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Darling
Lola doesn’t particularly want a new stepmother. Especially not one who has come out of nowhere and only been with her dad for three months. And – she’s not racist or anything – but since when did her dad fancy black women anyway?
Darling didn’t particularly want a new stepdaughter. Especially not one as spiteful and spoilt as Lola. She does want Lola’s dad though. And he wants her, so that’s that: Darling and Lola will just have to get used to each other.
Unless Lola can find a way to get rid of Darling.
Darling didn’t particularly want a new stepdaughter. Especially not one as spiteful and spoilt as Lola. She does want Lola’s dad though. And he wants her, so that’s that: Darling and Lola will just have to get used to each other.
Unless Lola can find a way to get rid of Darling.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2018
About the author
Rachel Edwards
42 books44 followersRachel Edwards is an alumna of King’s College London where she read French with English BA (Hons).
She won an Arts Council award for her fiction and worked as a freelance writer for over 12 years prior to publishing her debut novel 'Darling' with Fourth Estate, HarperCollins. Her articles feature in the national press, including The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and she is a regular guest at literary festivals and on BBC radio.
She won an Arts Council award for her fiction and worked as a freelance writer for over 12 years prior to publishing her debut novel 'Darling' with Fourth Estate, HarperCollins. Her articles feature in the national press, including The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and she is a regular guest at literary festivals and on BBC radio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
April 9, 2018
*3.5 Stars*
If ever I got a character completely wrong, then this was it, right here! I spent most of the book with my mind made up about one of it's characters (won't say which one, as I don't want to give anything away) but boy was I wrong!
When Darling White met Thomas, she knew he was something special - their love literally snowballed, and before we knew it, they were making wedding plans. Yes Darling sure loved Thomas - what she didn't love though was Thomas's teenage daughter Lola - such a spoilt and devious girl. The feeling is mutual, Lola hates Darling and she will do whatever it takes to get rid of this interloper. However, Darlings's the adult here, she needs Lola on side, and she decides to make an effort in order to bring harmony to their relationship. She's also a nurse, so she's used to caring for people, (including her disabled son Stevie) and she's determined to show her caring side - if she demonstrates compassion towards Lola then she'll win her over - won't she?
I don't want to say too much about the storyline, as it would be too easy to give away some important snippet that spoils it for other readers. What I will say though is, it was written with great insight, and allowed us to really get inside the heads of the main characters. How then, could I have misjudged one of them so badly. The twist ( when it came) was, what the heck just happened? How did I not work that out. Very clever. Well done Rachel Edwards for managing to pull the wool over my eyes!
* My thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK 4th estate, and Rachel Edwards for my ARC. I have given an honest review in exchange*
If ever I got a character completely wrong, then this was it, right here! I spent most of the book with my mind made up about one of it's characters (won't say which one, as I don't want to give anything away) but boy was I wrong!
When Darling White met Thomas, she knew he was something special - their love literally snowballed, and before we knew it, they were making wedding plans. Yes Darling sure loved Thomas - what she didn't love though was Thomas's teenage daughter Lola - such a spoilt and devious girl. The feeling is mutual, Lola hates Darling and she will do whatever it takes to get rid of this interloper. However, Darlings's the adult here, she needs Lola on side, and she decides to make an effort in order to bring harmony to their relationship. She's also a nurse, so she's used to caring for people, (including her disabled son Stevie) and she's determined to show her caring side - if she demonstrates compassion towards Lola then she'll win her over - won't she?
I don't want to say too much about the storyline, as it would be too easy to give away some important snippet that spoils it for other readers. What I will say though is, it was written with great insight, and allowed us to really get inside the heads of the main characters. How then, could I have misjudged one of them so badly. The twist ( when it came) was, what the heck just happened? How did I not work that out. Very clever. Well done Rachel Edwards for managing to pull the wool over my eyes!
* My thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK 4th estate, and Rachel Edwards for my ARC. I have given an honest review in exchange*
April 29, 2018
Full review on my blog now.
Darling was a confusing book for me. I think this is partly because it was trying to do a few things in the same time. It starts as a contemporary novel covering racism, focusing on the relationship of white teenager Lola and her black stepmother Darling. Brexit is really not in there so much, just a touch of it. Then suddenly in the second half of the book the novel decides to be a thriller. I didn't like that.
The story is told switching between Lola and Darling. I understand Lola bits were supposed to reflect a teenager girl, but according to her GCSE results and intellectual level. Lola should have been a better thinker. Her blabbering was just so choppy and difficult to read. I felt too much stereotyping in Lola sections.
Lola and Darling's surprisingly spontaneous/poisonous relationship was the only solid thing in the book. There were hints of eeriness about Darling, but I really think her character wasn't shaped convincingly. Also, Thomas was just a background. They met and married in 3 months, but how come? I felt like there was a gap about this flash marriage and the love/desire between the two.
And the ending. I really didn't get what Edwards tried to do with this story. Finished the book really confused.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Darling was a confusing book for me. I think this is partly because it was trying to do a few things in the same time. It starts as a contemporary novel covering racism, focusing on the relationship of white teenager Lola and her black stepmother Darling. Brexit is really not in there so much, just a touch of it. Then suddenly in the second half of the book the novel decides to be a thriller. I didn't like that.
The story is told switching between Lola and Darling. I understand Lola bits were supposed to reflect a teenager girl, but according to her GCSE results and intellectual level. Lola should have been a better thinker. Her blabbering was just so choppy and difficult to read. I felt too much stereotyping in Lola sections.
Lola and Darling's surprisingly spontaneous/poisonous relationship was the only solid thing in the book. There were hints of eeriness about Darling, but I really think her character wasn't shaped convincingly. Also, Thomas was just a background. They met and married in 3 months, but how come? I felt like there was a gap about this flash marriage and the love/desire between the two.
And the ending. I really didn't get what Edwards tried to do with this story. Finished the book really confused.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2019
Set against the backdrop of the EU referendum result in 2016, this compelling thriller of a fractures relationship between stepmom and daughter tackles both current contemporary issues whilst also having a deeply sinister ending.
Told through Darling a black middle aged British born with Caribbean descent and her new husband Thomas teenager daughter Lola.
I really appreciated that the author made each characters section so distinctive as both their personalities jumped from the page.
Especially Lola’s journal entries and the numerous hashtags made me laugh!
I liked how the book pulled in one direction, including some of the abuse and casual racism that has spun from Brexit. It’s horrible that these sections felt so authentic and real.
The book certainly felt very timely.
Even though the titular character Darling is central to the story, I actually found Lola’s the more interesting.
I felt that any teenage girl would struggle to connect with a new stepmother. Though different cultures would become a stumbling block here, but it’s her circle of friends that influence her and add extra barriers in the relationship.
I wasn’t initially sure how the story would pan out and it wasn’t until a few pages before the reveal that I’d worked it out.
Very clever and effective storytelling!
Told through Darling a black middle aged British born with Caribbean descent and her new husband Thomas teenager daughter Lola.
I really appreciated that the author made each characters section so distinctive as both their personalities jumped from the page.
Especially Lola’s journal entries and the numerous hashtags made me laugh!
I liked how the book pulled in one direction, including some of the abuse and casual racism that has spun from Brexit. It’s horrible that these sections felt so authentic and real.
The book certainly felt very timely.
Even though the titular character Darling is central to the story, I actually found Lola’s the more interesting.
I felt that any teenage girl would struggle to connect with a new stepmother. Though different cultures would become a stumbling block here, but it’s her circle of friends that influence her and add extra barriers in the relationship.
I wasn’t initially sure how the story would pan out and it wasn’t until a few pages before the reveal that I’d worked it out.
Very clever and effective storytelling!
October 26, 2022
A few days ago a friend emailed me the link to an article titled 10 Great Novels with Unreliable Narrators. This book was the only one of the list I hadn’t read, so on a whim I decided to read it.
The prologue is purposely written to have you wonder which of the two voices is speaking—and away you go. I won’t say anything about the authenticity of the voices due to spoilers, but I certainly didn’t believe in the father/husband who has no voice beyond what the two tell us. Some of the topics should’ve turned interesting, but I never felt invested and I almost gave up, especially as its non-interesting parts felt repetitive. In a nutshell, this book might be for you, but it wasn’t my kind of thing.
The prologue is purposely written to have you wonder which of the two voices is speaking—and away you go. I won’t say anything about the authenticity of the voices due to spoilers, but I certainly didn’t believe in the father/husband who has no voice beyond what the two tell us. Some of the topics should’ve turned interesting, but I never felt invested and I almost gave up, especially as its non-interesting parts felt repetitive. In a nutshell, this book might be for you, but it wasn’t my kind of thing.
April 29, 2018
First came responses in the form of literary fiction – Ali Smith's Autumn, Mohsin Hamid's Exit West, Amanda Craig's The Lie of the Land, to name a few – so is this the first post-Brexit domestic thriller? Darling sets out its stall with the opening scenes: in the immediate aftermath of the referendum result, our shellshocked protagonist (the titular Darling) rushes to the local shop for emergency cigarettes, only to be confronted with a drunk who hurls racist abuse at her. She's defended by a man named Thomas; they get talking. Both are single parents – Thomas a widower, Darling raising a six-year-old with the degenerative condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – and they hit it off at record speed, the relationship progressing so quickly that marriage is being discussed after just a few months. Problems arise when it becomes clear Thomas's 16-year-old daughter, Lola, is none too pleased with the idea of a new stepmother. And her issues go deeper than just protectiveness of her dad: as she sneeringly puts it, 'since when was he into black women?'
A prologue informs us that one of the main characters will ultimately die – we just don't know who. Two narratives interweave and overlap: Darling's first-person perspective, and pages from Lola's private journal, ostensibly written at the behest of a therapist. As we get to know the characters better, little mysteries appear everywhere. (In fact, I forgot someone was going to end up dead for most of the story.) Whose calls is Darling constantly dreading and avoiding? Why is Thomas so keen to tie the knot with a woman he hardly knows? Who is the mystery man Lola writes about losing her virginity to?
Darling has a cloying sing-song voice that hints at her overbearing tendencies, and I couldn't decide whether Lola's style was a failed attempt at imitating a teenager's idiolect, or simply indicative of how annoying a modern 16-year-old might actually be (she uses slang incessantly and peppers her diary entries with hashtags). Both characters become incredibly grating after a while – especially if you read the book, as I did, in great chunks. The plot covers a lot of ground and takes in a lot of ideas, but many questions remain unanswered: I never did quite understand why Thomas wanted to marry Darling so quickly, or why Lola wrote so obscurely in certain sections of her journal while being entirely candid in others, or why the person hounding Darling confined their efforts to simply trying to call her mobile for such a long time.
Darling is at its strongest when it tackles the effect racism has at a personal level, how it impacts the characters' relationships. There's a real authenticity to Darling's experiences of racist microaggressions and the roles Darling, Thomas and Lola find themselves playing in each other's lives. (When Darling is threatened by a group of white men, even those closest to her dismiss it as a random incident, nothing personal. When Lola dips her toe into events organised by a far-right political party, she sees it all as a joke, a game, a way to impress her crush, without any sense of the potential consequences of this group's politics – without even truly thinking about what those politics are.) Also effective is a piece of misdirection that certainly fooled me; turns out I was being just as gullible as one of the characters, who misguidedly jumps to the same conclusion. And while I guessed it ahead of the reveal, the final twist is both satisfying and plausible.
When our villain is finally unmasked, Edwards is showing us that sympathetic qualities can coexist with monstrousness. A person can be simultaneously damaged, vulnerable, and cruel; we can feel for this character in some ways, and be disgusted by their actions in others. While flawed, Darling has an intriguing edge, a handful of unique qualities that place it apart from the crowd. It's being marketed as a 'reading-group thriller' and, though I can't help balking at that cheap-sounding description, I can see the potential this novel has for opening up conversations and making people question their own assumptions – and that, more than the actual story, is perhaps its greatest strength.
I received an advance review copy of Darling from the publisher through NetGalley.
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A prologue informs us that one of the main characters will ultimately die – we just don't know who. Two narratives interweave and overlap: Darling's first-person perspective, and pages from Lola's private journal, ostensibly written at the behest of a therapist. As we get to know the characters better, little mysteries appear everywhere. (In fact, I forgot someone was going to end up dead for most of the story.) Whose calls is Darling constantly dreading and avoiding? Why is Thomas so keen to tie the knot with a woman he hardly knows? Who is the mystery man Lola writes about losing her virginity to?
Darling has a cloying sing-song voice that hints at her overbearing tendencies, and I couldn't decide whether Lola's style was a failed attempt at imitating a teenager's idiolect, or simply indicative of how annoying a modern 16-year-old might actually be (she uses slang incessantly and peppers her diary entries with hashtags). Both characters become incredibly grating after a while – especially if you read the book, as I did, in great chunks. The plot covers a lot of ground and takes in a lot of ideas, but many questions remain unanswered: I never did quite understand why Thomas wanted to marry Darling so quickly, or why Lola wrote so obscurely in certain sections of her journal while being entirely candid in others, or why the person hounding Darling confined their efforts to simply trying to call her mobile for such a long time.
Darling is at its strongest when it tackles the effect racism has at a personal level, how it impacts the characters' relationships. There's a real authenticity to Darling's experiences of racist microaggressions and the roles Darling, Thomas and Lola find themselves playing in each other's lives. (When Darling is threatened by a group of white men, even those closest to her dismiss it as a random incident, nothing personal. When Lola dips her toe into events organised by a far-right political party, she sees it all as a joke, a game, a way to impress her crush, without any sense of the potential consequences of this group's politics – without even truly thinking about what those politics are.) Also effective is a piece of misdirection that certainly fooled me; turns out I was being just as gullible as one of the characters, who misguidedly jumps to the same conclusion. And while I guessed it ahead of the reveal, the final twist is both satisfying and plausible.
When our villain is finally unmasked, Edwards is showing us that sympathetic qualities can coexist with monstrousness. A person can be simultaneously damaged, vulnerable, and cruel; we can feel for this character in some ways, and be disgusted by their actions in others. While flawed, Darling has an intriguing edge, a handful of unique qualities that place it apart from the crowd. It's being marketed as a 'reading-group thriller' and, though I can't help balking at that cheap-sounding description, I can see the potential this novel has for opening up conversations and making people question their own assumptions – and that, more than the actual story, is perhaps its greatest strength.
I received an advance review copy of Darling from the publisher through NetGalley.
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May 23, 2019
If it weren’t for this being my book club book this month, I don’t know if I would have finished it. Not going to lie though, sticking it out to see what ridiculousness was going to happen next for me to roll my eyes from here to Mars about was worth it.
Let me start off explaining a little bit about what this was about: Darling, a middle-aged single mother of 6-year-old Stevie, meets Thomas, the single father of a 16-year-old Lola, at the grocery store. Flash forward a few months, and these 4 become one ‘happy’ family. Except, this is no Brady Bunch – Thomas’ teenage daughter, Lola, isn’t too keen on having a step mother; can you blame her? Well, surprisingly, you totally can, because Lola is a nutcase. These two ladies are at war; can they both make it out alive?
First off - the positives:
A biracial couple as the main characters! – I have said this before, but I have wanted to read more of that. Was it done well? No comment (yet).
The alternating narrators between Darling and Lola – the writing wasn’t the best, but I liked how we got both perspectives.
The mystery– a lot of the book eludes to Darling having a negative past, and all of the speculation made me want to continue reading to find out what that was.
The plot twist – I was surprised - VERY.
Now for the negatives:
Many. Extreme. Scenarios. – Think of any scenario, and this book probably had it. It just felt like the author kept adding random events for shock value, but I didn’t feel shocked because there were far too many [Pregnancy; Bulimia; Sex Tapes; Murder; Incest; Pedophilia; Affairs, etc].
Zero spark between the love interests – I don't even know what to say to further explain myself on this. It just is what it is; they didn't really seem like a couple.
Lola – Yikes. Do not get me started on the writing in her chapters. “And I was like, I hope Will doesn’t get with Emma lol like seriously I’m soo much prettier #hatethatbitch #hesmine.” That’s not even a real quote, but all of her chapters sounded exactly like that. It felt like the author was trying to sound too much like a teenage girl. As a former teenage girl, I can assure you we don’t sound like that. Note to authors out there writing teenage characters: #DONTRYSOHARD.
Darling – I know the book is named after her, but I couldn’t care less about her chapters. Lola’s were annoying, but Darling’s were mostly boring.
I thought that this could be so much better, because the plot doesn't sound that bad; I think that the execution was lacking though. In addition, characters can make or break a book for me and because I didn't particularly care for either of the main ones, this felt sort of like a chore to read. This wasn't the worst book ever, but just not for me.
Let me start off explaining a little bit about what this was about: Darling, a middle-aged single mother of 6-year-old Stevie, meets Thomas, the single father of a 16-year-old Lola, at the grocery store. Flash forward a few months, and these 4 become one ‘happy’ family. Except, this is no Brady Bunch – Thomas’ teenage daughter, Lola, isn’t too keen on having a step mother; can you blame her? Well, surprisingly, you totally can, because Lola is a nutcase. These two ladies are at war; can they both make it out alive?
First off - the positives:
A biracial couple as the main characters! – I have said this before, but I have wanted to read more of that. Was it done well? No comment (yet).
The alternating narrators between Darling and Lola – the writing wasn’t the best, but I liked how we got both perspectives.
The mystery– a lot of the book eludes to Darling having a negative past, and all of the speculation made me want to continue reading to find out what that was.
The plot twist – I was surprised - VERY.
Now for the negatives:
Many. Extreme. Scenarios. – Think of any scenario, and this book probably had it. It just felt like the author kept adding random events for shock value, but I didn’t feel shocked because there were far too many [Pregnancy; Bulimia; Sex Tapes; Murder; Incest; Pedophilia; Affairs, etc].
Zero spark between the love interests – I don't even know what to say to further explain myself on this. It just is what it is; they didn't really seem like a couple.
Lola – Yikes. Do not get me started on the writing in her chapters. “And I was like, I hope Will doesn’t get with Emma lol like seriously I’m soo much prettier #hatethatbitch #hesmine.” That’s not even a real quote, but all of her chapters sounded exactly like that. It felt like the author was trying to sound too much like a teenage girl. As a former teenage girl, I can assure you we don’t sound like that. Note to authors out there writing teenage characters: #DONTRYSOHARD.
Darling – I know the book is named after her, but I couldn’t care less about her chapters. Lola’s were annoying, but Darling’s were mostly boring.
I thought that this could be so much better, because the plot doesn't sound that bad; I think that the execution was lacking though. In addition, characters can make or break a book for me and because I didn't particularly care for either of the main ones, this felt sort of like a chore to read. This wasn't the worst book ever, but just not for me.
April 16, 2018
Not a fan of this, was very tough reading as didn't feel like it flowed well. Couldn't get all the way to the end as it just didn't catch me with the plotline
July 19, 2019
This is a post-Brexit thriller about a black woman who starts dating a white man with a teenage daughter and the relationship between the three of them. I struggled through this and only really finished it because I'm stubborn. The ending is good though and a total surprise. The 2 points of view are well written in that you definitely know which person. Not a bad book but not a great one for me.
March 28, 2023
"I had learned from a young age that there were those who would look at me and assume I was poorer, less intelligent, less cultured a quandary solved upon sight; sexually incontinent, insanitary, ill-mannered and ill-educated for good measure."
Another story told from two separate POVs. First we have Darling, a black woman who is a single mother to a young son with a disability that means he may not live to see adulthood. We follow her as she meets a new man, falls head over heels in love, and gets married to him all within three months. Everything would be perfect, except that her husband has a teenage daughter named Lola, who really doesn't like Darling.
Throughout the book, we read from Lola's POV in the form of diary entries. These entries start when her dad first tells her about Darling.
Now, I have to admit, at the start of the book, when Darling was first dating Thomas, I was kind of bored. Things don't really pick up until Darling meets Lola for the first time and straight away realises she's going to have to work hard to win her over.
After a while, Darling thinks her efforts are working as she and Lola start actually bonding. But Lola is still suspicious. Why does Darling have no family? Why does Darling go into her sons doctors appointments alone? She soon gets her answers and honestly, I did not see it coming. It was such a great ending.
Definitely recommend.
Another story told from two separate POVs. First we have Darling, a black woman who is a single mother to a young son with a disability that means he may not live to see adulthood. We follow her as she meets a new man, falls head over heels in love, and gets married to him all within three months. Everything would be perfect, except that her husband has a teenage daughter named Lola, who really doesn't like Darling.
Throughout the book, we read from Lola's POV in the form of diary entries. These entries start when her dad first tells her about Darling.
Now, I have to admit, at the start of the book, when Darling was first dating Thomas, I was kind of bored. Things don't really pick up until Darling meets Lola for the first time and straight away realises she's going to have to work hard to win her over.
After a while, Darling thinks her efforts are working as she and Lola start actually bonding. But Lola is still suspicious. Why does Darling have no family? Why does Darling go into her sons doctors appointments alone? She soon gets her answers and honestly, I did not see it coming. It was such a great ending.
Definitely recommend.
April 5, 2024
Audio.
Found this stilted and confusing. For me, there were far too many subjects being tackled in one go . It just felt really forced.
I see that my Goodreads friends either love or loathe this book.
Found this stilted and confusing. For me, there were far too many subjects being tackled in one go . It just felt really forced.
I see that my Goodreads friends either love or loathe this book.
April 22, 2018
Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Teenage Lola is still grieving for and missing her mum, she is in therapy and thinks she has problems, but then her Dad Thomas meets Darling and Lola’s problems are even bigger. She will do anything to split them up, she is acting like a spoiled teenager. Is Lola the only one with issues though?, definitely not, Darling is definitely hiding something, has a disabled son and hadn’t been very honest with Thomas about her past and her family, she is a nurse and likes to nurture and care for everyone, cooks a lot to reach out to both Thomas and Lola through her traditional spicy dishes. There are a lot of twists and big issues in this story. I didn’t feel that it flowed well, flipped between Darling and Lola and often difficult to know who was being referred to.
Teenage Lola is still grieving for and missing her mum, she is in therapy and thinks she has problems, but then her Dad Thomas meets Darling and Lola’s problems are even bigger. She will do anything to split them up, she is acting like a spoiled teenager. Is Lola the only one with issues though?, definitely not, Darling is definitely hiding something, has a disabled son and hadn’t been very honest with Thomas about her past and her family, she is a nurse and likes to nurture and care for everyone, cooks a lot to reach out to both Thomas and Lola through her traditional spicy dishes. There are a lot of twists and big issues in this story. I didn’t feel that it flowed well, flipped between Darling and Lola and often difficult to know who was being referred to.
March 25, 2019
The social issues of post-referendum Britain of 2016, particularly racism and xenophobia, play a large part of this novel.
‘Darling’ is described by the publisher as a ‘Brexit thriller’, starts with a divorced black woman with Afro-Caribbean heritage (Darling) meeting a widowed black architect in a corner shop late one night straight after the referendum. Both are in shock at the unexpected result; they are faced with drunken white racist thugs who throw taunts at Darling.
This incident draws the somewhat unlikely pair together, and they start forging a relationship. Both have children who play a large part in the proceedings; the woman has a son with a genetic disease and the man has a pale-skinned teenage daughter Lola with many issues, who takes an instant dislike to the new woman in her life and ‘accidentally’ locks her in the cellar on her first visit to their house. Lola and Darling are suspicious of each other, and their relationship worsens...
The story is told alternately by Darling and Lola. Their voices leap off the page, and drew me in immediately. 'Darling' proceeds in unexpected directions with a discomfiting sense of unease that made me unwilling to stop turning the pages. The tension builds and builds - I was thinking I knew more or less where it was going when a massive twist rocked everything.
I really enjoyed the social dimension to this novel. The end shocker does rely on withheld information, but to me it was effective as so many clues were laid. A must read if you enjoy a richly evoked, slow-burning thriller.
‘Darling’ is described by the publisher as a ‘Brexit thriller’, starts with a divorced black woman with Afro-Caribbean heritage (Darling) meeting a widowed black architect in a corner shop late one night straight after the referendum. Both are in shock at the unexpected result; they are faced with drunken white racist thugs who throw taunts at Darling.
This incident draws the somewhat unlikely pair together, and they start forging a relationship. Both have children who play a large part in the proceedings; the woman has a son with a genetic disease and the man has a pale-skinned teenage daughter Lola with many issues, who takes an instant dislike to the new woman in her life and ‘accidentally’ locks her in the cellar on her first visit to their house. Lola and Darling are suspicious of each other, and their relationship worsens...
The story is told alternately by Darling and Lola. Their voices leap off the page, and drew me in immediately. 'Darling' proceeds in unexpected directions with a discomfiting sense of unease that made me unwilling to stop turning the pages. The tension builds and builds - I was thinking I knew more or less where it was going when a massive twist rocked everything.
I really enjoyed the social dimension to this novel. The end shocker does rely on withheld information, but to me it was effective as so many clues were laid. A must read if you enjoy a richly evoked, slow-burning thriller.
July 9, 2020
You finally found him — the man you’re going to marry. It came out of nowhere, the romance swirling in the air and the relationship blooming quickly. You know you’ll never be happier than you are in this moment.
You both have kids, you’ve both been through a lot... you’re perfect for each other! The only thing? His daughter hates you. She’s doing everything in her power to make sure your love story gets thrown in the shredder and never published for all to witness and read. You can’t let her win. You can’t abandon a love you’ve dreamed about. She’s going to have to get over it.
Darling was a good family drama and Lola (the daughter) was written well with the perfect teenage attitude and angst. I like that her chapters were written in journal form and you could feel her raw emotion bleeding off the pages.
This wasn’t my favorite book, but I did enjoy aspects of it. I’m also a sucker for this type of premise. I wish it would have had a little more heat and suspense and the ending was too abrupt for me. I needed more detail, more answers. It was too rushed in my opinion with a few holes gaping.
Overall, I recommend if you like a good family drama!
TW: Mental Illness/Eating Disorder, Loss of a Parent, Child with Terminal Disability, Sexual Abuse, Racism, Physical Attack.
You both have kids, you’ve both been through a lot... you’re perfect for each other! The only thing? His daughter hates you. She’s doing everything in her power to make sure your love story gets thrown in the shredder and never published for all to witness and read. You can’t let her win. You can’t abandon a love you’ve dreamed about. She’s going to have to get over it.
Darling was a good family drama and Lola (the daughter) was written well with the perfect teenage attitude and angst. I like that her chapters were written in journal form and you could feel her raw emotion bleeding off the pages.
This wasn’t my favorite book, but I did enjoy aspects of it. I’m also a sucker for this type of premise. I wish it would have had a little more heat and suspense and the ending was too abrupt for me. I needed more detail, more answers. It was too rushed in my opinion with a few holes gaping.
Overall, I recommend if you like a good family drama!
TW: Mental Illness/Eating Disorder, Loss of a Parent, Child with Terminal Disability, Sexual Abuse, Racism, Physical Attack.
August 13, 2018
Darling White is a black single mother with a disabled son who falls in love with a guy she meets in a cafe. They rush into marriage and all would be close to perfect if it wasn't for his daughter, Lola and her contacts in a right-wing racist hate-group.
We know from the very start that Darling will kill Lola or Lola will kill Darling - but the mystery is who will kill and who'll be killed and, of course, quite why and how they'll pull it off.
Rivalry between step-mothers and step-daughters is nothing new. This throws in a race angle and attempts to force-fit some Brexit themes which (for me at least) were not necessary and not well handled. I'm anti-Brexit but see that as much more of an issue for European immigration than one that should play out with home-grown BEM citizens. The Brexit themes also pretty much guarantee that the book is already dated soon after publishing. There are also themes of child abuse and teen excess that are handled with varying degrees of subtlety.
I often complain that multi-narrative books don't vary the tone of the different narrators and that's definitely not the case in Darling. The two women's 'voices' are so different that you can't possibly muddle them up. With Lola and all her #tryingtoohard hashtags and Darling with all her patois, it's impossible to not know who you are reading. It's a shame the author couldn't make them more distinct without resorting to so much cliche.
The book is promoted as being a real cliff hanger but I can honestly say that by the time I finally found out whodunnit, I didn't really care much any more. Neither character is very likable - even Thomas the husband isn't particularly nice. There is a twist of sorts but it wasn't especially enlightening and didn't really make a lot of sense to me within the context of the story.
It's an easy read but it takes a lot of words to make relatively little point.
We know from the very start that Darling will kill Lola or Lola will kill Darling - but the mystery is who will kill and who'll be killed and, of course, quite why and how they'll pull it off.
Rivalry between step-mothers and step-daughters is nothing new. This throws in a race angle and attempts to force-fit some Brexit themes which (for me at least) were not necessary and not well handled. I'm anti-Brexit but see that as much more of an issue for European immigration than one that should play out with home-grown BEM citizens. The Brexit themes also pretty much guarantee that the book is already dated soon after publishing. There are also themes of child abuse and teen excess that are handled with varying degrees of subtlety.
I often complain that multi-narrative books don't vary the tone of the different narrators and that's definitely not the case in Darling. The two women's 'voices' are so different that you can't possibly muddle them up. With Lola and all her #tryingtoohard hashtags and Darling with all her patois, it's impossible to not know who you are reading. It's a shame the author couldn't make them more distinct without resorting to so much cliche.
The book is promoted as being a real cliff hanger but I can honestly say that by the time I finally found out whodunnit, I didn't really care much any more. Neither character is very likable - even Thomas the husband isn't particularly nice. There is a twist of sorts but it wasn't especially enlightening and didn't really make a lot of sense to me within the context of the story.
It's an easy read but it takes a lot of words to make relatively little point.
March 10, 2019
I was promised a Brexit thriller.
Where is my Brexit thriller?!
Darling sounded like a really interesting book, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect the ending. However, the book is a complete mess - it’s got about five different competing storylines in one book:
And it doesn’t really do any of these storyline justice, which is a shame. But how can it, when you’re picking so many challenging topics and want to write about them all in 300 pages?
Also - the writing was kind of terrible. I really struggled with the first few pages because the sentences were constructed so awkwardly that it didn’t flow. Plus, Lola’s chapters were cringe-worthy. I’m not that far out of my teens, and I can tell you that teenagers don’t write like that. It was very forced and ruined Lola’s perspective, which could have been the most interesting.
Overall, not a fan. It brushed on some interesting issues, but it was too much of a chaotic mess to make any sense.
Darling sounded like a really interesting book, and if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect the ending. However, the book is a complete mess - it’s got about five different competing storylines in one book:
And it doesn’t really do any of these storyline justice, which is a shame. But how can it, when you’re picking so many challenging topics and want to write about them all in 300 pages?
Also - the writing was kind of terrible. I really struggled with the first few pages because the sentences were constructed so awkwardly that it didn’t flow. Plus, Lola’s chapters were cringe-worthy. I’m not that far out of my teens, and I can tell you that teenagers don’t write like that. It was very forced and ruined Lola’s perspective, which could have been the most interesting.
Overall, not a fan. It brushed on some interesting issues, but it was too much of a chaotic mess to make any sense.
May 15, 2018
Omg still very much "What did I just read?" with this. It is a stunning, gripping, drama-packed book and despite reading a couple of spoilerish reviews I still didn't see what happened coming, it keeps you guessing and delivers many eyebrow raising moments! A very astute story regarding Brexit and the rise of the far right also. A book that needed to be written!
January 24, 2018
What did I just read?!?!
I have no words. I feel like I need to read it all again to make heads or tails of what I just read. It was a crazy, page-turner. I loved it. I feel like I need to sit with that ending for a little bit. I am floored! No more words for right now. I need some recovery time.
I have no words. I feel like I need to read it all again to make heads or tails of what I just read. It was a crazy, page-turner. I loved it. I feel like I need to sit with that ending for a little bit. I am floored! No more words for right now. I need some recovery time.
Read
April 13, 2019An intricate exploration of race, love and family, I was completely blown away by that ending!
Darling is part thriller, part domestic suspense, part YA, tackling some huge social issues and giving book club lots of food for thought. The story flows smoothly between Lola and Darling, telling the story of Darling meeting and marrying Lola's father, and Lola's extreme unhappiness about it. But everything in this angsty drama isn't as it seems...
Darling is part thriller, part domestic suspense, part YA, tackling some huge social issues and giving book club lots of food for thought. The story flows smoothly between Lola and Darling, telling the story of Darling meeting and marrying Lola's father, and Lola's extreme unhappiness about it. But everything in this angsty drama isn't as it seems...
March 1, 2021
A Brexit Thriller? Sign me up!
Darling meets Thomas in a Supermarket and the two hit it off after he stands up for her against some racist Brexit supporters. The two begin a tentative romance, but Thomas' teenage daughter Lola is not impressed by Darling. This romance is going far too fast for Lola's liking, and she will not make Darling feel comfortable.
I wrote a line in my notebook about 15% into this book that said "I stg if this is a book it can f*ck right off" and unfortunately that's exactly what it was. I felt it was just a really cheap road to go down, especially when so many others have done the same. It's a shame, because it could have been great, if only the author hadn't gone for the most obvious twist.
There was no chemistry between Thomas and Darling whatsoever, so as ridiculous as Lola was being I was right there with her. Her association with people involved in a far-right group would have been such a great narrative to explore, especially with so many people now getting caught up in groups like that.
Really disappointing.
Darling meets Thomas in a Supermarket and the two hit it off after he stands up for her against some racist Brexit supporters. The two begin a tentative romance, but Thomas' teenage daughter Lola is not impressed by Darling. This romance is going far too fast for Lola's liking, and she will not make Darling feel comfortable.
I wrote a line in my notebook about 15% into this book that said "I stg if this is a book it can f*ck right off" and unfortunately that's exactly what it was. I felt it was just a really cheap road to go down, especially when so many others have done the same. It's a shame, because it could have been great, if only the author hadn't gone for the most obvious twist.
There was no chemistry between Thomas and Darling whatsoever, so as ridiculous as Lola was being I was right there with her. Her association with people involved in a far-right group would have been such a great narrative to explore, especially with so many people now getting caught up in groups like that.
Really disappointing.
June 11, 2018
!! Spoilers !! I think that had the author perhaps simplified the various story strands this could have been a much stronger effort but as it stands I found it difficult to puzzle out what message if any that it contained. We see opinions on Brexit, on racial issues and discrimination, hate crimes and class divides as they pertain to Darling. But even these great observations get lost in the shuffle as focus shifts to Lola, the odd choice of cringey narration style and her own assortment of teen problems and situations. There's even a bonus round plot with local far right local thugs that really doesn't go much of anywhere before ending as a footnote. All of the references to 'care', 'nurturing' and 'nursing' for me at least really gave the game away early so it really was no surprise at all when the word Munchausen was finally mentioned. While this book was a quick, easy read I felt these things made Darling less enjoyable than it could have been.
January 21, 2022
Full of twists
February 20, 2018
A spellbinding and surprising book packed with warmth, intelligence, and glorious anger. This was everything I wanted it to be, capturing a national moment of madness and all of its paranoid fallout through two heartbreakingly real protagonists. Darling and Lola will frustrate you and make you love them--often at the same time--and their battle is one that in Edwards's wonderful prose is a joy to read, even when that fight is at its ugliest. 'Darling' deserves a place on both the bestseller charts and the prize lists.
May 1, 2018
Plot: Darling, a black woman of Jamaican parentage but who has never even visited the island, meets and marries Thomas, a wealthy man with a teenage daughter, Lola, at the time when Brexit has just been announced. The story is told from Darling’s and Lola’s perspective – Darling, who has a young son with a muscle wasting disease and who struggles against casual and not-so-casual racism every day, and Lola, who is not a racist, she insists, but doesn’t understand why her father has married a black woman.
My thoughts: This was a twisting ride of a book that was really enjoyable and disturbing in equal parts. The open racism from the younger and middle-class generation was honestly shocking to me – I thought they were more open minded! – and the experiences that Darling comes up against are horrifying. But equally disturbing are other parts of the plot that are revealed later in the book, so I can’t give them away! I admit that I did pick up on a couple of the hints throughout, but not all of them, so I loved it when it all came together. This was a very good and thought provoking read that I highly recommend.
My thoughts: This was a twisting ride of a book that was really enjoyable and disturbing in equal parts. The open racism from the younger and middle-class generation was honestly shocking to me – I thought they were more open minded! – and the experiences that Darling comes up against are horrifying. But equally disturbing are other parts of the plot that are revealed later in the book, so I can’t give them away! I admit that I did pick up on a couple of the hints throughout, but not all of them, so I loved it when it all came together. This was a very good and thought provoking read that I highly recommend.
September 26, 2018
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this prior to publication.
There’s no escaping the fact that this is almost two books in one. One aspect of the book examines race and attitudes to race in post-Brexit England, through the eyes of Darling (a black woman) who gets a stepdaughter, Lola, when she marries Thomas. The other aspect - which doesn’t come to the fore until later - focuses on the relationships between the characters and the events that develop once they’re all living together. They were both of interest but neither really felt fully done.
Darling was quite a confusing character and the way her story is narrated means I’m still a little uncertain as to how much her tale was to be trusted. Too many details were left rather loose for my liking, which was a shame as this was an interesting idea.
There’s no escaping the fact that this is almost two books in one. One aspect of the book examines race and attitudes to race in post-Brexit England, through the eyes of Darling (a black woman) who gets a stepdaughter, Lola, when she marries Thomas. The other aspect - which doesn’t come to the fore until later - focuses on the relationships between the characters and the events that develop once they’re all living together. They were both of interest but neither really felt fully done.
Darling was quite a confusing character and the way her story is narrated means I’m still a little uncertain as to how much her tale was to be trusted. Too many details were left rather loose for my liking, which was a shame as this was an interesting idea.
August 9, 2021
3.5 stars
well, this was certainly ambitious. there's a lot going on here and not a lot i can say without spoiling everything, but i will say that the ending left me uncertain of how to feel. the writing is intentionally disjointed and the wording is chosen with care; edwards creates masterful character studies of both lola and darling, and the clues all add up nicely. i cant tell if it all feels overused or if it just took on a lot of sensitive subjects. it's at its strongest with the character voices and darling's experiences with casual racism.
overall, a resounding "hmmmm".
well, this was certainly ambitious. there's a lot going on here and not a lot i can say without spoiling everything, but i will say that the ending left me uncertain of how to feel. the writing is intentionally disjointed and the wording is chosen with care; edwards creates masterful character studies of both lola and darling, and the clues all add up nicely. i cant tell if it all feels overused or if it just took on a lot of sensitive subjects. it's at its strongest with the character voices and darling's experiences with casual racism.
overall, a resounding "hmmmm".
April 9, 2018
Omg, WHAT?
So this book starts off intruiging, slows in the middle to the point that you think it's turning into bratty teenage daughter / domestic-disputes-r-us BUT THEN, hits you in the face with a crazy ending you will never expect. If you're struggling please persevere because the end twist is SO worth it.
So this book starts off intruiging, slows in the middle to the point that you think it's turning into bratty teenage daughter / domestic-disputes-r-us BUT THEN, hits you in the face with a crazy ending you will never expect. If you're struggling please persevere because the end twist is SO worth it.
May 24, 2019
the ending saved this book from getting a 1. i was NOT expecting that at all!
I couldn't stand how Lola's chapters were written... it definitely seems like the author was trying so hard to sound young and hip but it was just super cringe-y
I couldn't stand how Lola's chapters were written... it definitely seems like the author was trying so hard to sound young and hip but it was just super cringe-y
June 3, 2019
Honestly, I didn’t even get what was going on half of this book. It was all over the place. The 2 stars I’m giving this book are for 1. The ending. I thought that was a pretty good twist and I did not see it coming. 2. Lola’s Done Lists actually making me laugh, especially those hashtags!
March 3, 2019
Confusing and not well thought out.
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