This book was very different from anything I have ever read. I didn't know what to expect going in and it was a bit slow in the beginning, but I couldn't put it down once I got into it! I found the book very creepy especially because the ending is left uncertain. Were Lauren's babies actually switched with changelings? Or was Lauren struggling from mental illness the entire time? We don't know. While the unknowing does drive me crazy, I think the book packs more of a punch that way. It left me thinking (something I always want from a book). I have never had children, but I think this book will speak to a lot of women who have had children. For one, losing your child is a primal fear. But also, many women struggle with conflicting emotion and postpartum depression. Lauren's feelings are relatable in that way. I also really enjoyed the police investigation. I wanted to know more about Jo and her past. Maybe that would be something the author explores in the future. Overall, a very good read.

What should be a time filled with excitement and joy for Lauren Tratner, a new mother of twins, is instead fraught with terror after a strange woman dressed in rags attempts to trade her "babies" for Lauren's. The woman, dressed in rags, urges Lauren to "choose one or I will take them both." Terrified, Lauren dials 999 and has both the local police and hospital security there to assist. After they fail to find any evidence pointing to a kidnapping attempt however they begin to grow skeptical of Lauren and her story. Detective Sargent Harper does believe Lauren and even starts looking into an incident which happened in the past that sounds very similar to that which Lauren is experiencing. Lauren is severely shaken by the incident and become fiercely protective over her twins, refusing to leave the house or her babies for any length of time, Her husband, however, has grown weary of Lauren's antics and insists she at least take the boys for a walk. To avoid any more conflict, Lauren agrees, however the exhausted mother finds herself asleep on a bench with her twins in the stroller nearby. Upon waking, the twins and the stroller are not where she left them. A panicked search finds them safe and sound however as she looks at the boys she realizes they are not her sons. From here, the story takes a decidedly darker turn.
Little Darlings was a refreshing take on the psychological thriller genre, interspersing just enough of the supernatural and folklore elements to add a slow burning suspense that permeates throughout the story, I was never quite sure who to believe as the story progressed, which kept me turning the pages well into the night. Although the story starts off at a slow pace, it soon builds momentum which the author expertly paces throughout. As a recent mother, I could relate strongly to Lauren in many ways, speaking to the authors success in capturing the overwhelming task of new motherhood. I recommend this title for fans of Grimm's dark fairy tales as well as those looking for a psychological thriller that will keep them guessing..

This was a unique novel. It was Dark and based on folklore but also touched on post partum depression. Lauren is a new mother and is exhausted, but firmly believes she saw a woman trying to take her babies and replace them with changelings. Later her babies disappear in a park but are found quickly. She knows they are not her real babies and have been replaced. What is real? What is all in her mind? I am interested to see how the movie portrays this. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was just an okay read for me. I just couldn’t connect with most of it. I understood what the MC was going through and it was terrifying but I wanted more.

I was given an arc by Netgalley for an honest review for the book Little Darlings by Melanie Goldings. This book is a combination of a psychological thriller / fantasy story and it's like no story I've ever read before. I like unique story lines and this is definitely unique.
Poor Lauren new at motherhood not only has to deal with being a new mother of twins, but she also has to deal with the worst mothers nightmare of having them taken from her. Of course no one but her is aware of this fact and she has to deal with the reality on her own. As she lives in this nightmare she plans and fights to get her children back. This is definitely a fun book to read and I do recommend it. Enjoy.

Lauren has just had a blessed event.. times 2. Beautiful healthy twin boys are born to Lauren Tranter after a very difficult delivery and traumatic after care. When a strange and foul smelling woman appears in her hospital room with a basket of inhuman twins and demands to switch one for one of Lauren's twins it feels like a nightmare from the exhaustion and stress of labor. But when Lauren refuses the woman, she demands both babies instead and forcibly tries to take them. Nobody believed Lauren in the hospital that night, and nobody believed her after her release when she saw the woman again outside her home. Terrified for her babies, Lauren spends her days locked away in the house with them, until her increasingly annoyed and utterly useless husband insists that she take them out for some fresh air. That day as poor sleep deprived Lauren dozed off for a minute, someone snatched her babies. When they are found, they are different.. strange... changed.
"Changeling- a child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy."
Is Lauren suffering some sort of delusion or are these truly not her babies? You will have to read to find out.
I loved this book and the bits of fairy folklore in between chapters.

This book is part psychological thriller and part supernatural horror. I'm not one for horror novels or very disturbing thrillers, however, I did really enjoy the story as it had me gripped throughout.
There appears to be some supernatural force at play in this book, yet it's written in a way that makes it believable. Is it happening or is it all in the mind of an exhausted new mother?
The story is told from the points of view of Lauren and DS Jo Harper, alternating between the two so you get each character's take on what is going on.
I felt the ending was a little vague but would still highly recommend this unusual thriller.

"She'd been deconstructed by nature, and then by man, then nature again, and finally by man..."

I honestly have no words to perfectly articulate how much I enjoyed reading Melanie Golding's debut novel, Little Darlings. I have been searching for a horror/thriller that really, truly terrifies me; and I found it. Little Darlings depicts the chilling tale of Lauren Tranter, a new mother of twins, whose birth into this world was not the most easiest of paths. After an agonising night in which Lauren was absolutely sure a ghastly woman tried to take her twins and replace them with her own eel-like shapeshifter children, Lauren was pronounced as having a mental breakdown.

What follows is an incredibly harrowing and confusing journey, with Lauren in the centre, and a changeling-esque narrative. The plot itself was woven quite intricately, but I found the language to be quite simple - also with the structuring of paragraphs and dialogue. The narrative, though from two main perspectives, was centrally from Lauren's own perspective and she is crafted as an unreliable narrator, with the reader wondering what is the truth and what is the imaginings of a woman labelled as mentally struggling with post-natal depression and a possible mental breakdown with hallucinations. The mystery element also, investigated by the female lead detective Jo Harper who wants to find out whether Lauren's accusations are real, don't do much for the reader to truly understand whether Lauren is 'making things up' as a result of hallucinations and her own mental instability; or based on actual fact.

We don't actually know, at all.

What I feel made Little Darlings a four star book and not a five star book was the ending. I found it incredibly anti-climactic and ambiguous. I would categorise it more as open-ended, and I'm not too sure if it's meant to be for a reason, such as a sequel, but I felt that Laurent deserved so much more and her husband should have suffered just a little. But nothing of the sort occurred.

However, I do highly recommend this book because it actually gave me nightmares, which didn't happen when I read the Exorcist, so this book will not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

After months of so-so books, I have had the opportunity to read two amazing books this month that will be coming out to the public later in April. I cannot wait to read the reviews and have no doubts that these will both become bestsellers.
I went back and forth if I believed the main character (Lauren) or not. I think the fact that I did not like her husband made me want to believe in her even more. I have read a little about changelings and folklore like this, but this was extremely terrifying to me as a parent. I loved the ending because of what came of the babies (without giving too much away), but yet Lauren wasn't just magically given freedom after what everyone assumed she attempted to do. I think everyone should read this even if you aren't a huge sci-fi reader and I hope there is a second book!
P.S. I still can't believe this is her first book...

Two perfect twin boys born to Lauren, who questions everything a first-time mother questions. Is this love? Are they safe? Am I doing this right? Who am I? Suddenly those questions turn into two big questions that change everything. Where are my twins? Who are these twins that have been left in there place?

Lauren knows that the twin boys in front of her are not her twins, but she doesn't know how to get her boys back and no one else will believe her. This book was an excellent, gripping read that had me on the edge of my seat wanting to find out if Lauren truly was insane or if something sinister had truly befallen Morgan and Riley.

I would recommend this book to people in the adult age-range or interest-range.

Review Copy

I had a tough time categorizing LITTLE DARLINGS. Part psychological thriller, kinda sorta adult fairy tale, in a way mystery/detective story. It tried to fall into paranormal and insanity and so many more genres even 12 hours after finishing the book it's hard to remember all the tags I could have used.

I actually gave up reading it the first time I started over a month ago. The description of the birth of the babies could have happened in the middle of the 20th century, not in the 21st. So I set the book aside. I came back, powered through that part and got into the remainder of the story.

I like slow burn stories, but this took a looong time to get to the point. It was fully 50% before things finally got moving. But finally it did and I was interested enough to see where it would end up. It ended up full of red herrings and unexplained dead ends.

All in all I think it was ok. Three stars is not bad! It means I liked it and though it was all right.

Little Darlings is an eerie, creepy tale. Inspired by fairy tales and folklore, it preys on the doubts, insecurities, and worries that many new mothers experience. It certainly grabbed my attention, filled me with all of the apprehension and fear that I would expect and want from a book in this genre.

When Lauren Tranter gives birth to twin boys, she is overwhelmed, unsure of herself, and exhausted. I felt for her. Her feelings were normal and completely understandable. It brought me back to when I gave birth to my own son, and how I felt unprepared, nervous, and scared that I wouldn’t know what I was supposed to do with this ultimate responsibility. But Lauren’s experience took a different, sinister turn. When a strange woman shows up in the same maternity ward as Lauren, she fears for the safety of her children. This strange woman wants to swap her two hideous creatures for Lauren’s twin boys. Lauren escapes this woman’s threat by locking herself and her babies in the bathroom and calling 999, but with no evidence of the woman having been in the ward, Lauren’s claim is dismissed, after all, she’s just an exhausted new mother, right?

The story goes back and forth between Lauren’s adjustment to motherhood and Harper, the detective who has taken an interest in Lauren’s attempted abduction call. Harper isn’t as convinced that it was all a fabricated tale from an overwhelmed mother. The incident in the maternity ward was only the beginning of Lauren’s fears.

Little Darlings is an intriguing story that made me question what was real and what was just a figment of Lauren’s imagination. There wasn’t a moment in this novel where I didn’t feel for Lauren’s situation. She was struggling, trying to do her best, and attempting to protect her children from any potential harm.

I always enjoy stories that pull their inspiration from fairy tales and folklore. These familiar tales have been passed down from generation to generation and have survived the test of time. Let’s be honest, most of these stories aren’t the lovely, whimsical tales that would warm a young one’s heart. Most of these tales are dark, foreboding, and frightening. Even the familiar lullaby, “Rock-A-Bye Baby,” doesn’t offer the most soothing and comforting lyrics to lull our children to sleep.

Little Darlings is an unsettling story that not only left the hair raised on the back of my neck but was also thought-provoking in portraying the plight of a post-partum mother. ​​​

*4 Stars

“I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

This book had been a very slow start for me, to the point am already thinking of not finishing it. But then the reviews and feedbacks kept me pushing on until the middle of the book. And I could say, that over all its good. Its takes a while to get in to but then some chapters would really creep you out.

First, I would like to commend the author for the great job of narrating how a Post-Partum Depression (PPD) spirals in a mother’s head. What they think, how they view things after having the baby, how she copes and how it felt lonely and feeling all alone in this great change of life. I personally could relate with some things, and I would like to personally say, that if ever you had experienced this state, you might need to check yourself first before you read this book.

Second, this book has a creepy thing on it. I can’t say it will totally freak you out, but it will give you this sense of unease and a little bit puzzled over what was really happening. Folklore was definitely one of the things am unfamiliar with, thats why this book kept entertained in a bit. It has a little bit puzzling ending. As if the author would like to tell us if there would be a next installment for this. But overall, this book is a great read. Definitely recommended.

Little Darlings takes postpartum to a new level! A little bit thriller, a little bit folklore and a lot of nightmarish moments are in store for readers when they pick up this new debut novel by Melanie Golding.

After experiencing a traumatic delivery, Lauren has a difficult time recovering and adjusting to twin babies. When she awakens one night to discover a woman wanting to take her babies, everyone believes she was mistaken due to the fact she had been given medication and was exhausted from childbirth.

Add to the fact that once at home, Lauren’s husband was more concerned with himself than he was about the health of his wife and how she was adjusting to caring for the twins. He needed his sleep because he had to work, but never considered the fact that Lauren was on duty 24/7 with little to no sleep at all.

The only person who seems to believe Lauren is the police detective who astutely guesses that things aren’t as they seem and stays on the case, even off the clock, to try and figure out what’s going on with Lauren and her twins.

Is she suffering from postpartum psychosis or is there some mythic folklore involved? Read this and come to your own conclusion.

This was a wonderful debut novel and I look forward to reading more from Melanie Golding.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I'm finding this a very difficult book to review: read as a contemporary twist on a Gothic fairy tale it's brilliant. However, the other possibility is that Lauren could have post puerperal psychosis and this is the second book I've read this year (The flight of Cornelia Blackwood) where the central character is a woman with PPP, and Iworry it is adding to the stigma these women often feel.
Also, a very personal gripe, as I live in Sheffield, I couldn't understand why the author chose to mix geographical fact (Kelham Island, Hope, Peak district) and fiction (rivers Bishop and Selver etc) and not just create a completely fictional landscape.
Thank you to netgalley and crooked lane books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I devoured this creepy, atmospheric read!

Little Darlings is told through the eyes of Lauren, an overwhelmed new mother whose convinced her newborn twin boys have been switched with changelings, and Detective Joanna Harper, the only one who believes Lauren's story of the abduction. I loved the elements of folklore weaved throughout the story, especially the excerpts at the beginning of the chapters. I felt the author did a great job of blending the fantastical with the harrowing reality of postpartum depression/psychosis, leaving the reader wondering where the truth lies as the story builds.

I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who is growing tired of the usual tropes of the thriller/suspense genre and is looking for something unique and memorable with a sinister edge.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Very creepy book and highly addictive! I couldn't stop reading. I do not recommend reading this if you're a new parent as it was unsettling - especially if you have twins. I am thankful for the advance copy of this book and am sad that it took me so long to pick it up and read it. I kept passing over it for others and regret that!!

Creepy, strange, and intense, I found this to be quite the page turner. While not necessarily original in idea, it was executed well enough to keep the reader interested.

It was a little hard for me to put down Little Darlings. Author Melanie Golding does a phenomenal job of bringing this horrifying story to life. Being a fan of fairy tales and various fantastical creatures, I find changelings to be interesting yet terrifying creatures. The idea of having your child being swapped for a fairy right under your nose? Once you think of it, it’s a scary notion – the child you gave birth to is no longer your own.

That’s the story Golding brings and paints to life. She tells the tale of a woman who has that motherly instinct that her children are not her own. It sent literal chills throughout my body, thinking about it. I’ve heard Little Darlings is being turned into a film, and I have to say, I’m curious and excited to see how they will portray this story.

If a psychological thriller had a love child with a fairy tale, you’d get Little Darlings. I highly recommend this novel. It is undoubtedly an unforgettable tale. Little Darlings will be available on April 30, 2019.

I want to thank Crooked Lane Publishing for letting me review this excellent book!

This book is seriously creepy, creative and sad. I think it's a bit misleading that it has found its way to the mystery/thriller section when it is mostly a contemporary with elements (or suggestions) of magical realism. But either way, it's a moving, frightening, psychological portrait of new motherhood, set in the Peak District.

Little Darlings is inspired by the Welsh fairy tale A Brewery of Eggshells, about a woman with newborn twins who are swapped with changelings. Lauren Tranter has just given birth to two beautiful twin boys who quickly become her whole world. When a disheveled woman appears on the maternity ward and threatens to swap them with her own sons, she is rightfully terrified and will do anything to protect her babies.

Lauren is tired and stressed like all new mothers, but she knows the woman is real. Even though the doctors and the police and her husband keep telling her that she is seeing things, that she needs help, she knows the truth. When her babies go missing one day, a frantic search begins and they are quickly found, seemingly unharmed. But Lauren knows the truth about that, too - these babies are not the children she lost.

Everyone wants to dismiss her as mentally ill except Detective Sergeant Joanna Harper, who has her own reasons for believing Lauren. Against the wishes of her superiors, Harper opens her own investigation into what really happened.

I think the police procedural aspects are the weakest part of the novel. Little Darlings is at its strongest when hovering somewhere between a portrait of postpartum depression and a dark, sinister fairy tale. I can speak from experience when I say depression can be terrifying. And just like in this novel, you can never quite be sure what is a legitimate feeling and what is an exaggerated response brought on by your mental state; these two often overlap.

After my first child, I found myself crying uncontrollably. I was exhausted, confused and afraid of absolutely everything. On top of the hormonal crash that comes after giving birth, for most people there's also the pure terror of being wholly responsible for someone else's wellbeing for the first time in your life. Unless you were previously a carer, the emotional shift that comes with knowing the responsibility falls entirely on you changes you beyond belief.

I think this book captures all that. Maybe the woman is real and this is a dark fairy tale, and maybe she is not and this is just a book about a woman struggling with mental illness. But it actually doesn't matter that much. The fear - of getting it wrong, messing up, of losing your baby, of not being a good mother - all of that is very real. I found it highly effective.