Little Disasters was a compulsively readable book that I thoroughly enjoyed! It tells the story of Jess, a mother of three who brings her youngest to the hospital. The story she gives her friend and pediatrician, Liz, doesn’t seem to match the injury the baby has, so naturally suspicion starts to mount. What comes next is a roller coaster of a read in which events unfold that tell the story of a frazzled mother and secrets are unearthed that throw the lives of these people into chaos. The events in the novel felt as though they could happen to anyone. All the characters felt real and flawed, making them relatable to the reader. You definitely do not need to be a parent to enjoy this book. In fact, I think readers of all kinds will enjoy Little Disasters when it is published on August 18th.

This was a very good family drama. The characters were believable in their personalities and actions. I had my suspicions early on about what had really happened to Betsey but I definitely didn't see the final conclusion to the incident. Liz's struggle with the situation was very real and her own emotions about her mother and childhood added a good subplot. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Thank you to netgalley.com for the opportunity to read this ARC. This is a mystery/thriller story of motherhood, marriage, friends (or are they?) and complex family relationships. It is very relatable. Striving for perfection because that is what you think is demanded of you without looking at what it is doing to you or the people around you. Friends who have drifted apart after the babyhood stages of their children don’t see what is right in front of them. A mother accused, a baby who has suffered a terrible injury, police officers just looking for a suspect and a husband who loves his wife, but makes no effort to know her.

Jess is a hot mess after the birth of her third child. The obvious signs of postpartum depression are ignored by everyone around her. She is lost, but determined to keep up the facade. Liz, a pediatrician, works crazy hours, but her career is in the hands of misogynistic department head. Mel is struggling with her own marriage and Charlotte can see no further than her own needs.

I wanted to step into this story and hug Liz, Jess and Mel. Charlotte would be more likely to get a good slap. As a mom, it is so relatable. The book is told from several viewpoints which makes it more compelling. It is a page turner, and while a hospital figures prominently, it did keep me engaged during the health Pandemic the world is experiencing. The only place the book fails is as it concludes. It felt too easy and too pretty. I gave the book a 4, but it’s closer to a 3.5.

I greatly enjoyed this book, but thought it was a bit long for the plot. Also I think a little sexual tension between the characters would have spiced things up a bit

This is an intense read! I'm not a mother but I can't imagine hurting a child or anyone that would.
There are a lot of twists that I didn't see coming and made me think. This was a definite good read.

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan tells the story of four mothers that meet through a first time parenting class years ago. In present day, the four have remained friends for the most part as they travel through motherhood together. Liz, a pediatrics doctor, is at the hospital one night when her closest friend out of the group, Jess, brings in her 10 month old baby due to her constant crying. Liz discovers that Jess' daughter, Betsey, has an injury to her head which they discover is actually a skull fracture.

The hospital has an obligation to get social services and the police involved since the story that Jess has told Liz and the hospital do not match to the injury caused to the baby. Jess continuously proves over and over that she will do whatever it takes to get close to her baby and goes to dramatic lengths while she is in the care of the hospital.

Overall, I thought the story had a good plot, but thought it was drug out. I was also largely distracted when the story line would jump back in time. The present story is told in 2018 and sometimes the story would go back to 2016, 2013, 1980's, etc. I never thought there was a streamlined time period which was difficult to follow.

I found that I was never fully invested in the plot or with the characters. It was well written, but I never felt that strong pull to them like I do with other mystery/thriller novels. The "big reveal" was rather anticlimactic as well. I didn't figure it out beforehand, but it still wasn't this huge reveal that I feel like typically happens in thriller novels.

Overall, didn't hate the book, just thought it was a decent read.

When one of Liz's three friends shows up in the pediatric emergency room, with her daughter Betsey, Liz is forced to look at her friend in a new way. Betsey has a scull fracture, but her mother, Jess' story doesn't fit with the injury. Keep reading to find out the whole story.
This is a small peek into what can happen to both mother and child.

I enjoyed this book although I felt it a little dragged out for the story told and for that it lost a star. The characters were great, the story line kept me guessing and when the truth came to light I loved the plot twists. As a mother this story tugged on my heart strings throughout. Postpartum depression is so scary and so hard to self recognize that played a role in this story, but at opposite ends is how far do you go to protect your family? This story pulled you in multiple directions and kept me reading.

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan is a story about motherhood and shares the joys of parenting in contrast with the less talked about subject of post-partum depression. The story begins when Betsy, the baby daughter of Jess, is brought to the hospital for a well-check. Liz, a friend and pediatric doctor, discovers that Betsy is not just I’ll, but suffering from a severe skull fracture. Unable to accurately recall how her baby might have suffered such an injury, Liz is forced to rely on her medical instincts and sadly, suspects that her friend is hiding something. Could Jess really be responsible for Betsy’s injuries? Meanwhile, Jess’s husband is feeling the guilt of being an absent father and beginS to suspect that Jess has been suffering alone in silence.. Faced with her friend’s situation, Liz reflects on her own childhood and later discovers her childhood memories mean much more than originally thought. She confronts her own mother and receives a deathbed confession that never seemed possible.

This book is about motherhood at every stage and a reminder that while people may appear to “have it all”, you never know how deeply they may be suffering. As a mother, daughter, and friend, I would definitely recommend reading this book. Now, more than ever, this book is a reminder check on friends, family members and reach out for help if you’re feeling down.

Of course emergency room doctor Liz Trenchard is concerned when one of her friends comes into the hospital with her infant. That concern quickly increases when she realizes the extent of little Betsey's injuries and how much time has passed since what Jess describes as a minor fall. Liz follows protocol, transferring the infant into the care of another doctor and alerting the proper authorities, even though she is sure that Jess would never have have hurt her own child. They've known each other for years and Jess has always been the most careful and attentive mother in their group of friends. Liz can't believe that Jess would hurt her own baby, but everything about the situation raises red flags.

At times, this one was difficult to read, partially because the details that describe Betsey's injuries are so perfectly descriptive that I could feel them. One sentence in particular is going to stick with me for a long time. The plot moves between the morning of the accident, the present, and the early days of Liz and Jess's friendship. There are dates at the beginning of each chapter, but they're so close together that I found myself trying to figure out from context when in the sequence of events I was reading about. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, especially kids and husbands. I love domestic thrillers that involve families and this one kept me turning pages to find out what had happened.

Heartbreaking, heart wrenching, heartfelt and beautiful writing makes this novel stay with you long after the last page. The themes of motherhood, expectations, despair and loyalty impact a group of women who met in a childbirth class for first time parents who continue their friendships long after the births of their children. The story is told from several POV’s and starts with a child taken to the emergency room. . Was it an accident or abuse. We watch Jess the baby’s mother struggle, Liz, the doctor who doubts her friend, and the husbands who mostly have no idea what is happening. Although I don’t have a child, I could feel the pain and anguish as if I knew the struggles of motherhood, a testament to the superb writing and plotting. Although it’s marketed as a thriller, it’s a drama with twists you don’t see coming and you are completely invested in the women and the outcome. Excellent.

Why are we so resistant to asking others for help? Even when we are desperate.? Jesse, is dealing with her very colicky baby named Betsey. The colic has gone on for months. A mother should be able to calm their baby. Right? That’s what Jesse believed a good mother could do. Jesse, with two other children beside Betsey has been at wits end. She has a absent husband who works long hours and is never around to help. Jesse feels lost and alone, but never asks anyone for help. Betsey ends up with a head injury and is taken to the hospital hours after it happens. Why does it take so long to get Betsey help and who is to blame for her injury? The answers will slowly be revealed and kept me riveted. I highly recommend this book!

This was a quick read for me; better than The Need in examining the strains of motherhood (w/o that other weird conceit it had) and it will probably go through a few rounds of editing to tighten up some of the narrative and timeline before it's published but the bones of a well executed and engaging story are there. Parts of it were upsetting to read (And that emotion is what the author is going for) and the final reveal made me so angry but somewhat relieved but I'll leave that to everyone else to get to. But books like this also remind me to say: mom or not, make sure you're looking out for your friends, checking in and sending love. Everyone has their struggles, we all just have different types of struggles and I think the author did a good job with the trickiness of such a situation.

With the requisite twists and turns, the author takes the reader through what happens when a baby is injured and the story of how it happened is unclear. The characters are vivid and ring true and if you are a parent--a mother in particular--you'll be glued to the book until the last page, which I will say is not the ending I was expecting.

Lastly, I would like to thank NetGalley for a copy of the “Little Disasters” ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A superbly poignant novel around the complexities of family, motherhood and friendships. It drew me in even though I am not a mother and have never experienced post partum depression. But there are so many layers to the plot that you don't have to be a mother – or even a women – to relate. Anyone who loves psychological thrillers and domestic noir will love this book!

This one had me hooked from the beginning! I enjoyed the story and the story shows some of the real raw aspects of being a parent and what that entails. Liz is a pediatric doctor, she is put into a really difficult scenario. Her friends daughter is brought into the AE with a possible head trauma. When Liz starts to question the how of the story she is left with a terrible situation of notifying social services or trusting her friend about what had happened.
This is a great novel and the suspense peels off in layers it's very gripping and has your heart in your throat as things come about and when the truth is found out! I definitely recommend and this is one that you will want to read in one afternoon!

I read this a month ago and figured I should write a quick review before I forget to. The overall plot of the book was actually hard to read. As someone without kids, I don't really know how bad postpartum really is. I honestly remember guessing the ending pretty early on and that it was a good book, but I think lacked a bit of oomph. This is obviously being written during the pandemic going on, and I am needing books that really will do a good job at making me not stress about what's going on outside. This book had the possibility but, just missed it in the end.

This is an emotionally poignant novel that centers around the complexities of motherhood.
Jess is the mother of three, with her youngest being 10 months old. Since her daughter's birth, Jess has struggled with some postpartum depression and is feeling overwhelmed. When her daughter sustains a head injury and is taken to the ER, her parenting skills come into question. Social Services is called and Jess suddenly feels like everybody is against her: Her husband, her longtime friend Liz, and even her children. Because of this, her fragile mental state begins to deteriorate further. But the big question is, did Jess in fact intentionally cause harm to her daughter?

Told from the perspectives of both Jess and Liz, we get a glimpse into their troubled childhoods and gain a deeper understanding of these characters and their motives. I had so much empathy for these characters and found them to be so relatable in their realism. The characterization was so beautifully done, it made for an emotional and heart wrenching read.

In addition to the great writing and wonderful characterization, this is a story shrouded in mystery. There are so many layers to the plot and everything comes together in such a dynamic way.
This is the first book I've read by Sarah Vaughan, and I'm so impressed with the amount of depth.
Strongly recommend for lovers of psychological thrillers and domestic noir.

Whoaaaaaaaa!! What a Book, the characters felt so real to me. It made you think about women’s friendships, about being attuned in your relationships and about putting guilt on people. Wonderful writing, disturbing mixed with sadness at times. Little Disasters will stick in my mind for a long time. Thank you Net Galley and Atria Books for an early copy of this.

This one is unusual...it is character driven, and the reader gets to know the characters well. The one thing I would suggest is that the story center around fewer characters...hard to keep track of.