If you’re in a reading slump and need a good page turner to get you out, I’ve found your next read! This was my favorite @sallyhepworth read so far! The characters are well developed and she delivers some gasp inducing twists, in classic Hepworth fashion. It was a great page turner with important themes and I applaud her for bringing light to them.

This was a fun, twisty thriller with some great surprises. I have read Hepworth before and always love her books. This felt very different from her usual work. Ina great way! Made from a great read! Will definitely be recommending!

Wow! Miss Fairchild is a massive psychopath and it made this book so great to read. She was the perfect nemesis to Jessica, Norah & Alicia. I thought I had this story figured out but in the end I was very wrong and Miss Fairchild became an even bigger villain to me. The relationship between the three sisters was lovely and vibrant, They really watched out for each other throughout their lives. I could tell they were great characters when they sacrificed themselves to help the babies, then Amy. It was heartbreaking to read this story of a woman who was foster parenting for all the wrong reasons, It was equally hesrtwarming to see Alicia and Mira fostering for all the right reasons. The plot tie ups for Jessica & Phil, Norah and Alicia were wonderful.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this great book.

📚ARC Review 📚

Darling Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was so good!!

This story follows Jessica, Norah, and Alicia. They are foster sisters that lived in a big farm house on an estate owned by Mrs. Fairchild. They were “lucky” to have such a nice house to stay in with a nice foster parent…or so they were told. 20 years have passed and a shocking discovery was found under the house at Wild Meadows while it was being demolished. Now the sisters are together again, under investigation, and have to relive all the trauma they went through while they lived there. But what really went on inside that house?

This book was so good! I was hooked within the first few chapters. I loved the multiple point of views of the sisters as well as a mystery person. Told in a past and present timeline, you get to see the story through each persons eyes and try to piece together what really happened. The epilogue was shocking!! Such a great story of foster sisters and how family isn’t always by blood. I will say this book does contain a trigger warning, so be sure to check that out before you start.

If you’re a fan of psychological/ domestic thrillers, then this one is for you! It comes out on April 23, 2024. Be sure to add it to your TBR list. And to my Book of the Month Box Girls- add this one to your box!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced readers copy. This is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review:

This book was a win for me! From the very beginning I was drawn into the story. Each chapter left me needing to read 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 and that left me staying up way past bed time. I really enjoyed how Hepworth not only wove together the past and present of the story but she also did it by using the POV of all three of the sisters. I was impressed at how she was able to do this without making the storyline get confusing. I loved getting to see the unique way each of the children dealt with the events that took place at Wild Meadows and how that shaped their adulthood.

I really enjoyed each of the characters development throughout the story and how the story ended with all my questions answered. I was able to guess one of the twists but other than that Hepworth kept me guessing throughout the story!

Mrs. Fairchild was the absolute worst but without her there would be no story! Her character is a great reminder that not everything is always as it seems and sometimes we need to look past the picture perfect facade to see what is hiding underneath.

This novel is not for everyone it does contain elements of child abuse, r*ape, domestic vi*olence and other distressing situations involving children. However as a pediatric nurse who has worked closely with social work and abused/neglected children I was impressed at how Hepworth took the time to interview and gain insights from people who have work or personally been in this broken system. She did an exceptional job putting their experiences and emotions into the writing of this story. The story felt as though all the atrocities at Wild Meadows Farm actually took place. This is definitely one to add to you TBR.

This just didn't work for me. I usually really enjoy this author's thrillers set against the Australian backdrop, but I had such a hard time connecting with this one.

Three sisters who were foster siblings living at a house of horrors called Wild Meadows. They reconvene 25 years later when the house is being bulldozed and a body is discovered under the house. The harsh realties of the situation come to light and slowly we discover what really happened behind the façade of Wild Meadows.

I didn't connect with any of the characters, I just found myself not caring about any of them. Hepworth threw a few too many threads into this one, that ended up feeling as though none of them were fully fleshed out. The only redeeming factor was the twist at the end, I didn't see coming, but should have known how completely evil one character truly was.

Darling Girls
By Sally Hepworth

I have difficulty diving all into Sally Hepworth novel because I want to savor it. I love and am driven crazy by the unknown mystery characters and context. This novel deserves to be savored or devoured whichever you prefer. The Darling Girls are the 3 former foster sisters now adults. Each has her own secrets and struggles which are put to the test when they are called back to their former foster town. Human bones have been discovered at Wild Meadows foster home in Port Agatha and an investigation is underway. Jessica, Norah and Alicia travel together to Port Agatha. They bonded in their misery at Wild Meadows and would never let each other face their past alone. To you the reader, all will be revealed. Told in present and flashback, will the women be heroines or tragic figures when the dust settles? Enjoy finding out.

Thank you to NetGalley,St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an advanced copy.

Wow, this book kept me guessing and these stories and characters will stay with me for a while. The book starts by introducing us to three women who all get a call about a body found near their former foster home. As the three women come together to go back to where it all began the story starts moving back and forth between the current mystery and their troubled upbringing. Their past starts catching up to them and each woman starts to unravel as their past and present collide. I was deeply invested in their struggles and how the past was torturing them and affecting them still 25 years later. This was a heart breaking tale about the experience some children can have in foster care, and how that childhood trauma stays with them. I enjoyed the book until the end. Not to give anything away, but I feel like the story would have been so much better without the last twist that was taken. Trigger warnings of abuse, rape, assault, and childhood trauma in this book. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

This book was amazing!! It was a solid 4 star read that kept me engaged up until the last chapter - and OH MAN that was just *chef's kiss*.

There are definitely a few hard to stomach scenes in this book. They are not necessarily gory, but if you are sensitive to some child abuse/trauma, I would tread carefully. In my opinion it wasn't too much, but it was memorable.

This is a suspenseful book that will break your heart, but also show you the love and closeness sisters share (even if they aren't biological sisters). This really makes you feel for children put in foster care, and I have such an appreciation for the those who are advocates for these children.

I think Sally Hepworth does an astounding job at writing some complex and not mentally stable characters - I really gained respect for that when reading The Soulmate (which I loved!), and that respect only increased reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was heartbreakingly beautiful!!! The subject matter is tough and at times hard to read, but Sally has a way of pulling you in. I struggled to put this book down because I just had to know how it was going to end. That ending was absolutely WILD!!

I definitely recommend this be added to your TBR!!

Wow! The ending of this book. Just wow!!!!! Definitely a 5 star read from me and my new favorite from this author. This book follows the story of 3 girls - Jessica, Norah (with an “h”), and Alicia - in foster care and their foster mother. It’s told from duel timelines - present day and when the girls were young. There are some very heavy themes in this book but worth it. I cannot get over the twist at the end. This book will stay with me for a long time! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!!!!! I LOVED it!

The writing wasn’t bad. It was just hard to get past the child abuse scenes in the past, and the present felt like it kind of plodded along.

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and I loved it! I respect that she interviewed women who had been in foster care to get the novel started. Trigger warnings of child abuse-but the story is powerful and the ending twist was 🤯. Miss Fairchild might go down as being as horrible of a character as Dolores Umbridge.
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Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early copy! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of Sally Hepworth’s Darling Girls. It is such a great psychological thrill ride. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The story follows 3 foster sisters who are returning to the town where they spent time in foster care. A body has been found underneath the home where they once lived. The story was propulsive, but I really enjoyed the character development as well.

Another absolute banger from Sally Hepworth! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this book because it was an absolutely wild ride.

From the jump, I wasn’t really sure where the plot was going to go in either timeline (we had a past and present timeline in this story with POVs from all the core characters) which made this very fun; I was hooked and stressed and anxious as the story unfolded because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen with Jessica, Norah and Alicia. I’ve gone back and forth on who my favorite character was and I think it’s Alicia - she felt the most relatable to me.

I will say that the ending was kind of meh but that’s my only complaint (and trust me - it’s a minor whine because this book was solid otherwise) so all in all this is a definite recommendation!

What can I say? Sally Hepworth never disappoints! Another thriller i couldn’t put down. I’ve read several of her other books and never could predict what’s coming next. Same goes for this one, just when i think I’ve figured it out, i was wrong. So many twists i kept thinking about after i finished.

I look forward to reading all her future works as well.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Darling Girls.

👧🏼Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth OUT APRIL 23rd 2024 👧🏼

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin Press for the advanced copy!

GOSH I LOVED THIS! Felt like I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia are all sister. Foster sisters that is. They all were fostered by Miss Fairchild in a big farm house on an estate. From the outside it looked like they were considered “lucky” to have a big home away from their traumas. Fast forward 20 years, and the three sisters have to come together because bones was found under their old home, and police want to investigate them. Who do the bones belong too? Are they suspects? What really happened when they lived there?

This was such a quick read and when I wasn’t reading it, I was always thinking about the book. I enjoyed all the characters especially the three sisters. When I thought I got to the big twist at the end, I got hit with a couple more! This also is a Book of the Month pick this month. Easily a 5 ✨ read for me.

I started Darling Girls via audiobook, switched to the ebook for the final 20%, and wished I had read the entire book rather than listening.

Three women were raised by the same foster mother as young girls, and the terrible experiences they went through in their childhood have bonded them for life. In the present day, a body is found under the home they grew up in, and the girls and their former foster mother come face to face for the first time in years.

This psychological thriller is a slow burn told in dual timelines. The past timelines show some of the abuse the girls endured as kids, which was heartbreaking to read. Their past clearly formed their current personalities, with the women forming a clear bond that seems unshakeable. I thought the characters were each well written and fully formed, with distinct characteristics and personalities.

The storyline itself seemed to drag on for me, leading to my rating of 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sally Hepworth's latest novel, Darling Girls, is a captivating blend of psychological mystery and domestic thriller. It follows the lives of three women, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, who forge an unbreakable bond as foster sisters under the roof of the imposing Wild Meadows estate. Their charismatic yet manipulative foster mother, Miss Fairchild, casts a long shadow over their childhood.

The story unfolds as the women, now adults, are pulled back together by a shocking discovery at Wild Meadows. Bones are unearthed on the property, triggering a police investigation and forcing them to confront the unsettling secrets they buried years ago.

Hepworth masterfully weaves between past and present, gradually revealing the manipulative tactics Miss Fairchild employed to control the girls. The narrative is suspenseful, with each character harboring their own hidden truths. The women themselves are well-developed, each with distinct personalities and motivations. Readers can't help but root for them as they navigate the trauma of their past and the complexities of their present relationships.

Darling Girls is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. It's a perfect choice for you if you enjoy character-driven mysteries with a touch of psychological suspense.

Sally Hepworth’s new thriller, Darling Girls, follows three foster children (Jessica. Norah, and Alicia) adopted by a single woman in a small town (Miss Fairchild). Although the circumstances of how each came to be adopted is different, we get to see a bond develop between the young girls as they grow up and form their own family of sorts.

Jessica has only ever wanted to be loved, and she gets that in spades when she is brought to Fairchilds house as the first foster child. She learns to please Mis Fairchild and in turn Jessica is doted upon and showered with love. But if she messes up? That love turns on her. By the time Norah shows up, she has learned how to play the nice daughter and quickly catches Norah up to speed. Alicia comes next, and they decide that the three of them are sisters.

It was hard to read some of the scenes of this book, with trigger warnings of child abuse. However, it was excellent writing and the trauma bonds the girls formed were something I felt for them.

The novel has some twists especially at the end that I definitely did not see coming. The epilogue really throws you for a loop, and I cannot recommend this enough. Thank you Sally Hepworth and St Martins Press for the advanced copy of this novel