Firstly, thank you to @NetGalley and @HQStories for the ARC of this book. This is Melanie Golding's debut, and what a debut! Little Darlings is a psychological thriller and a half, the opening chapter chilled me to the core! The imagery of a mum walking into a reservoir clutching her twins while police watched on helplessly, sucked me in straight away. After that opening chapter I knew I wouldn't put the book down until I found out what had happened to this woman.

The book is a take on the folkloric tales of changelings, now I had heard of changelings however I haven't read any other books or stories about them, so this was new to me. Each chapter was headed up with a folk tale, myth or fairytale around changelings - some a lot more creepy than others. To be perfectly honest, I find the concept absolutely terrifying. Melanie Golding pitched this story perfectly though, for me it was just the right level of unnerving, sinister and creepy.

Little Darlings follows Lauren, a first time mum to twin boys. Straight off the bat, the way in which Melanie Golding captures the early days of motherhood was honest, raw and truthful. I praise her for such a true reflection of motherhood, it's not one that I have seen very often, particularly in books. I really felt for Lauren, the isolation, how tired she was and how she struggled to adjust to life with two new-born babies to look after. Cue to husband Patrick, now it's been a while since I have detested a character to such an extent that I wanted to throw the book across the room! I couldn't stand him, he was selfish, conceited and lacked any empathy for his wife. But that's the point of him, Golding wants us to feel empathy and sympathy for Lauren and her situation, to make it more believable when the story kicks in.

While in hospital Lauren reports that someone has tried to abduct her babies, the doctors put this down to hallucinations caused by tiredness. However, from here on in Lauren is convinced that she is being followed by a woman dressed in black rags who wants to swap twins with her. As the story progresses, the emotion continues to build and build. The eventual climax is a heartbreaking ordeal which no mother wishes to experience and just when we think it's over, Golding hits us with another twist and the story goes in a different direction.

The police become involved and here we meet Detective Sergeant Jo Harper. Jo Harper is a law unto herself, she is difficult to manage and doesn't respond well to authority. Her own back story (which I wont spoil) is why, despite advice and direct orders from her seniors, she doesn't let this case go and contiues to pursue it.

As the story unfolds, Lauren becomes more manic and I felt myself shift from believing her, to feeling that she was in the midst of a breakdown, back to believing that what she was going through was real. Golding throws in moments of pure clarity and calculated decision-making in respect of Lauren which I felt cast further doubt on the true nature of what was happening. The story continued in this vain throughout the book, an element which I really enjoyed.

If you like a psychological thriller to keep you guessing until the very end, then this is the one for you.

Wow what a book, i started it last night and almost had to carry on reading rather than sleep. It is a book which you don't want to read because it's too chilling and you also don't want to read it as you don't want it to end! This book captured me in the first two chapters. This morning I immediately picked it back up to keep reading. I'm thinking surely it can't be true, there is a simple explanation but no I'm drawn in again. Loving the characters and really love the determination of the police detective. The plot is brilliant and the twists leave you surprised and even chilled. You definitely won't want to stop reading, such a good book.
Totally a 5 star book. Highly recommended

A mother’s love and a fairytale of sickening proportions.
Excellent!


4/5

Wow! What a darkly twisted fusion of old folklore and the trials and tribulations of a new mother of twins in modern times. Is she suffering from post natal depression or there really an can evil old woman from long ago waiting to steal her newborn twins? You are carried along on a tide of frustration as no one believes the new mum. After all no one else has seen what she has seen and she has a history of depression. This book has all the ingredients of an unputdownable read- into-the-early hours marathon. Interspersed with creepy snippets of folklore along the way and you will not forget the evil babies in a hurry! I thoroughly enjoyed this unique tale. More from this author please!

Wow I was blown away by this book. It’s gripping from the first page and full of twists and turns and some frankly horrible and scary old folklore and stories that will have you questioning what is going on at every step.

I really enjoyed reading this debut novel. I am so thankful to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read tin exchange for an honest review. Melanie Golding has done a really good job creating this debut novel. It was fantastically written, mainly from Lauren, the mother of the twins, point of view. As a mother myself, I identified with some of the post- pregnancy thoughts and feelings of exhaustion that Lauren experienced. You just can’t help but sympathise for her.

Little Darlings was inspired by dark fairy tales and atwin folk tales, frequently referring to tales of changelings; children that have been secretly substituted by fairies and elves during infancy. The storyline made me question whether Lauren was in fact having a psychotic break due to postnatal depression or if there was in fact a figure after her twin boys. I even thought I had guessed it, with Lauren having a split personality! This is a reason why I thoroughly enjoyed the book, that it kept me guessing right until the final chapter and didn’t give away too much too soon. I would have liked a ‘one year later’ type of chapter just to wrap up the novel entirely.

The storyline included Jo Harper as the reliable policewoman; it dipped into her past slightly, as well as looking at a blossoming romance. Although these were nice personal touches I am not completely sure the purpose.

If you’re looking for a twisty, creepy read, this is definitely a book for you. It is not too dark or disturbing but still provides an airy atmosphere. It is an enjoyable read, especially if you enjoy myths and folklore. I’ve included a link to twin folk tales at the end of this post if anyone is interested in further (creepy) reading materials,.

Little Darlings is available for pre-order now on amazon, released 2nd of May 2019.

This is one of my 2019 recommended reads. I have awarded Little Darlings 4 / 5 stars!

Little Darlings, Melanie Golding.

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: General Fiction (Adult)

A fabulous read, but if like me you're easily spooked please don't read at night! Its not scary per se, but scary for the possibilities. Chillingly unsettling in its supernatural potential rather than chillingly terrifying.

When we first start, I wasn't enamored of Patrick, he says the right things but I didn't feel he really believed them. I felt he was selfish, and the further into the novel we got the more I disliked him. That's just a personal view, I'm not saying he was bad, irresponsible, or had anything to do at what had happened, but I just did not like him. Hearing events via Lauren made me feel sympathetic to her, and of course fully believe in what she is saying. Is she really seeing that though, it it really happening as she describes or is it some form of post natal depression or something similar?

All the way through the novel we get events through Lauren's eyes and then via other folk, showing maybe what she is seeing is the truth, or maybe she is imagining seeing things, and I veered from one thought to another, wondering just which one is right. Were the twins singing at just five weeks or was it her imagination? Its so cleverly done that as a reader I just didn't know.
Then there's Jess, the police officer, the history of events in the area, Natalie, so many possible explanations and the easiest one for Patrick, the hospital and the police is that she's imagining it brought on by stress, tiredness and possible health/child birth complications.

I tend to want definite answers and in this novel there isn't one. How could there be though when no-one really knows what did happen? Its a very ambiguous ending, just as I was believing one thing once more the temptation of another version being correct raises its head. Its not the ending I like, but it is the perfect ending to this story.

 Stars: Five, an amazing, brilliant debut novel, perfectly written, full of suspense and suggestions, leading reader one way then pulling them back the other. I really had no idea by the end which version of events was true. Chillingly suspenseful, and a thoroughly absorbing read.

ARC via Netgalley and Publishers

A real page turner hard to put down as you just want to know what happens!
A twisted tale based on an ancient fairytale. Quite disturbing to read at times but easily relatable.
A new mum of twin boys gets sucked into a world she doesn’t want to be in and the only way out is to do the unthinkable.
Not quite the happy ending I was hoping for and lots of unanswered questions remain.
Well written, full of suspense and drama.

I do love a story based around old myths, tales or legends so was very intrigued when I discovered Little Darlings is just that. I didn’t know much about the myth that this book explores: Changelings. It turns out there is much folklore about the idea of babies being stolen or switched just after birth. So your baby might physically look the same but actually have the soul of another baby, or be switched for a completely different baby – a fairy or some other creature. Pretty sinister, right? Quite a few of the chapters open with a selection of these tales to really help this theme cement in your mind and show just how creepy they are. An example: ‘The Nickert is a small gray person that lives in the water and has a great desire for human children. If they have not yet been baptised, he will steal them, leaving his own children in their place.’

These were the stories that inspired Melanie Golding to write this book and I have to say, she takes the mythology and weaves a brilliant contemporary tale. Lauren Tranter gives birth to twin boys, Morgan and Riley, but while recovering from the birth in hospital she is convinced that a woman has sneaked onto the maternity ward and is trying to swap her babies with Lauren’s. Once she leaves hospital, her fears don’t dissipate and things really ramp up when her babies are abducted.

Alongside Lauren, we have another lead female character, DS Joanna Harper; the detective working on Lauren’s baby abduction case. She is strong, likeable character who is the perfect reliable narrator contrast to Lauren’s unreliable one. This dual point-of-view while the plot reveals itself really keeps things exciting.

I often read Little Darlings (digitally on my phone) while rocking my baby to sleep in the evenings, which made the whole topic of babies being switched or stolen even more visceral, as it really is an indescribable fear. I was very impressed by how this novel captures the struggles of early motherhood – from the simple things of trying to pack a nappy bag and get babies ready to go for a walk to the massive, massive psychological change you go through when you become a mother. You need so much help and support in those early weeks, so it didn’t help matters that Lauren’s husband was basically a dick. His self-involved, churlish behaviour actually made me very angry and I felt for Lauren so much, ‘He didn’t care about her. He only cared about himself. Her heart sank, a dinghy with a bullet hole, and the boys felt it.’ Lauren is under a lot of pressure and what Little Darlings does so superbly is continuously ask the question: Is Lauren suffering from very real and scary postpartum psychosis or is something / someone really intent on stealing her babies?

Little Darlings is Melanie Golding’s debut novel and is a sharp, unsettling, creepy tale that had me questioning what was real or not the whole way through thanks to its clever structure and execution. It’s published in May 2019 and I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy!

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding is a thriller based in folklore. It was creepy and unsettling and kept me up late to finish it.
Lauren has just given birth to twin boys. She is woken up in hospital by a strange woman who tells her that she wants to swap her twin babies for hers. Lauren is able to get the woman out of the room and calls the police. Nobody believes Lauren and think that she was hallucinating because of the drugs the hospital had given her.
When she is discharged from hospital Lauren thinks she sees the woman outside her house and calls the police again but the only person to take her seriously is Detective Harper who decides she will look into this case. Then one day when Lauren is at the park she falls asleep and when she wakes the twins have gone. They are later found safely but Lauren is convinced they are not her boys.
I would like to thank NetGalley and HQ for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book.

Read it one day. To be brutally honest I found it a little boring, the whole changeling thing has been done before but much better and far more creepier. Maybe my tolerance levels of being "creeped-out" is far more higher than others who have reviewed and felt it was creepy................

The perfect read for Halloween. This book had plenty of creepy moments but the characters brought a level of normality to the story too, I found it was well balanced between reality and the prickling of the supernatural.

The story starts with the birth of twins but unravels into a story of betrayal, hallucinations and fear. Who is this devious river woman? Is she real or a manifestation caused by puerperal psychosis? I loved the folk lore that was presented at the start of the chapters, this provided a fascinating insight into changelings and faeries and the stories shared by our ancestors. It added an extra layer of atmospheric tension to the story.

I am not usually a fan of supernatural stories but I’m still not entirely sure if this was one or not, very cleverly thought out!

I felt this book was a little slow to start but then the more I read the more I couldn't put it down. .
It's dark and chilling, so many questions!! Fantastic though, left me unsettled but I loved it! Recommended

I liked the way this book left me feeling that so much was unanswered, or rather that there were several possible answers. I don't want to leave spoilers but there are two questions I would love to ask. I enjoyed the possibility that this could be a psychiatric issue or a supernatural one. Liked the story and enjoyed all of the characters. Finished this yesterday and today I am still thinking about it. That's a great read when that happens. Will recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank goodness Melanie Golding gave up her previous careers to write this debut novel!

While I found this book a bit slow in the beginning, the pace picked up once more characters got introduced and the story began to unfold, leaving me unable to put it down.

Genuinely creepy and brilliantly written. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. I would highly recommend this book.

Gripping. New mum is disbelieved when she sees a woman trying to take her babies. When they are snatched it is assumed it is her fault, and not that of the mysterious woman she has been seeing stalking her-her husband's ex-girlfriend, Natalie. However, she is believed by one of the detectives who tries to help. Her insistence that her children are imposters after they are snatched and found lead to her incarceration in a psychiatric ward, and when she escapes to hold them underwater to bring her children back, she is again sent to a psychiatric hospital. However, when bodies of a woman and her twins are discovered in the reservoir, she is proved correct. Terrifying and disturbing, heightened by the fact it is assumed it is all in her head by both the medical profession and the police.

I loved this book. It's a creepy, dark supernatural thriller with believable characters that keep you guessing until the end.

The story flowed so well that before I knew it, I'd read half of the book without lifting my head once. I enjoyed reading it so much that I was disappointed when I finished as I wanted to experience it all over again.

An excellent first novel by a very talented writer.

At first this book is a little bit of a slow starter. It would be easy to give up however it is worth staying with it. It’s a wonderful/lovely story. The author takes on a journey of the unknown.
Thank you to both NetGalley and HQ for my ARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

I think I was expecting more from this, more thriller or more supernatural. Didn’t seem to get either. I felt it focused more on the woman Sergeant, which makes me think she could be in future books. I wanted more spookiness from the babies. It was an ok read.

Thanks to Melanie Golding and HQ books for the opportunity to read and review this book. Little Darlings will have you second guessing till the last page. What happens when a young mum become overwrought taking care of her new born twins. There is a fine line between sane and insane. What is real and what is imagined. The book delves into fairy folklore and will have the most practical of readers wondering what's behind the mystery.