Will Dean's book The Last Thing To Burn was my favorite book of 2021 and I was soooo excited to get an advanced copy of his newest book. Sadly, I did not love this book and I'm very disappointed to say that. It was my most anticipated book of 2022. It was very slow for the first half until a surprise twist happens. While my jaw did drop a few times throughout, it just didn't get any better for me. I found it disjointed and confusing at times and I still have lingering questions. You have to really suspend belief with this one. But I still look forward to reading his next creation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this DRC.

First Born by Will Dean

Molly and Katie Raven are twins. They look alike but otherwise they are very different. Molly is reclusive, paranoid, highly structured, and never ventures off a very regimented path. Katie will try anything at least once, travels, parties, and mingles with everyone. There has been a rift between the twins, Molly seems jealous of her sister and the attention that she gets. But now Katie is dead.

Molly must travel from London to New York so she can meet with her parents there and deal with all the things the death of a family member entails. We are in Molly's head, audience to all her excessive and never ending rules for not letting bad things happen. She knows all the stats, all the odds, no wonder she spends her time alone, who'd want to be around someone who is so immersed in constant impending doom.

Once in New York, Molly dives into research about Katie, trying to figure out who might have murdered her. Yes, Katie was murdered and Molly is determined to find out who did it. We learn about Katie's international travels, we meet her hunk of a boyfriend, her best friend, and a few other people in her life. The amazing thing is that Molly is trekking all over the place in her search for answers which is surprising when you consider what a paranoid recluse she has been so far in her life.

Then the story changes. I won't say how it changes but we get big changes. That's where the story lost me, what we learn from that point on is full of the unbelievable and the impossible. From the beginning of the story I didn't like Molly, she felt like an abrasive character who could never be happy. The second half of the story just made me like her less so it was hard to care what happened next. I'm really not saying what I want to say but it can't be said without revealing all that hasn't been revealed.

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

“I am half a person. The darkest half. The half that isn’t quite 50 percent.”

Proceed with caution readers – All is not as it seems.

Molly Raven lives in a safe world that she’s made herself in London. When her identical twin sister, Katie (aka KT) is found dead while attending college in New York, Molly has no choice but to get out of her comfort zone and travel across the ocean to get answers about her twin’s death. We find out that their relationship was much more complicated than it originally seemed and was layered with jealously and complex issues on both sides.

Molly is the narrator of the story and because she is paranoid about the world and potential dangers around her, her perspective was a bit anxiety inducing. She gave me a lot of health and safety tips that I had never thought of before! I found her character surprising me often which I really enjoyed. Who doesn’t love an unreliable narrator?

I found the first half of this book to be more of a mystery than a psychological thriller but that definitely changed during the second half! There were two twists in this book that I didn’t see coming at all. Applause to Will Dean for his creativity!

Will Dean became a must read for me after The Last Thing to Burn and I’ll anxiously wait for his future books to see what surprises he has in store for us next.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. This book was an interesting one to read. The beginning is a little slow, and you think that it is going in one direction, but then just over halfway, it takes a COMPLETE TURN.

Synopsis: Molly and Katie are twins; however, their identical looks and DNA are about all they have in common. While Katie is a carefree, uninhibited, wildchild, Molly is quirky, reserved, and a little paranoid. When Molly receives news that her sister Katie is dead (and possibly murdered), Molly takes it upon herself to investigate what happened. What starts as a slow burn investigation turns into a fast-paced psychological thriller that will blow your mind!

Thoughts: I preferred this to Dean's other book "Last Thing To Burn." I can see why some many have DNFed, but I would encourage prospective readers to stick with this because the big twist totally upends the book and changes the whole reading experience. I don't want to say too much, in an effort to avoid spoiling, but I think many fans of investigative books and psychological thrillers will find this to be an enjoyable read.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Psychological Mystery
Author: Will Dean
Pub Date: July 5th

➡️Swipe for Synopsis➡️

💭MY THOUGHTS💭
Book of the Month came out with their list of books for July and they have marketed this as a thriller. While it does have thriller aspects like short chapters, twists and turns, and a strong plot, this is most definitely in my opinion more of a psychological mystery. It is 100 percent a slow burn and quite the character study on identical twins and people in general. The slow burn is a good kind of burn and one to enjoy the ride with. The beginning is a little slow as Dean builds who are characters are and has you looking at every possible person as a suspect for who killed Katie. At some point throughout the entire first half you will question each and every person and think you have it solved early!

The fun really begins when halfway through the novel Dean drops a bomb and you will most certainly throw your phone or book at the utter surprise! Dean keeps the twists and turns coming with the dark and sinister actions of the characters throughout the second half of the novel. The book is filled with little hints and clues throughout and if you are paying close attention, I think you will be able to amateur sleuth this case on your own predicting what will happen right before the big reveal.

If you are a fan of Peter Swanson with a twist of Eleanor Oliphant or Molly Gray from The Maid this one is certainly for you. Enjoy the dark prose, the revealing of secrets, and the inner dynamics of being a twin.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advanced readers copy! 💗

Reading Between the Wines book review #51/135 for 2022:
Rating: 5 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: First Born
Author: Will Dean
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
RELEASES July 5, 2022!!! Order your copy today!!

Sipping thoughts: Wow! Is all I can say. When I started reading to find out what happened to Katie, never in my wildest dreams could I have figured out what really happened. There were moments where I was a little confused at the beginning of the chapter but then it would fall into place by the end of the chapter. I was shocked and awed throughout the book. If you thought The Last Thing to Burn was good just wait until you read this. The acknowledgements really gave me better insight on Dean and why he wrote this book-a great ending to a great book!

Cheers and thank you to @willrdean, @NetGalley and @AtriaBooks for an advance copy of @FirstBorn.

#FirstBorn #WillDean #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

First Born Will Dean is a very highly recommended twisty psychological thriller.

Molly and Katie Raven are identical twins, but have opposite personalities. Molly lives a quiet, life life in London following her routines while Katie is off living in NYC and taking all sorts of risks. Then Molly hears that her better half, her twin, has been murdered in NYC. She needs to do the unthinkable and actually take a flight to NYC and join her parents to bring Katie's remains home. Once there, as she tries to come to terms with what happened, she realizes that Katie was not who she though she was.

Molly is the narrator of the story and we view everything through her extreme caution and carefulness when undertaking any activity. The first part of the story moves along at an even pace and rolls along as a good, but average psychological thriller until the first huge twist, which totally changed the whole story and requires you to suspend disbelief. At this point I was shocked by one simple sentence and had to read it twice. Once I reached the second big twist leading up to the end it was almost too much.

The writing is very good and the even paced plot is totally engrossing. I was enmeshed in it throughout the entire novel and invested in the characters. But, then I was actually surprised followed, unexpectedly, by being shocked. Both twists are surprising but the second is truly shocking. They are both handled well and integrated into the story, however, you do have to go with the flow and suspend any and all disbelief.

Molly is a damaged but believable narrator and Katie also is depicted as a realistic character whose personality takes an opposite direction from her twin. It is known how close twins can be so your sympathy is strong and firmly with Molly trying to live her life without her other half. 4.5 rounded up
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

First Born is a psychological thriller about chronically afraid Molly who travels to New York after her twin sister’s death and decides to help track down the killer. It is also a predictable novel with annoying characters and a bunch of inaccuracies.

First Born is written by Will Dean, a British author, and primarily takes place in New York City. With technology today, it should be simply to make geography, landmarks, etc. accurate in any novel. (And even more so when your editor likely lives in New York.) However, this book was rife with problems. For example, Molly walks from Central Park to Madison Square Park in less than 30 minutes. At the very least, that is 33 blocks, or 3 miles. That is basically an impossible feat in the city. I know inaccuracies do not bother others to the extreme they irritate me, but I think they are always worth mentioning.

For the first half of First Born, the characters were absolutely insufferable. I have never read about a more annoying family. Molly, the main character, DESPERATELY needs therapy. I am not sure that her “quirks” are intended to be endearing, but if they are, they really miss the mark. At some point, I began to tolerate Molly without rolling my eyes at her ever thought and action. But I definitely never liked her or rooted for her.

I, personally, would not label First Born as a thriller since I found it pretty slow for its majority. There is some mystery and two real twists. However, they have been done before and were somewhat predictable. The manner in which the first twist was presented was a bit shocking, but the twist itself was not. In addition, motives in this book are very thin. I did not think that there was sufficient reasoning or explanation given for characters’ actions.

In the end, I thought First Born was a lackluster novel and okay at best. Add in that the book touts about how great the NYPD is and I have some difficulty recommending this book.

This just wasn’t for me. I didn’t really connect with the main character or the plot. I felt like there wasn’t enough happening but at the same to too much going on.
A lot of what was going on (the amount of characters, situations and general story line) weren’t intriguing or dramatic enough to drive me forward.
I can see the appeal and potential of it but as an avid mystery/thriller/suspenseful reader it wasn’t for me.

Molly and her twin Katie (KT) might be identical, but they couldn’t be more opposite. Katie is outgoing and friendly. Molly on the other hand is consumed with anxieties and introvert. When Katie is murdered in her New York City apartment, Molly has to overcome her fears to fly from London to be with her family in NYC. Once in New York, Molly is set on helping the police find out who murdered her sister but the closer she gets to Katie’s friends the more she finds she never truly knew her sister.

Gah, I’m super torn on this review and I don’t want to get into too much detail as you should go into this blind. But on one hand it’s a trip and there were at least two twists I didn’t see coming. On the other hand the first half of the book drags, none of the characters are likable, and you definitely need to suspend belief for the climaxes. However, it is entertaining and fast paced so it would make a good summer thriller. A solid 3.5 rounded up to 4 star read for me, with all the characters being so shady, I couldn’t connect with any of them, which is why it didn’t rank higher for me.


First Born comes out July 5, 2022! Huge thank you to Atria for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

This book definitely has some crazy twists. It took awhile to really get into, but I liked following Molly's investigation into her twin sister Katie's death. She was obsessed, and as a researcher, she just kept digging and digging and talking to more of Katie's "friends" even though it was outside of her comfort zone. Her fear of death and things that could harm her was so real to her since she lives such a secluded life with her parents in London. Now in NYC, there is so much more out there...

At about halfway, we see a big twist I didn't see coming. And then towards the end, another twist. I did feel like there was so much going on and the intricacy of the twists made my head hurt a little, so I had to read them again to understand WTF just happened. It was well-done -- complex, dark and original. The writing style and dialogue was ok in my opinion - I think it was the story and plot twists that kept me reading.

I have to say, this one disappointed me. The Last Thing To Burn was one of my favorite books last year….one of my all time favorite thrillers. But I almost didn’t even finish this one. The only reason I kept going is because many of the reviews promised it would get better. And there was a good twist, but I had to slog through 52% of the book, through the wooden dialogue, the annoying & unbelievable main character , through characters behaving in unrealistic ways—to get to that! Then it did indeed ramp up & get better, & there was another good twist at the end, but it still ended up only being an ok read for me 🙁

This is a hard book to review. I loved it, but I also didn't like it, so it really could be anywhere from 2-4 stars for me.

One of my favourite childhood books was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2564567-twins">"Twins" by Caroline B. Cooney</a>, and the description of this book sounded similar, so I was eager to read it! Especially because I loved Will Dean's last book "The Last Thing to Burn"!

There are some twists that I definitely did NOT see coming (not even close!)!! The main two things that bothered me was that the motive and reasoning for what was going on was kind of weak, and not explained all that well. Also, the plot is just a step over the line of believability.

That being said, if you can suspend your belief a little bit and just go with the story, it's a great read! I will definitely be reading more of Will Dean's work!

Sidenote: The Katie/KT thing got on my nerves - just use her normal name!

Wow, what a ride!! This twisty thriller got me good…more than once. The twists were those types of twists that I had to reread the paragraph a couple of times just to make sure I was understanding them correctly! I loved how descriptive the NYC setting was throughout the book. I felt like I was right there with the characters. Do not sleep on this thriller!

This book was so good. I loved how we got one of the big twists at the halfway point. I thought the unreliable narrator was done very strongly at first but then started to morph and not seem quite as believable. Dean has a talent for writing strong female leads and I will read anything he writes.

I started out really liking this book but then the more I read, the more Molly began to get on my nerves with her very neurotic behavior. Molly lives in London and her identical twin sister, Katie, or KT as Molly calls her, lives in New York. Molly gets a call from her parents who are in New York visiting Katie and they relate to Molly that Katie has died. Molly goes to New York to be with her parents and decides to help the police find out what really happened to Katie. The more I read, the more I disliked the majority of the characters in this story. It was very confusing at times because it seemed to change in time and place with each paragraph in certain parts. Parts of it were very far-fetched and unbelievable I think readers who love YA books would really enjoy this.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book.

Well, that was a little over-the-top for my liking. The first half was great. Very entertaining, mysterious, and I was 100% invested. The last half was so overdone and completely unbelievable. I kept thinking, “What kind of crazy, wack-a-doodle nonsense is this? WTF is happening here?” It was also confusing at times, and a bit hard to follow. I must admit that I was pretty disappointed. First Born by Will Dean was my most anticipated thriller of 2022 because I loved the author’s last book, The Last Thing to Burn so dang much. Honestly, the author came on pretty strong with the twists. They just kept coming one after another in full force. It got to the point where I was actually laughing, and thinking, “Really, man? Come on, now.” As I turned the last page, I rolled my eyes and felt completely underwhelmed. What a bummer. 3/5 stars for First Born, and that’s pretty generous.

Molly and Katie Raven are monozygotic twins with very different personalities. Molly, more introverted and obsessively anxious, organizes her life in London around her fears. Katie is outgoing and willing to try anything in life. Katie is granted a sponsorship to study in New York City, Molly feels betrayed and a rift forms between them. When Molly receives word that Katie has been murdered, she rushes to New York to join her parents who have been visiting her sister.

First Born is fast paced and engrossing. There are twists and turns and red herrings galore. At about the halfway point in the book, it takes a wild turn. I found the plot a bit unrealistic, but if you can deal with that and are willing to suspend belief, this is an entertaining thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the DRC.

Buckle up and strap yourself in for this
bumpy ride. The beginning was an intriguing
slow burn that sets up the plot, but the second half I was never bored, just wanted more. Great read! Thank to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

First Born, by Will Dean

Short Take: Ok. Not great. Not terrible. Just… ok.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello my lovelies! It’s been an eventful couple of weeks in the Nerd home, but now things are calming down so I can get back to floating in the pool, book and vodka in hand, or as I like to refer to it: My Natural Habitat. We all have our favorite places, right? Especially Molly, the main character of First Born.

Molly’s home is in London, but she actually lives in a constant state of panic. Hyper-aware of any and every possible threat, from fire to terrorism, she generally doesn’t get out much. But when her identical twin sister Kate is murdered while living in New York City, Molly has to leave her home (and her comfort zone) to try to find out what happened. And maybe to right some wrongs.

Duckies, this one just didn’t do it for me. I loved Mr. Dean’s “The Last Thing To Burn”, but everything about First Born just felt forced and overly drawn out and kind of ridiculous. There’s the obligatory Shocking Twist in the middle (and OK, I didn’t see it coming) and the Final Act Double Twist, and yeah, they are pretty cool. But the other 97% of the book is just a never ending catalog of extraneous details of every single chore and errand Molly does, along with her constant internal warnings of the possibility of a sudden flash flood or mugging, with a side of what it’s like to be an identical twin. Over and over and over.

It’s exhausting, and quite frankly, boring. Sure, it’s leading up to a rather impressive bit of literary sleight of hand, but getting to that point is a grim, cheerless slog, with page after page of “I could order something spicy but there’s more of a chance of this or that ailment if I do and if I sit on this side of the room I’m more likely to be attacked by roving ninjas than if I sat on that one and I am going to eat toast and omg losing your twin your IDENTICAL TWIN IDENTICAL DID YOU HEAR ME WE ARE IDENTICAL!!!”

And to be honest, most of what Molly does doesn’t even make any kind of sense until the end, and by that point, I was so sick of her, I didn’t even really care.

The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and a fruit smoothie from Jimmy’s stand, the best-sounding part of this book.)