Delicate Condition

Product Information

After months and months of trying, Anna finally conceives. However, during this IVF process, strange things started to occur. Appointments were missed/rescheduled, medications were not being properly stored, and was someone following Anna? Was Anna really becoming forgetful and careless about the most important things in her life? I also resonated with how our main character Anna felt at the end, so I will leave you with this quote(s)- “I was tired of pretending I wasn’t in pain. I was tired of being strong just because it made things easier for everyone else. I was tired of calming down.” If you are squeamish, prepare yourself because things become downright grisly. However, if you can stomach it, this is well worth a read. When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope. Overall, it was a slow paced, creepy horror read that will keep you reading until the very end. While I was invested and had to know how it would end I am thankful its over. Phew! 😮‍💨😅🤣

One of Delicate Condition’s most powerful elements is Anna’s increasing belief that when it comes to advocating for herself, she’s entirely on her own. As supportive as her husband, doctor, and friends may be, none of them is as convinced as she is that her baby is in imminent danger. While the situation is obviously exaggerated (most pregnant women aren’t worried their fetus might actually be a demon), the gaslighting Anna faces is all too real. Enter: Delicate Condition, Valentine’s heart-pounding and unputdownable 12th novel (which is soon to inspire the newest season of American Horror Story). Following Anna Alcott, an actress who’s filled with joy over her long-awaited pregnancy until she begins suspecting that someone (or some thing) may be doing everything in their power to stop her from having the baby, it’s one of the summer’s most propulsive thrillers. And while the possible supernatural force messing with Anna certainly adds some tension, the book’s biggest scares come from the (only slightly exaggerated) realities of being pregnant: both the often-uncomfortable physical changes as well as the burdensome mental toll. Danielle Valentine's 2022 YA mystery/thriller, How to Survive Your Murder, was a very popular release and many thriller aficionados loved it, so I was really excited for her adult novel release, DELICATE CONDITION. When I first saw the cover, I thought "omg I need to read this", but when I heard it's the basis for Season 12 of American Horror Story, I definitely knew this needed to be prioritized. I usually steer away from stories involving the importance of pregnancy, but I trusted that if this book was good enough to be subject matter for one of my favorite shows, that it would be a fun time. What a wild ride this was! I will say that some parts were a bit redundant and repetitive, and I was ready for this book to move along- or maybe because I was just so curious as to how this story would end. Either way, I really enjoyed the Author’s Note at the end of the book, which I would even recommend reading before you start reading Delicate Condition. You get an idea as to why the author wrote this book, and where her ideas came from.I wanted to write a story where the reader was at times being like, ‘This can’t be what’s happening to her,’ and really have you faced with the choice of ‘Do I trust her? The other people in her life don’t trust her. So, what do I believe?’” Valentine says.

s ɪᴠғ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ɪs ғᴇᴀʀ ɪɴᴅᴜᴄɪɴɢ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴡʜʏ ɪ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪғ ɪᴛ ᴀғғᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ - ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴏɴʟʏ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇ ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴏᴍs ᴏʀ sᴏᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴍᴏᴍs ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ғᴇᴇʟ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪs. ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟʟᴇ’s ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ɪs ʙʀɪʟʟɪᴀɴᴛ! sʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ғᴇᴇʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ʜᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ’s ᴇɴᴅᴜʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀs ᴀ ʀᴇsᴜʟᴛ - ɪ sᴛᴀʏᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛᴏᴏ ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴍᴀɴʏ ɴɪɢʜᴛs ᴀs ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴇᴀɢᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ғɪɢᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴏᴜᴛ!!! First off, thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review. Before I start my review, I would like to begin by saying that there was nothing ‘delicate’ about this book. 😬 This was definitely different, and a little strange. But I couldn’t stop reading, because I had to know what happened next and of course how things would end.Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Oh, well I planned to reincarnate into your baby, but then you miscarried, so I did a spell to make it live again, but now if I for sure don't reincarnate into the fetus then it will definitely come out "off"' I didn't know this then, but the truth is, there is no such thing as an uncomplicated pregnancy. We all give something up in exchange for our babies. Nearly everyone on this planet was welcomed by the sounds of a woman screaming.

No matter which way she chose to end the book, though (and no spoilers here!), it wasn’t going to be pretty. “At the end of the day, I am a horror novelist,” Valentine says. “I always knew I was going to take it to a really dark place.” During this time we also find out that Anna has an online stalker (I mean she is quite famous). Then someone breaks into their NY apartment. This is all too much for Anna and Dex, so they go and stay at a friend’s private beach house. Anna needs to take care of herself and the growing baby inside of her. While at this beach house, Anna starts to crave bizarre foods/meats, she develops a horrible rash on her body, her hair starts to fall out in clumps, she hears noises in the attic and outside her window, the baby moves and gives her sharp pains throughout her body. Nobody believes Anna, and isn’t there anyone out there who can help her? I don’t want to say what aspect of horror this is for spoiler purposes, but it’s not a horror sub-genre that I usually go for. With this book, I absolutely loved it. This book starts as a thriller, then crescendos into horror as the book goes on. It has really cool little stories from centuries ago interspersed, of women who have also been affected by Anna’s maladies, and that just added to the suspense. Anna and her husband, Dex, have been trying to have a baby, but so far, it hasn’t happened for them. Anna is an actress best known for a role from a couple decades ago, but her most recent film appearance has her looking at being an Oscar nominee. With her recently-regained fame, she wants to remain private about her struggles with conceiving. You know those children's books and programs where the kids think something evil is happening and from their perspective all the evidence seems legit? That's exactly what this book is for all the women characters involved. But then the end comes and everyone is happy and they have a good laugh because nothing was macabre or evil, it was all for the better if everyone. Ha ha ha silly woman shouldn't have felt afraid.I had a lot of impostor syndrome where I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m not good enough; maybe I’m only a YA writer,’” she recalls. “I felt intimidated.” It didn’t help that she’d put more than a year and a half of her life into writing a different adult book, only to “hit a wall” and realize she needed to shelve the manuscript. The experience left her “in a dark place,” she says (which certainly wasn’t aided by the fact that she was six months pregnant at the time and experiencing a whirlwind of hormonal changes). First, I have to say "I loved This Book"! In many ways some might think this is reminiscent of " Rosemary's Baby" and it does have those vibes at time in a much current, updated version although there are many unique twists to this wonderfully blunt and gruesome (at times) story that are completely unique to the writer "Danielle Valentine". I enjoyed everything about this novel. The storytelling and writing just flowed from one situation to another and the tension of not knowing what was really happening with Anna drove me crazy where I couldn't put the book down. This was a truly frightening story with brutal savagery and eerie, creepiness taking place from beginning to end. The feminist touch was wonderful and I believe many women will be able to relate to many of her experiences as many doctors who have downplayed any of our own troubling symptoms when we felt there was something not right with our pregnancies and symptoms and would just brush us off without giving us anything for our pain or concise answers to our questions. I, for one know well that happened to me with one of my pregnancies and also the birth of my beautiful daughter but I felt I was truly butchered (also gave stitches without any novocaine or anesthesia), Why? and His response: "These things sometimes happen so just do as I say and don't worry about it". The ending also had an exciting and unexpected twist. There was not one dull or boring part to this fantastic book. I can't wait to read more from this author! After it happens again, and again, she KNOWS she is still pregnant - but nobody believes her. Her doctors say it’s impossible; they’ve done ultrasounds to confirm the loss. Even Anna knows that she FELT her body release the child, but it’s still inside of her. Well, at least *something* is…

I do appreciate the trigger warnings given at the beginning of the book. PLEASE take note of them before launching into reading it. If you are trying to have a baby or currently pregnant I do not advise reading this book right now. Anna feels lost and alone but she will do everything in her power to protect this baby within her and as time goes on she knows that someone doesn't want this baby born. (but who and why?) Anna's symptoms continue to worsen, the visions are getting violent and the cravings are savage and gruesome and she just might be indulging in these cravings so she can't even trust herself anymore! Will she ever make it to the end of her pregnancy? Will she find out who has been stalking her from the beginning? Is her doctor involved in a conspiracy to take her baby? Can she even trust her best friend or publicist anymore? What about her husband? What role does he play in all of this? Regardless, Anna will die before anyone tries to stop her from having her baby even if there is something very, very wrong with this child inside of her because sometimes she thinks it might not be altogether human but it doesn't matter because it is Anna's baby and it will be born! Delicate Condition is more Horror than Thriller and it has some very gruesome scenes( the cravings yall!!!) It was a bit predictable but I never lost interest. I will say that if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, I would NOT read this book. I have no desire to have children and it was rough reading for even me.I had to jump on the Delicate Condition bandwagon when I heard it was the basis for the next season of American Horror Story, so thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the complimentary listening opportunity. Hillary Huber did an excellent job of narrating this creepy novel.