Little Disasters was not what I expected but I did enjoy it. It was a quick and easy read. Very well written, character driven drama.

3.5/5

I really enjoyed this one! The cover could have been better but the story line is great! I think it'll be popular.

I didn't find this to be a unique "thriller" (really it was more of a domestic drama). I enjoyed it but had also recently read The Push which tackles similar themes of post partum depression, so it may have just been too much of a similar thing. There were also plot points I didn't find plausible.

This book took the mystery genre to a whole new level for me. Not only did this story have great twists and turns, but it tackled some very serious pertinent issues in our world today. Granted a trigger warning for child abuse needs to be stated. But the attention this story paid to postpartum depression was commendable. I greatly enjoyed thinking that I knew what happened only to be smacked with a twist that I did not see coming AT ALL. I don't want to say much of anything so that I don't spoil the story for someone else. Give it a go, you will not be disappointed. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. It was amazing. 4 stars!

A gripping and thought-provoking read!

Liz is a pediatrician who is on call one evening when her friend, Jess brings her ten-month-old daughter, Betsey to the emergency room. Jess tells Liz that Betsey had fallen at home. She didn’t think it was serious but thought she should bring her in to be examined just in case.

After examining Betsey, Liz has some questions but Jess is being very vague with her answers. Liz has known Jess for some time. She is a fantastic mother of three who has also been a terrific friend to Liz. But now, Liz wonders if she ever really knew Jess at all.

Jess is shocked by what happens at the hospital. Things quickly go from bad to worse…

Who can be trusted?

Secrets, lies, and deception.

The majority of this story is told from Jess and Liz’s point of view. I read it quickly as I was anxious about how things were going to play out. It was gripping but some parts were uncomfortable to read. At times, I definitely had to suspend disbelief, but there were also parts that felt very real and honest.

I really thought I had things figured out but I did not see that ending coming!!

Overall, this was a well-written character-driven domestic suspense novel. It was an interesting story about motherhood and relationships that also deals with important issues like postpartum depression, anxiety, parenting, and more.

I look forward to reading more from Sarah Vaughan.


I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This book was not what I expected but not in a bad way. It was more realistic than I was prepared for. It hit home with a relatable topic. I think it was great that the other presented this story in an understanding and relatable way. I definitely enjoyed reading this book and loved the ending.

This book is promoted as a mystery/thriller, but is really more of a family drama and unfortunately I felt like I had seen the Lifetime movie before.

This book made me really think about how hard and lonely it could be going through post partum depression. But then you have the added problems of a friend had to do her job for the sake of the child. Poor Liz put so much guilt on herself for not recognizing and then the questionable accusation to the injuries of Jess's daughter. She was just being a friend looking out for the safety of the child and her friend's other children. Who knew that this wasn't the friend she should have been worried about. Along with her own past family trauma she had so much to be considering. I loved this book. It was another great read by Sarah Vaughn. I will definitely be recommending this to friends.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’m not sure what I thought this book would be like, but it wasn’t really how I expected. Honestly- after reading this book, I felt like I needed a shower. The subject matter, the secrets over what really happened to Betsey- it was all too much at times for me. I kept reading because I wanted to know and yet, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know.

What I liked:

I’m not sure if this cover really has much to do with the subject matter in this book- but there is something about this cover that hints at dark things in this book.

Liz. That woman is wearing the world on her shoulders and deserves a gold medal.



There is a lot about this book that is hard to talk about. Postpartum issues and mental health are 2 of the big issues in this book. Child abuse is another issue. It made me feel things that I don’t necessarily feel like feeling when I’m reading- more to the point that who could hurt Betsey. And yet- while my feelings on what should happen to people who hurt children are def very clear- when there is an underlying condition as to the why- that makes the subject matter very gray.

Bottom line: This was a good book and gave me things to think about- but ultimately heavier than what I had anticipated.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Little Disasters is all about how far a mother will go to protect her children. When Liz’s friend Jess shows up at the hospital with her daughter after she appears to have had a mild concussion, Liz starts to wonder how well she knew her friend. She can’t believe that she would harm her child, but evidence shows that she may have.

I really enjoyed this read and trying to figure out if Jess would really hurt her child, and if she didn’t, who did? I also found myself thinking about what I would have done as the story unfolded. The characters were well developed. Between the characters and storyline, it seemed like a very relatable book.

A woman brings her baby daughter to the hospital and the attending doctor happens to be a friend. Based on the injuries the doctor is forced to inform the senior physician and child services are brought in. This book is told from multiple perspectives and in different time periods. Overall I found the story to be really interesting; however, I thought it was a bit redundant. The story focuses on the mother of the injured child and the doctor and we're constantly reminded that the mother has been having dark thoughts and feels like a failure, while the doctor thinks there's more to the story and feels bad for having to involve the authorities. I enjoyed the story but I wished it was a less repetitive was I found myself skimming over sections that were repeats. I would recommend this book to others who enjoy a suspenseful story with a twist at the end.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Overall I would say this was a 3ish read for me. There were somethings I really liked but also a lot I didn't really care about either way. The first time I picked up this book I had a tough time getting into it and I think that's because while I thought it was going to be more of a mystery/thriller I don't think it really is. There are certainly mystery/suspense elements to it but it felt like the primary focus of the story was the social/psychological/emotional pressures of having children/being a parent and the norms of what parenting should be like. I still enjoyed it in the end but if you're looking for a edge of your seat, mystery/thriller then this might not be for you.

Little Disasters revolves around Jess, a woman who is by all appearances the perfect mother and Liz, her long time friend and a paediatric doctor in a hospital. The two women have been friends for 10 years, ever since they were in the same prenatal class when they were expecting their first children. The story starts when Liz gets called down to the ER to consult on a case and discovers that the patient is Jess' youngest child Betsey who has had some kind of accident and injured her head. When Jess isn't able to provide clear answers as to what happened Liz and her colleagues are forced to call the police and children's aid and things very quickly spiral.

There are some elements of mystery in this book. We know something happened which caused Betsey to get hurt but because some of the characters are clearly lying/hiding information we're not 100% certain what. The book is split primarily between Liz and Jess' POVs and Jess is an incredibly unreliable narrator so we really can't trust her recollections of what actually happened. Why I would say this isn't really a mystery however is because what happened to Betsey honestly isn't as important/doesn't get as much attention as why Betsey got hurt.

The book takes a really deep dive into postpartum depression, anxiety, compulsion, and intrusive thoughts and I thought it was handled really well. I've never had children so I can't speak to those aspects (although the struggles written about seemed realistic based on what I've observed in real life) but the way that the author explained/described anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and the compulsive aspects associated with those conditions was honestly amazing. I found it incredibly realistic and well handled and I feel like the author really respected/understood the difficulties someone goes through when suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses and did a really good job representing them accurately.

Now for what I didn't enjoy. I found the book relatively slow and thought the pacing could have been a little faster. Now part of this is on me because I went into the book expecting something a little different but I still think there were parts that were dragged out for no real reason and there was a lot of repetition in the book. This wasn't always a bad thing but it was annoying at time and just made the book drag a bit. The other thing that didn't really work for me was the ending. I won't go into details because of spoilers but basically it just wasn't for me. I found the resolution kind of rushed and sloppy which was disappointing. I can understand what the author was going for but I think there were other endings that could have had more of an impact and the way it did end could have been executed differently/better.

Overall, Little Disasters was a slow burn, psychological "thriller" that I did enjoy even if it wasn't my favourite. I thought it was a really solid book and I would recommend it.

Thank you so much for this book Netgalley!!! This book was:
A good read
Captivating with realistic characters
and a believable plot
looking at parenting and the pressures of everyday issues
with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings

A good insight into the struggles everyone faces behind a seemingly perfect facade. The mental health of a mother is not always perfect, and people are so quick to judge if a mom isn’t 100% doting on her children. Also, who saw that ending coming?!

** spoiler alert ** This was an emotional read for me. It felt a bit too close to home. I am a mother of young children the first days of their infancy was rough. I remember feeling so crazy and anxious from lack of sleep.

In this book, the main character is accused of hurting her baby. Most of the book describes her harrowing experience with post partum depression and anxiety. However it is not acknowledged by anyone until much later in the book. I disagreed with how the book handled it. The friends and family of the main character saw red flags and didn't do anything and for about 75% of the book she was ignored. This made me sad and I would hope that other mothers reading this would not think that friends and family would ignore behaviours like that. I got the feeling she had very little support and although that is common for a lot of mothers I had character issues with the husband. I feel like the pacing was a bit off for me for this book. I would get into it and then set it down and forget about it. There was quite a bit of extra fluff that could have been omitted. I enjoyed the background plot of Liz's childhood the most and the plot twist ending but it felt slightly rushed. This novel is advertised as a psychological thriller, but it's more of a domestic drama with a suspenseful twist. I'm looking forward to reading other books written by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Sarah Vaughn), and the publisher (Atria/Emily Bestler Books) for a copy of the book.

Motherhood. It's different for everyone. This was a bit of a roller coaster, that I am sure many can relate to. Protect your children at all costs. I really enjoyed this one, however it was a slow burn for me.
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Thank you @netgalley for the copy!
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This book started out strong for me and then my interest started to wane. To the book's credit, I think the subject just wasn't for me and that was a big part of the reason it took so long to get through.

This was an engaging read. I definitely felt emotionally invested in this novel and the characters and wanted to see how everything played out. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and Sarah Vaughan for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I read it book few months back but only now I think I am somewhere close to share my thoughts on it. It shatters me due to its subject - motherhood and postpartum depression. If motherhood is quite well explored and written about in contemporary literature, there is little and close to none material about postpartum depression. These topics are not easy to handle but they must be talked about to work on the stigma of motherhood as easy and "flower-y" part of women lives.

Jess has a third baby quite unexpectedly. It is not like she and her husband planned it, it just happens, and she tries to be the best mother there is. She find herself isolated and hard to cope, and she struggles with her two boys and newborn. She felt overwhelmed, and her husband over-time work does not help in this situation. Her friend, Liz, is trying to be there for her but she has a full plate on her own - kids and sick mother. And then something terrible happens...

Plot wise Little Disasters are fine, it keeps the reader to turn pages to see how women cope, how family lives through the tragedy and what would come of it. Character-wise I was a bit confused. I did not really understood who was the protagonist - Jess, a new mother again, struggling with newborn and her kids, and her husband, at loss of what is she doing wrong and losing herself in this battle, or Liz - the friend, the mother too, and a daughter to a sick mother, who opens up about something terrible happened in the past on her deathbed. I felt that these women were both very important struggling with different at the same time similar issues; however, none were fully developed. I felt like there was not enough of Liz's background to build her character, and not enough of Jess past too. It kept to referring to their backgrounds, but both were left untouched.

Overall, I think this books must be read as it gives light on what women go through after giving birth. Every situation is different and unique, and books are there for us to learn.

This was an interesting book and I could definitely relate to the challenges and struggles that come to every woman when they become a mom. I just wasn’t really pulled into this story, it didn’t really catch my attention.