This was a really interesting take on some dark fairy tales with a creepy twist! When Lauren gives birth to twin boys she doesn't feel the immediate love she believes she should. After all, it's difficult to nurse two babies and find time to sleep as well. But when a mysterious woman appears in the maternity ward that night, threatening to exchange her twins for changelings, Lauren locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police. Upon arriving home, she sees the woman in her window and Harper, the police detective, gets involved again as her story seems credible to the woman who gave up her own daughter when pregnant. This is a chilling and sometimes sinister story that may having you cuddling your young ones even after you finish the book!

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

Lauren has just given birth to twins. She's exhausted. Everyone is telling her to get some rest. At night, she swears that she saw a woman in her hospital room trying to steal her babies. Everyone reassures her that she just needs to get some rest and that she's imagining things. Then, her babies disappear briefly from the park. When she gets them back, she swears that these are not her babies. What is going on? What is happening to Lauren? What happened to her babies?

Geez. This was a creepy read. I finished it pretty quickly and thought it was a well told story. There's a lot of dark history and dark folklore, which makes the story even creepier. Enjoyable read, but you may want to read it in the daylight with your kids nearby.

# Little Darlings/ Net Galley#
I was given a free advance copy of this book for an honest review. It starts out a little slow and I almost quit reading. But, I wanted to give it a chance to pull me in. It starts out with twin boys and who doesn’t like babies. The reader has to decide if the mother is suffering from postpartum or just a little off. There is a darkness to the story that could be like a Grimms fairy tales or even witchcraft. I wasn’t sure where the story was headed and was anxious to reach the end to see how it turns out, but was disappointed in the ending. I am not certain if I will recommend this book to my friends and family. .

If Grimms' Fairy Tales and The Changeling had a twin babies, Little Darlings would be those babies.

An unsettling tale of a new mother, Lauren, of twin boys, who finds herself terrorized by a macabre woman attempting to abduct Lauren's babies and replace them with her own. Her account is dismissed by hospital staff, the police, and even her husband as a hallucination attributed to exhaustion, even Lauren herself begins to question her own sanity. The only person that is unconvinced that Lauren has simply snapped is the investigator that responded to her call for help, Detective Harper.

Upon returning home from the hospital, Lauren quickly descends into a waking nightmare that she cannot escape from, leaving her more and more desperate and going to extreme lengths to protect her infants.

If I had one con to point out in this story it would be with the narrative for Detective Harper. Her personal relationship with the reporter is distracting and adds nothing towards advancement the plot.

This story is framed with dark history and and even darker folklore that adds an eerie depth to the book. This is a foreboding and unnerving spine-chiller that leaves the reader questioning if it's possible for fable to turn into reality.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this adult fairy tale, of it can be called a fairy tale. Wonderful debut novel, reminiscent of Ira Levine. I was completely engrossed in the story and get such compassion for Lauren throughout. Highly recommend.

A dark, creepy tale reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm at their Grimmest. I consider that a good thing. Do you believe in folklore and faeries? Or in the scientific technology of video and audio analysis? While reading this compelling book you may believe in both. Very well written but found a couple phrases just a bit precious. Also I felt that emphasis on Detective Harper’s professional and personal life somewhat detracted from the case although she was a positive caring force.

Lauren has undergone a difficult birth of twins and has reason to believe that there is a threat to steal them from her. Is she suffering from postpartum depression/ psychosis or is what she sees and hears actually very real? Is her husband contributing to her paranoia? Do you believe in Changelings? There is a fear that Lauren’s plan to restore order may have disastrous results, but also a hope for a happy outcome.

The author did a terrific job in portraying Lauren’s troubled and confused mind to the reader and her emotions seemed very real. This is a memorable tale, but anyone with twin babies or who is expecting twins might find it quite unsettling.

Many thinks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advanced copy of Little Darlings in return for an honest review.

Everyone knows that postpartum depression is real, but changelings? That’s something out of a dark fairy tale, right? Lauren knows what she saw shortly after giving birth to her twins, Morgan and Riley. A woman tried to take them, leaving something not quite human in their place. Everyone laughs off Lauren’s story, she’s obviously just exhausted. But then a few months later, the babies are stolen. When they are found later, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Everyone except Lauren that is; she just knows these creatures are not her children and sets out to find her real babies. This is a super creepy book and begs the question, what is real and what is imagined. Couldn’t put it down