I usually love these books! But this one just didn’t sit well with me. It felt hackneyed and the ending annoyed me.

While a bit predictable, this book was insane. The lengths that Iris would go. And what a sad end for Ivy. I would love to see her get revenge.

I am a massive Natasha Preston fan! I love all her YA thrillers because they always take me on a wild ride. The Twin started a little slow for me but it really picked up about halfway through. I really felt for the main character, Ivy, throughout the book. It would have been interesting to see parts of the story from Iris’ point of view. How would you feel if someone tried to take over your life?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy. I was excited to start this book......I thought something along the lines of The Bad Seed plus 1..... and it was.......eventually....... I liked the book but it was very very slow and didn’t get super good until about 70% into the book and then it was great! I’m giving it 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars because I think YA will love it and I don’t want to take away from the book because I’m older.

I liked this book, but it didn't really pick up for me until the ending of the book. I have read all this Author's books, but this book just didn't read as I thought it would.

The Twin is a book about how you people are not always as the seem. Ivy and Iris are twins, however they have nothing in common. Once their mom dies they have to move in together and things begin to change. This book had me guessing from the very start. It definitely also has a shocking ending and I could not put it down. I was not happy with the ending, I feel it could have definitely ended better. Also in some parts it was a little odd that none of the places they were at the school etc had any cameras anywhere, this book is from this year so to think that a school doesn't have any is a bit of a stretch. This book show just how far someone is willing to go to get what they want.

When their parents divorced, identical twins Ivy and Iris are split apart. Iris chooses to live with their mother, while Ivy stays with their father. But when their mother dies, the twins’ worlds are turned upside down as they’re forced to live under the same roof, and try to come with their mother’s death.

The story is told from Ivy’s point of view, and after only a few pages, I’ve already come to the conclusion that I don’t much care for her. She’s a bit self-centered, somewhat neurotic, and very high-strung. The first thing she does when she and Iris get home, Ivy takes off to be with her boyfriend, completely leaving Iris alone in a place she’s not really comfortable with, without any kind of warning. Then once she’s back home, even though Iris makes it clear she doesn’t want to, Ivy tries to talk about their mother, and gets annoyed when Iris asks her to stop.

Ivy has this compulsive habit of biting her lip, and she does it so much I’m surprised she hasn’t chewed it off yet. Her mind never shuts off, jumping from one thing to another to another at lightning speed, to the point that just reading about all the things she thinks about at once mentally exhausted me. On top of that, she comes off as more than a little paranoid, always questioning everything, whether she has a reason to or not.

We also get the cliche “everyone in school is staring at us.” I come from a small town, and even when a new student came in, no one ever stared and talked about them like they were from another planet rather than another school. People don’t do this.

Once Iris starts going out on her own, Ivy begins to get paranoid about where she’s going, and who she’s meeting with. It comes off as if she’s entitled to know everything about what Iris is doing at all times.

The author might have intended for this to be a mystery/thriller, but all I can read it as is a teenaged girl getting more and more paranoid, who starts to think that an ever-increasing number of people are plotting behind her back and are out to get her.

By the time the final confrontation rolls around, I have just one question. One simple thing could have ended all of this, and proven that Iris wasn’t who she pretended to be. When Ivy confronts Iris in the climax, why the hell did she not record the conversation with her phone?

Iris admits to everything! It would have been the perfect chance for Ivy to prove that she was innocent in all of this. But of course, Ivy has no proof, no one believes her, and Iris gets away with everything.

I also won't believe that the mental hospital doesn't have cameras in their patient's rooms. That also would have allowed someone to hear what Iris was talking about when she was doing her villain monologue.

Ugh… This book frustrates the hell out of me...

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OMG THIS BOOK WAS FREAKING AMAZING! So dark and I loved all of it.

The Twin, was again, freaking amazing. I loved the whole evil vs good twin because this entire thing had me on the edge of my seat. Ivy and Iris were definitely interesting when it came to siblings. They were separated once their parents got divorced and then reunited years later. No, this is not like the parent trap because.. it just isn't. It's the complete opposite and more mystery like than anything.

The one thing I would change was the pace though. It kind of seemed like a hot mess to me but I still ended up enjoying this little thriller. Definitely got sucked in for the ride and can't wait to see what else Natasha has written or will write in the future

The Twin is an enjoyable, captivating YA thriller. It is not a profoundly unique plot. We have all seen movies or read books where one character admires another character's life so much he or she is adamant to actually BECOME that person. He or she goes to extremes to transform into this person, often at the expense of others. While it was not an original concept, it was extremely well written. The mystery and intrigue never let up, and there is something hauntingly beautiful about these characters and their story. The pacing was slow, but the eerie, ominous feeling that clutches the reader from beginning to end certainly makes up for it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.

The whole set up from the beginning was odd. The author went full Parent Trap—when the parents divorced, one twin went with the mom, the other with dad. Who does this? Iris and Ivy have almost no relationship, so much so that Ivy couldn't even name Iris's best friend. Once Iris moves in with Ivy and their dad after their mom dies, Iris starts to slowly take over her sister's life. This was a great concept, but a mediocre delivery. 

You could tell from the beginning that there was something off about Iris—passive regarding the death of her mother, conflicting emotions in general, and manipulative behavior with everyone in Ivy's life. The problem was, I didn't care3 for our narrator. I didn’t believe in Ivy's friendships to begin with so when her twin turned them against her, I didn’t really care. The pacing was very slow; the true action didn’t take place until about 75% into the book. Somehow the entire book only spanned like, two months. Then the ending felt so rushed and out of nowhere that I left the reading experience unsatisfied and unsettled, but no in a good way. 

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGally in return for my 100% honest opinion.

It's called a "twisted psychological thriller"; I call it a mystery with creepy tendencies. I was excited for my first YA read and the blurb drew me in because nothing is better than, good twin vs. bad twin. However, the pace for the first 75% of the book is extremely slow and I contemplated shelving it but chose to see it to the end.

After the 75% mark, the book arrived at the point that I couldn't put it down but I did have the bad twin pegged early in the book; very predictable. For me, the ending didn't provide resolution and was extremely emotionless. The misspelled words and omission of words throughout had me seeing red and my reason for not giving the book a 4 star rating.

I kept plugging along because of my curiosity and I hate to be a quitter but maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I was younger. Just not "thrilling" enough for me...I crave more!

I was really excited about the concept of the book but even for a thriller the pace of this book was really slow until about 75% of the way through. A lot of what was happening was easy to figure out.

I am a twin and holy cow, if my twin tried half the stuff this girl did, I would be up a creek! This was a nice YA thriller. I will say that the plotline was pretty linear - you could guess right away where the story was going, and even the relative twists and reveals weren't shocking. But even though you knew where this book was headed, you still wanted to see what ELSE this girl was capable of. I'd say if you're into YA thrillers, this is for you, but if you need more mature/adult twists, then move on to something else.

Iris and Ivy are twins that were separated when they were 10 years old when their parents divorced; one twin with each parent. After the sudden death of their mother, Iris moves in with Ivy and their dad. As Iris starts to slowly invite herself into Ivy’s life by trying our for the same sports, making moves on her boyfriend, and getting close to her friends, Ivy starts to feel that something isn’t right. Everyone says Ivy is just jealous and paranoid but Ivy begins to think otherwise.

“Show them your mistake doesn’t define you.”

I’ve never felt so thankful to be an only child.

This is for a young adult thriller so there’s suspense mixed in with high school teenage drama. You have to go into the book realizing that and be okay with it. The relationship of twins Ivy and Iris were awkward most times but that’s to be expected after being separated for so many years, they are now having to get to know each other while also coming to terms with the death of their mother. As Ivy starts to uncover things there is certainly some edge of your seat moments but man I really wish I could lean into the book and shake Ivy for how she decided to go about things. And THE END, DUUUDE! This is my first Natasha Preston book and I’ve had my eye on The Cellar and The Cabin for some time now so I will be moving those up on the TBR radar.

Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Quote is taken from an ARC and may not be present in the final publication.

I like a good Lifetime evil twin movie as much as the next girl - or possibly even more. But you know you're in trouble when you notice you are *only* 25% in and sigh. I do have to get better at leaving books in a DNF pile, but I plowed through this one.

It is a Netgalley version of the book so hopefully the writing will tighten up. It was not fun to constantly read about someone's hair being "butt-length" or about a character biting her lip (AGAIN). The plot was implausible to begin with, there was no rhyme or reason to the characters, no growth and terrible inconsistency.

This may in fact play out better on the small screen with a really charming actress playing (evil) Iris, because in book form - I just don't buy it.

By the way - how many times can you admit things and explain exactly how you went about your misdeeds out loud before someone overhears?

Thank you Netgalley for this preview.

“My time is coming, and my sister is going down.” 16 year old Ivy has lived with her dad since he and her mom split up 6 years ago. Ivy’s twin sister, Iris moved out with their mom. Iris is forced to move back with Ivy and her father after their mother dies in a running accident. Although Iris and Ivy are identical twins, they dress differently, wear their hair differently and have different personalities. However, as the weeks go on, Ivy notices her twin is starting to wear her clothes, cut her hair and try to steal her friends. Soon Ivy discovers a secret that could change her relationship with her sister forever. Ivy reaches out to one of Iris’s old friends to get to the bottom of Iris’s plans.

This book really knew how to make me mad. The whole time I was hoping the ending would resolve into a happy one but I was disappointed. This was another one that didn’t have a lot of substance. We knew who the killer was the whole time which can be a good plot sometimes but I found this to be too predictable.

First I have to say I am a huge fan of Natasha Preston, I have recommended her books to all of my friends and even had my local library order them to put on the shelves.
With that being said, I thought this story was entertaining, yet a little slow and very predictable. So why did I give it 4 stars? I have been reading books for a long time now and this book is geared towards YA. So while I wasn't as enthralled in the book as I wish I was, I do think the YA audience will enjoy the book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really did not care for this book. It had its moments but it's one of those where the main character tells you that they're smart and then does nothing to show it.

I gave up reading this around 20% after yet another conversation between Ivy and Iris where they got upset with each other and I was unsure why, there was supposed to be angry, but the words that were spoken that caused it, weren't upsetting. These characters were written one-dimensionally, there were no qualities that would make you connect with them. Ivy was constantly on edge over things Iris did, without reason, and I get that Preston was trying to set up the book, but it was forced and done poorly. The repetitiveness of telling us what is happening as opposed to showing us what is happening is what made me finally give up trying to get anymore into the story to see the actual plot in action.

his is the first book I have read by this author and it was a YA book but all in all it was well written. If you read the blurb, then you know the premise of this book. Ivy, the twin who lives with her father is the narrator of the book. Iris, the other twin goes to live with their mother when their parents divorce. When their mom dies, Iris comes back to live with Ivy and their dad. Then slowly we hear Ivy narrating slowly as time progresses all the things she feels that Iris is doing. The book had a major twist at the end and I would love a sequel to this book. It was a good read with a truly major surprise ending. I received this book from net galley as an ARC for an honest review and would like to thank net galley and the publisher for this ARC.