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Actual rating of 4.5

Lauren Tranter is exhausted, and no wonder, with new born twins, Morgan and Riley. She just needs to get some sleep, and feel safe. However, this is hard to come by on both accounts since that night in the hospital. She knows what happened to her and what she saw, but finding someone to believe her and not pass it off as the inane ramblings of an exhausted new mother. Someone tried to steal her babies and replace them with her own creatures. A month later, Lauren has finally battled her fear of leaving the safety of her house, but the babies disappear from her side in the park, and when they're returned there's something strange about them, they're not quite how they were, and Lauren seems to be the only one who notices. Desperate to see her babies again, she will do anything to right the wrong that has been done and get them back. But if she's wrong, she'll be making the biggest mistake of her life...

I've discovered that I have a real love for psychological thrillers, so I jumped at the chance to request this one and was absolutely over the moon when I saw I'd been accepted for a copy. The story runs along the lore of the changeling, a creature found in folklore. The changeling's parents swap their baby with a human baby until the changeling is old enough and healthy enough to return. Obviously, the lore surrounding changelings differs slightly through different stories and such, but this is the easiest way for me to describe it. So, we have a psychological thriller that follows a new mother who thinks her babies are changelings and no one believes her. Count. Me. In. I must admit, at the start I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the story too much as the beginning chapters are centred so much around becoming a new mother and all the things that go with it. I don't have a maternal bone in my body so kids aren't in my future and never have been, I'm fine with this, but it did make the initial connection with Lauren difficult. However, this soon changed as the story still centred around the babies and the hardships of being a new mum, but the mystery and uncertainty in the story began to take a front seat alongside this. I flew through this book in a matter of 24 hours between sleeping, and eating, though if I'm honest, I was reading it WHILE I was eating dinner haha.

I believe this story is important. Obviously discounting the changeling stuff, but the new mother's uncertainties and how she felt after the initial birth of her twins is SO IMPORTANT. I feel that this story dealt a lot with what is commonly termed, the 'baby blues'. We hear a lot at the beginning when Lauren is holding her twin boys "I'm meant to feel immense love, aren't I?" she is questioning herself because she expected to love these miniature humans the instant they were born and placed in her arms, but she's not sure, she doesn't feel this insane amount of love, and I think she wonders if this makes her a bad mother. Straight off the bat, we have a woman who is questioning her ability to be a mother because she doesn't look at them and feel overcome with love. That to me speaks volumes. I know a lot of women who have had children, and they will tell you that it's not like anything else they've experience in the world, that the love they feel for their child is incomparable to anything else they're ever felt. But did they feel that straight away? Some may say yes, but others it might have taken a little bit, especially if they had a horrific birth. Some women still die during child birth, and some women come close to death during childbirth, so not instantly feeling a love unlike any other to this new life you've brought forward into the world, is not wrong. And just because you might not fall instantly in love your first child, that does not make you a bad or unfit mother. This is uncharted territory, you've never been here before, it's new waters, it's going to take time to get used to everything as your entire life has changed. And let's not forget, every experience is different for every person.

I feel that it was so important to see how Lauren's husband fobbed off duties to Lauren because she's the mother, she's the wife, she is the maternal one. I couldn't help but hate his character. He could see how much she was struggling, the woman wasn't leaving the house and yet he was more worried about how much sleep HE was getting. He made everything about him, and didn't offer any support to this person who he is supposed to love. It made me SO mad, and made me really feel for Lauren's character. She did speak up on occasion, she did voice her opinions and concerns, but I feel that he just brushed it off like he did with so many of her other issues. This was a woman crying out for help and being ignored by the one person who was closest and who was witnessing the strange things she was doing.

I absolutely adored the character of the detective (I cannot for the life of me remember her name), even though Lauren's story had been written off as the ramblings of a mentally unstable woman, she still did her best to comfort Lauren and to investigate the claims she was putting forward. She tried her damned hardest to be there for a woman who was struggling so badly, for a woman who she didn't know from a bar of soap. So this character gets a standing ovation from me, while the husband cops a punch to the throat for being a dick. I really hated him.

The story itself was engaging because you're never really sure whether Lauren IS just experiencing hallucinations and such due to mental illness and sleep deprivation, or whether there really was a fae woman trying to switch out Lauren's babies for her own. It's the thing that kept me reading and flipping those pages deep into the night. The one thing that irked me was, I never got confirmation whether there were changelings or just a mentally unstable woman. I'm still stuck, days after finishing the book, wondering. I feel like it could have gone either way to be honest.

All in all, this was a gripping, thrilling, absolute page turner of a book and I'm so glad that I was given the chance to read and ARC copy. If you like a page turning psychological thriller get onto it asap!

I can't believe I didn't get round to this book sooner. Once I started I couldn't stop. I was completely drawn In.
At so many points I thought I had it figured out only to question everything I thought I knew.

I was on the edge of my seat for half of the book.

I really enjoyed it and look forward to more from this Author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Little Darlings” is a psychological thriller by Melanie Golding about a mother of new born twins that begins to suspect that someone has switched her babies.
This book creeped me out and kept me reading. The writing was quite good. I definitely recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I would have finished this in a day if I'd had time. It was good and creepy. The ridiculously accurate portrayal of having newborn twins was almost trauma-inducing. The ending was so-so, but throughout the book, I thought this would end up being my fav thriller of the year.

Thanks to the author, the publisher, and netgalley for the ARC.

Lauren Tranter has given birth to twin boys. The difficult and painful delivery has left her weak, stressed and dishevelled. She needs sleep but is afraid to sleep due to an uncanny fear with regards to her newborns safety. However, that night she does doze off and has a creepy dream about an old ugly woman with her own twin boys (who are more creatures than humans) and who wants to swap them with Laura's sons. Laura wakes up and hears noises of another woman in the partition next to hers who seems to have had twins too. Laura checks out who it is and it turns out to be the woman in her dream. Before the woman can force the swap, Laura alerts the security of the hospital and hides herself in the bathroom. However, the security find nothing out of the norm and are of the opinion, including her husband Patrick, that Laura might have imagined the entire thing as a result of post natal stress (she has a history of suffering from depression) and discharge her.

Laura keeps insisting that what she saw was real and that the woman is still out to get her babies but no one pays heed to her except for detective Jo Harper, who feels Laura just might be telling the truth after she herself sees something odd and unexplainable in the hospital's camera footage. One day, a few months later, Laura's worst nightmare comes to pass when her boys are snatched while in the park. Although they are recovered safely back in a few hours, Laura realises they are not her boys and tries to rid of them which results in Laura being taken to a mental/psychiatric hospital. What follows is Laura's struggle to escape and get her boys back before it is too late.

The author uses the folklore of faeries and changelings to create a creepy, psychological thriller.... is Laura right in her assumption that her babies are swapped with faery creatures or is she just hallucinating? Although I liked the story, I did not find it as creepy and scary as I expected it to be when I read the blurb. I liked the character of detective Jo Harper but felt her side story was not needed (that is unless the author has plans to use the character and develop her story in her future books) The ending too left me with a mixed reaction but then when Laura has a snake for a loved one (read Patrick), there never could be a 'happy ending' for her.

My thanks to Netgally, the author Melanie Golding, and publisher Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an e-ARC of the book. I have been late in putting up a review and I apologise for it.

Rating:3-3.5*

This was not what I was looking for. I guess it was a little too creepy for me. Stopped at page 50.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author to kindly allow me to get a copy of this book in exchange for my review. Lauren and Patrick Tranter have just welcomed beautiful twin boys, Morgan and Riley. Lauren is tired and it feels like she doesn’t get much help from husband but she is happy with her babies. One day, while expecting friends to visit her and her babies, she gets a mysterious gift. A book about twin tales that are not exactly pleasant. Shortly after, strange things start to happen to Lauren and this is when the story takes the reader on a thrill ride. Fabulous story!

Lauren Tranter witnesses a dark figure trying to snatch her new born twin boys Morgan and Riley from the hospital ward, she calls the police helpline and next morning she meets the cop Ms Harper who is the only one seemingly ready to believe that the incident took place - the hospital staff deny it completely, Lauren's husband says she must have imagined this as she is exhausted.
After a month of returning home and being even more exhausted as she gets less and less help from her husband, Lauren agrees to meet with her friends in the park and after meeting them she falls asleep and wakes up to find her babies missing!!
After a harrowing search by the cop Harper the babies are found but Lauren refuses to accept them as her own and tried to drown them in water as what the old folktale tells - she ends up getting admitted in a psychiatric ward but she is even more determined to fix the wrong - but what if she is not thinking straight? Is the old folktale really true?

This was a gripping story and a good 3.5 star read - thanks for the ARC from netgalley & crooked lane books!

Seriously compelling. This reminded me a bit of Tana French's In the Woods—a well-plotted mystery with elements of horror and the supernatural, not a full-on breakneck-pace thriller, but not too slow or meandering. This is a twist on a changeling story, within the frame of contemporary society and the life of a new mother with postpartum depression. Sensitively written, but with the necessary fun and edge of a suspense novel. I look forward to reading Melanie Golding's future work!

A great thriller. Super entertaining with great twists. Less character development than I was expecting but a great read nonetheless.

Page 1 introduces us to DS Joanna Harper, she's standing by a river, watching a young woman edge her way in, in her arms her 5 week old twins.

Then we jump to Lauren, giving birth to the twins in hospital, the story takes us through the birth and a traumatic hospital stay, during which someone tries to swap her own twins for Lauren's - yet no intruders are found on the ward and CCTV is grainy and doesn't yield any further information for DS Jo Harper. But she's willing to trust her 'Mothers instinct' and Lauren's case intrigues Harper enough for her to get caught up in it to only have the investigation halted when her boss insists that Police budgets must be considered.

Not before Lauren and her husband, Patrick head home with the twins, Morgan and Riley as a new family of four. For any new mum, this is an intense and time, but for Lauren with two new babies to care for its doubly worrying. Its not long before Patrick decides he can't cope with the lack of sleep because the twins want feeding and heads to the spare room for solace and a peaceful nights sleep, which isn't a lot of help to Lauren, she's struggling too and now doesn't feel supported at a time she most needs it.

Lauren finds it even harder when Patrick goes back to work and she's left alone with the twins, she considers going out, but she's so tired and the house is a mess, she stays at home. Then as she opens the door one day, the woman who tried to steal the twins is watching Lauren from the other side of the road, hidden in the bushes, then at the back door. Shes long gone by the time Jo Harper can get there. She calls Patrick and he goes home to help calm Lauren. This prompts heightened security measures at home and means Lauren retreats further into the safety of staying at home.

Lauren's state of mind is vulnerable, she's just had twins, she's exhausted and everything is new to her, shes got no-one to fall back on and really support her when she could do with it and after Patrick puts the pressure on and a visit from another Mum in the baby group Lauren was part of, she decides to head out, much preparation is required and she nearly gives in, but makes it out. She used to love walking down by the river and a quick meet up and chat with the other new mums - fresh air, a coffee, some light exercise - it would do her good, wouldn't it?

Joanna Harper's history and present life are an underlying tone during the book, which also adds to the storyline and creates a reason to want to help Lauren. Theres also a great fairytale theme that features througout and this backplot creates some of the many chilling details during reading. Saying more about this would give too much away, so I can only mention it.

Is Lauren imagining it all? is it real? Is someone after the twins? Is someone following her?

I am a mum, and I can understand all of Laurens worries and fears, I can totally identify with the feeling of it all 'getting on top of you' and being tired. But still needing to do the washing, feed everyone, tidy up and look after a new baby too. So many times I thought, 'yes, I remember doing that' and reaching the to the six-week mark, when it all kind of clicked into place, but before then - it was so new and daunting and overwhelming. After reading Little Darlings, in bed one night, I went to sleep and woke up in a blind panic at 3 am and I honestly haven't done that since I had a newborn in the house, but I remembered the feeling of sheer panic and thinking 'the baby' only to realise, I don't have a baby (not anymore, shes 6 now!) so not only did the book disturb me, I found it so compelling and enjoyable that I needed to know how the twins were and how Lauren was feeling that day. Brilliantly written, the characters are so believable, the storyline is haunting and dark and this is such a great debut, its like Melanie Golding is a previously published author, the book flows so well, watch this space I say.

This book was not what I expected and I couldn't finish it. There was nothing wrong with the writing, I just didn't like the story or where it was heading. This was just not a good fit for me.

And my last pick is a psychological thriller that redefines the meaning of “Mother knows best.” This is a book about a new mom and her need to protect her newborn twins from what she believes is a great threat though no one will believe her.

Lauren Tranter is a new mom just given birth to two new twins, while she is still in the maternity ward, a strange woman appears threatening to trade in her babies and replace them with her own. She tells those closest to her what she witnessed, they dismiss her as tired, stressed and overworked. know one believes her until one day when when the babies seemingly go missing, though hours later they are found seemingly unharmed. Though Lauren knows the truth, that these are children are not her babies and she will do anything to prove it.

I loved this very real portrayal of motherhood in this book. The degree of detail is amazing! The fear the main character feels at having this weird creepy woman want to steal her baby mixed with the fear of everyone thinking she is crazy is downright frightening!

Part mystery part phsychological thriller and a part twisted fairy tale this tale brings new life to the changling myth and brings to the for front the fear of motherhood we all face. Out now! Please put on your TBR lists and pick this one up wherever books are sold. Love this book and love this story!

This was a pleasantly creepy and gripping tale. It gave me the heebie jeebies and I don't even have any newborn babies. This book is like a modern and dark fairytale. I loved that the story was told from different perspectives because it enhanced the story, it didn't take away or make things too complicated. The characters were pretty likeable. Overall, I thought it was an intense story with a good ending.

Little Darlings is creepy and strange ( and I mean that in the best way possible!). As a new mom, it hit close to home. The story had me on the edge of my seat all the way to the end. The whole time I couldn't tell if the mother had a form of postpartum depression or if the baby swap was real. Very well written. I cannot wait to read more from Melanie Golding. I recommend this book to library patrons that enjoy creepy fairy tale type situations.

I found Little Darlings to be a bit too based on folklore to truly love it. Interesting premise and I like the varying viewpoints, but I put it down about a third of the way through and only picked it back up about a month later. The creepy tone that pulls you in and the book being easy to read are probably the only reasons I finished it.

The premise of this book was intriguing, however the combination of horror, suspense and fairy tale just didn't work for me. I feel like this book feel into the category of thrillers that spent too much time creating the build up and paranoia only to be let down by the actual ending. 3 stars for a fairly predictable, middle of the road thriller.

This book was creepy and riveting, moving and haunting. There were moments where my spine literally tingled, and moments where my mouth was agape. It reminded me of “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado (which is one of my favorite short stories ever); it mingles fairytales and folklore, creates a monster out of a mother’s worst nightmare, and grips the reader with the suspenseful drama of its dark story. I love how open to interpretation the ending is, and how the author ultimately left room for ambiguity in details we’d previously taken as straight-forward, though fantastical, fact. I can’t wait to see what else Melanie Golding writes. I know for sure that I will devour it.

Not quite my cup of tea. I'm just not into the folklore kinda thing as well as nightmarish visions involving parents and babies. Couldn't get into it!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book reads as equal parts postnatal, psychological thriller and Grimm fairy tale. Lauren gives birth to twins and experiences extreme exhaustion as their full time caregiver. Taking her husband's advice, she pushes herself to leave the house to take a stroll through the park. In her sleep deprived state, she nods off for just a moment and wakes to find her infants missing. The police find the babies nearby however, even though the babies look like Laura's, she is convinced they are not her children. This story gave me literal chills, had me crying for the mother and her desperation. This is a creepy, sinister and unputdownable book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary ebook. All opinions are my own.