a dark and completely absorbing study of motherhood, it will not be for everyone but if you like scary stories this is for you

Wow! An excellent chilling tale that had me gripped from beginning to end.

After Lauren gives birth to her twins, a woman attempts to abduct them but nobody believes her. A few weeks pass and exhausted from caring for the twins, Lauren falls asleep while resting during a stroll with her babies and awakes to find the stroller and the twins are gone! Fortunately, they are found quickly but Lauren is convinced that they are not her babies. They have been swapped with someone else's!

The story follows Lauren's incarceration in a psychiatric unit since she is considered a threat to her children when nobody believes her claims that her children are not hers and Lauren's fight to get out and do what needs to be done to get her babies back.

Keeps you guessing to the end as to whether Lauren is delusional or events happened as she believes.

This is a creepy book.
The subject matter, missing children , is upsetting and evil connotations make it even creepier.
It is, however, a very good read.
As I read this novel I found myself thinking the mother did it, or the girlfriend or the father...or maybe evil something..
This author has a bright future. Her book was very readable and kept drawing me back to find out what was next.
Te ending was not really what I was hoping for given the rest of the book, but I still very much enjoyed the writing.

An interesting book with unusual folk tale undertones. Not a horror, not a detective nor thriller, but a psychological mash-up of all. (which is a good thing IMO).

The premise was well thought out and the post-natal aspects especially interesting, not usually explored in novels.

However, I found a lot of the characterisation basic and cliched, especially the male characters and staff at Hospital. Also factually incorrect in the described use of Mental Health Act (cannot be detained for 3 days to Hospital by Police; Section is expired as soon as assessed by Doctor who then decides whether to detain for up to 28 days).

Still well worth a read and will make a fabulous movie; now who is going to play Lauren and Harper?

A new author for me but it is a good creepy book and I liked the way this author writes. There is plenty of suspense and an excellent page turner.

I can thoroughly recommend this book if you like something a bit different.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book was exquisite. The writing just blew me away, it was so creepy yet beautifully written I just couldn't stop reading it! Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.
The story is about Lauren and Patrick and the birth of their twin boys. The story begins with the birth of the babies and what follows is both horrifying and fascinating. While Lauren is in the hospital recovering from the birth of her two boys she hears a frightening woman behind the curtain next to her talking to what could be a baby bird or cat and Lauren's imagination goes to work. The doctors feel that she is just overly tired and imagining things. The next time she hears the voice she gets up to see who is behind the curtain where she is confronted by a frightening woman who wants to swap her creatures for Lauren's twins. Lauren grabs her babies and locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police. Again, the doctors write it off to lack of sleep and send them home. Lauren is terrified that this woman will come and take her babies and begins locking herself in her room and refusing to go outside. Her husband finally talks her into getting out with boys for some fresh air and when she falls asleep on the park bench she awakens to her worst nightmare....her boys are gone.
Needless to say this book was really good. I loved the small details like at the beginning of each chapter there was a short poem or story about changelings, it definitely set the mood for the book. I seriously had a hard time putting this one down. I've already been raving about it to my library staff!

Genuinely creepy! New mother of twins Lauren is exhausted and imagining things, or is she. When someone attempts to abduct her children before she even leaves the hospital she isn’t believed by her husband or the hospital staff. With references to dark fairytales, this book is excellent. The suspense builds as Lauren realizes what she must do to save her own twins. Very unsettling and dark, excellent psychological thriller.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
Little Darlings
by Melanie Golding (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Nov 19, 2018 · edit
it was amazing

Amazing... "Rosemary's Baby" meets the Twilight Zone. A tour de force Debut work of art by Melanie Golding. A mythical , creepy fairy tale with a psychological thriller component. The twisted and eerie story unfolds in effortless prose that sweeps the reader along. The initial concept involves a possible paranoia of young mother, Lauren ... after an exhausting delivery of twin boys. Even while still in the hospital she envisions an event in which a strange women attempts to steal her babies and replace them with "identical" babies. She locks herself in the bathroom with her babies and calls the police ... none of the hospital staff or even her husband believe this actually occurred and is a result of a psychotic break due to exhaustion. Only Detective inspector Jo Harper suspects there is some substance to her "alleged" event.
After Lauren goes home the story ramps up with intrigue and unexplained happenings that question the her reality ... and question the motives of her husband, who is certainly less than supportive in her postpartum exhaustion and even suggestive of the presence of philandering.
Eventually responding to urgings of friends and her husband she ventures out of the house to meet with friends at a cafe. Afterword to extend her outing in the "fresh air" she strolls through the part with the baby carriage only to be suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. She sits down on the park bench for a "brief" nap, and then suddenly awakens to the awful realization that her babies and carriage are gone. A tense police search occurs while the park is locked down ... only to find the abandoned baby carriage ... however with the babies still inside.
However, Lauren immediately perceives multiple variations in both of the babies demeanor .. and knows that these "babies" are not hers. The narrative ratchets up in a twisted creepy almost mythical storyline the results in an unexpected but satisfying conclusion.
Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Land Books for supplying the ARC for my reading enjoyment in exchange for an honest review. Melanie Golding is immediately added to my Authors to follow list.

Not going to read this. I'm calling it a DNF after two chapters.

A beyond exciting premise, but sadly the ending got spoiled to me. Well, that's life for you, I guess.

Thanks for an ARC! Might consider buying this in print and reading it when it comes out, though.

A new take on the tired mother of a newborn, well twins. This book is well written and a great story another book that you will not be able to put down. Get this book and enjoy a thrill ride.

I thoroughly enjoyed Little Darlings. The pacing was great, I never found myself skimming or wishing the story would move along. I was a bit thrown off by the first chapter in Harper's POV, just because I had been expecting everything from Lauren's POV, but I found that storyline interesting as well. I absolutely hated the husband! I don't have children but was so upset on Lauren's behalf for how he was treating her during his paternity leave. All of the main characters were fleshed out well, but I wish we would have gotten more details of Lauren's past mental health history. And maybe more about Natasha?

All in all, I think this is a great debut! My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The writing of this book was quite different (for me). It really wasn’t my style of book and was a bit too “mythical” for me at times, but still was a very interesting story. The characters were well developed. You really felt the fight of a mother in this one. Having twin boys myself, this was a weird read for me. I’m definitely interested in giving it a re-read at a later date and tryingmore from the author.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
This was a pretty good, creepy read, not quite as creepy as I thought it may be but all in all it was a good story definitely worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own opinion.

Starts off with a bang and never lets up! This book is one fantastic supernatural thriller. It bites down into the heart of fear and the core of motherhood, and sinks it’s teeth in for the full duration with the tenacity of a rabid wolf. Is the main character mentally disturbed, or is she the victim of an aggrieved vicious spirit that will stop at nothing to take her children away? At what point does the mother, the most sacred of protectors against the world, become and innocent baby’s most dangerous enemy? All these questions leave you reeling towards a heart pounding conclusion that leaves you almost emotionally and mentally exhausted. Stephen King could not, himself, have come up with a more harrowing tell to curdle the blood of any loving mother and many fathers as well.

This is an eerie page-turner of a book! I love how it kept me guessing and managed to throw a surprise twist here and there. The writing is fantastic and so vivid, especially a scene after she's given birth, that it made me physically cringe. Very impressed with this one!



Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cracker of a book. Before I started to read this, I read that it was going to be made into a film. All the way through, I kept thinking, yep, going to be a fantastic film. It was almost written for it. Not all books work, but this will.

Lauren is a lovely person, you can just sense her goodness. Not so sure about hubby. Think she could have done better. But together two beautiful twin boys are born, and then if all goes downhill.

The book captures the imagination as the storyline moves between Lauren, the slightly ‘craxy’ new Mum, and Harper, a detective with a back story, who believes something is not right. Just a little not right, but can’t quite put her finger on it.

I can already sense the ‘feels’ from the film.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane books got the opportunity to read and review.

Very hard to get into this book....then bam creepiest book I’ve ever read. Literally, can’t stop thinking about this mother of twins. Riveting!

How could I NOT lust after this novel?! Clare Mackintosh, one of my favourite authors, declares that Little Darlings is stunning: “chilling story, beautiful prose”. It’s also been described as Leila Slimani’s Lullaby (which I found deliciously creepy) meets Rosemary’s Baby (one of my all-time favourites). So when I saw it on NetGalley, I had to have it!
The story starts with Lauren and Patrick, about to become parents for the first time, of twins no less. We soon witness the boys’ birth – warning: some of those scenes made my entire reproductive system go on lock-down, I swear I felt my ovaries cringe and hide! Although I found it interesting enough, at that moment I wasn’t captivated by the story yet. In all fairness, I think this has less to do with the actual story and more with me not being a mother myself. I felt Lauren’s emotions – Melanie Golding is quite good at making you empathise with her characters – but I’m sure a parent will feel it much deeper than I ever could.
As the story continues, Lauren struggles, Patrick’s pretty useless, and the situation goes from bad to worse until it all spirals out of control when Lauren dozes off and loses sight of her boys. Before long, they’re back with their mother, and luckily, they’re completely fine! Or are they? Nobody seems to notice anything weird about the boys, but Lauren does. She, the only one who can even tell them apart, is sure that neither baby is her own. And mother always knows best, doesn’t she? But then why won’t anyone believe her? My heart broke for Lauren at this point. That was the moment when I realised that the story had completely sucked me in and I was totally invested and I HAD TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. Melanie Golding does a mighty fine job here, hinting, muddying the waters, playing with the duality of emotions versus reason and imagination versus reality, and how on earth does a little old lady with Alzheimer’s fit into this jigsaw puzzle?! Not only could I not figure out which way the story was heading, I couldn’t even decide which way I wanted it to go :-) One thing’s for sure though: it was a fun ride getting there!
Highly recommended for lovers of the changelings lore and / or psychological thrillers with a sprinkling of the supernatural, especially if you like strong female characters and creepy babies.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've already shared my review on Goodreads and my blogpost on Twitter.

I really wanted to like this book but for some reason I just could not get into it! The writing style is amazing and the characters are great but the plot fell short for me. That is just my opinion though.. I am sure others will love this book because the author does have an amazing writing style!

What a fascinating, creepy tale! Reminds me of fairy tales I used to read long ago. After giving birth to Morgan and Riley, Lauren is exhausted and terrified by the woman in the next bed, who wants to take her babies. Is she dreaming, hallucinating or is this really happening? When she gets home, she becomes a recluse, hiding with her boys in her bedroom. After finally being persuaded.that she needs to get out, she takes the twins for a stroll, but while resting on a bench, she falls asleep. When she awakes, the babies are gone, but quickly found, except they aren't her babies, or are they? Deliciously told story, I loved it!