OBSESSED with this book. I consumed it voraciously on a cottage weekend with friends.

There were many twists and turns, even laugh out loud moments for me in this psychological book full of emotion.

Would read again.

This book started out strong and immediately grabbed my attention. However, I started get bored and couldn’t get myself to like any of the characters. Not one single character seemed redeemable. The abuse that is constantly alluded too doesn't really get explored to the depth you would think for the emotional issues that the main characters are left with. The mystery didn't really seem like a huge mystery. The ending that I assume was to be a twist, was a pretty easy twist to figure out. Overall, I did not love this book and ended up skipping paragraphs just to get to the end.

I love Sally Hepworth! Her stories always hook me instantly and I finish in days. The characters are always relatable and the character development is on point! That being said, This was a compelling story about the foster system and how these children can sadly fall through the cracks. The twist at the end was shocking and not fully predictable either.

This book was provided to me in advance by Net Galley.

I have read all of Sally Hepworth's books and I find some of them hit or miss but I really loved this one. I finished it in less than 48 hours, which isn't easy on a weekend with a preschooler. The characters are flawed but likeable and the twists keep you guessing until the end. I would highly recommend

I was hooked into Darling Girls and the way that it was written. Loved hearing it from the side of each foster child - Norah, Alicia and Jessica. It flipped from today's point of view to the past point of view. Each girl had their own point of view of what happened and what they were feeling. Also, you were able to see how it affected them in present day, which I think gives a great background to why they react the way that they do in present day. Jessica - is organized and has to follow strict protocols for herself. Alicia - takes care of children in the foster care system. Norah - flies off the handle quickly with her temper.

I enjoyed this story telling and love it.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

WOW! Five well deserved stars for this book! I’m not a big fan of time jumps but this was one of very few books I’ve read where I was itching to go back to earlier times to find out what happened. The ending was nuts. Very good all around and held my interest the entire time.

Wow! 5⭐️ This story is told through multiple perspectives of the foster girls that were raised by Miss Fairchild. I was enthralled and could not wait to jump back into this story. Another twisty, turny winner by Sally Hepworth.

Huge thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book. Loved it!!

Thank you St Martins press and Netgalley for an ARC of Darling Girls in exchange for my honest review.

I love Sally Hepworth. I love her storytelling and the twists and turns of her stories. She’s dark and deceptive and I know that no matter how I try to guess the outcome of the book, I will be wrong.

Darling Girls is a dual timeline story about 3 girls growing up together in a foster home and the effects it has on their adulthood. The “sisters” have an emotional bond that nothing and no one can break. In their 30’s, they must return to the location of some of their worst days and confront the person that was supposed to care for them.

While the plot kept me interested in learning what happened next, overall it fell a bit flat for me. And while this was an ARC (which I am appreciative to the publisher and Netgalley for!) this book was riddled with errors, to the point where it became distracting, so hoping those are fully addressed before publishing.

I am a big fan of Sally Hepworth and always enjoy her novels and admire her character development throughout her novels. Darling Girls is a difficult book to read, but the book is certainly worth it. These darling girls, three unrelated foster children who bond in terrible circumstances are sisters for life, no matter what happens. And things happen, terrifying and cruel things happen yet the girls survive, loving and trusting each other. Years later, bones are discovered under Miss Fairchilds, the awful foster mothers home., going home the darling girls need to come to terms with their past and their present and we follow breathlessly along.. You think about the girls when you are not reading, a sure sign of brilliant writing. Five star read.

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading Sally Hepworths last triller Soulmate, so I was excited to dive into this one. Jessica, Norah and Alicia, self-proclaimed sisters, bonded during their abusive time in foster care under the watch of Mrs. Fairchild. The story alternates between the past and present and the three viewpoints of the girls. In the present the farmhouse they lived and suffered abuse has been demolished and bones of a child have been found buried under it. I think that the characters were well thought out, each girl having their strengths and weaknesses. We can see how the past has helped to shape their futures both positively and negatively.

Sally Wepworth is always very good at keeping your interest peaked and wanting to know what will happen next and what twist is coming. I was a little disappointed with a few plot holes… does DNA testing not exist? I found it very compelling in the beginning and had a hard time putting the book down but that momentum died off a little towards the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martins Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Darling Girls is about 3 foster "sisters", who grew up together at Wild Meadows foster home in Port Agatha.
25 years later they receive a call from a detective about the discover of human bones under the farmhouse of their childhood. The 3 return to be interviewed by the detectives on the case. Alicia, Jessica and Norah all have flashbacks from their time at Meadows Hill with their cruel and abusive foster mom, Miss Fairchild.
It's a mystery who the bones are since as children no one believed them and they were gaslit for years.
This book was an excellent telling of the permanent effects of being raised by an abusive, narcissistic parent I highly recommend this book, as the twists and turns were non stop! I read this book late into the night, and the ending was well worth it!
Huge thanks to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Sally for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
Publication date: April 23, 2024

Sally Hepworth never disappoints! This story was twisty and absorbing and I couldn't wait to find out what had happened to three foster sisters brought up by an overbearing and vindictive foster mother. I felt that the end wrapped up a little too neatly, but it also brought a satisfying conclusion to the story, maybe better than real life would have been. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Darling girls is a thriller with a twist you will not see coming.

Darling Girls follows three former foster children, Jessica, Alicia, and Norah who spent a few years at Wild Meadows together under the care of their foster mother, Miss. Fairchild. Through the physical and psychological torment they suffer at the hands of their foster mother, they grew close enough to consider themselves “sisters”.

One day, they receive a phone call that human bones were found on the site of Wild Meadows. They all return to be interviewed by detectives. News of the human remains being found causes each women to face their past as they begin to have flashbacks to their time spent at Wild Meadows.

Who do the bones belong to? Is it one of the former foster children? Is Miss. Fairchild a master manipulator? Or is Miss. Fairchild the loving mother she claims to be and the three girls imagined the neglect “because of their trauma”? Can our pasts ever truly remain buried?

Hepworth did an amazing job at portraying the long term damage that childhood trauma and narcissistic abusive parents can inflict well into adulthood. I highly suggest reading this book if you have the chance. The last chapter of this book easily placed this book into my top five reads so far of the year. 👏🏻

Thank you again to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book which I was lucky enough to read. Publication Date: April 23, 2024.

(This book does touch on child abuse - both physical and physiological- which may be triggering to some.)

***all opinions are my own***

This was incredibly good! I could see it being picked up by some book clubs for sure. Highly recommend from me! Sally Hepworth is back and better than ever!

“Being loved had been the goal of her life. Loving someone in return . . . that was just showing off.”


Every time I think I can’t possibly love a Sally Hepworth, book more, another Sally Hepworth book comes along.

Sally has such a tender and special way of writing her characters. The best thing about them is that they are never ever quite as they seem. They are always layered and nuanced and you always fall in love with them and feel protective of them as the pages fly by. And I mean FLY- I absolutely devoured this

The best part of this one is the delicate and soul-baring depiction of sisterhood. Each of the three sisters has such a beautiful heart. It takes some time getting down to the nitty gritty of their true selves but man getting there is fun.

5 shiny stars.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this novel. All opinions on my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. Norah, Jessica and Alicia are foster sisters who have been summoned back to their foster home to help with the investigation of bones that were found under the house they used to live in. The sisters do not want to relive this part of their lives as their foster mother was at times abusive to them. Do they know who is buried there? Have they killed someone? Read to find out! Sally Hepworth is a favorite author of mine and I always enjoy her books.
3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Another intriguing thriller from Sally Hepworth. This novel explores themes of foster care, abandonment, addiction and more all wrapped up in a murder investigation decades in the making. Readers of Sandie Jones & B.A. Paris might enjoy this one as well.

This was one of those books I couldn’t put down and had to keep reading to find out what happened next. Five stars!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxCS53mgxzU/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

What a fast paced book I love books that keep me on the edge of my seat. The points of view really added to the story and since I’ve read all of Sally’s books I know her twists are always amazing. I really enjoyed the plot as well as the writing style