Title: Little Darlings Author: Melanie Golding Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery Blurb: 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. Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking―and rechecking―your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe. My Review:
Story: 2.5/5 Stars Cover: 2.5/5 Stars ***Disclaimer: These views are my own opinion. I will always recommend people to read the novel and form their own opinion. Little Darlings by Melody Golding takes the most basic principle of changeling lore and puts it in a novella that could have been cut in half starting from the beginning. Lauren Tranter has just given birth to twin boys Riley and Morgan Tranter. Her husband Patrick has become a proud father. The problem is, Lauren receives a visit from a strange woman carrying a basket filled with rags which seems to be emitting the cries of twins. The woman asks Lauren to take one of her babies for one of the woman's or she would wind up taking them both. No one else seems to see this woman and declares Mrs. Tranter insane sending her to the medical ward on multiple occasions. The beginning of this novel dragged on so long, I nearly stopped reading it. It seemed to focus more on the build-up and less on the actual story itself. I find I enjoy this in certain novels and novellas but here it just didn't work. I experienced none of the terror one could easily pull from a story like this. It saddened me because I found this book rated 4 stars on Goodreads. I do not understand why. When the babies are finally taken by the changeling woman, things get a bit more interesting but this occurs towards the end of the novel. Thanks to a book given to Lauren, she knows how to get her own children back from the changeling. Now, this being said, I did find the writing ok, not great but ok. Dialogue seemed to drag on endlessly in some places. I identified with none - and I mean none - of the characters on a deep level. However, as a mother of two myself, I understood how Lauren felt being left to care for the babies while her husband did mostly nothing. I experienced this myself and went through some horrible PPD. I almost wished this story was told from the views of an older Riley and Morgan. I think it would have made a better story honestly. The world was shallow, I had no feeling of immersion. I wanted so badly to feel the tensity of the story but there just was not enough to keep me interested and I DNF'd it on page 180. However, I will be returning to some of the author's works because I like to give each title its own chance. I think Melanie Golding has some great potential. Goodreads // Amazon // Website
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMy name is Iona Caldwell. I'm the author of the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London's Fog set to be published by FyreSyde Publishing October 2019. When I'm not busy weaving worlds of the arcane and dark, I'm spending time out in nature. I love books. My biggest inspirations are H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Edgar Allen Poe. I blog about many things but mostly everything bookish. Archives
August 2019
Categories
All
|