This book had be gripped from the start. Spine chilling and haunting. The realistic passages early on about the struggles of new motherhood are well balanced with the later desperation of not being believed. The split narration style kept me on my seat right to the end with the question of was the mother right

An interesting and different read which I would describe as a psychological thriller, but with a supernatural/fairy tale theme running through it. It is the story of Lauren, new mother of twins, who is exhausted and struggling to look after her babies, who starts to believe that her babies have been swapped for two others.

This is a slow starter, which soon builds pace into a dark, creepy and haunting tale which you won’t forget in a hurry. A book probably best avoided by new mothers!

Interesting look into post-natal psychosis.
I enjoyed the story and it was readable but it seemed to get very messy towards the end. I wanted to know if the witch/fairy./ghost was actually real or whether the main character was going mad.
Great concept though.

Wowsers. I read this in less than 24 hours, it’s without a doubt a page turner and keeps you guessing.

Although I found one or two of the chapters, especially around the Detective areas a little long winded.... it did not detract from the overall reading pleasure.

The thriller made me cringe at some moments. I found it little bit too strong as tried to imagine myself trying to protect my little babies. Good read for someone with strong nerves.

I absolutely loved this book. So creepy and gripping. Will definitely shout about it when it's released in May.

I could not ignore the buzz on social media about Melanie Golding's debut, Little Darlings, so, despite my toppling TBR pile, I hot-footed it over to NetGalley for a copy and started to read it the minute it dropped on my kindle. Unable to put it down, 24 hours later I released the breath I had metaphorically been holding as I turned the final page.

What an absolute creepfest! Despite having nothing in common with her, I really felt for the character of Lauren. Not only has she given birth for the first time, but she has double trouble in the form of twin boys. On her first night in the hospital after the birth, she hears a mother in the cubicle next to her eerily singing to another set of twins. When Lauren gets out of bed to ask the mother to keep the noise down, she is unprepared for what she sees and hears...a threat that her own perfect boys will be swapped for the monsters in the other mother's basket. Blaming stress of the birth and postnatal psychosis, nobody believes that this even happened...then the boys change, but only Lauren notices the difference and she will do ANYTHING to get her sweet babies back.

Oh my word! These creepy babies will give me more nightmares than the Chucky doll ever did. The way they didn't cry like normal babies but watched every movement made my skin crawl and, along with DS Joanna Harper (who has her own baby shaped demons), I had no hesitation in believing Lauren's story. Was I as deluded as Lauren? You can make up your own mind when you read Little Darlings.

I love how the story is loosely based on the Welsh fairytale, Brewery of Eggshells. Any book that has me rushing off to google gets a big thumbs up as it just shows how intriguing and effective the story is. It also brings a hint of realism (even though it is based on a fairytale) and just maybe this could actually happen. EEEEEK!!!!

Little Darlings is so creepy that as much as you want to hide behind the sofa, you can't tear your eyes from the page until you have devoured every single word and turned the final page. It's an outstanding debut that has me eager to see what Melanie Golding comes up with next. Do not miss this intriguing, addictive, dark, creepy and scarily believable story that may very well give you nightmares!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I found this unsettling, but I think that was the point. Enough twists and turns to keep a reader satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This is a curiously dreamlike wander through a modern fairy tale. However, this is no Disney tale, but something far more akin to a traditional fairy story with a very dark core. And just like these traditional stories, this book too has some dark elements that are handled very well; post natal depression, unsupportive spouses, the impact that a difficult birth can have and the experience as a new mother.
It has quite a slow pace, but this suits the story, and is just so immersive that it was difficult to put down. I really enjoyed being lost between the pages of this book and look forward to the authors next book.
My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding is a creepy psychological thriller with excerpts of fairy tales and stories about changelings.
Lauren Tranter has just given birth to twins boys. On her second night at the maternity ward she stops a woman dirty woman dressed in rags from kidnaping her two sons. She locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police. When the police arrive they think Lauren, as she is so exhausted by lack of sleep that, she is seeing things.
She returns home, but she has no support from her selfish husband Ben that she has to look after her Twin boys Morgan and Riley on her own. After a couple of weeks Ben tells her to go out and get some fresh air, so she arranges to meet her friends from her antenatal class. After she meets them she decides she doesn’t want to go home just yet. She goes for a walk beside the river. But when she rests on a bench and falls asleep, she wakes up to find the twins gone. The police are called and eventually the twins are found but, Lauren thinks that they are not her twins.
This is a creepy dark tale that in some places creeped me out. Especially when some of the fairy tales are told. It started slow but as the tale progressed I couldn’t put it down. I also liked the idea of this story being part thriller, fantasy.
Thank you NetGalley and HQ for an ARC of this book.

**Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Hannah Kent meets Leila Slimani’s Lullaby meets Rosemary’s Baby in the most unsettling book of the year.

Little Darlings follows Lauren and Patrick, first time parents to twin boys. This book is not your usual thriller as it has a dark fairy tale twist that adds depth to the sinister story. The story starts off slowly and as the plot unravels the tension starts to build. At first, the reader sympathises with new mum Lauren but later her character becomes much more unreliable and the reader questions what the truth is. Her husband Patrick lacks any empathy for his wife and I disliked him more and more as the story progressed.

It is an impressive debut for Melanie Golding. She has added a new twist on the thriller genre and made it fresh once more. An absorbing read that will chill you to the core.

It's a little slow to begin with and a little confusing. You assume it's going to be just a story about post natal depression and the path it can lead you down. But it actually turns into a modern day fairy tale - but not a happy one. It's a good, chilling thriller of a read - very dark!

An engaging fairy tale for adults! I got lost in the pages of this book so easily, and found it to be a real atmospheric page turner.
Lauren believes her new born twin boys have been taken, and in their place are two changelings who, to everyone else, look exactly the same... Lauren knows different though.... but who will believe her?

A creepy, addictive read that sucks you in from the start.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read in return for a review.

Oh my goodness this book scared the life out of me, there were parts of it that genuinely terrified me!! I started reading it in bed one night and the bathroom window was open on a windy night which made the door and towel rail rattle, I nearly jumped out of my skin and raced to my son's room to check on them. I had to explain to my hubby why I was so jumpy. I'd never heard of faeries being evil before to me they've always been cute little people with wings not something malevolent that will switch your baby with one of their own. This folklore has fascinated me to the point that I'd like to research it if it didn't scare me so much. I didn't know whether to believe Lauren or agree with everyone else that she was having some sort of mental breakdown and I doubted myself throughout the entire book. I really liked the detective and thought she played a very likeable character that I wanted to know more about. It's a book that draws you in immediately and stays with you long after you turn the last page and especially if you have children are pregnant or spend time around newborns. I think there should genuinely be a warning added to the cover because if I'd read this book when my children were newborn I'm not sure what sort of effect it might have had on me. I wouldn't advise new mums to read it because although it's an amazing book it definitely has a scary sinister side to it that worries me about it new mums reading it. Please add a warning

Creepy and unsettling

Little Darlings is a story about Lauren who just gave birth to twins. She should be over the moon as both the babies and Lauren are doing well, however, on her second night in the hospital, she finds a strange homeless woman in her room threatening to abduct the twins and swap them with her own babies. Police are called but no one seems to believe Lauren's story. When she returns home, Lauren is scared to leave her house. After a few weeks she finally agrees to take the babies to the park. Sleep deprived Lauren falls asleep in the park only to wake up and find that her babies are missing. When the police find the twins not long after, Lauren only needs to look at them once to know that they are not her babies.

No doubt this is creepy book. There's something very unsettling and haunting about babies being swapped and I was freaked out for a part of the story. The creepiness of the book is accentuated by folklore tales about changeling babies at the start of most chapters in the book, sending chills down my spine EVERY time I read one.

As a reader I did not know what to believe. Were Lauren's babies really taken and if so, who are the new babies? Or is Lauren crazy as everyone seems to believe? I was going back and forth on this one almost until the end. One character that stood out for me was the second narrator of the story - DI Jo Harper. Harper was the only one truly interested in what Lauren had to say and was willing to dig deeper despite her boss specifically telling her not to. I enjoyed reading about Harper's background story and wished the author would use this character in a crime series featuring Harper as the main detective.

My last comment is a recommendation for a warning that should be displayed on the cover of the book - Do not read if you are pregnant or have newborn babies!

Honest review in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley - thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity. Although I love thrillers, this isn't the sort of plot I'd normally read, something I didn't realise until I began reading. The supernatural was woven in well to the story, making it stand apart from most domestic thrillers, and I thought the exploration of mental health and the perceptions of others were written accurately. I wanted to keep reading and find out the truth, but while the story held my attention, I found the ending to be too ambiguous.

After a traumatic birth, Lauren is exhausted. Lying in her hospital bed, listening to her babies crying, she hears someone singing in the the next cubicle. After an eerie encounter, Lauren is convinced someone is trying to steal her babies and swap them for fairy babies as per mythology. When she returns home and tries to adjust to life as a mother, it becomes clear that something is terribly wrong - but is it all in Lauren's head or is this a fairytale come to life?

This book was a harrowing and accurate portrayal of many elements of new motherhood - to the point that it made me cry. The isolation, the alienation, the loss of identity, the feeling that everyone is doing it better than you. - and that you can't trust anyone with how you feel. I enjoyed the fairytales woven into the narrative and the eerie atmospheric writing very much. Although the novel's conclusion was open-ended, which usually annoys me, this book stayed with me for a long time afterwards, grieving for all those mums for whom new motherhood is truly a baptism of fire.

Enchanting, horrifying , powerful and suspenseful. All of this in one book? I feel spoilt!
From the blurb I wasn't expecting faeries and changelings to feature in this story and it was such a pleasant surprise. Melanie has great talent if this is her debut novel! I eagerly await her next book!

What a plot, I have read so many fantastic reviews about this book that I was so happy to receive an ARC. It certainly didn’t disappoint, creeped me out, I am a bit of a chicken sh** when it comes to certain topics! A twisty psychological thriller following a mother who gave birth to twins and the trials and tribulations that go with it, for some women it can be hard and this book gives us another insight into mental health, is she suffering from post natal depression or could it be true? A great read, you will not want to put this down, you will be dragged in to her world from the getgo!

Many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book as I don’t believe in fairies but I really enjoyed this story. I even abandoned my disbelief and was rooting for everyone to see what happened. Well written and engaging.