This turned out creepy & I loved it! it started out slow for me, then eventually when it got to a certain part I was hooked! Highly recommend!!

We have likely all heard "old wives" and "ghostly spirits" tales.....but what if one actually came true? And what if nobody believed you? This is exactly what happens to Lauren following the birth of her twin boys, Riley and Morgan. Alone and exhausted following their deliver, she hears strange noises coming from behind the curtain next to her....an eerie song about babes needing to be returned to the water in order to return to their true selves when the 'elf - woman in the water' comes for them to replace her own two babes,  
Selver and Bishop, named for the two rivers that fed into the New Riversby reservoir, swallowing the town of Selverton forever. Lauren is believed to be insane and is institutionalized, while Detective Sergeant Joanna Harper tries to makes sense of her story, what little evidence that they have, and years gone by. Interesting and heartbreaking as we watch a young mother do what little she can in her power to find her "real" babies home again.

After much internal debate, I had to go with 3 Stars. The book itself is actually very good - it’s well written and well thought out, extremely creepy and chilling, and very mysterious. But at the end of the day, I can’t give it 5 stars based on that. I have to weigh in my own emotional response and feelings, and they weren’t all positive.

This book ends up being, for me, extremely depressing. I guess that’s the point, but I just don’t really enjoy that sort of thing. It ends with you questioning everything you read, and wondering what was really going on. There really isn’t a happy ending for anyone.

And I just did not like the husband in this book. From the very beginning you get the feeling that something is off about their relationship, and though some things come to light throughout the story, I was just never entirely sure what to make of him or his relationship with the main character (his wife).

I actually almost abandoned this book in the first couple of pages (which I NEVER do) because of the writing style. Some paragraphs were so wordy that I just got bored and skimmed. And some things were so unnecessarily graphic that my stomach was churning. But that was really only the first chapter or so, then it got better. Glad I stuck it out because it was definitely an interesting read.

I can’t stop thinking about this book. And not 100% in a good way; more like a creepy and depressed way. It certainly was impactful. I just wish it had ended a little differently.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a free advance review copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This review appears on GoodReads, my Facebook page, and will be posted to retail sites once published.*

Melanie Golding's debut novel, Little Darlings, is a frightening mix of fantasy, folklore, delusion and desperation. Little Darlings excels at making you believe in the unbelievable-that the bump in the night is real, that monsters dwell in the deep sea and are coming for your children, that there's danger hiding in every bush, that mothers know everything and will always keep you safe. Logic flies out the window in this harrowing story of newborn twin boys abducted in broad daylight, and the search for the ghoulish sea creature their mother says is the kidnapper. Miss Golding must have one heck of an imagination to come up with a story so freakish it can't possibly be fake. Little Darlings will scare the living daylights out of you and keep you up at night. It's prose is lyrical, it's plot is fantastical, it's ending ambiguous-but all in a satisfying way. So you won't turn off the lights for weeks after you finish Little Darlings? A small price to pay for such a tantalizing treat of a book.

Wow, this book was completely unsettling and had me wanting to believe the main character but I just wasn't sure! Kept me interested until the last page !

Almost any one who has ever read Grimm's or other fairy tales or folklore of that ilk (so basically, everyone) can relate to the subconscious thought of the possibility of fairies, trolls under the bridge, and horrid witches who steal your children. Little Darlings will have you wondering if Lauren, a mother of twins with some initial trouble bonding due to a traumatic delivery, has postpartum psychosis or if there really is a woman, real or mythic, trying to steal her babies. Her husband, Patrick, is no help at all from the get-go when he refuses to help out with late night feedings, to being unable to support her emotionally when she is going through her crisis due to his own secretive life. The officer investigating the babies' kidnapping is much more involved and on Lauren's side, to the point of unprofessionally involving a reporter (who may or may not be a love interest) in helping her research the case. Soon to be made into a movie, it should make for interesting watching, indeed!

3 stars--I liked the book.

Pregnancy is my ultimate body horror, and though this is more in the genre of dark fantasy, the book certainly horrified me more than most horror novels! It's the story of Lauren, a new mother of twins, who is utterly exhausted--she had a terrible birth experience, has no support at home, and hasn't had a full night's sleep since the birth.

Then she becomes convinced her children aren't her own, but changelings.

I enjoyed the folklore intermixed in this novel, and liked the characterization. However, two things kept me from loving the book: occasionally I found the changing narrator voice grating (it pulled me out of the story to shift to the cop's point of view), and I don't think all the plot elements meshed well (the ending felt too rushed and unexplained).

Still, if you like dark fairy tales with sinister tones, give this book a try.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

I absolutely loved “Little Darlings”. It was dark and mysterious, frightening and beautifully written. I found it impossible to put down.

Lauren, a new mother of twins, becomes convinced that someone is trying to steal her babies. She might be paranoid and suffering from postpartum psychosis, or she just might be right. She is an unreliable character with an unstable past, which makes the whole scenario that much more frightening and gripping. Sometimes I believed her, and sometimes I wondered if she really was crazy.

Golding explores themes of motherhood, marriage, infidelity, mental health and support for those in crisis. The story is also like a dark fairy tale, with a backdrop of mysterious rivers and a drowned village. Each chapter opens with an excerpt from a fairy tale or oral retelling of a changeling story, which was a fantastic addition and gave a feeling of history to the story.

This is a compulsively readable, very original story. Highly recommended.

This book is a departure from the typical thrillers. It’s dark and creepy. Totally movie material. There are many references to folklore and fairy tales which add to the darkness of the book. This was way out of my comfort zone of reading and I’m glad I took the challenge of reading it!

When the unthinkable happens - you’re outside on a bench resting with your twins in a stroller and you fall asleep!!! You wake up and your new babies are GONE!!! Omg how can this happen!!? That would be awful..this book I did not want to put down!! This is the author’s first novel and I will definitely be looking for more books by Melanie Golding. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the book for my honest review.

This book will keep you hooked from Osage one! Chilling at times, gasping for air and gripping my seat we're just a few of the things I did! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Loved the book. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I spent half the time trying to decide if Lauren was really experiencing depression or if this other lady from the sea was real. As crazy as it sounds little things in the book like the storybook she received make you wonder. Another theory I had and still am wondering about is was her husband trying to drive her crazy? He seems content at the end on keeping her in the hospital so maybe knowing she was in a fragile state hr tried to push her over the edge to continue his affair. I love that she had the police on her side especially after the camera footage. Even after the book ends it keeps you guessing. I will read this again just to satisfy my curiosity

This book was creepy good!! Sucked me right in and didn't let go until the end.

Lauren Tranter has just given birth to twin boys. While recovering overnight in the hospital she is given the scare of her life when a homeless women attempts to kidnap her babies. Muttering something about rivers and swapping babies, Lauren is terrified and anxious to return home. Once home she is too frightened to take her boys outside and stays shut up in her house. Her husband starts to become frustrated and encourages her to meet some friends out. She reluctantly meets her friends and has a great time. The meet up tires her out and she dozes on the park bench. When she wakes up her boys are gone and she is hysterical. Once reunited she is certain the woman from the hospital has returned and swapped her boys out with different beings. No one believes her and she starts to doubt herself.

I really enjoyed this book and could definitely see it being made into a movie. The characters were all believable and likeable (except for Lauren's husband Patrick, yuck). I appreciated all the Grimm and fairy tale quotes at the beginning of each chapter. This story had a little bit of everything: marriage drama, supernatural/paranormal, mystery, etc. It was very well written and I would recommend it!

“Little Darlings” is a twisty tale that blends folklore with real motherhood in a way that leaves you unsure of what is happening. Lauren, a new mom, has just gone through a really traumatic birth. She’s left with two infant twins, a disinterested husband, and...possibly a would-be kidnapper stalking her. Not to mention, a set of hospital and police staff that think she’s gone mad. Did Lauren actually interact with someone who tried to steal her kids? Is someone after her? Or is her sleep deprived, postpartum, depressed, lonely mind slipping away from her?

Unfortunately I was not a big fan of this book; I found it hard to get past the descriptors of Lauren’s birth-related trauma. As someone without kids who is not interested in having kids, I felt I was not really the person to be most impacted by this story. That said, I think it would also be extremely difficult to read if I was pregnant, just gave birth, or still had a baby at home!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Little Darlings started out gripping this reader. I was drawn into Lauren's world as a new mother. Is she suffering from post-pardum depression or is someone really trying to take her babies. It was a fun ride trying to figure out if her visions were delusions or the real thing.

The ending did feel a little flat for me. The idea of goblins/trolls that switch out babies was prominent throughout the story. The introduction of the dead woman and her babies just muddied the waters. I don't mind ending that make you think, but this one was just confusing.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

This was one of the best books I've read in quite some time. I pulls you into the story and doesn't let you go. Highly recommend

This was a dark, page turning novel about a young mom, Lauren who has just given birth to twins. She is doubting her abilities as a new parent and exhausted beyond her limits. When she begins to fear that a sinister woman wants to take her newborns and leave changlings in their place, not even her husband believes her.
A female detective feels compelled to help the young mother. With hints of a fairytale in a modern world, this story is both addictive and a spellbinding read. I received a complimentary ebook from the publisher.

As I read the description of the book I was excited about reading it. At the beginning I was wowed and looked forward to the next page but that quickly ended. Lauren is a married mother of identical twins, Riley and Morgan. While in the hospital after their birth a strange woman appears and wants to trade her twins for Lauren's. She calls the police from the bathroom of her hospital room as she clutches her twins and tries to keep the woman away. The story and writing are very good at this point. I get the creepiness and suspense they described but this is where it changes. The book becomes three stories in one and only one of them is interesting. Detective Harper listens to Lauren's story and believes it warrants more investigating.. Harper has a potential love interest in the reporter that helps her research the case. Reading about this "does she like me, does she not" scenario became annoying. It was as if I was reading something going on between middle schoolers, not grown women. The last of the stories in the trio is where the husband fits in. I believe while reading you will quickly see who he is and what kind of person he is rather quickly. There was not enough about the creepy little woman in the hospital and her changelings and far too much about whether or not Lauren is crazy, Detective Harper gets her girl, and the messed up husband. Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

** spoiler alert ** I really liked the premise of the book - a modern day mother suspects that a supernatural being is trying to swap her babies for changelings- and that for about a third of the story you aren't really sure whether she's suffering from a postnatal mental health issue or if the creatures are real.
It was at this point that the writer lost me a bit. When the policewoman also notices some strange things about the twins it left the rest of the book feeling a bit underwhelming. DCI Harper is supposed to be a brilliant and insightful detective, but although she sees strange things with the babies she is far more interested in the whether or not she has a shot with the journalist covering the case and at times is annoyingly immature - "OMG, I text her and she hasn't texted me back?! Does she fancy me or not?!?"
In the end it's still not really clear whether Lauren (the mother) is delusional or not and it's sooooo unsatisfactory that her horrible husband, Patrick, gets away with being a complete prat.
A really strong start but I think it could have ended better. The story seems to have had a bit of an identity crisis - thriller or modern day fairy story? Still, a decent enough story if you fancy something a little bit different.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review

★★★☆ 3 ½ stars
Lauren a new mother has just given birth to twins, Morgan and Riley ,and is truly exhausted suffering from sleep deprivation. In the hospital though she becomes convinced that she saw a menacing woman who wants to take her twins and replace them with her own. When she reports it to the cops they don't find anything and everybody starts questioning her sanity but Lauren seriously believes that her babies are in danger and will stop at nothing to protect them.

Little Darlings is a creepy psychological thriller with some paranormal aspects to the story. It’s a well written story relying heavily on dark fairy tales and changeling stories. An interesting slightly unsettling read.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

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