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.

This was a pretty good read up until the ending which unfortunately ruined it for me. I don't want to spoil the book so I won't mention details, but the ending just felt rushed and unbelievable. With that being said, the story up until that point was great.

Iris and Ivy and twins who lived apart until their mother died, forcing them to once again live as real sisters. One of the twins, Iris, has cruel intentions and I have to say that her sinister personality made the book.

This is a great read for teenagers new to the mystery/thriller genre.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

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!

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.