Delicate Condition

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DELICATE CONDITION is centered around actress Anna Alcott and her struggle with getting pregnant. Her husband Dex and she are trying to get pregnant via IVF after countless struggles, but as Anna's career begins to blossom, she also finds that her journey at the fertility clinic has been a disaster. Her meetings have been cancelled, medicine for IVF procedures lost, Anna feels that someone is trying to sabotage her. When she starts believing that she's being stalked, Anna and Dex go into hiding in the Hamptons. Sadly, Anna suffers a miscarriage but she is convinced that she's still pregnant. In fact, she's beginning to show and is having unorthodox food cravings (to say the least). Anna knows that she's pregnant, but something sinister is also at play. Why won't anyone listen to Anna's concerns? 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. 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.” 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.

For the most part, it was an addictive read. The dark themes were well-done, though the ending was mildly underwhelming. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself because things become downright grisly. However, if you can stomach it, this is well worth a read. 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!!!Rachel Simon is a writer with work in The New York Times , Glamour , NBC News , Marie Claire , and many other outlets. Follow her @rachel_simon . 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! 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?

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. 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. 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"' From the very first chapter, this book ensnared me, captivating me with its brilliance. The plot is nothing short of mindblowing, taking unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the journey. It is a masterful portrayal of ambition and adversity intertwining in a roller-coaster of emotions. The plot really worked with twists that made my head spin.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.

So many reader emotions, I didn't know who to trust; if anyone! Delicate Condition is a thriller, a horror, a mystery and it's lingering in my mind, an aftereffect of a chilling read! 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. 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… 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. The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens—while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.Originally, Valentine worried that Delicate Condition would be “too weird for publishing,” she admits. But she’s been pleased to see it resonate with readers, including both those who’ve been pregnant and can relate to (some of) Anna’s struggles and those who’ve never shared that experience. “From people who don’t want or aren’t able to have children, it’s this feeling of ‘Yeah, I’m glad I don’t have to go through that,’” Valentine says. “And for people who have been through it, the thing I hear is that they feel seen. They’re like, ‘That’s what it’s like.’” We are drawn into the compelling world of Anna, a renowned actress who longs for nothing more than to have a baby. However, her fame proves to be a double-edged sword, as it attracts the unwanted attention of a relentless stalker determined to shatter Anna's dreams. 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! 😮‍💨😅🤣 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.