It’s been three days since I’ve finished this novel and I still don’t know exactly how I feel about this story. I think that, maybe, I am not 100% the correct audience for this book, as I don’t often read Psychological Thrillers. However, even though this is true, I did not find any problems with the story at all.

The idea behind the plot was intriguing, I found myself reading until late in the night to figure out whether this is a mental thing or if something more was going on that I just cannot comprehend. In the end, I was surprised to find that this was such an interesting read.

The niggles, I did not enjoy reading from the perspective of Lauren, the main protagonist and a real pain in my butt. She was so pathetic at times, that I had to grit my teeth not to send my table flying. Even then, the underlying fear and desperation came through so well that I understood why she acts the way that she does. If no-one believed me, I would also be doubting everything...

Harper, the other pov from which the plot unfolds, was easier for me to read and enjoy. She has the can-do-attitude that I enjoy. Also, her character seems a bit more developed and well rounded. The detective work might need a bit more work to add more interest, but for a first novel this was still done well.

The overall plot had so much going on, adding some much needed layers to the story, and keeping you at the edge of your seat for some time. When you figure out what is going to happen at the end, it’s worth finding out whether your right…

For a debut novel, this was one of the better ones that I’ve read in quite some time. I have a feeling that Melanie’s books can only get better from here. Watch this space, she will create ripples one of these days!!

Lauren has just given birth to two healthy baby boys. She spends her time in the hospital, figuring out this mum thing, and how to juggle twice the amount of baby at once. That is until she's visited in the dark by a mysterious woman, who tells her that if she's unwilling to swap one baby out for one of her own, the woman will come back and take both of her babies, replacing them with hers.

Imagine giving birth to twins, being on top of the moon, and then being frightened into paranoia by a midnight visit from a ghoulish entity like that. Lauren spends all day and all night thereafter haunted by this woman's threat, unable to eat or sleep, and barely able to function enough to look after her sons.

Her husband is an unwilling and selfish person who basically lets his wife fall apart and continues to make her feel paranoid and alone in her attempts to keep her head above water (so to speak). It's not until he puts his foot down and instructs her to go outside and breath in some fresh air that Lauren finds any sense of relief from her predicament.

But it's shortlived. As Lauren and her boys stroll through the park, the sun beating down on them and the wind whistling through the trees, Lauren's fatigue gets the better of her. When she stops to rest on a bench, she falls asleep. And when she's awoken, her babies are gone.

For a debut novel/author, this was a really compelling read. I found myself wanting to pick it up and read it every spare moment I had because I just wanted to know how it would all end. Was Lauren suffering from postpartum depression, or was this ghoulish apparition real? The book was incredibly easy to read, the writing flowed well, and the chapters were short. Definitely something you could finish in one sitting.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of supernatural in their thrillers. Someone who likes Lovecraft, Poe, or the Grimm Fairytales.

Lauren Tranter had just given birth to identical twin boys, Riley and Morgan. She was worried. She was "still waiting for the rush of love. That one you feel, at once the second they're born..." She felt that she might be "...trapped in her little family unit...". After all, husband Patrick was unwilling to help. He felt Lauren alone must sacrifice and embrace "parenthood". Caring for the twins wasn't actual work, he said.

Lauren is panic stricken upon seeing a grimy faced, dark haired, seemingly toothless woman enter her room in the maternity ward. The ghastly woman told Lauren that she had twins as well, but her twins were cursed. She wanted to make a deal with Lauren because she felt that Lauren had been given "everything" while she had "everything taken". She wanted to change babies, one for another. Lauren grabbed Riley and Morgan, ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and dialed the police to report an attempted child abduction.

Detective Sergeant Joanne Harper routinely checked overnight incident reports and happened upon an attempted child abduction at the Royal Infirmary Hospital. The incident was considered a false alarm. It was noted that MHS ( Mental Health Services) was involved. Jo had a "gut feeling of dread". Lauren must be terrified. Jo requested a copy of the CCTV hospital disc despite her superior DI Thrupp's insistence that the case was closed.

Lauren and Patrick Tranter are home from the hospital with the twins. Convincing his wife to leave the safety of their home, Lauren's first outing will have a devastating outcome. Sleep deprived Lauren falls asleep while resting in the park, awakening to a missing double stroller. Where are the babies? When they are found, Lauren screams that they are not her babies! Are they changelings?

DS Harper vacillates between belief and disbelief in Lauren's insistence that these "creatures" are not hers. Is the "kidnapping" a hallucination? How will Jo separate shadowy, inconclusive data from reality? Both Lauren Tranter and DS Jo Harper are truly unsettled by the disturbing events surrounding Morgan and Riley. Has Lauren experienced postpartum psychosis, a "temporary impairment of her mental health"? In true fairy tale style, each reader's interpretation will be his (her) own.

"Little Darlings" by Melanie Golding was a unsettling, eerie fantasy wrought with much uncertainty. It is a dark fairy tale-like read that will have the reader intent on separating fantasy from reality. An excellent debut novel I highly recommend.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Little Darlings".

Little darlings by Melanie Golding is a highly unique, creative story teaming up a dark psychological mystery with a fairytale. It features a married couple, Patrick and Lauren Tranter, who have just had twin boys and reveals the struggles, not only in their marriage, but also in raising two babies at once with all their needs and demands. Not only is this exhausting, extracting a physical and mental toll, especially when done on your own as Lauren is forced to do, but something far more sinister and extraordinary seems to be occurring. Walking the line between sanity and reality, Lauren fights for what she believes is true out of a ferocious love for her babies, even at a high cost to herself.
This story is part folklore, part horror, and part maternal love story. It’s imaginative, unusual and hauntingly entertaining. I will admit that although the conclusion was somehow fitting, it was nonetheless unfulfilling, leaving me wanting more...more answers, more compensation, and more resolution.

DNF- Tried twice to get into this book but couldn't get into the plot or connected to the characters. I do not publicly publish DNFs.

A eerie tale reminiscent of those such a Grimm Fairy Tales. This tale is about Lauren, New mother of twin boys. Overwhelmed and overtired she is convinced she was a victim of a horrible act. But was she? This story will keep you captivated a m.p.h. d guessing until the very end. Leave your lights on!

I love fairy tales. I’ve read the entire collection of the Brothers Grimm and have been intrigued by folklore from around the world. So, the theme of this book was right up my alley.

A changeling is from folklore. It is believed that fairies “stole” babies from our world and replaced them with babies from theirs. There are different ways to get the real babies back. Changelings have been used in other novels, Outlander and The Stolen Child, to name a couple, but in this book it takes center stage on a different level.

The book starts off at the end, and then flashes forward to the beginning, about a month before. Lauren has just given birth to twins. Soon after, at night in the hospital, she hears someone in the bed next to her. It is an old woman who offers to exchange her twin babies, who are animals and not human, for Lauren’s twins. Is it real, is it a nightmare, is Lauren just exhausted? Lauren becomes too scared to leave her house and sees the woman lurking there, but no one else believes her, until they finally do. Because, really, folklore is usually based on a factual story…

At first, I didn’t like Lauren. I found her weak and annoying. I found her husband Patrick even more unlikeable, and wanted to slap him a few times. But, as the novel went on, I liked her and her strength. Patrick was still a jerk.

The novel really doesn’t take off until about halfway through. I did want more to the changeling story, but what is presented gives you enough of a shiver. I can see why this has already been picked up for a movie.

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

I loved Little Darlings by Melanie Golding - It is just the type of dark creepy twist on fairy tails (is that a thing? )
I loved it from cover to cover. I am off to see if Melanie Golding has other books out there for met to read - If so I can't wait! This book will be a hit for her. #LittleDarlingsBook #NetGalley

If you enjoy a little fairy tale wi his your novel this is it. Lauren knows that something supernatural is happening to her twins. No one else believes her. Everyone thinks she I s having a psychological break down. Until Joanna Harper, police sergeant, comes to talk to her. Jo doesn’t know why but she believes Lauren. Jo’s boss won’t let her pursue this case. He thinks it’s a waste of money. And another question comes up. Is Patrick, Lauren’s husband, involved in this farce that Lauren is in?

What happens if the "old wives' tales" aren't just folktales?

I absolutely loved this book!! Ms Golding created a very believable story of a young mother caught in the turbulent early days of motherhood who believes her newborn twins are at risk of being stolen by the fairies and replaced with changelings. When she fears the unthinkable has actually happened, she must go to great lengths to make things right and rescue her babies.

While I really did care about Lauren, my favorite character was actually Officer Harper. I loved her determination and stubborn willingness to follow her instincts; I loved her general "realness" and vulnerabilities and back story. The author did a great job of keeping Harper guessing, so that I felt like she was going through the same back and forth feelings as I was -is Lauren simply crazy or is there some truth in her paranoia? I really hope the author isn't done with Harper yet, I would love to read more of her.

The conclusion to Lauren's story is not crystal clear. It's all wrapped up, but in the end, I still don't know what just happened! I found myself completely believing the changeling story, but at the same time I can't help wonder if that's not really what happened to Lauren. I love books that make me still think about them afterwards!

I am so glad I had the chance to read this before the movie comes out next year.

*received a free copy from netgally in exchange for an honest review

Melanie Golding does a great job playing up this creepy, atmospheric tale.

But first, let me get something off my chest. I had some real issues with the hospital scenes at the beginning of the novel. I'm a registered nurse, and there is absolutely no way we'd leave a patient alone all night long. Particularly one who had just delivered twins and was still numb from the chest down.

First, we're required to do fundal massages every hour following delivery. It helps the uterus contract and return to pre-pregnancy size. If it's not done, the uterus can get boggy and hemorrhage, which is exactly happened to Lauren after a full night of zero nursing assistance.

Second, there would be a lactation/breastfeeding consultant in that room frequently, helping Lauren learn how to appropriately attach her babies to prevent soreness, teaching her all the different breastfeeding holds, and also how to manage feeding the twins at the same time.

Third, it would be absolutely negligent and dangerous to give the mother a freaking tranquilizer, and still allow her to hold her babies. If she were drunk or high on drugs, would we want her around the babies then? The book made nurses seem like inept assholes.

Fourth, it's considered very unprofessional to call patients by "pet" names like love, darling, or flower.

Finally, if they suspected the mother was suffering from postpartum psychosis, there is no way they would have sent her home with the babies, particularly since she had little to no help from her worthless husband.

These types of things always bother me while reading books because they're so easy to correct...it would take all of 15 minutes to talk to a medical professional and get accurate information. It makes the author appear lazy about research.

Okay, I'll now step off my pedestal and tell you what I liked about this novel.

1. Being inside of Lauren's head during the delivery was a total mind-f*ck. It was so deeply disturbing, and made childbirth seem so torturous, I actually feel sorry for the childless readers of this story. It's that effective.

2. Although I figured out the twist fairly early on, it took nothing away from the story for me. That dark, demented tide carries the story right to it's immensely satisfying conclusion.

3. Just when I think I've read all there is to read in the suspense genre, another author comes along and surprises me. Little Darlings is unlike anything I've read before...and that's always a good thing.

3.5 stars!
**It would have been 4 stars had the medical information been correct.

As always, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC), in exchange for my honest review. It's always appreciated.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh. Normally I am not a fan of thrillers where you don't know whether something mystical is happening or not. However, with Little Darlings it really works. This is the story of new mum Lauren who, after giving birth to twins, starts to really struggle with motherhood and finds changeling stories filling her mind. Her husband Paul is not as helpful as she'd hoped he would be and it culminates in Lauren being convinced her babies have been swapped with fairy alternatives. To get them back though, she must make a dark decision...

This is a fairly straightforward story for a thriller but honestly that is one of the book's greatest strengths. The whole time you are guessing whether there is a mundane explanation for Lauren's beliefs or whether perhaps something magical has occurred. The book never loses focus of this key element and as a result, it is a tightly-wound and atmospheric read. You're kept at a slight distance from most of the characters but again, it really works. Can you trust Lauren's perception as our narrator? Is her husband just selfish or is he up to something more sinister? The detective character adds a much-needed outsider viewpoint and her thoughts mirror that of the reader's. It all adds up to a great reading experience and Golding clearly has writing talent.

I will not give anything away about how the story ends or whether the book crosses into full-fledged fantasy or not, but rest assured that the ending is both satisfying and excellently built to. This is a fantastic debut novel from Golding and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her future work. If you enjoy thrillers that slowly suck you into their world and deal with some harsh aspects of reality at the same time, I highly recommend checking this out.

Overall Rating: 4/5

This book is the best kind of creepy read. And I mean that in the most positive way. I was second guessing every word on every page. It's amazing to see the story unfold and connect Ms. Golding's story to past fairy tales I read as a child. Great book! Looking forward to comparing the book to the movie.

Melanie Golding first novel, Little Darlings, is a brilliant and creepy tale sure to make an parent want to check in on their children. This is a great story for anyone who is a fan of Neil Gaiman or Stephen King. This novel brought memories of when my children were born. I remember being at the hospital with my wife and not wanting to take my eyes off of our newborn. My fear that my child would be mixed up somehow and switched was very real and Little Darlings does an excellent job bringing that fear to life. I absolutely loved this novel and I look forward to reading future novels from Melanie Golding.

Little Darlings is a truly creepy fairy tale set in a modern world. I very much like these kinds of stories.

The lead character is Lauren. She gives birth to twin boys, They are still in the hospital when one night Lauren experiances something strange. She sees a woman who has twin boys just like her and she wants to replace hers with Lauren’s babies. She manages to escape and calls for help. But when it becomes obvious she is the only one who saw her she starts to get paranoid. How would we react if something like this happened to us? If no one belives what we saw was real? As the story goes on we delve deeper into Lauren’s mounting paranoia. We get to know in painstaking detail what happens to Lauren, what she is going through.

I received this ARC from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. Thank you very much, I really enjoyed this story. I highly recommend Little Darlings to dark fairy tale lovers, you will love this book.

This book had gothic/supernatural themes to it, though at times I was left wondering, is it supernatural or is the lady just crazy like everyone thinks she is? There is a blurb before a number of chapters of quotes from various books, including the Brothers Grimm. Lauren has given birth to twins and is ‘visited’ by a female who is dressed in tattered clothes and carrying a basket with unidentifiable items in it and offers Lauren to exchange one of her twins for one in the basket. Lauren of course says no. No one else though saw this person which leads to people thinking Lauren is crazy. After an incident, it’s suggested she spend some time in the psychiatric hospital for observation. The book held my attention, the quotes from various books, while interesting, and were, for me, too obscure to relate to. That said, I would read another book from this author.

Absolutely brilliant.

This book had me questioning my own sanity at stages. The character development was incredibly detailed to the point I felt the emotions the characters were going through with them.

The novel scared me at stages and I had to stop reading, but the story was so good I instantly picked it back up.

I loved the sinister undertones and the references to old folklore throughout.

Little Darlings will leave you wondering what is happening right up until the very end. Is Lauren losing her mind, possibly afflicted with post-partum depression? If not, have her babies really been swapped with someone, or something, else?

This story is a successful blend of psychological suspense, ghost story, and fairy tale. Dark things exist in the world that Lauren Tranter inhabits, and it’s up to the reader to decide what is real and what is imagined.

I devoured this book in two sittings. It was almost impossible for me to put down – I just had to know what was going to happen. I can’t recommend this thriller enough.

I've recently gotten into reading stories based on folklore so I was very happy when I won Melanie Golding's first novel through Bookish Firsts and Crooked Land Books. The novel offered up a creepy retelling of Irish folklore involving changelings set in modern day and addressing mental health and postpartum psychosis. The protagonist was a strong-willed female detective who was admirable in her diligence to follow her intuition. There is a crime and a mystery which may or may not be fully resolved at the end, however the end is satisfying. Ms. Golding's depiction of new motherhood in the first 6 weeks postpartum is spot on. I wanted to wring the husband's neck several times. The addition of changeling folklore at the beginning of each chapter created a chilling atmosphere that propelled the reader through a well-written novel about the sleep-deprived mind and the power of superstition.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have finished this at last! It is 1:30 in the morning and all I have to say is HOLY SMOKES that was a fun ride. This book was sort of peculiar to me in the sense that I did not truly care about the story in the beginning. Upon reading the first half of the book, I found myself slightly bored and thought of the mother's (Lauren) personality as eye-rolling and slightly agitating. Then, I remembered back to when my children were born and how rough those sleepless nights were and how I never could have done that by myself, much less whilst fearing for the lives of my children, so I get it. I forced myself to carry on through the dry dialog and I am so glad that I did! The last half of this book was thrilling and made the first have completely worth it. I feel the book isn't quite deserving of a full 5 stars just because the story was left a little open ended and solved one too many mysteries, but all in all I feel this was a great read and would CERTAINLY recommend!