Little Darlings

Eerie and disquieting journey into the world of folk lore and myths. Lauren is a first time mother who has just given birth to her twin baby boys, Morgan and Riley. While recovering in hospital from the difficult births, Lauren is woken in the middle of the night by mysterious noises coming from the hospital bed next to her. Curious because the noises seem to be a new mother with her own set of twins, Lauren is confronted by the sight of a horrid woman who wants to trade her babies for Lauren's boys. After a second encounter where the woman demands Lauren's babies, Lauren lock herself in the washroom and calls police but no one is found. Lauren is finally released from the hospital with her babies but is still convinced a strange woman tried to take her babies so insists on staying at home and protecting her newborn babies. Eventually, her husband convinces Lauren to go for a walk with the babies and while resting. the babies disappear and the police are called. Thankfully, the babies are found unharmed but Laurn is certain that the babies are not hers and have been "changed". I absolutely adored how this book was written. The surreal encounters with the mysterious woman, Lauren's experience of being a first time mother, her growing horror of realizing the babies are not hers, the police woman who has a hunch that Lauren is telling the truth, the background of folklore ingrained in the story... it isn't easy to incorporate all of that into one book seamlessly but the author nailed it. I liked the side story about the police woman who believes Lauren very much. She was not the main protagonist but I liked her character (and hope there will be more police stories with her in them... hint hint). I have to say I detested the husband but you need a negative character sometimes just to spice things up a notch. I really can't say too much because I don't want to give spoilers away. The book is more than it seems, and either way you interpret the book, you are in for a wonderful debut novel.

4/5 Stars