This was one of those books where the premise did most of the heavy lifting for me. An OB/GYN being kidnapped by a fundamentalist religious cult because they desperately need someone to care for their pregnant women is horrifying on its own. Add in the restrictions on reproductive healthcare surrounding Liz's story, and Obstetrix becomes uncomfortable because so much of it doesn't feel particularly far-fetched. I was invested, I was angry, and I wanted Liz to get the hell out of there. I just kept waiting for the story to go a little deeper than it ultimately did.

The tension worked really well for me, especially because Liz isn't suddenly turned into some fearless action hero. She's a doctor trapped somewhere she doesn't know, surrounded by people who control whether she lives or dies, and she's trying to survive while still caring for the women who need her. That made the situation feel much more grounded.

I also think the religious extremism and reproductive horror are easily the most disturbing parts of the book. There are women and girls living under an entire system built around controlling their bodies, and Liz gets this strange amount of respect because she's useful to the people controlling them. She's needed, but she's still a prisoner. That contradiction was probably the most interesting part for me.

Where it lost me a little was the depth. For a story dealing with bodily autonomy, religious extremism, forced pregnancy, and the restriction of reproductive healthcare, I expected it to hit harder. It's tense and upsetting, but it moves so quickly that some of those ideas never get explored as much as I wanted them to.

Overall, Obstetrix was a solid, incredibly quick read with a premise that feels uncomfortably possible. I liked it, and there were definitely moments that got under my skin, but I think there was a much more horrifying and complicated story hiding inside this one.