This is about a mom who has twins boys, and when she is in the hospital, a woman comes to see them. This lady is extremely creepy and switches her babies with the twins. The mom calls the police, but no one believes her and thinks she is crazy. But, the mom knows that the babies have been switched, and nothing is the same.
I do love ambiguous endings, but I was pretty upset by house this book ended. I definitely wanted more, and I also found that the husband was extremely irritating and an asshole.
Another thing I didn't care about was the backstory from the police process. I just don't like any type of police or detectives in my thrillers.

3 Stars

I had never read anything by Melanie Golding before but something about Little Darlings caught my attention and would not let go. It took me a little while to get to the book but I finally found the time to dive in and see if the story could captivate me as much as the cover.

The world seems to think that Lauren Trantor just needs to get more rest. This is understandable given that she just had twins, Morgan and Riley. She agrees that she has never been more tired in her life. It does not help that her husband seems to have decided that taking care of the twins is her job to do alone. Lauren is exhausted and needs more rest. She would not argue with that. But that does not change what she saw that night in the hospital. Everyone thought it was a delusion brought on by exhaustion. Lauren knows it was real.

Lauren knows the woman who visited her in the hospital wants to take her children. She told her so the night they were born. She lost her twins and wants Lauren’s son to replace her own. No one believed Lauren. Then a month later, the twins disappeared. They were quickly recovered but Lauren knows a secret about the boys. Something about them is different. She knows even though no one believes her and she is determined to set things right again and reclaim her family.

Little Darlings is bit of a hybrid book with a cross between a police procedural and a supernatural thriller. The book started out in the manner that I expected and I was really geared up for a wild ride. The book then settles down a bit and the middle parts is a bit slower as the pieces are put together and the truth begins to come out. The action ramps up again toward the end of the novel but it began to seem a little hollow to me. Once the facts of the story are uncovered, it all seemed a little anticlimactic to me and I was a bit let down. I still enjoyed the novel but I did not care too much for the ending. It just did not seem to fit with how the story started and left me wanting for more.

Overall, there is a lot to like in Little Darlings but I finished the book feeling a little let down. The story got off to a strong start and then built on a slow simmer for a while in the middle as it sorted itself out. But ultimately it took a less interesting turn than I had hoped and started to lose me a little toward the end. I was also a bit confused by the book t times as it almost seemed as if the novel was the continuation of a series. There was a whole relationship between the detective and a reporter that I never could quite get a good grip on because I felt as if I was coming into the middle of the story. I honestly thought it was a sequel but that is not the case s it is the author’s first novel. In the end, the novel ended up being an interesting tale that I felt could have been much more. It was good enough that I would encourage giving it a try to see if you like it more than I did.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this review copy. Little Darlings is available now.

This is a tense, atmospheric, spine-tingling story. I loved the speculative element and the fairy-tale like undertones woven throughout. I found it to be exactly the type of thriller I've been looking for. Unproblematic, thoughtful, well written and extremely interesting. Oftentimes mystery/thrillers sacrifice things for shock or plot, this book balanced plot, character, mystery and otherworldly implications so deftly. I would love to read more from the author but also more books like this!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This was a page turner. I could feel her anxiety, exhaustion, frustration. In fact, I had a hard time reading it and kept falling asleep as I was reading. It was an easy read when I was awake but it just made me tired. I kept waiting for the reveal. For the explanation that never really came.

This is a dark read and I loved it.

This is 100% for fans of dark horror and it kept me up all night because I needed to finish it.

Daaaark book and boy was I here for it! This is true horror. Lauren has gone through it in this book. And as a parent this was TOUGH TO READ but worth it. If you know, then you know.

AND I just heard this is being made into a movie so YES! We need more amazing horror books turned into films.

Creepy but not as creepy as I was hoping. I really liked the writing style in this book and found myself engaged throughout. I will be trying more from Golding in the future.

It's rare that I meet a book so creepy that I have to stop reading it for a little bit. This book is atmospheric and truly downright scary at some points.

What a page-turner! I read this book in two evenings. It’s a thriller, mystery, and dark fairytale, with a dash of the paranormal, all rolled into one book.

In this debut novel, Melanie Golding perfectly captures the fog of postpartum and maternal instinct. She took me back 15 years, to my early days with my newborn daughter. This made the main character, Lauren, immediately relatable.

New mothers are often on the receiving end of well-meant, unsolicited advice and Lauren was no exception.

After a terrifying night in the hospital where a filthy woman tries to exchange Lauren’s twins with her own creature-like twins, Lauren is told she is imagining things and the incident is dismissed as exhaustion. Video footage confirms that nothing happened and soon enough Lauren and her irritating husband Patrick are heading home with their newborn twins.

Lauren’s fears and terror continue yet she cannot convince those around her that something isn’t right. As a mother, I could put myself in that situation and that’s what made this a page-turner.

I had to know what happened next.

What I did like:

The writing was well done, Lauren’s character was well developed and easy to empathize with. I love a good changeling story. And changeling twins? Even better.

I also appreciated the presentation of a postpartum mother, suffering from terrible worry and fear, without turning her into an unreliable narrator. I never felt the need to question Lauren’s fears.

What I didn’t like:

UGH the husband, Patrick. I’m sure that is a universal feeling from anyone who has read this book. Sometimes his clueless demeanor bordered on cruel, making him feel a bit overdeveloped. But I do believe that helped strengthen Lauren’s character and story.

Harper, the detective – I wish her back story had been expanded more. She was right on the cusp of being an interesting and well-developed character.

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often to lovers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels!

It it rare that I don’t find something to like about a book but this one just didn’t do it for me. I was at times bored and at other times creeped out, but never could get into the characters or the story. The gruesome fairy tale aspect of the book may have been what turned me off but I found myself wishing for it to end. I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review so I kept plodding on in the hopes that it would pick up. Unfortunately, the ending was worse. I probably am just the wrong reader for this book because so many others liked it.

This was a paranormal book which I found to be solid, but did not reach the level of me saying I really enjoyed it. It was interesting, forced you to suspend reality, and makes you question the competency and motives of all of the main characters-which was my favorite aspect. It was a fine read, but not one that will particularly stand out for me, so ⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars.

I had higher hopes for "Little Darlings" from the synopsis but the overall story seems to just fall flat for me. While it's a dark and slightly creepy book, it just didn't really work for me. The characters are largely unlikable and the plot was rather predictable.

What a creepy and engaging book! It’s part thriller, part mystery and and a little horror thrown in. The story moves quickly and is a twisty, suspenseful read that won’t disappoint you.

This book drew me in from the start. The books was paced with a narrator that I immediately connected with. I highly recommend this twisty, dark tale. I read this as an ARC on netgalley.

I started reading this book, but couldn't continue reading it due to the content and storyline. I had to stop reading the book.

I had high hopes for this one from the description, but it fell just slightly flat for me. There were aspects that I really enjoyed, first off it having a dark fairy tale element that was really appealing to me. The atmosphere was really dark and I think it was well done, not to mention this is a retelling that I haven't seen often, which was nice.
I enjoyed the way that it was written in that we more often than not weren't sure what the mental state of the mother was.
I think the full reason it fell a little flat for me was because at it's core, its a story about motherhood and as I am not a parent, I just couldn't relate to that aspect. I think parents would have an easier time of it than I did. But overall, I liked it, it just didn't live up to the full hype it could have.

This has got to be one of the creepiest domestic thrillers I've ever read. The first pages perfectly capture how vulnerable and uncertain a new mother can feel, especially one without enough support. That's even before a strange woman appears in Lauren's hospital room, wanting to trade Lauren's newborn identical twin sons for the two miserable things in the stranger's basket. Lauren manages to lock herself and the twins in the bathroom and call for help, but when the authorities do arrive the hospital staff blames Lauren's fragile mental state.



A month later, after the twins are abducted but quickly returned, Lauren is unconvinced that the babies in the stroller are her own. They look like Morgan and Riley, but something is different. She can no longer tell the two apart or recognize their cries. They behave differently. Their eyes have changed. Even her husband can see that, but it's explained away as the normal change in eye color that all newborns have.



Once Harper, a police officer looking into the incident at the hospital, was introduced my interest started to wane a bit. Lauren and her fears are fascinating, but Harper's presence pulled me away from what I loved most about the book. I wasn't interested in the detective's back story or personal life, but I guess she was a necessary part of the plot.



Overall, I loved this one and highly recommend it if you're in the mood for a domestic thriller with the possibility of a supernatural element.

Good creepy book! This book kept me up until the wee hours of the night! Great for the horror lover! Thanks netgalley for the free arc!