Thank you to @netgalley, @sallyhepworth and @stmartinspress for my #gifted copy! I listened to the audiobook!

Page-turning, fast read full of thrilling mysteries! LOVED so much!

Sisters by circumstance, 3 foster kids rally together in survival mode as they fend off their wicked, cold and abusive foster mother.

As adults, the still close sisters have come together when bones are discovered under their former home. Buried secrets come to light as the investigation ensues and the girls work together to get past their abuse.

And just when you think you know where the term "darling girl" comes from, then suddenly a new event pops in at the last moment.

This book was amazing! This is the first book I've read by Sally Hepworth and I was in a grip hold the whole time wondering what would happen or be revealed next. The narrator for the audiobook did a fantastic job differentiating between characters and drawing me in more to the story.

Jessica, Norah (with a "H"), and Alicia went through one of the horror stories you sometimes hear about with their foster home. Each one of them had a unfortunate event that led them to what they thought would be their dream foster home, but unfortunately things with Miss Fairchild didn't go as they had hoped. Their one salvation was the sisterhood they formed and brought them together and made living there more bearable. But when more children seem to be coming in and younger and younger, they band together in hopes of ensuring nothing happens to them. Then years later it's suddenly revealed that a child's bones were found under the very house they were living in.

I really loved the flow of this story and listening to it not only from each girl's perspective, but also seeing glimpes from the past tied in with the present day events. I will be adding this book to my top 10 reads for this year.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-audio ARC. I will be buying a physical copy of this book as soon as it's published. This was definitely a 5 star for me!

Wow! What a wild ride this one was. It was impossible to put down. I stayed up late into the night reading it. I have read this author before, but I think this one may be my favorite! The characters were well done. She definitely did her research about foster homes and she made it clear with her characters that not all kids who end up in care are unwanted or troubled when they get there. The main characters were sisters of sorts and I enjoyed the relationship between them. The chapters were short and went back and forth in time, adding information at a good pace. There were several unknowns and so many possibilities! There were a few bombshells I never saw coming. I also thought the ending fit the book! I listened on audio and the narration was very good. An excellent read!!

DARLING GIRLS
Sally Hepworth

10 times out of 10 I like what Sally Hepworth writes so I may not be the best judge of her latest book, DARLING GIRLS. Even when the risks are lower as in DARLING GIRLS, I still have a great time.

In DARLING GIRLS, we are following three sisters not by blood but by promise. Wild Meadows is a foster home where all three girls lived at some point in their childhood. It was run by the enigmatic Miss Fairchild. Each of the sisters has their own story of growing up with their biological families and their eventual relationship with Miss Fairchild at Wild Meadows.

Jessica is a successful Home Organizer. She represses all her unwanted feelings and is both fearful and inspired by learning and experiencing new things. Norah is tall and has brown hair and blue eyes. She is a Test Taker, and dog-lover, and is on the dating scene. Alicia is a Social Worker, she is empathetic and caring and thrives in stressful environments. She loves working with kids and is inspired by them daily.

It’s decades later and the sisters have grown up and left Wild Meadows and Miss Fairchild behind. One day a set of bones is found on the grounds at Wild Meadows. The sisters have questions to answer regarding their time in foster placement, about Miss Fairchild, and just who those bones belong to.

DARLING GIRLS reminded me of Hepworth’s earlier work. Where the risks are lower, and the twists are softer, and murder is merely implied. It is not my favorite of hers but a solid addition to her lineup of books.

The audiobook is narrated by Jessica Clarke. Although I wasn’t familiar with her narrating style, I thought she did a fantastic job with the material evoking the emotions of each character and making what could have been confusing simple and easy to follow.

I liked this one and can’t wait for the next one. Have you read Sally Hepworth before? Now is the perfect time to start.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies! It was a pleasure!!

DARLING GIRLS…⭐⭐⭐

This is the first book I’ve read from Sally Hepworth, but it definitely won’t be my last. Darling Girls is a compelling story about three foster sisters who lived in an abusive household together as children. As adults they all receive word that human remains were found under the house where they used to live. Now they have to return back to that small town to figure out who died and what really happened when they were kids.

The story goes back and forth between the 3 sisters in the present day and as children. I felt like the story was well-written and the characters all had their own individual voices, I was never getting confused about which POV I was reading from. Something that I really enjoyed about the book was how much of a character study it was. While there is the plot of solving the mystery of who the body was and what happened to them, I feel like the main focus of the book was exploring how the childhood trauma the women experienced impacted them in different ways all the way through their adult lives. I found that aspect of the story to be super fascinating, but I can see how a reader who only really wants a fast paced mystery/thriller might feel let down by how much emphasis there is on character development over big, flashy set pieces.

Overall I had a great time reading this book. I was so caught up in the story that I listened to the audiobook in a single day. Definitely check this one out if you enjoy character focused domestic suspense/mystery.

Darling Girls was a fast-paced thriller that’s impossible to put down! There were multiple plot twists that ensure you won’t guess the ending.

What a phenomenal book! I’ve been a fan of Sally Hepworth, and this book is just another example of her stellar writing. Her development of the characters as the book progresses is well thought out, and I was desperate to find out more. The ending was so satisfying, and I love that the twists and turns lasted until the very last word.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to listen to this book!

While the multi-POV worked really well, it was too graphic and disturbing for my sensibilities. It is definitely not suitable for students.

Thank you NetGallery for access to this audiobook.
I loved it. I always enjoy Sally Hempworth’s books and this one did not disappoint either. We followed three foster sisters Alicia, Norah and Jessica through their life growing up on a farming estate property, being told how lucky they are to have Mrs. Fairchild to take care of each of them as a foster mom. But they needed to beware, they never knew when her moods might shift. Each of the girls came to her from different circumstances, having to find their own way of managing and surviving the daily abuse while in her care. They endured her mental and physical abuse. This went on for many years. Until the girls finally were able to escape it. The sisters stayed close to each other even after foster care.
The book moves ahead 25 years to a part where they find human remains under the house they all grew up in. Now the girls must travel back to that dreadful place. Where the stories really start to unfold. So that is where I will leave you to enjoy the rest, because it is fantastic and my words could not do it justice!
I highly recommend enjoying this book for yourselves. I could not put it down. This book really came together down to the last page!
Thanks again for a great story!

Wow! From start to finish I struggled to put this one down. I found myself trying to figure out what the twist would be. I was wrong! Really enjoyed this one. Would highly recommend.

The narration was surprisingly easy to follow despite the time hopping and multiple POVs. I enjoy that type of writing style in thrillers.

This book wasn't as gripping as her usual books for me, A lot of time is spent in the past with the characters as kids experiencing trauma in the foster home. I think I expected a bigger twist or more drama. It read more like sad fiction than I was expecting.

Nevertheless I can see how a lot of people will love this . The child abuse / manipulation was not just overwhelming but may be a trigger for some.

I started off at 1.5x and was able to increase to 2.0 once I got used to the accent.

I mean. If Sally Hepworth writes a drama thriller. I’m in. And I’m gonna have a great time and be flummoxed by the end.

This was no different.

Norah, Jessica and Alicia are as close as sisters come. (Heyyy trauma bond…we’ll get to it) when they each get a call to come back to the place they were in foster care because a body has been unburied and the police have some questions for the women. Told in dual timeline with flashbacks to when the girls met and became foster sisters and their experience with Mrs Fairchild.

I loved the sister’s bond and that they did have each other throughout the abuse they suffered in the foster system and throughout their lives. I really just love the way Sally Hepworth writes a novel with feeling like you have it all figured out and then. You really don’t. I loved it. I can’t rank her novels don’t ask me to.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for an eARC.

"Darling Girls" is a, surprisingly, heartwarming tale with a twist of ominous darkness. In short, it is about three women who grew up as foster sisters with a similar view of their narcissistic, ill-tempered, dissatisfied foster mother. When human remains are found beneath the house they grew up in, the sisters are forced to face their memories of growing up in that house to help uncover the truth.

The book is written from multiple points of view, four at least. I was given an Advanced Readers Copy in audiobook format for review. I listened to this book through the NetGalley App and cruised right through it. I enjoyed the narrator's voice, accent, and flow. Particularly, I appreciated the narrator making slight changes in her voice for each character, in a natural way.

Overall, I would rate this book five stars. I enjoyed the thought-provoking concepts of the foster program (I have little knowledge of this) and the character development was just enough to understand each person, including the foster mother. I actually listened to the ending twice to make sure I understood as it left me with a one-two punch surprise!

Wow! I am so happy I got to listen to an early copy, what an amazing book. I finished it in 2 days and I was totally hooked... Just when i thought I knew where the book was going I was hit with a twist and the ending... wow. Sally Hepworth did it again, new favourite for sure! I highly recommend this book to absolutely everyone.

4.25 ⭐️

*I listened to the audiobook*

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia met at Wild Meadows, under the foster care of Miss. Fairchild. Miss Fairchild was anything but fair. The girls suffered neglect and abuse while living there, but they had each other and that is what mattered most to them. As long as they were together, they could survive Wild Meadows.

25 years later, Wild Meadows has been sold and human remains are found under the house. The three women are called into question. With the women still close, like sisters, they return to the town of Port Agatha and are forced to face the mother of their nightmares once again.

The book switches back and forth from past (the women as children living with Miss. Fairchild) to the present as adults trying to figure out whose remains were found (all told in third person). There is also someone speaking to a psychologist every few chapters, but you are not sure who until the ending. It was a dark and twisty mystery.

Trigger warnings:
- Child abuse & neglect
- Child death
- Child sexual abuse discussed
- Addiction

*My thoughts*

The book held my interest and I wanted to keep listening until the end (I am not a big audiobook fan so that is saying something). The ending of the book was even more deranged (as if Miss. Fairchild wasn't already horrible enough) than I expected and surprised me. What a psychopath. I enjoyed this book and it did make me emotional thinking of the foster care system and all the children who do encounter terrible foster homes (sadly, this is a reality) or even abuse with their biological families.
I found the audiobook easy to follow. The narrator did a good job. The pacing of the book was fine to me. I didn't have trouble with the past and present narrative and the book made it clear what time period each chapter was set in and what character it was following.

I have a couple other books by Sally that I am excited to pull off the shelf and read now!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for access to the ARC audiobook. I greatly appreciate the opportunity!

Thank you NetGalley for an early-release copy of this book!

This book was heavier than I expected, but an interesting story. If you like stories with depth to them and a bit of a mystery, this book might be for you!

Out April 23, 2024!

I LOVED this book. It was a great thriller. There were many times I made a guess of what happened, and then as the story continued I’d change it. By the end I was wrong for the most part every time. I loved the different point of views and the way it came together at the end. Each character was well developed both in childhood and adulthood.
I’d definitely recommend Darling Girls.

I received an advanced copy of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. Bravo Sally.. you’ve done it again. I could feel every character’s emotion both as young girls and adults. All the.anguish, fear, and disappointment they each felt yet all of that still left room for love. I did not expect the ending which left me speechless. Brilliantly written!

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia face their nightmarish pasts when the childhood home they grew up in as foster children is found to have a body buried on the grounds.

This book was a slow burn but I loved it. The character development was fantastic, and I appreciated that all three sisters had backstories of their own woven in. I love the alternating timelines between the past and present and everything it led up to. While I *thought* I had figured out what was going on about halfway through, it did not make me enjoy reading it any less. It was so satisfying seeing it all play out. Then that last chapter hit and I was mind-blown, and I loved it even more. The plot was unique and entertaining. I have read all of this author's books and I think this is my favorite! I really enjoyed the narrator on the audio version as well!

5/5⭐

I was not disappointed by this book and it’s definitely another winner by Sally Hepworth! I did a mix of audio and ebook and really enjoyed the audiobook!

I loved the relationship between the three sisters. The past and present timeline of the book really helped explain how their actions in adult life were a result of their childhood trauma. I enjoyed the mystery person’s POV and was surprised by the twist at the end. This book was definitely a slow burn but the building suspense throughout and twists kept me reading and needing answers. I thought the ending was great and I appreciated how all the loose ends came together and my questions were answered.

There were a few slow parts in the middle of the book and I thought a few of the twists were predictable. Overall it was still a great thriller filled with suspense and drama.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love a suspenseful slow burn thriller.