Thank you, NetGalley for an advance copied of the novel for my honest review.
Little Darlings
by MelanieGolding
Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.

A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley—to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.

Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some of our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking—and rechecking—your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

This was just creepy. I honestly had difficulty even following some of the dialogue. Perhaps it was the U.K.slangs, spellings, and whatever. It was very dark and chilling. I honestly could not finish.

And VERY sorry I rated it as my own opinion and rate scale.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review. I did not really care for this book. It was not really creepy or all that suspenseful. The ending was rushed and not very satisfying.

I requested this book back in November from Net galley and completely forgot about it until searching through my kindle TBR list. It sounded interesting enough so I started it yesterday evening. Well...I stayed up way past my bedtime devouring this book, it has such a unique concept. So much so that it's hard to put this book into one genre. It has elements of a psychological thriller, horror and dark fairy tale/folklore.

I went into this thinking it was a psychological thriller so I was very suprised to discover it was a whole lot more. This whole book gave me Rosemarys Baby vibes which is a positive as it's one of my favourite movies, talking of movies this is already being made into a film and I can definitely see why and I will also be watching the movie adaption as soon as it is released, definitely my cup of tea.

This book filled me with so many emotions. Not only was it seriously creepy but it touched the serious topic of post partum anxiety and psychosis. I think it is due to the fact that my youngest is only 5 months old so the worries and concerns that Lauren has at the start of the book really hit home and I could relate to a lot of what she was thinking and feeling and also the utter trauma she faces, you really do feel for her. It truly was terrifying in parts but not in the cliche way a horror usually is, this is on a more phsycological way that really gets you thinking about everything Lauren is going through. Again, this is probably because I am a mother and my Baby is still very young.  I'm not saying that only other parents will find this utterly creepy and disturbing because I am sure this would give everyone a huge shiver up the spine.

It is very cleverly written so you are always going backwards and forwards in terms of what you think Lauren is experiencing, one minute I was convinced it's post partum psychosis that Lauren is experiencing then the next paragraph the writer makes you question yourself and think "no could it really be...??"

My only small dislike with this book, which stopped me giving it 5 stars was the chapters which included the detective and her love interest Amy the reporter. I found these chapters that focussed on these characters were slightly unnecessary and didn't add any substance to the book for me.

I would love to read more of Melanie Goldings books in the future if they are in anyway as good as this one. This book is released on 2nd May in the UK.

Thank you Net galley and Crooked house books for sending me the digital ARC of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

4.5 stars.

This. Was. Wonderfully. Creepy. I have not read many books about bad things and babies over the last several years since I've had my own child, but I couldn't resist this one. It's certainly largely a fairy tale--a haunting, dark, old-fashioned sort of fairy tale--but it also touches on horror and psychological suspense. And it will keep you up all night, jumping at things that go bump in the night.

I loved the references to the multitude of fairy tales that address the notion of changelings: these are some of my favorite tales. This novel does leave a couple of unanswered questions, but because the book is just so hypnotic, I'm willing to accept that we just aren't getting all the answers here. Overall, I enjoyed that I really did wonder from time to time if the protagonist was in her right mind; the author expertly presents the narrative so you juggle your interpretation on and off throughout the story. Golding also does an excellent job of making you feel the protagonist's anxiety; like her, you're not sure who you can ever trust. Really atmospheric and unsettling.

I agree with others that you might want to hold off on this one if you are having twins or have recently had them. It's just that affective. But if you can handle it, this is a great read. I'm considering using it for my fairy tale class next fall. Highly recommend.

This was a perfectly decent thriller, straddling the line between psychological and supernatural. I felt like the story got a little sluggish near the two-thirds mark, and some of the dialog was a little weak, but on the whole, the writing was quite good, and the story was fairly gripping. I felt it was good, but not great.

Do you like dark, scary fairy tales? Stories where the twists shock you and leave you breathless? Read Little Darlings. This is a modern take on ages old fairy tales that were more frightening than enlightening.

Lauren Tranter is a brand new mother of identical twin boys. She has a rather rough delivery and finds herself stuck in the hospital recovering. One night shortly after the babies have been born, she awakens to a nightmare. An ragged woman in in the cubby next to hers. The woman wants to trade a baby for one of Lauren’s. Lauren locks herself in the bathroom and calls for assistance. No one else has seen or heard anything, so they assume Lauren has had an episode from all the exhaustion.

Things don’t get much better once Lauren goes home. Her friends visit and gift her a very strange book of tales of twins that are both fairy tales and other dark stories. Lauren becomes convinced that she cannot leave her babies for even a second or something sinister will happen. She becomes obsessed with locking herself in her room and not allowing anyone near the babies, nor leaving the house. Everyone around Lauren chalks this up to exhaustion of a new mother, but is it?

No spoilers here. The story is fabulous. I couldn’t put it down (except from exhaustion.) While reading it is hard to discern what is real and what isn’t. Golding puts us into a state of wondering if fairy tales can be real. At no point did I think that the book was dragging or long-winded. I truly enjoyed this journey, even though it’s so unsettling to think about.

Definitely not a read for new moms, but for the rest of us, highly recommended! There were parts of this book that gave me the chills. Loved it.

For a psychological thriller book, it felt more like reading a mixed fantasy/mystery book.

Throughout the read, the suspense can be felt as the mother experiences the loss of her twins in a surreal manner. Her twins have been switched but with who? What must be done to save her twins?

I enjoyed the overall read but was not interested in the main plot due to the strangeness of the situation.

This book really incites paranoia because it rides on the aged old fear of new mothers losing their newborns. In this book, a newly made Mum goes hysterical when she believes her two newborn twins have been swapped by faeries, and no one believes her even till the very end.
It is terrifying, it is gripping, and worst of all it is relatable.
It makes me actually fear having kids and if the book manages to do that, then I think it has succeeded.

This book is not without weaknesses though. I felt that the scene where Lauren escaped to swap her babies should have been covered in more detail. So what actually happened underwater? Also, what were the motivations of that faerie Mother who swapped her kids only to be thankful to have them back few days later? Then, what’s the point of swapping?
The book has potential to be even more enthralling, if it explores deeper into how the faerie babies carried themselves, and the motives of the faerie Mother. More time should also have been spent on why the perpetrator looks like Lauren, and sounds like Lauren (according to the cyclist witness and the CCTV tape). It was never explained why.
So that’s one star gone for all that.

A creepy and atmospheric story that contains elements of the Grimm Fairy Tales.

In the maternity ward, a mysterious woman appears in Lauren’s room at night and tries to take Lauren’s twin boys and replace them with her own creatures. The doctors and husband put it off as Lauren just seeing things due to exhaustion, but Lauren knows the truth. What will a mother do to save her twin boys?

I had a hard time putting this book down. I even found myself reading it at work. It pulled me in and held my attention all the way to the end. My only gripe was that I wish the ending had been a little more fleshed out. Other than that this was a really good read.

A weirdly scary story. It’s gripping and intense. It will give you nightmares and make you question the sanity of people. The author tells a horrifying tale of a mother losing her mind after the birth of her children. She gets no support from her spouse and creates and incident that is a tangled mess. It is creepy and sad at the same time. You will not be able to put it down until the end.

My oh my, Mother Does Know Best; or does she? This thrilling dark tale took off quickly where we met a new mother Lauren Tranter whom just had twin boys; Morgan and Riley.
After someone attempts to steal her babies, and call to 999 Dective Jo Harper is on the case. No one believes the mum, not even her husband Patrick the tale is dark and twisted and a great read.

What a creepy read! Different in the fact that it wasn’t just a psychological thriller but also incorporated folklore/fairy tale theme. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you #Netgalley, the author and publisher for my free arc in exchange for my honest review.
Posting to goodreads as well.

3.5 Stars

Take my rating with a grain of salt because my friends LOVED this one. I’ll blame my sorta fail on the fact that I am not a big fan of fairy tales (even dark ones) combined with the fact that everyone else in a book can act like a complete dimwit and do things that are stupid and/or dangerous and I’ll still love it - EXCEPT if that person is a police officer. Occasionally it flies, but usually that gets on my nerves.

The story about Lauren Tranter’s twins will definitely leave readers asking "is this the real life - is it just fantasy" as she tries to convince her husband, doctors and the authorities that an encounter with a stranger . . . .

“Choose one. Choose one or I’ll take them both. I’ll take yours and you can have mine. You’ll never know the difference. I can make sure they look just the same. One’s fair. Two is justice done.”

Resulted in changelings being left in her care.

It’s up to the reader to decide if maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline a complete mental breakdown courtesy of some severe post-partum psychosis.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If I actually reviewed these in a timely fashion (or ever) maybe I’d be at 80%!

Going in I had misconceptions about the book. Thought it would be a straight mystery. But it was so much more than that. Definitely a mystery but with some fokelore included as a bonus. Not recommended for those about to give birth.

Great read. Look forward to more from this author.

Beautifully composed novel that intertwines the real with various folklore and tale of twins, kidnapping, and infanticide from various cultures. I loved every minute of this creepy ride.

I really enjoyed this terrific novel! Although I was left with more questions than answers, this novel was fantastic. I recommend it to any reader who favors novels of psychological suspense. I found the background information regarding the worldwide myths of changeling babies very interesting. I did a little internet research on these myths & found some of the same information as Ms. Golding noted in this novel.
Were the babies Morgan & Riley replaced by Selver & Bishop? Was the river mother Betty Fairweather, a mill worker during the late 19th century who could operate four looms at once? When the divers discovered the partial skeleton of a female along with 2 small bodies in the reservoir, were these the bodies of Betty Fairweather & her sons?
What actually happened to Lauren Tranter? Was she a woman suffering from post partum depression who merely imagined her twin babies were changelings? Or did something bizarre occur?
Why did Patrick Tranter overstate his wife’s mental illness?
For a debut novel Melanie Golding has proven herself to be a very gifted author. I plan on reading her future novels.
Thank you, Net Galley and the publisher Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read & review this terrific novel.

Lauren Tranter gave birth to twin boys, Riley and Morgan. She had a rough delivery and although, her husband, Patrick, is with her during visiting hours, but must leave when visiting hours are over. While in the hospital, Lauren hears a mom next to her cooing and talking to what sounds like another pair of twins. After a nurse pushed back the curtain, there was no bed, and the only other mom in the room had just one baby. Another night, Lauren again heard loud singing and two babies, and peered through an opening in the curtain to find a filthy woman sitting in a chair with a large basket by her feet. Confronting the woman, asking her to stop singing. Soon the woman took a keen interest in Lauren and her twins, and tried to make a bargain one baby for one. Fearing Lauren ran back, fetched her boys and locked herself in the bathroom.

Jo Harper, a police officer took note of an emergency call that came from the hospital. She went to pay a visit to Lauren. The call was dismissed, as no one saw an intruder, and considered that Lauren was seeing things. Despite Jo's boss telling her to let the investigation go, she makes a copy of security tape.

Patrick Tranter, is the husband of Lauren, the two were very close and Patrick is a doting father to the newborns. As time goes on, Patrick decides, that he has helped enough and needs his rest so he can go to work. He leaves Lauren to deal with tending to the twins by herself.

Patrick insists that his wife gets out of the house, which she goes to meet up with friends. When the visit is over, and the friends depart, Lauren decides to do a little more walking and soon finds herself fatigued. She sits on a bench and ends up falling asleep, only to wake to find the stroller with her boys missing.

Jo Harper is called once more and although finding the boys and a suspect, doesn't get the reaction she expects to get. When she enlists the help of a journalist, Jo learns of another attempted abduction of twins with similarities to Lauren's hospital case.

I enjoyed this book very much. There are a lot of twists and a creepy factor that keeps you guessing to the end.

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books in exchange for my honest review.

This book is about a first time mother Lauren Tranter of twin boys and the struggle she goes through to take care of them with no help from the husband. It also has a little bit of dark fairy tale parts. It also talks a little of Detective Joanne Harper and why she has a lot of interest in child abduction cases, even though it does not go into detail it is understandable why she feels the way she does. Not a big fan of the ending but I get it. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

4.5 stars for the amount of goosebumps and chills this gave me as I was reading it. An unsettling tale about the realness of postpartum depression paired with paranoia and being dismissed as crazy, Little Darlings was the creepiest thing I’ve read in recent memory.

No one really tells you how it is when you have a baby - this was so detailed with the labor, the pains, the tearing and blood, that it gave me a mental panic attack just thinking about having to go through that process someday (probably very soon). And the aftermath of not wanting to leave home and being afraid that someone will harm you and your newborn babies, I know it’s a very real fear some women have to endure so to have it paired with the darkness of the prospect of having changelings in place of your babies is so disturbing.

In regards to the main characters, I really only liked one of them. Lauren was filled with paranoia and a real sense of urgency from the moment she encountered the river lady and she just felt like a broken damsel in distress the entire way through. Jo/Harper was the fearless woman I needed and was searching for to balance out the unsteadiness of character from Lauren. Patrick, the mansplaining husband who I disliked more and more with every chapter, was utterly useless. The entire book was so creepy and eerie - a perfect literary example of a nightmare. I’m no stranger to fairy tales or Brothers Grimm stories, but when it’s retold in a contemporary setting with a realness that makes you think “what if….” - it’s haunting.