I loved this book. Something so different. My only thing was I did not want it to end I wanted to know shat happened next. Lauren has given birth to twins but is immediately plunged into a world of fear after an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night to the maternity ward. What will happen to hear and the twins and who is going to believe her. Lauren isolates herself but will it be enough to protect her family

I really enjoyed this book. Highly absorbing. Was mother suffering from post partum depression,or had the babies really been swapped!

The best way to describe this book is a thriller with a Grimm fairytale twist .
I loved this story , I just wasn’t expecting the Grimm/folklore aspect so it took me a little time to accept this element in this type of thriller , more so as there is no mention in the description so it was a complete surprise . What starts as potential abduction develops into something much darker .Never sure if this is really happening or if Lauren is suffering from postnatal psychosis kept me intrigued throughout . An easy read as in the way it’s written and language used so I flew through it . I enjoyed this debut novel from Melanie Goulding. I would recommend if your looking for something different to your usual thrillers or you like folklore tales.
3.5 rounded up

This was a very different kind of thriller in my opinion and is definitely something new for fans of the genre.

The story revolves around Lauren Tranter a new mother who has just given birth to twins, one month into motherhood and her babies disappear and later returned, only Lauren doesn't believe that these are actually her children.

I was completely on the edge of my seat whilst reading this as I just needed to know what happened.
I also appreciated the slight dark, supernatural element of this book it added a creepy aspect to the story which I really liked.

In a nutshell I found this to be a super enjoyable read especially considering this was the authors first book. and I will certainly check out whatever she writes next.

I really enjoyed this book. It's one of those ones where you have to keep reading because you are desperate to find out what's going to happen. Just when you think you know what's happening there's a change and you are back to where you started. Not knowing anything and trying to guess. Really well written and loved most of the characters in this. Highly recommended

This book really wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was still good. Not amazing, but still good. It was an easy read and I was definitely intrigued. I found Amy a little bit annoying, but otherwise liked all of the characters. The storyline was well written, but there was nothing surprising and there was no twist. It was predictable and a bit uneventful. It was still a 3 star read for me because I found the genre interesting, but I won’t say why because it’s a potential spoiler. I would definitely read more from Melanie Golding, and I would recommend this book to people. I think I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would because it’s very different from what I was expecting. If you read this one, go into it with an open mind and you will definitely enjoy it.

This book as somewhat unnerving - I found the folklore element of the book quite creepy. The writing was really atmospheric and drew you in. Great read.

This book was just not for me. Too much fantasy for my liking. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Great synopsis, interesting read, really makes you think. Appeals to many. Definitely recommend you try it! So glad I did!

This is a very creepy and disturbing tale of a young woman who has given birth to twin boys. She is convinced someone tried to take the babies in hospital and is still trying to do so even though there wasn't any evidence to support this. I was never quite sure whether Lauren was suffering from psychosis or if there was a threat to her children. A very enjoyable if uncomfortable read at times.

Little Darlings is a genre I don’t usually read but I was drawn to the story especially as it was set in Sheffield which isn’t far from my home town. The main premise is the suspected kidnapping of identical twins. New mother Lauren Tranter is exhausted yet she knows what she saw that night in hospital room was real. Someone tried to take her babies but no one including the police seems to believe her. A month later and there’s another incident. The babies have disappeared and although they’re returned there’s something not quite right about them.

I found this book to be compulsive and although it wasn’t a massive page turner for me, I still found it compelling. It moved at a nice pace and was well written.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

I had heard so much about this book that made me want to read it and not want to read it so much that I was a bit apprehensive when I started it!

Anyone who has been a new Mum knows how emotionally drained and vulnerable you are after giving birth. Add in that the birth was also traumatic and to twins, and you will understand that Lauren is not in the best place when she starts to feel that her babies are under threat.

This book combines psychological thriller, police procedural with an added supernatural element and does it well.
Creepy, atmospheric and with an excellent cast of characters, this one is definitely a page turner and a brilliant debut.

Wow. What a novel. Had me hooked from the start. Loved the juxtaposition of the supernatural with the mundane day to day investigation that ran alongside. Kept me guessing right until the final pages

After giving birth to her twin boys, Lauren Tranter is exhausted, but when a woman tries to swap one of the babies, she knows she didn’t imagine it, but no one will believe her. Just a month later her babies disappear while she is out meeting friends, she knows this is linked to the incident at the hospital.

A terrifying scenario and if you’re a new mum this would probably give you a few sleepless nights.
This story is super twisted, creepy and completely gripping.

From the initial description, Little Darlings appeared to be a chilling thriller about a mother’s fear as she is convinced her newborn twins are in danger. Instead what you get is a creepy tale about changelings, folklore and mental health.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the realistic but heartbreaking look at postpartum depression/anxiety, a topic which I believe is not talked about often or openly enough. The author captured the raw and terrifying emotions experienced by Lauren in such a believable way that you couldn’t help but feel for her.
What I didn’t like was the folklore elements. Normally I’m a huge fan of fantasy and folklore but reading these parts left me confused about the type of book this was trying to be. Maybe the book was supposed to leave you feeling unsettled and confused and if that was the aim it certainly achieved that.

Initially I felt a connection to Lauren’s character as a mum of twins. The depiction of daily life with two little babies to care for was accurately portrayed. However I could not understand why she allowed her [insert swear word of your choice] husband to behave the way he did. What an absolute idiot of a man who did not deserve to have Lauren or the twins. He was obviously well written though because he constantly annoyed me!!

Unfortunately although the writing and pacing were good I wasn’t sold on the changeling element of the story. Instead of keeping me engrossed, it made me want to skip passed those parts to find out what was really going on. Was this all in Lauren’s head or was it really happening?

Overall this book missed the mark for me. Although I was initially interested to see how the baby snatching story played out in the end I was just left a little disappointed.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ My rating reflects how well the topic and subject matter was handled.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (HQ) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. I loved it. The mixture of fiction and fairy tale is just right. I couldn't stop reading it and even now I've finished it I keep thinking what really happened. Was Lauren crazy or not?

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding was a creepy psychological thriller which would be perfect for a Halloween read or if you love the series called Grimm Fairy tales. Which I am a big fan of.

Lauren Tranter is married and gives birth to two healthy twin boys, Riley and Morgan. They're Perfect in every way.

Lauren is sore and exhausted from a very tough labour, she hears another new mother in the next bed whispering to her own twins,

The next morning Lauren asks a nurse, who was in the next bed to her as she heard someone whispering to her babies. Lauren was informed that she was the only one, who has had Twins so far. On the next night Lauren hears a horrible lullaby as it drifts through her hospital bed curtain. She gets up to investigate and finds an old woman dressed in rags and has an awful smell about her. She appears to have a basket by her side and she can hear the old woman's babies breathing and moving about.
Before Lauren knows what's happening the woman tries to convince her to swap babies.

Why does she want to swap her babies with her's?

Lauren grabs Riley and Morgan and hobbles to the nearest bathroom where she hides with her twins. Hospital security is called and when they arrive on the scene, there's no sign of the old woman in rags or her babies in the basket,
No one believe's her when she tells the nurses, the Police and even her own Husband thinks Lauren has dream't it! Or has she?


What did she see and hear in the early hours of the morning whilst on the maternity ward in the Hospital?

Who is this old woman in rags?

Is there something sinister going on?

Are her boys safe? will she see this woman in rags again?

Was Lauren just dreaming?

WoW.....You will be gripped..................A mother's worst nightmare.....

I would like to thank NetGalley, HQ and the author Melanie Golding for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good read with plenty of suspense. There is a lot to this story and it is very well written and has obviously been well researched. It was just not my type of book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

My thanks to HQ for an eARC via NetGalley of Melonie Golding’s ‘Little Darlings’ in exchange for an honest review.

‘Little Darlings’ begins with a shocking scene at a reservoir in the Peak District where D.S. Joanna Harper watches helplessly as a tragedy plays out.

After leaving me quivering the narrative then moves back five weeks to the night when Lauren gives birth to twin boys after a long and traumatic labour. That chapter opens with a quote from ‘The Changeling’ by James Russell Lowell. (In fact a number of chapters open with snippets of poems and tales about stolen children increasing the sense of unease).

In the middle of the night Lauren is aware of a woman in the bed next to her making odd noises and then drifts into a dream of an old woman feeding a bird and cat that then begin to transform into human infants. In the morning she is told there was no other woman.

She begins to worry that someone is trying to steal her babies. After a frightening encounter she locks herself in the bathroom and calls 999. This brings DS Harper onto the scene.

I hope that the above gives a taste of what is contained in this unsettling tale. It follows both Lauren’s experiences and DS Harper’s investigations. It was inspired by the Welsh fairytale ‘The Brewery of the Eggshells ‘, which is referenced in the narrative.

It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I love this kind of novel in which the unseen realm is depicted alongside every day reality. Is Lauren in the midst of a psychotic episode or is a dark fae seeking to steal her babies?

Certainly highly recommended and a powerful debut. I will be looking forward to future projects and rather hope that she will continue to explore the borderlands between such dark folklore and the thriller genre.

This was for me a tense and very creepy read but one which I really enjoyed. After giving birth to twin boys Lauren Trenter is recovering in hospital and one night she is convinced some one is trying to steal her babies. Is it a figment of her imagination or something more sinister ?