Melanie Golding | LITTLE DARLINGS

Plot (via Goodreads):

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.

A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley―to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.

Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Review:

Growing up, I always flirted with the supernatural when I read. With Goosebumps, Harry Potter, some Anne Rice - I loved the experience of reading about the impossible. As my taste in novels took a detour, I found that I was a little shy with the idea of entering this world again. I tried a couple of fantasy novels and couldn't get into them and just felt that my timid affair with the supernatural element was just a memory...until Melanie Golding came along. 

Little Darlings is so good. That's it. It's just a really good novel that has supernatural elements reminiscent of the Grimm Fairytales but that aspect is equally measured with a police procedural aspect, a character-driven domestic suspense, and some amazingly written psychological thriller aspects. That's right! It is all there in one terrifying package that is creepy, engaging, and entertaining.  While I was entertained and kept intrigued with the plot to this novel, what I really enjoyed were the characters. The relationship and all of its ups and downs between Lauren and Patrick after having the babies was just equally harrowing and engaging to me as a reader. I equally wanted to know what happened to them by the end of the novel just as much as I was desperate to get to the bottom of what was really going on. As for the police procedural and media aspect between Joanna and Amy - what a breath of fresh air to have a cop struggling with some issues and not have it be alcoholism. A subplot that was just as much fun to read and invest in as the main plot, Golding really kept me immersed in this novel and left me in a state where I was unaware of the world around me. There's a reason there is a tree on this cover. With the plot acting as a trunk, each branch coming off is another thing to love about this scary, harrowing, and compelling novel. 

While I don't know what it's like to have postpartum depression, I did like the realistic and yet gentle approach that Golding took with this novel. I felt Lauren's character was easy to sympathize with and yet Golding didn't tip toe around her character having flaws as well. The symbolism within this novel is effective, genius, and utterly bewitching. Fan of the supernatural and fantasy world or not, this novel is one that is unlike anything you've ever read and the perfect read when you're looking to step outside the box and devour one sharp novel. 

Special thanks to Crooked Lane Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5