Reviews

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

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porshainielsen's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

3.5 rounded up. I love Sally Hepworth and I know that I can always rely on a good thriller from her. This book follows three sisters, all of whom stayed in the same foster care home as children. I really enjoyed the found family aspects of it. While the twists weren't completely shocking, I did not see them coming. The end was a twist that I could see people loving or hating but I really enjoyed it. Shoutout to Sally for including queer characters in this novel as well.

I think it could've been a little more fleshed out with the girls current life problems, but overall I had a great time reading this and I will continue to pick up Sally's books.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press. It was very special to get to read one of my favorite thriller authors new release.

Content Warnings

rushi_23's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

emmjaygib's review

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challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

tahns's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

indoorg1rl's review against another edition

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4.5

Jessica, Norah and Alicia grew up in an idyllic farming estate in Wild Meadows, where they kept being told how lucky they were to be rescued from family tragedies and given a second chance of happy family life with a loving foster mother. But their childhood wasn’t what everyone believed to be, and when a body was discovered under the house years later, the foster sisters found themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or prime suspects?

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed. The pacing in this one was amazing, it was a complete page turner.

I loved the sisters’ relationships in this one. If you know me, you’d know I love the idea of found family even more than blood relatives. I thought the dynamics between the sisters in this were realistic.

I wouldn’t say the plot twists completely shocked me because I saw a few of them coming, but I was too drawn in by the characters, dialogues and the depth of the story to care - I even ‘forgot’ it was supposed to be a thriller at some point, because I just loved reading about Jessica, Norah and Alicia.

What captivated me the most was the inspiration behind the story and the research that Sally did on foster care system going into this book. This was another winner from Sally Hepworth!

sciencewhizliz's review

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5.0

This book may be my favorite Hepworth book! From the first chapter it sucked me in. I became so engrossed in the story I kept staying up late to finish it. The real depiction of the challenges of foster families was excellent. The twist at the end was chilling. I highly recommend this one!