‘The feminist update to Rosemary’s Baby we all needed’ – ANDREA BARTZ
‘A darkly visceral and magically evocative novel’ – SARAH LAWTON
‘A timely, terrifying, heartfelt thriller’ – CHRIS WHITAKER
I wanted this baby so badly.
But she may be the death of me…
Before I start my review, I wanted to mention first of all that this is a very unsettling book and could be very triggering in a number of different ways for anyone who is going through a pregnancy or trying to have a baby. Now that’s out of the way…
All I knew about Delicate Condition when I was offered the chance to read it via NetGalley was the quote and testimonials at the start of this review and although my first thought was that they are pretty big claims to live up to, it did make me pretty much want to dive in immediately and see if it did.
The main character, Anna Alcot is a bit of a celebrity. She’s an ex-child star actress who has watched her star wane somewhat after years playing minor parts in various productions. However she’s recently found herself on the up after the new film she’s starring in turns out to be a surprise underground hit and she’s nominated for an Oscar. As is often the case with these things, the timing isn’t great; for some time, she and her husband Dex have wanted to start a family and are about to undergo another, probably final round of IVF. This is the last chance they’ll have, and Anna is not optimistic that their marriage will succeed if they don’t make a baby this time.
Things start to go wrong early on when Anna is late for a very time-sensitive appointment with her eminent fertility doctor, Dr Carla Hill. She has to have an injection at a specific time and arrives confused and upset after Dex has called to check where she is. Luckily she still makes the timeframe, however Dex is understandably unimpressed, his mood not improved by Anna’s insistence that the appointment time was originally correct in her calendar. Upon leaving the fertility clinic, a random ‘fan’ quickly snaps a picture of Anna and posts it on a ‘celebrity’ forum and Anna’s hopes for secrecy are dashed.
A few weeks later and Anna and Dex get the best news; they have a baby on the way. Time passes without much incident – a few odd situations with things that can be explained to ‘baby brain’ and soon Anna can feel the baby kicking. Then a shocking incident occurs and the whole story takes a sharp, unexpected and frightening turn. Anna is stuck in an horrific situation with the worst possible scenarios racing through her mind, while all the people in her life who should be helping and supporting her – especially those within the medical community – seem to be either patronising her or gaslighting her, and she’s not quite sure which. Come to that, as the reader neither was I. What follows is a terrifying journey through a pregnancy that seems to be all wrong, both in feeling and presentation. Everyone around her is behaving strangely and as a result she’s suspicious of everyone and everything. Is Anna going mad, or is there something incredibly wrong with her baby? And why is everyone being so weird?
There are many themes in this book, including Anna’s turmoil at trying to find a balance between finally becoming a successful Oscar nominated actress; something she couldn’t even have dreamed of, at the same time as becoming a Mother – which is something she’s always dreamed of. There’s the stresses of trying for a baby and holding together a marriage that’s falling apart at the seams, and the hurt and confusion of being left to drown in uncertain waters when those who you rely on let you down and leave you to flail, alone. At some points it definitely strays into horror, reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby, and as I understand, is due to be made into the next part of the American Horror Story series. When that happens, I’m sure I’ll be watching some of it from behind a cushion!
4/5
Due to be published August 17th by Viper
About the Author: Danielle Valentine
Danielle is the bestselling author of The Merciless series, the Stolen Time trilogy, How to Survive Your Murder, and her first adult novel Delicate Condition is due to be released in August 2023. She lives in a (probably haunted) hundred-year-old house right outside of New York City with her husband, kid and two angry cats. She has also written under the pseudonyms Danielle Vega, Danielle Rollins, and Ellie Rollins.
Visit her website here: https://daniellevalentinebooks.com/
Urban Bookworm 