impressive. If she keeps writing like this, she will undoubtedly continue making a name for herself in the horror genre. I’d highly recommend this novel if you’re looking for weird horror but only if violence against animals doesn’t bother or trigger you. This is one of those novels that I’ll remember for all the weird situations, events, and characters for a very long time. Woof.

I started reading this and got through the first part but lost interest… decided to try again but this time following along with the audiobook and that made the read much easier and way faster. I enjoyed all the topics that were touched on. Motherhood and how it can consume you until thats literally all that you are. Mother’s can be forced to leave behind their passions and dreams. It also touched on Husbands/fathers lack of participation in raising children. It also touches on having to deal with the husband/father being the breadwinner which is why they are not able to participate much.. it touches on isolation, lack of friends, feelings of “wasted” time, “wasted” youth.Anyway, I thought it was a good book. Im not much of an artsy person, but you dont need to be when reading this book.. only at the VERY end, which if i didnt have the audiobook, I probably would have skipped. Like others mentioned towards the end, it is hard to tell what was real and what was not..Im not a mother and do not want kids and the majority of this book has definitely validated that decision. However, although im not a mother, I still was able to understand the struggles and to feel the place that our main character was coming from. I was so exhausted for her reading this lol.Anyone who minimizes or dismisses mothers and motherhood and anyone who doesn’t appreciate them enough should read this book.

As a single, childless man, I'm not qualified to talk about motherhood, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy or have thoughts on this story. Though it deals almost entirely with the concept of motherhood, the book offers enough other relatable content for anyone to get something out of it.There were some genuine laughs here which were great counterpoints to the despair (sometimes self pity) that the protagonist feels. Tension is built nicely and broken skillfully, and things are painted mostly in shades of gray.I can see how this book could be too intense for some with the way it describes the feelings associated with modern motherhood and, more broadly, modern middle class existence. I would hope that readers give this one a chance and follow the threads to their conclusions.

A shockingly accurate portrayal of the psysophrenic nature of motherhood. There were so many passages where I wanted to scream 'yes! that's just what it was like' well except the dog parts. I would recommend this weird but wonderful read to any mother who thinks she is going crazy or is suddenly angry all the time. Every new dad could benefit from reading it too, might save a few relationships. Non-parents approach with caution, it may be a bit too scary in places. Absolutely brilliant

Told from the point of view of a new mother struggling to reconcile her new maternal role with the career and passion she left behind, I really enjoyed the protagonist's voice and the laid-back narrative style. I did find the unrelenting stream of consciousness and huge chunks of text quite daunting to get through, and would have preferred a few more breaks throughout. But that is just a personal preference. It is split into three parts and, by the time the third part begins, it was very hard to put down. I did really love the way the mother's relationship with her young son developed, and the ending was great. Beautiful writing.

Although this is a well written story and I liked the author's style, this plot didn't hold my interest.Would never have purchased if I'd known it would start off as a story about a mother's struggles with motherhood then lead into pure fantasy. Stopped after a third through and skipped to the last 2 pages and couldn't continue. Just not my thing at all.

While I don't entirely buy the idea that we (Mums) are all secretly mad dogs, I couldn't help but enjoy the whole dog bit. And there was some truth in the mad mums bits too. A lively, light read with some wild fantasy thrown in.

A compellingly raw and visceral read which I could not put down. This book taps into the loss of identity that I assume motherhood can entail.