Though a little hard for me to get into at the beginning, Little Disasters got me hooked. What I thought was going to be a run-of-the- mill story, had a twist at the end I didn’t see coming!
This is a relatable storyline and I would highly recommend it!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
This is primarily the story of two mothers. One, Liz, is a working nurse and mother. The other, Jess, is a stay-at-home mom, the only woman in her peer group to be a stay-at-home mom.
These two characters, as well as other mothers who play roles in this book, are very realistically portrayed. The challenges of motherhood are very well-represented.
The baby daughter of Jess gets injured in some sort of household incident. It is not clear until the end of the book what exactly happened. Liz finds herself in the awkward position of needing to call in the police and social services to investigate her friend Jess.
An excellent, well-written book.

I unfortunately didn't find myself loving this book it definitely was a read read just not suspenceful enough for me. It was written well and kept my attention.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Little Disasters
Sarah Vaughan
Publications date- 8/18/20

When I read the synopsis I knew I needed to read this book. I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Readers’ Copy of Little Disasters provided by Atria Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast paced psychological thriller that will pull at your heart strings. Jess appears to have it all the perfect family of five, happily married and strong relationships . She’s looked up to by her circle of friends, she is patient and attentive to her three children. She’s the mom who will play with the kids on the floor and slips so natural to motherhood. She’s put together perfectly. Looks can be very deceiving!
Jess brings her 10 month old baby to the hospital. Liz, one of her closest friends is the pediatric Dr. working that shift. At first it looks like an accident but after further tests it’s pointing in a direction that is going to change Jess’s life. What really happened to baby Betsey? This book has it all, suspense, twists and secrets will be revealed. Relationships will be tested and will everyone start doubting Jess? Raw at times this book will take you an an emotional journey page by page with an ending that you most likely never saw coming. This is a must read, a beautifully written story that needs to be heard. Little Disasters can be a perfect choice for a bookclub pick!!

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I loved Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan and couldn't wait to read Little Disasters. I enjoyed this book...not as much as Anatomy of a Scandal, but it still kept me reading. Without giving anything away, a mother brings her baby daughter to the emergency room because she is sick in her crib. One of her best friends in the doctor on duty and notices some things that don't add up.

I love Vaughan's writing style. I also liked the story, but thought the book could have been about half the length. It seemed to me that not much happened. There was a twist at end that I didn't see coming, but I'm not sure I really liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

How far you may go to make your children safe and give the care, comfort they need? A mother’s job is looking after them, feeding them, keeping them healthy, happy, fulfilling all their mental and psychical needs but what happens to all those caring and sacrificing mothers when they get exhausted, all alone to achieve their best and when the time comes, they find out their best is not a great option for their kids!

This book is not a thriller or mystery, this is though-provoking, questioning and quite perfect analyze of how compelling, serious, life-changing job, title: the motherhood is. It’s an amazing women’s fiction/family drama. It questions women’s maternal instincts, endurance under humanly impossible conditions like sleep deprivation, 24/7 being there for their child, gathering wits together not to suffer from poor judgment and fail from critical choices they make about their children’s lives.

I’m not a mother. I wish I could be but you know the old Yiddish proverb: “We plan, God laughs” But I think this book truly affected me more than I expected with different mothers’ stories, their unique kind of approaches about raising children and sometimes losing your control, patience may result with so many unexpected and life changing consequences. I felt like somebody dropped down cold ice bucket on me! I’m still shivering, numb, shocked, flabbergasted and shaken. This is POWER OF GREAT STORYTELLING.

Let’s give a quick summary about the plot:

Liz, brilliant pediatrician having another crazy train ride of day during her shift and she meets one of her friend Jess brought her baby to the emergency room.

They just estranged a little bit because of Liz’s over demanding profession, kids, husband and other activities fills her life and Jess also didn’t make any effort to connect with her either. And now she looks skeptical. Till Liz asks her about the bump at her baby’s head that she didn’t mention it before, she gets in panic and gives indecisive answers. And after checking the baby with their procedural tests, X-rays, they find out Liz’s story doesn’t add up. There are big holes about the explanation how her little girl hit her head.

Could she hurt her little girl? Or anyone at their house could do that? Could she suffer from some postpartum depression? Do she and her husband have ill-fated relationship affected the way they treated to their own children?
Liz deals with too many questions and also worries about her mother’s mentally unbalanced state who suffers from terminal disease and for making things for worse she drinks herself to death. Is there anything crucial she doesn’t share with her?

Conclusion of the story is foreseeable but it’s still satisfying and well-done. The characters are well-built, slow-burn story-telling and multi POVED narration worked well with the progression but I still feel there are some parts could be emitted because you already understand what’s gonna come next and you don’t want to read more pages till the obvious things start to come out.

Overall: Even though the story’s pace would be better with some edited parts, I enjoyed the writing, character building and realistic, genuine, argumentative approach of the author. So I stick with my shiny, thrilling four stars for the love of motherhood!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for sharing this fantastic ARC in exchange my honest review. This is my first Sarah Vaughan book and I’m looking forward to read more works of her as soon as I start trimming my frightening Mount TBR!

I loved Anatomy of a Scandal, so I was thrilled to receive an earc of Little Disasters. Vaughan's writing style is crisp and refreshing, and the cover is beautiful.

Liz is an overworked doctor trying to juggle the many aspects of being a working mother. When her friend's baby is admitted presenting with injuries consistent with abuse, Liz finds herself in the middle of a troubling situation. Jess has been her friend for years. A loving, attentive, if not overprotective mother, by all accounts, yet every sign of the injury points to purposeful intent. Told in alternating character perspectives, we're taken on a journey spanning years and forced to ask the uncomfortable question: could a mother harm her child?

This was such a quick read that tackles some serious issues with tact and grace. As a mother of two young children, I understand completely the need to put on a happy face, to pretend that motherhood is a constant joy. Social media is weird like that. We all know that what we see on Facebook or Insta isn't the reality of the situation, but we still feel jealous looking at these images, of the celebrity moms who seem to have their shit together immediately after birthing a watermelon. Of the beautiful mothers who get their bodies back effortlessly, who never tire of being with their children, who seem to swell with pride at being stay-at-homes. At the same time, we also want to talk about the realities of mom life, but doing so on social media means sharing innocent things, like baby food disasters or diaper blowouts.

Rarely do we ever discuss the mental health issues with such candor and raw honesty.

Jess, the mother of the injured baby, is suffering from severe postpartum depression and maternal anxiety. She can't relax in any place where "danger" might arise. She imagines hurting her baby, the many accidents that could happen during an ordinary action as walking down the stairs. I wouldn't call her an unreliable narrator, but her internal dialogue reflecting on her insecurities, doubts, and fears was supposed to cast our doubt about what happened the night Bets was hurt.

Motherhood in all its darkness is at the forefront of this novel, and Vaughan accomplishes her objective of raising the important things we might be too scared or dismissive to talk about. How it's important to check up on our friends and family who have just given birth. To offer the kindness of a genuine question if your gut tells you someone looks overwhelmed. There is pressure to enjoy every minute, and a real disconnect between the innocuous advice and the quiet moments when you're alone with a screaming baby running on one hour of broken sleep. Every maternal character in the book experiences this in some form but there's no communication, hiding their questions and longing for connection like a dark secret.

I appreciated Vaughan's tackling of the complexities of motherhood, how each birth experience is different and doesn't fit into a pre-fab mold of expectations. I will say that I didn't care much for the subplots between Liz and her mother and brother, and some of the flashback chapters read long and took me out of the fast-paced nature propelling the plot. I also felt the plot was on the predictable side. Even the final twists weren't surprising, yet I don't know if this is necessarily one of those books where not seeing the twists is the important thing. The plot feels more like a device to shed light on these issues rather than a fast-and-true suspense where the mystery needs to be solved.

Overall, a quick read with serious issues, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an emotional look at motherhood. Vaughan's writing is beautiful, and the material practically reads itself. Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for review consideration.

You will want to clear your calendar when you start this book- I picked it up and put it down to sleep and drive. That is it. Such an interesting premise- Liz is a dr and her close friend Jess brings her baby in to the hospital. Jess is acting different- like she's hiding something and CT scans show the baby has a fractured skull. Jess's retelling of the events doesn't seem quite right.. Jess in general doesn't seem quite right and Liz is forced to involve the authorities to determine if abuse/negligence played a part.

The book is written as many books are right now with varying chapters representing different people and time frames. Jess is the perfect unreliable narrator and I kept waiting for the big event that classifies this book as a thriller.. It sorta came around the 90 percent mark but not really. There was no big twist. Just a really good look into mental illness and family relationships.

I loved the book. Like I stated above, I couldn't stop reading it. Sarah Vaughan has a way with words and I would never have guessed this book was over 400 pages- it went so fast. I would classify this book more of a domestic fiction rather than mystery thriller- there were some mysterious elements but overall a great deep dive into parenthood, mental illness and friendships.

4 stars.

Thank you to #netgalley and #atria books for the complimentary copy for an honest review.

Thank you, Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to review Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan in exchange for my honest opinion. The author has written a story about motherhood and how devastating and dangerous postpartum depression and mental health issues can be if not recognized and treated. This was an emotional story with lots of twists and turns.

While this isn’t my usual type of suspense / thriller book it was a good read. Hate to admit it but I prefer a bit more bad-ness🤷🏼‍♀️. Murder I guess, lol. But it was a good read, especially focusing on the topic of post partum depression, which isn’t acknowledged enough. And you’re rewarded with an especially twisty surprise towards the end.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan..
A doctor dedicated to children's medicine, Liz, grows suspicious when a friend brings her child in for treatment. Liz becomes concerned that things are not as they seem. But soon, nothing is as it appears, and Liz starts to find out that secrets and suspicion are becoming commonplace. Liz begins to realize that her practice and her job are in jeopardy and choices must be made quickly before it is too late.
More of a drama than a thriller, but a good book.
3.stars.

What an amazingly insightful and at times gut-wrenching book about motherhood. The author did a wonderful job in researching in showing us the darker side of early childhood. It's generally taboo to talk about postpartum depression and how it affects mothers. How difficult it is to not only first time mothers but those having second, third and more children. The underlying narrative is that being a good mother, a good parent, doesn't always seem to come naturally. And we don't always inherit that skill from our parents. I enjoyed the twists in the plot and felt that the author did a wonderful job with character and plot development.

It was a fantastic read and I had a difficult time putting it down. I started it early this morning and just now finished it at 1:45 am. I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and exchange for the fair and honest review.

I could not get into this book at all. It started out slow with the back and forth parts, but then did grab my attention when the baby made it to the hospital. I ended up skipping to the back to see who hurt the baby and then stopped reading.

I'd give this a 3.5. It kept me engaged enough to come back to my e-reader several days in a row (which is a big deal for me.)
The ending was a nice twist as I'd figured that Frankie had been involved but not beyond that.
I absolutely hated jumping from first to third person but it wouldn't stop me from recommending this novel to anyone.
The children acted their ages, which is hard to find in adult books. I enjoyed how the main character's lives were intertwined not only through their children but the companionship that comes with being new mothers. The raw emotion of Jess and Liz was heartbreaking, and Frankie doubly so.
Ultimately..Sarah Vaughan's "Little Disasters" shows us how hiding away our insecurities and doubt can create moments that define the rest of our lives and how motherhood can change even the strongest woman.

Liz, a pediatrician, is surprised to see her good friend Jess at the ER with her baby, Betsey. When Jess’ story about what happened doesn’t line up with Betsey’s injuries, Liz is put in a tough spot having to make a report to police for further investigation. What happened to Betsey? Who is lying and who is telling the truth?

I thought the premise of the book was great, but it didn’t wow me like some thrillers do. I liked that it shed light on postpartum mental issues, such as PP Depression, Anxiety, and OCD. I would say this book was good, but not great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who experienced severe PPD & OCD with intrusive thoughts (which went undiagnosed for a long time), I am grateful for this book and the sensitive way these issues were handled. I also loved the relationships among the characters and the fantastic twist at the end.

As a doctor, Liz Trenchard is bound by law to report any cases of suspected child abuse. So when her friend, Jess comes by the hospital with her baby and a story that doesn’t make sense, Liz is faced with a difficult choice. Uncovering the truth is essential for the safety of a child, but Liz may uncover secrets about her own family. Vaughan takes an unflinching look at motherhood and the expectations placed on women

This is the first novel I have read by Sarah Vaughan and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the parallels between Jess and Janet that were revealed at the end of the book. Though I figured out what happened, I still enjoyed the book though the end dragged a bit for me. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy. I will happily recommend this book!