My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.07 with 702 ratings (as of 3/22/2019)

“Mother knows best” takes on a sinister new meaning in this unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest. And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.…more

200 Word Review

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding has been described as an “unsettling thriller perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Grimms’ Fairy Tales.” I would say I enjoyed the novel, its plot, and the writing.

Like almost all mothers with newborns, Lauren Tranter is exhausted from lack of sleep. Lauren has it worse than many mothers because she gave birth to twins. SInce she is so exhausted and sleep deprived no one believes her when, still in the hospital, she claims someone tried to take her children and wants to replace them with her own.

A month later her children are taken but when they are returned Lauren knows they are not really her children. Again, no one believes her.

What do you do when everyone tells you are wrong and does not believe you? Do you start to wonder if they are right? What if you are positive you are right and everyone else is wrong?

Melanie Golding’s debut novel is a slow start but it is worth reading. The novel gets creepier and most suspenseful as the story progresses. The writing and character development, and the creepy stories at the beginning on the chapters helped set the mood well.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, and Goodreads on 3/22/19. Will publish on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on its release date, April 30, 2019.

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Print Length: 315 pages
ISBN: 1683319974 (ISBN13: 9781683319979)
Publisher: Crooked Lanes Books
Publication Date: April 30, 2019

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