This was a great, fast read that kept me turning the pages. A family drama involving postpartum depression, child endangerment and a tough decision for the main character. I had to know exactly what happened and how this would all play out.

Liz is a pediatrician who has to make a difficult decision when her friend brings her baby to her with an injury that just doesn't seem right, she knows something is off and has to do the right thing. There are a few twists along the way that made this a bit of a thriller, which I love.

This was the second book I have read by this author and will gladly read whatever she comes up with next. 4 stars!

A big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I had enjoyed the author's previous book. I think the writing was tightly woven and was very relatable. I could totally understand the complete and utter helpless feeling that new motherhood brings. I think that people don't like to talk about the extreme difficulties and abyss that new motherhood can bring when good support systems are not in place. I definitely want to read more by this author. I enjoy her feminist slant in her books. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Really enjoyed the author’s previous book: Anatomy of a scandal. Little Disasters charters the story of a woman torn between her professional and moral responsibilities to a child and her friendship with their mother. Sarah Vaughan really gets inside Liz’s head and her characterisation of her and her friends and family is spot on. She sensitively explores issues around mental health, culpability and family bonds. The writing is sharp, original and uniquely descriptive. I particularly enjoyed her feminist sub text.

What would you do if you had a duty of care and a close friend, one you knew as a great mother, showed up in the ER with a child whose injuries were commiserate with abuse or neglect? Would you call the authorities, simply look the other way or rely on another colleague to make the call? This book answers that question and provides a perspective on what the fallout might be, depending on your choice.

As someone who has worked with a group that represents abused/neglected children in the court systems, I know that certain professions and even some volunteer opportunities come with a duty of care responsibility. We all want to think that we would not hesitate to ‘make the call’ even if it meant a friend would be angry or hurt but would we?

The book deals with difficult topics like depression, postpartum depression and alcoholism. For someone who has not experienced postpartum depression, it is difficult to understand how the thoughts of harming a child can even enter into one’s mind but we see it every day. It gave me a more empathic view towards mothers who are faced with those challenges.

About halfway through the book I thought I figured out what really happened and turns out I had except when the story took another twist I didn’t see coming. I found it hard to put this one down.

My only constructive comment would be that the author appeared to use the same words and phrasing to describe the thought patterns of her friend and mother, during a particular type of situation that both of them experienced but at separate times. If the author did that intentionally, I would have liked an explanation in the book by the narrator to explain why.

Overall, this book has my recommendation as a ‘must read’.

Another suspenseful and twisty family drama by Sarah Vaughan. The story is centered around an infant girl that is injured home. Beautifully written and utterly unforgettable.

I received this gifted copy of “ Little Disasters” in exchange for a honest review. #netgalley #partner. The novel reaches deep into a honest look at modern motherhood. It explores the very raw emotions of love, loneliness, happiness and sadness that motherhood brings . It also explores the subject of undiagnosed postpartum depression. The characters were very relatable and the rawness of their emotions was felt throughout the story. I have to say that even as a mother myself I struggled with this novel. Mostly because the sheer realness of the situation, and the unwritten truth that the situations these mothers found themselves in, could happen to anyone

This was a fun book to read, leaving the reader thinking "What is going on here"? from the very 1st page. Liz is a pediatrician and when her friend comes in with her baby, they realize something terrible happened, and the mother is covering something up, but what can it be? Then their tight knit group of friends are all left wondering if this so called perfect mother is not so perfect after all.

With all the signs of depression, at first you think that Jess really hurt her baby. She envisions herself hurting Betsey and then worrying if she really did it, but the further you get into the book, you realize she was just a stressed out mom like most of us are, needed a little time to herself, and made a mistake in her judgement and will do whatever it takes to protect her family.

I thought the book ended here, and got a little impatient as it drew on a little further, but in the end, it was a perfectly good way to complete this book. This was a great first read for me from this author. Thank you NetGalley for my free download.

Wonderful read. The main characters were really well drawn. You could sympathise with Jess as a young mother, dealing with a crying colicky baby, while the father was very work oriented, and not much help at home. Liz was a sympathetic and interesting character too. The twist at the end was unexpected and shocking. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book even though the subject matter ( postpartum & child abuse) was sad. Pretty realistic, hopefully eye opening for some. I’ll be looking for more from this author.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for this arc.


⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 This book started with group of mothers trying to learn everything they can and prepare for their journey towards motherhood. It covers variety of things like; parenting, getting overwhelmed with the change, balancing this addition with your career and all other things and of course feeling alone. The book addresses a very important subject - postpartum, though it did a good job telling the story of how a mom’s emotion reaches this point and what happened when she does, there are a couple points in the book that may seem impractical. But I still like it.

Thank you to net galley for sending me a copy of this book for review! I really was intrigued this entire book. I was at the edge of my seat the whole book. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book.

Wasn't my type of book. I finished it, but I struggled. It was well written but not my kind of story. Would recommend to someone else though.

The plot was okay, but it dragged a bit too much. It was easy to fall out of the story with the back and forth time jumps (2018, 2016, 1980s, etc). It made it challenging to track and follow at times. As a result, I never felt truly invested in the plot or with the characters. The 'big reveal" didn't have as much of a "bang" as I'm used to with books of this genre. There were a few interesting twists, but this one just didn't do it for me overall. On a positive, the ending wasn't what I was expecting, and that bumped my review up to 3 stars.

A group of women found a bond after meeting at a birthing class, but each of them has a secret if you take the time to look close enough. Jess brought her baby into the emergency room for illness; however, she walked out with an accusation of abusing her child.

This is a very subtle thriller. The story that anybody can relate to. Do you know your friends even after a long time without seeing each other? The characters are alive and the dialogues are well thought out. This is a page-turner as it's not overly dramatic but rather a roller coaster. It's a suspicion behind each page. When you think you know someone until you don't.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How does one describe a book like this? I started off liking it (strong woman who's a doctor and mom), then grew frustrated with the glacial pace and endless discussion of "mommy things" and so put it down. A week later, I try to give it another go and discovered by jumping way ahead that these very things that irritated me actually served a very specific purpose. Jumped back to the middle and finished without much skimming over the tedious parts (sorry, not a big fan of children). Conclusion: this novel highlights a very misunderstood and under-discussed problem related to child rearing and parenting. You'll never see the plot twist until it's too late, unless maybe you've been in a similar situation. Brilliant. Sad. Well done.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an interesting thriller. I was pretty sure that I had the ending figured out rather quickly. Near the end I felt vindicated but then there was another twist that surprised me after all. The author did a good job slowly revealing parts of the plot just at the point when it was needed. That style kept me on the edge of my seat to see what was revealed as the story unfolded. I enjoyed this one. I would recommend it if you like thrillers with a twist.

This book tackled some very difficult subjects and was generally good but I did feel that it was drawn out in some places. Still worth four stars though

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advanced reading copy.

This book offers the look at friendship that is tested by the obligation of professionalism or gut feeling.
A parent of three kids (one with ADHD and a new born) could cause stress to any parent. But would it cause enough stress for the “perfect” mom to hurt her own baby? That is what Liz has to decide. Would her friend do this to her own child? On purpose? Postpartum depression? How could her best friend do this with her having no idea that she was in this much trouble?

The book dives into serious issues such as depression, alcoholism, and neglect. Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. Some parts were drawn out and could have been left out, but overall a satisfactory book

Liz & Jess met in Lamaze class and became fast friends. Liz thinks Jess is the perfect mother while she, herself, oftentimes feels lost and overwhelmed. When a tragedy sets in motion a series of judgments and discoveries, everything will change for both women. This is a great book about judgments, perspectives, self-doubt, and the hard fact that everyone is struggling and succeeding all at once and in different ways. I really enjoyed this book — hence the 5 stars– but I almost gave it 4 stars because of the uncomfortable and kinda creepy final twist. I do think the book was well-written, believable and a good story about normal people with normal problems. It kept my interest the whole time and I will definitely read more of Sarah Vaughan’s work. Disclaimer — I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher!! Publish date: August 18, 2020 #NetGalley. Five stars!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

I really liked this book! There were definitely parts that dragged and then it was maybe TOO much all revealed right at the end. But I really like how the author took on such heavy and highly stigmatized topics and handled them deftly. She made sure we understood these characters and felt empathy for them (well, some more than others..) when their dark secrets were revealed. I felt her pain when Jess went to the hospital the last time before everything came to a head. The pain of a frantic mother who is also out of her mind. I wanted to reach into the page and hug her! I will definitely look for more books by this author in the future.




Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced copy in exhange for my honest review.