No Child of Mine by Nichelle Giraldes seemed like the perfect spooky season read… and it almost was. The first 75% of this book was pure creepy goodness but the ending was such a flop. I’ll get into it more below, though, after the synopsis. This review will have spoilers.
Synopsis:
There’s something in the dark. And it’s starting to whisper…
Essie Kaur has defined herself by her ambitions, a fiercely independent woman whose only soft spot is her husband, Sanjay. She never imagined herself as a mother. It was never a part of the plan. But then she finds out she’s pregnant. As her difficult pregnancy transforms her body and life into something she barely recognizes, her husband spends the nights pacing in the attic, slowly becoming a stranger, and the house begins to whisper.
As Essie’s pregnancy progresses, both her and Sanjay’s lives are warped by a curse that has haunted her family for generations, leaving a string of fatherless daughters in its wake. When she’s put on bedrest, Essie trades the last aspects of her carefully planned life for isolation in what should be a welcoming home, but she isn’t alone. There’s something here that means to take everything from her…
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
There’s a few things I always love in my horror stories and that’s haunted houses, haunted people and flashbacks to the past. This book has ALL of that and for the most part, it was really well done. It was so suspenseful seeing Sanjay and Essie completely unravel as her pregnancy progressed. We, as the reader, know it’s because of Essie’s family curse but there were times where it seemed like mental illness could have also been a factor.
There were flashbacks to the past where we get to see Essie’s ancestor, Isabel, and eventually find out why the curse began but here’s where my issues with the story started. For the first 75% of the book, it’s nothing but creepy suspense because we don’t have all the answers. Unfortunately, after everything was revealed, it fell apart.
The characters, especially in the past, were extremely flat. We’re told that Isabel is in a forbidden relationship. She essentially makes a deal with the devil that all of her future daughters will lose their loves so that she can be with hers. However, we don’t see her fall in love and we never find out how the devil (or whatever it is) finds Isabel. She doesn’t seek it out, it simply appears in her home; there isn’t a dramatic crossroads meeting or anything like that. Isabel is also a generally unlikable character. She’s selfish until the very last moment and I never cared or felt sorry for her.
Essie is able to defeat the generational curse and save Sanjay but the way it’s done is so simplistic that it completely ruined all of the build up and the good aspects of this book. She basically slips into this between/dream world where the dark spirit lives and is able to light a figurative fire and burn away the darkness…
Final Thoughts:
I can truly say I’ve never had an ending ruin a book so completely for me. Despite feeling like the characters were not well developed, I still would have rated this book at least four stars if the ending would have been well done. The suspense and feeling of creeping dread throughout most of the book made for an excellent read so if you can get past the disappointing ending, this one might still be worth reading. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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