I didn't finish this book. I usually like Natasha Preston books but I couldn't get past the main character in this one.

While I realize this is a young adult book, the writing felt excessively juvenile. In fact, it truly felt like I was reading a 15 or 16 year old's diary. I realize this may have been intentional, but for me it detracted from the story line. I also have a problem with storylines where no one seems to believe the lead character and everything crumbles around him or her. I feel like you have to give them an occasional win, or at least make them stop whining about it for a period of time. Otherwise, I stop caring about the character because it's just all too exhausting. I don't think Ivy had enough wins in this story, so by the time we got to a predictable end, I just didn't' really care. Lastly, I really struggled with the similar names Ivy and Iris. I realize it's a realistic naming choice for twins, but you don't know how many times I paused while reading because I was sure the author had mixed them up. In summary, I might recommend this for an actual teenager to enjoy, but this book isn't quite up to par for an actual adult to enjoy.

Thank you Net Galley & Random House Children's for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
**
A dark twisted tale of two twins trying to figure out how to co-exist after 6 years living separately. Ivy & Iris were separated since they were 10 and their parents got a divorce. Ivy lives with Dad, Iris lives with Mom. Until Mom dies unexpectedly while out running one day. Iris moves from the city to the country where her twin sister and dad live.
From there things start going from bad to worse when it comes to Ivy. She swears Iris is setting her up; but she can't figure out why.
FYI this book did NOT have the ending I was expecting; and I want to thank Natasha Preston for not giving her readers the cookie cutter, everything wraps up into a cute little bow ending.
Also she made me SUPER happy I don't have a identical twin sister.... although it's had me giving my own sister the side eye... =P

I didn’t realize this was a Young Adult book when I requested a copy. My first one actually, always avoiding Twilight type books. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all. A good drama and I imagine the target audience will rate it a five. I’m torn how to rate it so I will give it a 4, rather than a 3 if it was targeted towards my demographic, a seasoned thriller reader if that makes sense.

I'm not going to lie. I typically love Natasha Preston as her writing gives me a lot of Christopher Pike with some RL Stine Goosebumps, vibes and this book would be right up my ally. But the blurb tells you exactly what happened in the book. Why am I reading this? There's literally no mystery.

"Emmy finds out that her twin sister, Iris, is trying to push her out of her own life—and might be responsible for their mother's death."

Awesome, I've just read the book because as I was reading it, I already knew everything I needed to know. Iris was evil and out to get Emmy. Everything that Iris does is to take over Emmy's life and push her out of, doing whatever it takes to do so. I thought, as I continued reading, there'd be more twists or something else would happen, but no. Even how it the book ended, I really wasn't surprised. I didn't hold out hope that Emmy would have a happy ending and she most certainly doesn't.

I really wanted to like this one. I was craving a thriller but instead I got a high school drama. Ivy has been rejoined with her twin, Iris. Everything changes for her and she can’t figure out why. It wasn’t very thrillery and seemed to take a bit for anything to really happen. Would be good for the preteen age group. Received an early copy through Netgalley.

I think this book falls victim to too much being given away in the synopsis. Nothing in this book was a surprise to me because I had read about everything in the book's description.

I was also confused when I started this book, because a character's name was changed at some point. The description on Goodreads says the twins' names are Iris and Emmy, but in the book Emmy's name is actually Ivy. I'm not sure why Goodreads has a different name, but it was definitely confused when I first started reading.

Overall, I found this book to be pretty standard and predictable. It was incredibly easy to read, bordering on cheesy. I think if you're a fan of comedy horror movies like Scary Movie or Scream then Preston's books may be for you. If you read a lot of thrillers and mysteries, nothing in Preston's books will impress or surprise you.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

The Twin by Natasha Preston is described as a young adult psychological thriller. Twins Ivy and Iris are separated at 10 when their parents divorced - Ivy lived with their dad and Iris moved to the city with their mom. Being separated for so long means their twin bond isn't very strong and less than sisterly.

When the twins mother dies in a tragic accident Iris is then forced to move full time in with her sister and father. Things start to change for the usually so well put together Ivy once her sister moves in and her life begins to fall apart.

This cover is awesome and pulled me in instantly; however the story isn't as strong. The story is very generic and feels like a rehashed version of the stories we've read before - the most recognizable one being Pretty Little Liars. The plot is lacking the thrill you look for when picking up this type of book, and you can see the plot "twists" and next moves coming from a mile away.

The ending is so unsatisfying and leaves you feeling disappointed and like the journey with Ivy was pointless - and even further disappointing that if you have read the summary, the whole story is given away for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was interested in this book based in the synopsis. But if you read the synopsis, you have pretty much read the book. Just add in some darkness. It is not a terrible book by any means but it is not at all what I was hoping for. 

The Parent Trap but twisted with no happy family ending. 

The writing is meh. It is pretty tame for a psychological thriller. I'd put it more into the  level of a middle grade read. The writing was very basic with little to no descriptions.

The characters are nothing we haven't seen before and very one dimensional. There are some dark characteristics but we are left wondering why the one twin is the way she is.

The pacing is slow and at points and I almost stopped reading. I would probably have enjoyed this more if I were in middle school.  I would reccomend this to a teen just getting into thrillers.

The suggested reading level for The Twin is grades 7-9, and I can definitely see kids that age enjoying this book. That’s why I gave it four stars. As for how I enjoyed this book, reading it as an adult, I would be giving it two stars.

Natasha Preston did a wonderful job keeping the twists coming and the gas lighting to a maximum. I can see middle schoolers really being creeped out by Iris’s actions and enjoying the relationship between Ivy and her boyfriend, Ty.
The Twin reminded me of all the Fear Street books I read by R.L. Stine when I was in middle school, it’s predictable, but at that age, kids love reading the same type of stories over and over… and even as adults, there are some people who will only read the same genre.

I can see both young adults and adults not enjoying the ending. I know I didn’t. It made me angry. But after I let my anger steep a bit, I came to like the ending. Life is rarely fair, so why should I expect a book to be the same? And if I want a happy ending I can always read a cozy mystery or a romance novel.

Now to review this book as an adult…. The first 20% of the book is Ivy going on about her mother’s death and wanting to give Iris space. If Prest0n w0uld have toned that down to 5% of the book and took the extra 15% and added it to the ending to flesh it out more and to not have it be over so quick, I think that would have really improved the book.

And I just couldn’t get over how mature Ivy and Ty’s relationship was. Their communication is better than a lot of adults I know! It just didn’t feel real to me at all. I did like that this could show middle schoolers what goals to set for your relationships though. Then there’s the point that even with how solid their relationship is, Ty who seems to be on Ivy’s side, just suddenly isn’t. This really ticked me off, and I think could have added another layer to the store if he would have continued to believe in Ivy.

Since Ivy is a straight A student, and seems to be street smart as well as book smart, I just could reconcile the fact that it took her so long to see how devious her twin was. I would think since they hadn’t lived together for over six years it would be even easier to see through Iris’s lies and schemes.

If you know middle schoolers who love to read suspense, they will probably really enjoy The Twin. But if you’re an adult and read a lot of suspense and thrillers, you may want to try You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkenan instead!

I am so excited that I was able to read Natasha Preston's newest novel, The Twin. It was one of the new releases in March that I was most excited for! It gave me the feeling of "I'm screaming and no one is hearing me!"

"Somewhere over time and our parents' separation, our silly dreams died, and we stopped sharing any new ones." 'Do you want to talk, Iris?' Her haunted eyes look right through me. "I want so much more than that."

The entire time I thought the ending was going to play out a certain way, but not to my surprise Natasha Preston leaves you on the edge of your seat. The book was creepy, disturbing and uncomfortable. I was hooked and was desperate to know the ending.

The build up to the end was perfect. It gives you a good amount of time to try to figure out what's going to happen and to be shocked when your idea flies out the window.

I have a feeling if I was younger, I would have given this a solid 5 stars.

This book was CRAZY!! You have a set of twins who, due to divorce, are living apart. Ivy with her father and Iris with her mother. Of course they see each other, the twins tend to not spend much time together. When they visit their parents its always at the same time. So when the untimely death of their mother happens the girls are forced together and both are unsure what their relationship will be. However Ivy starts to get this feeling that Iris wants more then just a bedroom in her home. She gets the feeling she wants her life.....

This was a quick read and I wanted to give it 5 stars, however the ending for me felt a bit rushed. I also had the feeling that I needed more from the ending.

Overall a great read. The Twins were a great mix of sweet and spicy! Its one of my favorite YA thrillers this year!

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The author, Natasha Preston, is not new to me. I have read a couple of her previous YA novels before and loved them so I was very excited when I saw she was writing another YA psychological thriller called "The Twin". This book is about - you guessed it - twins, Ivy and Iris, who's parents divorced when they were 10. Ivy went to live with her dad and Iris lived with her mom. Seemingly, out of no where, their mom tragically passes away while doing an everyday activity and Iris has to come live with Ivy and her dad. At first, their sisterhood relationship seems promising and although her life has just been turned upside down by the death of her mom, Ivy seems excited to get to know her twin sister again. Fairly quickly, you realize Iris has a hidden agenda and something is off with her.

I had a hard time getting into this book and I think it was because I just could not get past Ivy's narration and thoughts. She was written as if she was a fully mature late-twenties-year-old woman. This was not the narration of a sixteen-year-old teenager. Ivy's relationship with her star of the football team boyfriend, Ty, was also awkward to read because there is no high school relationship that is as mature as they are. They talk through all their problems with perfect communication as sixteen year olds who have been dating for 8 months? It was a bit unbelievable to read and seemed fake. The ending also seemed very rushed. I was 96% of the way through the novel and was resolving myself to be unsatisfied with the ending - which I was - because there were SO many questions I had that I knew were not going to get answered in those last few pages.

All in all, I would still recommend Natasha Preston as an author and would definitely read other books she writes and publishes but I just could not get behind this one. Not my favorite.

Thanks again to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a juicy ride with an unexpected ending. True horror. I still cringe thinking about it days later.

This was a psychological thriller that had some pretty high stakes. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, but many that I DID see coming.

The premise of this book kind of terrified me. The entire time you’re reading this you KNOW something is off with Iris. Ivy can see it and she tries throughout to get others to see it to. It gave me anxiety, and was incredibly infuriating, but it was done oh so well.

Iris infiltrated her twin’s life, worms her way into her friends group, into her school activities, turns everyone against her and Ivy is powerless to stop her. But the writing is great. The story is wildly engaging. I was surely on the edge of my seat while reading each page, all while screaming at my book and wanting to throw it across the room.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital arc and also to Random House books for the arc copy they generously sent me in the mail.

The Twin by Natasha Preston is a psychological thriller about identical twins, Iris and Ivy. At 10 years old, the girls parents divorce, Ivy decides to live with their dad, while Iris decides to stay with their mother and move to the city. About 6 years later, their mother is killed in a tragic running accident, which now means Iris must move in with Ivy and their dad. Tragedy has brought the girls together, which seems like it would be great to deal with the tragedy of losing their mother, but Ivy soon realizes, Iris is more interested in pushing Ivy out of her own life than dealing with the loss of their mother. Ivy wonders if she’s paranoid, she is the one seeing a therapist, she is the one who wants to talk about the good memories they shared with their mom, but Iris wants no part in any of it. Iris is manipulative, and has everyone, including their dad, eating out of her hand thinking this is how she is dealing with the tragedy. Until it gets worse instead of better, and the one person suffering is Ivy. When Ivy starts looking into Iris’ past, she starts seeing things she never wanted to imagine. But who will ever believe her over Iris?

I couldn’t wait to read this book. Once I read the book description, it had me at ‘Hello’....I was flying through it, it was twisty, and a little predictable. Iris’ was cray cray! Her character was easy to dislike, but Ivy...c’mon sweetheart, you should have fought for yourself a little harder. I was waiting for the big reveal, everyone to see Iris for who she really is. I stayed up late to finish, and the ending just flopped. It was the biggest let down. This was going to be a 5 star book, until the last 20% where nothing came together. Disappointing would be an understatement. So I can only give the a solid 2.5...but I will round it to a 3 because it was good for a little while.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an advanced reader edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Twin first drew me in by the cover. Beautiful, yet simple and a bit of dark. I don't know what I was expecting when starting this book, but what I got was unexpected.

Iris and Ivy are twins. They live separately with each respective parent after they divorce. Ivy lives with her father in a small town and Iris lives with her mother in the city. They never have a real close relationship, but when their mother dies and Iris comes to live with Ivy and her father, all those things can change.

While reading this book, I felt the story flowed well and with good pacing. It seemed like a high school book. I would let my 13 year old daughter reads this because she likes a bit of creepy. It was a little too YA for me, but with the simple writing and the well told story, I think really anyone could enjoy it. Just take it for what it is. A book written for and about high schoolers, with a twisted element.
The story doesn't start off twisted, just sad and maybe a little confusing. Ivy misses her mom but Iris shows no emotions toward her missing parent. They may be twins, but they definitely react to situations differently.

"You can't fix it. You only have to be there for her. There's nothing anyone can do to accelerate the grief process; you have to let it happen."

Ivy may not understand her twin or have a close relationship with her, but she knows herself and what she has to do to succeed. She is a fixer and she works hard. She has a couple close friends and a wonderful boyfriend, but she is one that doesn't need to be "popular". She is who she is. Her sister, on the other hand seems to work with her looks and popularity. Because isn't that what high school is all about? Have the right friends, join the right teams/clubs, have the right boyfriend/girlfriend, and gossip galore. But there seems to be more underneath everything with these twins.

"Hey, we're all just trying to survive high school, right?"

Lines such as the one above totally reminded me of my days in high school. That's why this book seemed relatable for teenagers, but with the psychological thriller element. A good twin vs bad twin. A little bit of Single White Female twin style, if you will. Someone you are related to and live with wants to take over your life. But not for the reasons you may think.

This book, while written for a younger audience was enjoyable with a creepy factor. Through the first half or so, I was thinking the book was a little slow, although a fast read. Then I realized it was more because it was written for a younger audience and it just didn't capture my attention because I've already been there. BUT that's not to say the story isn't told well. I think the twins and the characters surrounding the twins were well portrayed. I could see teenagers reacting this way and living that way. Forced into situations by peer pressure. Because isn't that what high school is all about? What I didn't see coming was the very end. What an ending! Perfect for a thriller and not all tidy and wrapped in a bow. Passing this book onto my daughter next. Curious what she'll think (and maybe we will write a review on it together). 3.5+ stars

This was one of my most highly anticipated books of the year; I love books about twins, especially the 'good twin and evil twin' trope. This book was exactly that: after their mother's death, formerly separated twins Iris and Ivy are reunited. However, Ivy soon begins to suspect that there is something strange about Iris, almost as if she is trying to become Ivy,
Although a lot of this book was a typical contemporary, full of high school drama and relationships, and typical of the average high school experience, the creepy elements and the mystery made the book a lot more intriguing. For most of the book, Ivy is the only one who is suspicious of Iris and the only one who picks up on Iris's maliciousness. Even though Ivy is the main character and Iris is the villain, I have to admit I enjoyed reading about Iris. Of course she is a terrible person, but she is insanely intelligent and conniving. The ways she subtly turns Ivy's friends and family against her and even makes Ivy question her own sanity is truly genius.
The one problem I had with the book was that I didn't have much of a connection with the characters. It felt as though the author just wanted to tell the story, and was using the characters to do so, rather than focusing more heavily on the characters themselves. Ivy and her friends weren't very interesting, and Iris was only interesting in that she was undeniably sinister. Ivy, her two best friends, and her boyfriend, were very cookie-cutter characters.
So even though I loved the ending, I only enjoyed it because of how shocking it was (not the typical happy ending). Unfortunately, I didn't really care about the outcome of the characters or their well-being. This made me enjoy the book a lot less. I think that if I'd had a stronger connection to the characters, Ivy in particular, I would have felt more invested in the ending.

I received a free e-copy of The Twin by Natasha Preston from NetGalley for my honest review.

A story about identical twin girls who are not your usual twins. Years ago, their parents divorced. One sister stayed with their father, and the other with their mother. Their mom ends up dying and Iris moves in with her twin sister Ivy. Things start to go terribly wrong when one of the sisters has bad intentions.

I really enjoyed this book but I wish Ivy had gotten justice! I think that’s part of the reality of the book though: Iris is a master manipulator. I would LOVE a follow up to this book. I loved the writing and I enjoyed the plot itself. There were very few lull’s which I appreciated as well!