Review by Booklist Review
Dani Silver has recently moved back to her hometown and commits to her new role as a stay-at-home mom to daughter Lotte. But she soon starts to feel idle and worry about her husband, Clark--what if Clark died? What would Dani and Lotte do? Restless and uncertain, Dani searches for new meaning in her life. She rekindles relationships with the Normal Women, her childhood friends who are now all mothers too. She also meets Renata, the owner of a yoga studio called The Temple. Renata convinces Dani that her calling is to help people, which might include providing therapy through sex work. Dani is intrigued, but when Renata suddenly disappears, Dani's fears of abandonment become reality. Hogarth (Motherthing, 2022) has a talent for writing depth and invoking lavish mental pictures, but in this instance, the anecdotes become repetitive, and the promised mystery is short lived. Dani can be unlikeable--wishy-washy, judgmental, and paranoid--but there are some positive nuggets too, such as the importance of self-care and much-needed support for mothers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Hogarth (Motherthing) explores the nature of "women's work" in this snarky mystery. Danielle Silver despairs when she moves with her husband, Clark, and their baby, Lotte, back to her hometown of Metcalf for Clark's job. The citizens of Metcalf expected big things from Dani by the end of high school, but now everyone will learn she's just a stay-at-home mom with a philosophy degree and no marketable skills. After Clark's coworker dies unexpectedly, Dani spirals, suddenly aware she couldn't provide for Lotte alone if anything happened to Clark. Then she discovers the Temple, a donations-only, yoga-focused "religious organization" that aims to teach men empathy and vulnerability through "strategic sexual therapies"--that is, sex work. Dani is eager to prove her value and secure Lotte's future by becoming a Temple "healer," but then its proprietor, Renata, disappears. The police dismiss Dani's concerns that Renata met with foul play, so she launches her own investigation. Hogarth squanders a clever premise with skeletal plotting that glibly addresses the trivialization of female labor and raises issues of gentrification, capitalism, and sexual commodification without sufficiently diving into any of them. Paper-thin characters coupled with a slow start and an abrupt denouement further diminish the book's impact. Hogarth's fans will be disappointed. Agent: Rach Crawford, Wolf Literary. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After moving back to her hometown, a new mother becomes captivated by an unconventional community where she believes she can reclaim her body and purpose. When Dani tells her husband, Clark, that she's pregnant, he insists that they move to Metcalf. Metcalf isn't merely Dani's hometown; thanks to her father's waste-processing "kingdom," Dani is local royalty. Feeling the weight of her legacy, Dani fears returning with a husband and baby but no career. As she and Clark settle into parenthood, Dani grows increasingly frustrated with her financial dependence on Clark and his lack of gratitude for her domestic labor. Just as Dani's existential crisis hits its peak, she stumbles on The Temple, a yoga studio where vibrant women provide sexual stimulation to and promise emotional healing for the men who visit. Immediately drawn to The Temple's "village" of confident and beautiful women, Dani quickly befriends the owner, Renata. But when Renata disappears, Dani begins to wonder if the healing center really contains the higher purpose she's been seeking. Hogarth's novel opens strong with creeping suspense, laugh-out-loud humor, and smart critiques of the ways gendered expectations wear on people's self-worth, enjoyment of life, and relationships. But the book is not for everyone. The stakes of Dani's choices rely on the assumption that toxic masculinity can only be cured by cisgender, heterosexual sex; if employed in a way that allows the men to access their deepest vulnerabilities, such sex can "fix the whole world." Also, despite Renata's passing comment that she respects other kinds of sex workers, readers are repeatedly reminded that The Temple is not full of "cracked-out streetwalkers." Temple women are exceptional--and therefore acceptable--because they don't have sex for pleasure alone, and neither do the men they heal, but for the greater good. They're not like other women, and especially not the caricatured stay-at-home moms who share their love of yoga but who don't even know how their credit cards work. A conversation starter about gender roles and sex work, but a lackluster mystery and limited critique. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
