Delicate Condition

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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. First off, thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

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). When Anna finally gets pregnant, these interferences escalate but no one, including her husband, believes her. Still, they retreat to the Hamptons, only for things to take a more sinister turn. 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… 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! 😮‍💨😅🤣No matter what the responses to the book were, though, the author likely would never have stopped pursuing her love for writing about all things dark, strange, and unsettling. Her next work, a young adult novel out next summer, is a summer camp-set slasher that she describes as “ The Parent Trap meets Friday the 13th.” After that, she’ll be finishing up her next adult novel, a horror story that she’ll only tease revolves around cooking. Wherever Valentine goes, it seems, goosebumps follow — and she wouldn’t have it any other way. 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!!! 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. 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 and Dex desperately want to have a baby. After multiple IVF treatments, they learn that it was successful and Anna is pregnant. Simultaneously, strange things start to happen! For instance, her appointment times are changed, medications misplaced, stolen items and someone is following her. Is she going crazy and getting forgetful or is it someone else doing all this and why?? Following their move to a temporary location of safety, Anna is told she has had a miscarriage. Or is she still pregnant? 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? Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone's playing a twisted game with her. This book is the basis for the newest season of American Horror Story and its clear how this book would fit perfectly into the lore of the series. I haven't watched AHS I'm years...I think Hotel was the last season I watched and I probably won't watch this season either.

DELICATE CONDITION was literally a one-session read as I stayed up late absolutely determined to reach the end, because I knew I could not sleep without knowing!