BLOG TOUR: Because of You - Dawn French

 

THE EAGERLY AWAITED, LIFE-AFFIRMING AND MOVING NEW NOVEL FROM NUMBER-ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR DAWN FRENCH

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock . . . midnight.

The old millennium turns into the new.

In the same hospital, two very different women give birth to two very similar daughters.

Hope leaves with a beautiful baby girl.

Anna leaves with empty arms.

Seventeen years later, the gods who keep watch over broken-hearted mothers wreak mighty revenge, and the truth starts rolling, terrible and deep, toward them all.

The power of mother-love will be tested to its limits.

Perhaps beyond . . .

Because Of You is Dawn French's stunning new novel, told with her signature humour, warmth and so much love.

What did I think?

Because of You is my first Dawn French book and oh my word it has left me completely broken.  It is such a beautiful, heart-rending story that I struggled to contain my tears from start to finish.  I'm just grateful that my heart isn't made of glass as it would have been completely shattered after listening to chapter 1 and there is still more heartbreak to come.

Read solely by Dawn French, there is something so very special about an author reading their own story; the reading is filled with emotion and the relevant emphasis is placed in all of the correct places.  Dawn French's voice is so familiar but so soothing that I could listen to her for hours, which meant that I was completely enthralled and listened to Because of You at every available opportunity.

I don't want to give away any of the plot other than what is mentioned in the blurb so the story starts as the clock ticks over into the new millennium and two couples are eager to meet their newborn child.  Hope's pregnancy came as a surprise but Hope and her partner, quiet Isaac, are already in love with their baby.  Further along the corridor, politician Julius is already planning the press release for when his wife Anna gives birth.  Neither new mother had planned for what happened next.

As heartbreaking as the story is, there are a lot of laugh out loud moments as you would expect from Dawn French.  Most of my laughs were at the expense of Julius and I'm trying to think of a non-swear word to describe him but 'politician' pretty much covers it!  He's such a self-centred show-off but the way that Dawn French brings him to life meant that rather surprisingly I found him funny rather than annoying.

A heartbreakingly beautiful story, Because of You is a stunning novel that left me so filled with emotion that I struggled to contain it.  Don't be surprised to reach for your tissues when listening to this exquisitely emotional book.

I chose to listen to a gifted audiobook from the publisher and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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Little Darlings - Melanie Golding

THE TWINS ARE CRYING.
THE TWINS ARE HUNGRY.

LAUREN IS CRYING.

LAUREN IS EXHAUSTED.

Behind the hospital curtain, someone is waiting . . .

After a traumatic birth, Lauren is alone on the maternity ward with her newborn twins. Her husband has gone home. The nurses are doing their rounds. She can’t stop thinking about every danger her babies now face. But all new mothers think like that. Don’t they?

A terrifying encounter in the middle of the night leaves Lauren convinced someone or something is trying to steal her children. But with every step she takes to keep her babies safe, Lauren sinks deeper and deeper into paranoia and fear. From the stark loneliness of returning home after birth, to the confines of a psychiatric unit, Lauren’s desperation increases as no one will listen to her. But here’s the question: is she mad, or does she know something we don’t?

Loosely inspired by the ghostly folktale The Brewery of Eggshells, where a mother becomes convinced her twins are in danger, Little Darlings offers a fresh perspective on modern motherhood, postnatal psychosis and the roles women play. It has always been thus: folk tales do not spring from whimsy; they warn us and teach us, and speak to the fear in us all.

What did I think?

I could not ignore the buzz on social media about Melanie Golding's debut, Little Darlings, so, despite my toppling TBR pile, I hot-footed it over to NetGalley for a copy and started to read it the minute it dropped on my kindle.  Unable to put it down, 24 hours later I released the breath I had metaphorically been holding as I turned the final page.

What an absolute creepfest!  Despite having nothing in common with her, I really felt for the character of Lauren.  Not only has she given birth for the first time, but she has double trouble in the form of twin boys.  On her first night in the hospital after the birth, she hears a mother in the cubicle next to her eerily singing to another set of twins.  When Lauren gets out of bed to ask the mother to keep the noise down, she is unprepared for what she sees and hears...a threat that her own perfect boys will be swapped for the monsters in the other mother's basket.  Blaming stress of the birth and postnatal psychosis, nobody believes that this even happened...then the boys change, but only Lauren notices the difference and she will do ANYTHING to get her sweet babies back.

Oh my word!  These creepy babies will give me more nightmares than the Chucky doll ever did.  The way they didn't cry like normal babies but watched every movement made my skin crawl and, along with DS Joanna Harper (who has her own baby shaped demons), I had no hesitation in believing Lauren's story.  Was I as deluded as Lauren?  You can make up your own mind when you read Little Darlings.

I love how the story is loosely based on the Welsh fairytale, Brewery of Eggshells.  Any book that has me rushing off to google gets a big thumbs up as it just shows how intriguing and effective the story is.  It also brings a hint of realism (even though it is based on a fairytale) and just maybe this could actually happen.  EEEEEK!!!!

Little Darlings is so creepy that as much as you want to hide behind the sofa, you can't tear your eyes from the page until you have devoured every single word and turned the final page.  It's an outstanding debut that has me eager to see what Melanie Golding comes up with next.  Do not miss this intriguing, addictive, dark, creepy and scarily believable story that may very well give you nightmares!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon