Breed
by Chase Novak (aka Scott Spencer)
Published on September 2012 by Mulholland Books
Audiobook provided by Hachette in exchange for honest review
Alex and Leslie Twisden lead charmed lives-fabulous jobs, a luxurious town house on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a passionate marriage. What they don’t have is a child, and as they try one infertility treatment after the next, yearning turns into obsession. As a last-ditch attempt to make their dream of parenthood come true, Alex and Leslie travel deep into Slovenia, where they submit to a painful and terrifying procedure that finally gives them what they so fervently desire . . . but with awful consequences.
Ten years later, cosseted and adored but living in a house of secrets, the twins Adam and Alice find themselves locked into their rooms every night, with sounds coming from their parents’ bedroom getting progressively louder, more violent, and more disturbing.
Driven to a desperate search for answers, Adam and Alice set out on a quest to learn the true nature of the man and woman who raised them. Their discovery will upend everything they thought they knew about their parents and will reveal a threat so horrible that it must be escaped, at any cost.
My Thoughts:
Leslie and Alex are having trouble conceiving, even though they’ve tried all of the conventional methods stateside that money can buy. When they come across a couple from their infertility support group that was in the same boat that they are–the wife clearly very pregnant now–Alex is desperate to find out how they became pregnant, even though Leslie has her heart set on adoption at that point. But the man is secretive, manipulative, and soon Alex and Leslie find themselves jetting off to Eastern Europe to undergo an experimental fertility treatment that is expensive and dangerous, but almost guaranteed to work.
And the procedure is a success, but with startling and horrific side effects. Leslie gives birth to two perfect babies: Alice and Adam. Soon thereafter, new parents Alex and Leslie begin to change–both in their appetites and in increasingly violent behavior.
Then the book skips ahead ten years and you find the once successful parents are now faltering, sheltering their school age children Adam and Alice, and keeping to themselves. The kids are locked in their rooms at night as a form of protection, but the children are suffocating to the point where they strike out on their own. And that’s where Breed really picks up steam as Adam and Alice run through New York City with their parents hunting them as the children try to find the real reason that their lives are the way they are. They meet more kids like them, and subsequently more parents just like theirs.
Breed is a captivating, richly dark horror novel that explores the what-if’s of infertility treatments, and how far some couples will go to be parents no matter the cost. I give this one a four out of five. There are a few characters and story lines that could have been a bit better developed. A warning to those who have an aversion to gore and blood since this book contains a fair amount of both. The book was fast paced once the kids broke out of their rooms, and even the side characters were interesting and engaging.
Get your own Audiobooks at Audible: Breed.
This book was a bit on the long side to listen to, coming in at twelve hours and three minutes. Narrator Peter Ganim has a rich, deep voice, and he does an excellent job of portraying the varied characters in Breed–from the wife Leslie to the children Alice and Adam, to the various accents needed for the European characters and rich multi-cultural nature of New York City. I highly recommend checking out the audiobook for this one.
Check out the book trailer for Breed. This actually captures the creepiness and atmosphere of the book perfectly!
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*shivers* Your review just gave me the chills! Intriguing premise — it can be easy for manipulative people to take advantage of those who are desperate. I’m both curious and afraid to find out more about the kids…
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Do you get genre burn-out?
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The other kids like the twins in this book as definitely affected by the fertility treatment, and the author is writing a sequel called the Brood that I assume thirties into that.
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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Oh wow Heather this sounds creepy good and the trailer with her dragging her fingernails against the wall..eep reminded me of the Shining. Great review!
kimbacaffeinate recently posted..How to Deceive a Duke by Lecia Cornwall ~ Release Day Review
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Thanks, Kimba! This book was super creepy and the trailer picks up the sinister atmosphere perfectly!
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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Eeek…as someone who is trying to get pregnant and really hoping I don’t have to take infertility treatments, the synopsis alone terrifies me!
Alison (AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
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Then Alison, this book is certainly not for you. It will scare you away from all things fertility treatments and children–forever. Good luck with the baby making 🙂
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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Oh wow! I had never seen the trailer for this one before. I read it a while back and absolutely loved it. It was just so… haunting and really unlike anything I had ever read before. It would definitely be a cool one to listen to on audio. They did such a great job with the trailer. Thanks for sharing!
Jenni @ Alluring Reads recently posted..Something Like Normal Review
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I didn’t see the trailer until after I listened to the book, and it does a great job of capturing the essence of the book without giving too much away. This book was great, and it was certainly very unique and creepy. The audio was great, but a bit long.
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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This book sounds good. My library has the audiobook available but I’m going to read instead. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to come in 😀
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It’s a good book, certainly worth the wait, Karin!
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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I am going to guess that listening to this one made it even more scary. This one may be over my scary limit but I really am intrigued by it.
Heather
hrose2931 recently posted..The Handler and The Scribe Novellas from the Mind Jack Series by Susan Kaye Quinn Review
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This wasn’t so much scary as it was creepy, but when the kids were on the run from their parents, it was very suspenseful. The gory bits were gruesome to a degree. But I listened to this during the day at work, and I’m not easily scared, so I’m not a good person to judge whether or not something is really scary or not. You should give it a shot if you get a chance, Heather!
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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This really sounds interesting! I loved the way your formatted this review!
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Thanks, Alisa!
Heather recently posted..Review: Breed by Chase Novak
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Wow. This has to be a very intriguing read! I was unsure before but now I really think I need to pick Breed up one of these days. Also, I don’t handle curiosity well.
Great review, Heather!
Sana @ artsy musings of a bibliophile
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