I went into “Little Darlings” knowing it was a supernatural thriller inspired by Grimm’s fairy tales, but I didn’t realize I’d experience such textured prose. Golding’s ability to spin a story with language is beyond skillful. She’s downright gifted. She pulls you in. Well, actually, she kind of grips you, her text’s curling tendrils clamping down and jerking you inside. The wince-worthy details, the evocative descriptors, the elegant way she describes some of the most gory moments of bodily harm due to childbirth, all of it feeds your imagination. Her writing calls to mind Neil Gaiman’s. There’s a layering to the work of both writers that makes the reader feel as if she sinks into their stories, like feet in quicksand or hands into mud.

Here, Golding sets the stage for a psychological thriller that has you questioning her main character’s delusions. Are they delusions? Is she reliable? She’s sleep-deprived, literally drained of her sustenance, and her husband’s behavior toward her may be categorized as abusive. After delivering her twin boys, she’s kind of abandoned, at least mentally. It’s no wonder she experiences what she does. Golding does such a valid job of making insanity plausible. If anything, this story is a cautionary tale for pregnancy -- not motherhood. It’s the trauma of delivery that leaves the scars.

But -- and this is what has me feeling disappointed -- the mystery is never really resolved. The reader is asked to take imaginative leaps and essentially fill in the missing bits. Or the reader is left to decide on her own what she thinks happened. This is where the story comes off as lazy for me. It’s built up in such a masterful way, and yet by the end you realize not much happens. The puzzling aspects aren’t all that mysterious because they are either real and you’re asked to accept the implausible. Or they are the results of a mental breakdown. Either way, the finale is unsatisfying. There isn’t even a moral at the end, which is essentially wanted, not that this is a fairy tale, but it borrows heavily and modernizes. So we don’t come away having learned anything. I actually feel like the story is left unfinished, which may be because we ended up in a corner we couldn’t get out of, narratively speaking. The MC is crazy. The MC isn’t crazy. We either live in a world where impossible things happen or we don’t. Neither of these offer reasonable closure. Even the detective character, who’s the pragmatist and the one to follow hard facts, isn’t sure in the end. She must be just as unsatisfied, though the tidy wrap-up of her storyline wouldn’t suggest so.

I definitely recommend this read for those who love well-written thrillers to sink the teeth into. Just beware curiosity is sparked but may never be satisfied.

Little Darlings is a dark fairy tale like story. It will keep you engaged and a little freaked out. The writing is solid if a bit out there.

A haunting tale based on changeling folklore. A mother, Lauren, is convinced that someone (or something) is out to switch her newborns, and when they succeed, she spirals deeply into a web of fear and delusions (or, so the doctors say).

I became hooked shortly after the first few chapters, and following Lauren's paranoia, needed to know what was going to happen to the babies. There were sections I wished were a bit faster paced, and maybe included more of the lore, but I enjoyed reading this one.

This book was gripping from the very beginning. The author really brought across the emotions, and feelings of being a new mother in the first chapters. I loved the multiple perspectives of Lauren and the deputy Jo. I couldn’t put this one down, and recommend it.

I requested an ARC of this book whenever I realized it was being made into a movie, and for the fact that I'm always drawn to novels that portray a mother and her children. This book will give you all the creepy feels and disturbing emotions while reading. I knew I would enjoy this one from the start, and I was right. I thought it had a good storyline as well as very interesting characters. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this novel in exchange for my honest and true thoughts.

Little Darlings, is a debut novel by Melanie Golding. A well-written creepy read with a dark fairy tale aspect. What a great debut!! I love reading new authors and this one will definitely be added to my favorites list.

The main characters are Lauren and Patrick Tranter, new parents of twin baby boys. Lauren is quickly feeling overwhelmed after the birth and gets little help from her husband. Patrick is a little jerk…once the babies are born his true selfish side comes out when he doesn’t want to help Lauren out.

My favorite character would have to be Detective Sergeant Jo Harper. Jo has issues from her past that haunt her making Lauren’s case something that she couldn’t brush off. When no one else believes Lauren, Jo does. Jo is a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of police officer. She isn’t a dirty cop but she doesn’t always follow all the correct procedures. She had a chance to try for an inspector job but she likes the hands-on part of investigating, she doesn’t want to be stuck in an office.

Little Darlings is an atmospheric tale that kept me interested throughout. The build up to the ending was spot-on. I would recommend this book to those who love psychological thrillers mixed with a little supernatural and dark fairy tale. Thanks so much to author, Melanie Golding and Crooked Lane Books for providing me a copy of this book.

This book was EXACTLY what I like in a "horror" novel: wildly, believably creepy, but no gore! Seriously, it is something that any mother would get a shiver up her spine thinking about. This is only the second novel I have ever read that had the "Changeling" theme, and I liked this one MUCH better than the first.

The story of Lauren and her twins was set in the present day, but borrowed themes of folktales from long ago. Combine that with the added bonus of an underwater flooded town from the 1800's, a psych ward, and a spouse with questionable loyalty, and Little Darlings ticks off many boxes for a novel that is as entertaining as can be.

I will be recommending this debut novel to anyone who likes modern fairy tales, light horror, or domestic suspense. It contains all those elements.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my advanced ecopy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was underwhelmed by the writing in this. The structure of the story is odd, with the incident in the book's description of the babies being switched took a frustratingly long time to occur, and the remaining chapters stagnating because the protagonist ends up trapped in a single location. It's odd.

I did like the idea that the changelings were a kind of metaphor for postpartum depression, and I really liked Harper as a supporting character.

I really enjoyed the creepy changeling story line. There were moments that the imagery created was perfect and the creepy factor intense. Unfortunately there were more moments that failed for me. While I like Lauren, I did not like Harper, Patrick or Amy. Did the author want Patrick to be a good guy or a bad guy? It was unclear and I would have liked her to pick one path or another. I do not like police procedure novels for the most part but this story needed a bit more procedure. The detective side was a bit too naive and simplistic. I also do not see a need for the suggested relationship between Harper and Amy. Since the relationship doesn't really ever flesh out, it could have just as easily been a friendship. I found that to be a bit cheesy and maybe more to jump on the politically correct band wagon n.

I enjoyed the middle third of the book the most but the ending fell a bit flat for me. Overall it was a nice little read. I enjoyed it but wasn't wowed..

After having her twin boys, Lauren Tranter was way beyond tired; even in the hospital she was unable to relax and get some much-needed rest. The first night the boys were with her, she heard singing and saw a woman, dressed in black rags, and Lauren was convinced this strange woman had come to steal her babies. Lauren frantically called 999 (the British equivalent of 911) and reported an intruder in her room, but there was no video evidence and no sign of anyone, and Lauren was sent home with the boys with only her husband Patrick to help.

Detective Inspector Joanna Harper came across the case, and due to her personal circumstances, she is intrigued. Against her supervisor’s wishes, Harper visits Lauren and witnesses another episode, where Lauren is convinced the woman is outside, waiting to take the boys and exchange them with her own twins. Patrick insists nothing is there, and insists all will be fine if Lauren just gets out more. When Lauren takes the boys to visit with her friends a month later, and falls asleep by the river, the boys disappear and Harper is called. Once the boys are located, Lauren is convinced they have been switched, that they are changelings, and she will do whatever it takes to have Morgan and Riley returned to her.

I really liked this super creepy book, with the old fairy tales of changelings woven in, testing the modern day limits of reality versus mental illness. And really, why should Lauren not have been believed? An exhausted new mother, with little to no help to care for the boys, an antique book of stories about twins left on her doorstep, who also has a history of depression…

This book was very much creepy in a good way.  I enjoyed the story of missing/replaced twins. The book kept me reading more to find out what would happen next.  It was so good I almost could not put it down when I needed to.  A new mother is always tired but twins makes it that much harder.  What a great book! *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Super creepy! Hardly slept! I loved this one! Neil Gailman fans will loveeee also fans of Sarah J Mass will enjoy! So good!

Folklore, myth and reality intertwine in this heart wrenching thriller. A mother’s worst fear...he children abducted and then returned but the children were not hers but something sinister.

This book gives a front seat look into postpartum Depression mingled with otherworldy influences.

Throughout the book I vacillated numerous times between thinking she was suffering from postpartum depression and thinking the babies had really been switched. Is Lauren losing her mind? Will anybody believe her? I loved that this was an unreliable narrator born from nature rather than alcohol, as so many seem to be lately. The tale is so cleverly told I had no idea what to believe from one page to the next.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley. Wowwww! I just finished this book in one sitting. The story is utterly captivating from the very first that I couldn't not finish it or put it away for later. I can't believe that this is the Author's debut book, I will for sure read all her books in future. My sincere thanks to the publisher for giving me an ARC.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A mother's worst nightmare in book form. Granted, I'm not a mother, so while I couldn't entirely relate to that aspect, this book also presented me with my own worst nightmare. Now I know, I know, a lot of people don't like personal anecdotes in a review - save it for a therapist, or a diary, I'm sure. Well, I suck at keeping a diary and I've been on a looooong waiting list for therapy, so.... lucky for you, little textbox I'm writing this review in - YOU get the brunt of my feels!

When I was a little girl I would dream of being a mother. Then I grew up. That growing up period was filled with depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, and other diagnoses that make me feel like a walking DSM manual, and that dream of being a mother soon became a fear. The fear of what would happen to me, mentally, if I were to have a child? Would I feel that maternal love? If I can't be good enough for myself, how would I ever be good enough for a child?

Enter LITTLE DARLINGS, the first novel from MELANIE GOLDING. Lauren and her husband Patrick become new parents to twin boys, Riley and Morgan. We read about Lauren's traumatic birthing experience, getting glimpses into her thoughts as all bodily autonomy and agency is stripped away from her in the course of delivering the babies, followed with haemorrhaging shortly after the birth. To have that complete lack of control over your own body, to be in such a vulnerable state as you're urged to push but can't feel it, the feeling of someone you don't know grasping inside you to deliver the babies -it would be hard not to be left traumatised. What follows is a haunting story inspired by the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales, changelings and various folklore. But what happens when no one believes you? Or worse, what happens if you believe it so fully, the experiences burned into your brain, the feelings living with you every day- but it didn't happen? I felt for Lauren so deeply, her inner monologue having mirrored my own in discussions with various mental health professionals. I couldn't help but feel a huge distrust for the psychiatrists throughout the book - there is something that will never not be offputting when you're told to speak freely with no judgment or shame, and the person who said it writes everything down while moderating your language.

In the end, it's left for you, the reader, to interpret what you believe happened in the course of the story. Largely why I got personal in this is to say that I'm biased towards Lauren's perspective, or at the very least super empathetic and maybe, just maybe, desperately wanting to believe that everything Lauren saw and experienced was real although in the end, does it matter? Whether the events that transpired were real or delusion, paranormal or psychological - they're both equally gutwrenching because unlike in the fairytales: there is no winner. Just sorrow.

MISC NOTES:
- I didn't find myself as invested in Harper's romantic storyline but I did find myself liking the character. I feel like in this instance I would have desired more, maybe.
- F*** Patrick.

I just couldn't get into this book, I wish I enjoyed it more. Thanks Net Galley for an early copy for an honest review.

This book does a great job of weaving together a haunting story of of folklore and postpartum depression. Lauren has recently given birth and as she struggles to adapt and bond with her babies she is attacked by a strange woman wanting to steal her babies.

No one believes Lauren, she is just an exhausted new mom overwhelmed and in need to rest. Her fears that there is someone out there is written off by hospital staff, her husband and friends. The only one that seems to give her story and fears any weight is a Detective Harper who goes well out of her way to ease Lauren's fears and get to the bottom of what is going on. I really liked how these two women interacted, Harper really wants to help Lauren that there is something else going on other than a woman suffering. You really feel for Lauren as she struggles with her growing paranoia and her worthless husband. The author really does a good job of showing how women are thrown headfirst into motherhood and as they struggle people start to turn a blind eye to it. While still strong in folklore its got a solid base in a realistic issues many women face every day.

I really liked the folklore within the story. There is enough backstory to make this more than just a story of mother struggling. A forgotten mother reaching through time to be found and put to rest, folklore of changelings and what mothers once did to protect and bring back their own children.

There is a budding romance between two characters that felt out of place in the book but I was still rooting for them. Overall, this is a really strong and well written books.

I received an ARC of Little Darlings from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley, for making me scared of twin babies.

Little Darlings is about Lauren, a new mother of twin boys, who becomes convinced that they are changelings after a brief abduction in a park. She is dismissed as delusional by everyone except for Detective Joanna Harper, who believes there may be some truth to her story.

I really enjoyed Little Darlings, and rated it 4 out of 5 stars. The prose was absolutely haunting; particularly the descriptions of the childbirth as well as Lauren's "hallucination" while in the maternity ward.

The premise of the novel was fascinating; usually books about changelings take place centuries ago, when changeling legends originated. They're also generally more concerned with faeries, rather than the very modern, suburban setting of Little Darlings. The town does have a very interesting past, though, which goes back to times when changeling legends may have been more prevalent; I think this ties together the modern and historical quite well without making the modern setting seem so far removed from changeling legends and faeries.

I also loved the unreliable narrator aspect of the plot. I love reading from the point of view of an unreliable narrator; however, I do find it a bit confusing at times, which is why I really liked the addition of Harper's point of view. Detective Harper's chapters provided clear insight into what was happening when Lauren wasn't present, as well as the background information about the previous set of abducted twins in the 1970's. Without this point of view, I think the story would've become muddled and confusing with only Lauren's perspective.

An interesting thing about Little Darlings is that it could easily go into either the paranormal or the mystery genre, depending on which point of view you are reading. It follows a fairly standard mystery plot, with a detective having point of view chapters as well as the main character(s), but it also very obviously contains elements of the supernatural, which are mainly present only in Lauren's point of view. I think this book would be good for anyone who likes the paranormal genre but wants to get into mysteries, or vice versa. As someone who loves both genres, I think Little Darlings covered everything I could want in either a mystery or a paranormal novel.

There are also quotes taken from changeling or faerie legends at the beginning of each chapter, which I really loved. I wish more books would do something similar to that, because I think it really adds to understanding.

But...there were still a couple of things I didn't like. I found the first few chapters to be a little hard to get into at first. They were mostly about Lauren giving birth to the twins and her first night or so with them in the hospital. The writing seemed to be kind of rambling, but that was probably because Lauren was on painkillers at the time.

I also really, really didn't like the subplot about Patrick being a horrible husband. I hated Patrick right from the beginning, when he was making Lauren do all the work so he could get a good night's sleep. I know he's meant to be unlikable, but, god, what kind of father and husband does that? I'd divorce him right then and there. Anyway, I think that his whole subplot with Natasha was pointless. I already hated him enough for acting the way he did; I don't think that the addition of Natasha was needed to make me dislike him more. That part of the plot, as well as Harper's constant back-and-forth about whether or not she liked Amy, and Harper's own pregnancy, just seemed like filler to me. I didn't like Amy, either. Harper deserves a lot better. And the fact that Harper's daughter was raised as her sister really had no bearing on the plot and wasn't mentioned after the first few of Harper's chapters.

Still, I really enjoyed Little Darlings...and I think there's potential for a sequel, or at least another standalone featuring Detective Harper. Fingers crossed!

I received in E-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What would be your reaction to a woman trying to take your babies? I would totally freak out and go crazy on that lady!
Little Darlings is such a creepy edge of your seat read. Lauren Tranter has just given birth to twin boys and while still in the hospital a horrid woman is trying to steal her babies while she sleeps. Just given birth, being exhausted and taking care of not 1 but 2 little ones it's a lot on a new mom. Her husband, the doctors and the detective think it's all in Lauren's head.
But Lauren is sure that a river woman wants to exchange her strange babies for hers. When it does happen Lauren feels she must do something to get her own sons back. A gripping story that'll make you wonder what is real and what is not. As a mom this book gave me chills and I felt for Lauren but sometimes I did question her mental state. A must read and a must buy for me!