Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

37 reviews

growinghelpfulhabits's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Fabulous book. You think you have parts worked out but Sally Hepworth continues to throw in twists right to the very end. Beautifully captures the resilience and bond of three young women who had been through unfathomable horrors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Child death

brittandwaffles's review

5.0

Hepworth’s latest novel follows Jessica, Norah, and Alicia, three foster sisters with trauma to spare even decades after they get away from their abusive foster mother. From the outside looking in, they’re told how lucky they are to live in such a picture perfect foster home, but no one sees the horrors the girls face within. Told in alternating timelines, we dive deeper into what really happened at Wild Meadows back then, and whose bones are now buried under the house. 

I really enjoyed this story and got sucked in. The alternating timelines kept me engaged, and getting a POV from each of the girls helped develop them as individuals and sisters. Each of the girls brings long held secrets and trauma from their time spent with the neurotic Miss Fairchild. I loved the perspective of the dark side of the foster care system, as heartbreaking as it is. The ending was simultaneously what I expected and not at the same time, which I just loved.

Thank you to Sally Hepworth, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is due to be published April 23.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child abuse, Rape, Child death, and Drug abuse

traceyanderson's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Vomit, Child death, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Murder, and Suicide attempt

holdenwunders_'s review

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Man I did not enjoy this. I think it was honestly misrepresented in advertising and as what Hepworth usually writes. For me, this was definitely not a thriller/mystery and wasn’t in the genre at all. It slogged on and switched between three characters and their past perspectives weaving a story of abuse, foster care, and child endangerment. As a survivour, this came across as a weird glorified story of children that are abused, are messed up as adults, and then by the end it’s all good to go. I had a hard time finding any interest in this as it was all just abuse, abuse, this child was abused. It wasn’t even triggering, it just lacked any sort of depth. It read more like a fucked up memoir of being raised by an abusive foster parent than any sort of thriller or crime story. And then at the very end, PLOT TWIST, this person was lying THE. WHOLE. TIME. This really missed for me and I honestly don’t think I’d read another by this authour in the future. 

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Ableism, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Violence

e11en's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

torturedreadersdept's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

astoriareader's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

SYNOPSIS:

• Alicia, Jessica, and Norah are all foster kids. They forged a lifelong bond after they ended up being placed in the Miss Fairchild’s dysfunctional, abusive, and volatile home.
• Years later, the women still are close and are sisters by choice. Bones are unearthed under Miss Fairchild’s home, and the trio receive calls from a detective. 

MY THOUGHTS

• Sally Hepworth has done it again. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
• I couldn’t put this book down, and I stayed up late reading it.
• Hepworth shines at character development, and she does an impressive job making the main characters relatable, flawed, likable, complex, and real. I loved seeing how the foster care system, as well as the placement in Miss Fairfield’s home, impacted each of the women. 
• The story alternates between present day & the past, and both timelines are equally evocative.
• Multiple POVs (Jessica, Norah, Alicia, & a patient’s session with their psychiatrist)
• Well-plotted with lots of twists
• Top-notch writing
• Fast-paced
• Quickly got invested in the characters 

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Another gem by Sally Hepworth. Excellent character development. Finished this one in under 36 hrs.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on April 23, 2024.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders