Southern Lady Reads (Crazy Busy-Will Catch Up!)'s Reviews > Darling Girls

😭🥺👀 - I did NOT expect the content of Darling Girls. Not only was the ending explosive... but I had a feeling about what I was going to be reading and just couldn't look away from the page!

The three sisters/main characters are such an interesting mix!! I think they're character developments were absolutely my favorite part of Hepworth's latest. How people tackle their survival.. whether in the form of feral instincts or strict organization - it's insane what people will do to make their way in the world. And for the world's most vulnerable (i.e., children) ... is it any wonder what they turn into when faced with such horrors?

As soon as I started reading Jessica's character - I was immediately hooked on Darling Girls. Something happens to people to make them need that form of control, and I found this passage to feel insanely relative to my own life:

'Nothing-nothing!-vexed Jessica more than tardiness. Except perhaps messiness. And people who cut corners, or people who missed RSVP deadlines. Jessica always RSVP'd to invitations the moment they landed in her hand or inbox. Then she diarized the event, made a note in her Organization app to buy a gift, if necessary, and created a block of time in her calendar to ensure she had an appropriate outfit to wear.'

I don't think I can explain the level of stress relief it brings to know that you don't have to waffle over any decisions the day of if you've grown up in a chaotic household!!

NOTES:
- CWs: foster care system, s3xual abuse, mental health problems
- Somewhat of a resolved ending - but the trauma of the situation will always remain of course.

**Thank you to St.Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

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