Similar to other reviewers, I am withholding my review of books by St Martins Press and their imprints until they comply with the demands of the SMP boycott. At that time, I am happy to post the review

Loved this book! I read it with in a few days! Even on my lunch break! Can’t wait to read more of her books!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I couldn’t put it down since I had to know what was going on. This just showcases Sally Hepworth’s great talent for storytelling and she crafted an awesome psychological mystery that just kept you guessing. The story revolves around three foster sisters who form a bond from the shared trauma they endured under the care of Miss Fairchild who was their foster mother. This trauma has followed all the girls into adulthood and 25 years later you can see the effects in the disaster that their lives have become. In the midst of this they are called back to Miss Fairchild’s since a dead child’s body was found while demolishing the house and they are being asked about any child that might have gone missing while they were fostering there. The plot unravels so well and just leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting for the twist, it was so well done and the ending just so good.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed Darling Girls and zipped through it, reading the bulk of it in one sitting. The majority of DG is told in a now/then timeline from the POV of three women - Jessica, Norah, and Alicia.

It’s hard to talk about Darling Girls without giving a lot away, but what I can say is that it’s a great dark thriller that doles out info so effectively you don’t want to put the book down. Even though some of the of what you’re reading is uncomfortable and may possibly be a trigger for some people you still have to turn the page to find out what happens. Some of the revelations were not a huge surprise, but the last chapter, well, that was a shocker!

I did read an uncorrected galley and there were some missing or wrong words, incorrect use of quotation marks and words not separated by a space. All of these things did nothing to detract from the story and I suspect the editors will clean these things up prior to publication.

I highly recommend Darling Girls. It’s an impossible to put down dark thriller that everyone will be talking about this summer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC of Darling Girls.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sally Hepworth for the advanced copy of Darling Girls. Sally has become an auto-buy author for me, and I will always recommend her books.

✨ This book will be published in America on April 23, 2024. You need to get it! ✨

“Love and security were the most basic of rights. Forcing these kids to believe they were lucky to have that was even more damaging than what some of them experienced in care, Alicia thought.”

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia grew up in foster care at a bizarre farming estate by their caregiver, Miss Fairchild. Though Miss Fairchild played the doting and loving foster mom on the outside, she could be unstable and unpredictable to the girls. The girls eventually broke away, but the emotional havoc Miss Fairchild created shaped who Jessica, Norah, and Alicia became. 25-years after the girls escaped Miss Fairchild, the girls, now women, are summoned back to the house by the police. Bones were discovered beneath the house they grew up in.

I really enjoyed this book. Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were great characters. Sally did an amazing job developing their characters. Their bond was a joy to read about. This is a cringey (at times) psychological thriller. There were twists until the very end.

If you’ve read any of Sally’s books, this one had more of a “Good Sister vibe” than “The Soulmate.” I liked it more than “The Good Sister” though.

🖤 Genre: Psychological thriller
❣️ Steamy rating: Moderate
🤬 Profanity: Moderate
❓ Method: Advanced e-copy

Triggers: foster care, child abuse, murder, sexual assault/rape, emotional abuse, mental illness, blackmail, and gaslighting.

✨Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ✨

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

❄️❄️❄️❄️

Another great psychological thriller from Sally Hepworth! The clever narrative moves between past and present giving you insight into the 3 character’s point of views. I did enjoy the then story more than the now. The story is believable about the system that kids get stuck in in foster care and actually kind of heartbreaking. Hepworth certainly knows how to write a compelling and believable plot. A great thriller!

Thank you to @netgalley & @stmartinpress for the arc! This book will be released April 23rd! 📖


#justread #bookstack #booklovers #netgalley #alwaysreading #darlinggirls#readersofinstagram #bookreview #instareads #goodreads #bookworm #bookaddict #readersofig #bookreviewer #bookaddict #bookstagram

Thanks to Netgalley for the ebook ARC. I loved this book! It was a quick read for me because I didn't want to put it down. Story follows 3 women who were together as children in a home. Now investigators want to talk to them because a body was found under the home. This is a crazy ride and it all comes together nicely. The twists I didn't see coming. I just Love Sally Hepworth writing.

I always look forward to a new Sally Hepworth book. This one is so very good!!!

I really loved the foster sister relationships between Alicia, Jessica, and Norah. I love how they looked after each other and the bond they formed from their situation with Miss Fairchild.

The beautiful farm where they resided with her was not as idyllic on the inside. They thought they had gotten away from all this and now a body has been discovered on the property. The sisters return to provide testimony or is it to answer accusation?

Many nice twists and turns that makes this very hard to put down!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review

Another masterpiece by Sally Hepworth. It kept me engaged the entire time! I will definitely recommend!

Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy. Page turner as usual. Not the normal same old story. Really enjoyed!

If you want a book that will send you diving into your feelings along with the characters, Darling Girls is the one for you. Sally Hepworth does not ever fail to immerse the reader within her masterfully crafted thrillers. Norah is the one character that fully captured my heart and it was heartwarming to read through Jessica's journey. The women in this novel are overall great ones with all they've been through, and the stories will shock you!

A book by one of my favorite authors' - ok!! This tale involves a foster home, 3 girls who escaped the wrath of their foster mother 25 years earlier and a dead body. As the book alternates between past and present you are drawn to what shaped the girls lives and who they are now. As with any Hepworth book, the twist is excellently delivered.

This might be my favorite from Hepworth yet! But beware: This one is dark.

I have come to love Hepworth's writing for several reasons: compelling thriller plots, natural storytelling, relatable characters, and a dark humor that at times borders on the whimsical. Her books juxtapose dark and light, heavy and soft. She has a gift for telling her character's stories in a way that you are rooting for them and become so engrossed, yet here comes a little murder to shake things up. Delightful!

But Darling Girls went a darker route than her previous books, but I am not mad about it. This book, which focuses on the after effects of psychological abuse suffered in childhood and therefore did not have room for any humor. At times, this book was a little difficult for me because it is unfortunately relatable to my own experiences. But Hepworth dealt with these heavy topics with grace and poise by not going into any graphic details, yet she still found a way for the abuse took center stage. It was the crux for everything that happens.

I could appreciate the way she wrote her characters in the past and present: The past chapters describe what went on in the foster home, but the present chapters accurately depict how the adult women were grappling with life after being exposed to such mind games and abuse from a caregiver. The suspenseful elements took a back seat in this novel, but they helped tie everything together in the end.

Beware triggers of foster care, child abuse, englect, and psychological abuse and trauma, but if you can handle it, this book was truly fascinating and one I will not soon forget about.

I received a free digital copy of Darling Girls from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

It’s not just secrets buried at Wild Meadows!

Stories of abuse are always difficult to read, but Hepworth balances her dark story with hope and resilience through the voices of survivors.

Miss Holly Fairchild runs an idyllic foster home, Wild Meadows, where the three “lucky” characters in this story have been sent to live. To outsiders, this home appears a godsend, but to Jessica, Norah and Alicia, who find themselves there, it’s no fairytale; it’s one of the darker periods of their lives. Hepworth examines the mindset of an abuser/victim as well as the unbreakable bond these three girls forged as a survival mechanism. When Hepworth takes us on a journey, 25 years into their future, readers ask themselves if the girls ever really escaped the clutches of their manipulative tormentor. The truth comes tumbling out when a body is discovered on the property decades later and the girls are called to the scene of the crime. Are they key witnesses? Suspects? You’ll have to read to find out.

The journey to overcome was astounding. Hepworth had me in tears. Her ability to juxtapose the idyllic setting with the trauma was amazing. That these three girls survived is a miracle and Hepworth reveals how they managed this. Not only that, she shows the strength and courage they developed in cultivating the mindset to deal with it - not one of them let the experience define them. The added perspective of the mystery character elevated this book to the next level. The ending? Hmmm...a little OTT, but fitting for this one. I didn't see it coming.

This book, one of Hepworth’s best, examines shared pasts, resilience, found family, sisterhood, and secrets. It’s a shocking and unsettling read at times, but Hepworth took me on a compelling journey into the past and showed me that the human mind can survive with the right tools. We all have scars. Hepworth reminds us to support each other to encourage us to turn our vulnerabilities into strengths.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I know the year basically just started but THIS book is going to be sitting all pretty on my top favorite thriller reads of this year.
In no moment did this slow down at all, since the very first chapter it had me hooked.
The whole read was a 5 ⭐️ for me but THAT twist at the end made this an instant favorite. Every twist was well done, every question was perfectly answered and I loved the main characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.

Darling Girls will be publish on April 23, 2024 🖤

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC for my honest opinion.

This was my first by Sally Hepworth and left me excited to go and read her backlist now!

Absolutely loved the multiple POVs and timelines, and I truly was rooting for the girls. After reading the acknowledgments, it's clear this story came from a disturbing amount of truth, and while its meant to be a suspenseful thriller, it was an eye-opening read as well.

Hepworth did a great job leaving pieces to put together in each chapter, and while I do think the present-day timeline dragged a bit, it definitely was worth it for how it all came together.

Highly recommend! 4 stars :)

Sally Hepworth is an auto-buy author for me, and her Darling Girls showcases her impeccable writing and character development. Jessica, Alicia, and Norah were all foster children who became sisters through mutual horrors experienced years ago. Now adults, they must come to terms with their shared history when bones are found and secrets are exposed. Darling Girls is heartbreaking to read, but Hepworth’s storytelling talents make this immersive and engaging.

Whenever I have the opportunity to read a Sally Hepworth book, I jump at the chance. This book was 4 stars til the end, and she always gets ya, 5! I knew there would be a twist.

This book, like her others, is unique to other thrillers. Set in Australia, 3 foster sisters are brought into their hometown for questioning after their foster mothers house was demolished and bones were found lying beneath,

Miss Fairchild, a sinister foster mother, recounts her childhood. 4 POVS.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read!

I highly enjoyed Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. The characters were well developed and the dual timelines worked perfectly to help the reader untangle this captivating thriller. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. .

*ARC Review* 🔅 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒆𝒑𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub date: Apr 3, 2024
Rating: 4🌟

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

Thank you @sallyhepworth and @stmartinspress for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

This novel is well written and very captivating, right from the beginning. I was able to finish this book in 2 days because it kept me invested right from the first chapter. Sally Hepworth does a great job of developing each character through the use of multiple POVs - that of Jessica, Alicia and Norah, and multiple timelines. Thrown into the mix is an unknown POV that retells her past to a (rather odd) psychiatrist, Dr. Warren. Thus only adding to the suspense. Seeing the experiences of Jessica, Alicia and Norah, not only through their personal POV but also that of their sisters’, really allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the trauma that each girl faced at the hands of Miss. Fairchild.

All that said, I was extremely triggered by some of the content covered in this novel. As a mom of an infant daughter, the theme of child abuse is very challenging to read. However, instead of the difficult themes triggering me to the point where I couldn’t finish the book, I found myself NEEDING to finish it so I knew how everything turned out for them. I had to put it down about 3/4 through so I could go to sleep, but I could have easily read the whole thing in one sitting.

I am going to put a VERY strong warning out there though… as interesting as this storyline is and as well as it’s written, it has some EXTREMELY disturbing content. I’ll put the trigger warnings below for your reference.

Again, thanks to the author and publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review this ARC. I had read The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth earlier in the year so when I saw the opportunity to read Darling Girls, I jumped.

⚠️Major trigger warnings:
•death of an infant
•child abuse
•sexual abuse
•drug addiction/drug abuse
•mental illness