"Written with the chilling, twisty suspense of 'The Wife Between Us' and 'Something in the Water,'" this smart but smutty debut novel — about blood and blended family members competing for a $100-million-dollar inheritance — was more to me like a Sandie Jones meets Gillian Flynn novel turnt up.

At the center of this backstabbing, ruthless clan is narrator Iris, whom the book title represents and whose love-hate relationship with her twin sister Rose *mirrored* mine with the book, which wasn't really *cutting it* for me until . . . boom. Er, bam!

Although cleverly *conceived* (the book is *ripe* for puns, if you hadn't noticed), it goes *overboard*, imo, in its language (p-ssy; c-nt) and "rapey sex" scenes. If that isn't a turnoff, and you don't mind a cockamamie, dramatic build-up, then the reveal should float your boat.

It's one of those books that, for me, was better in retrospect than while reading it. 3.5 stars

TW: BDSM; self-harm

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Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the e-proof.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

This book has a crazy twist and everything you think you understand is wrong. I would definitely recommend this read to those who like surprises.

The Girl in the Mirror is the age old tale -- all that glitters isn't gold. We meet Iris, who receives a frantic call from her twin sister Summer in Thailand to help sail the family yacht to the Seychelles. Iris jumps at the opportunity, finally feeling wanted. You see, Summer is the golden child. The more beautiful twin, the one with a handsome husband, and an adopted son. Summer is everything that Irish wishes she was.

While Summer and Iris are sailing in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a tragic incident presents Iris with the chance to step into the golden life she's always wanted. But is Summer's life really what Iris wanted?

Rose Carlyle knocked this one out of the park. The Girl in the Mirror was a refreshing take on the age old story of sibling rivalry -- a great plot, with some twists along the way. I couldn't put it down!

Suspenseful chilling novel about the relationship between twins, complex family dynamics, greed and the consequences of dangerous lies. Very easy read that kept me awake until I finished.

The fact that the twin believed to have died at sea was really alive and that her husband was apparently in on her scheme to get her sister to bear a child in her twin’s name and thus inherit under their father’s will, was somewhat predictable. It was still a good story with plenty of twists and turns. The ending was an interesting twist but there were some gaps. For example, what if Iris had told the truth and not taken on her sister’s identity? This was not explored. Also they were mirror twins with Iris’s major organs being on the opposite side of her body, I.e. her heart.. She was sensitive to this early in her ruse and avoided doctors or going to the hospital where her sister had been a nurse. Ultimately she did give birth prematurely in the hospital. Didn’t anyone notice this oddity? Did her “husband” actually start to fall for Iris in this role as his wife?

Overall good book!

I am NOT a thriller reader by nature, but I really loved this book! I did guess the twist but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. It is a quick, fun read and definitely has way better character development than most thrillers do. Absolutely would recommend!

This was very predictable and just so-so in very surprised at all of the high ratings when it was so boring.

The Girl in the Mirror was a true “could not put it down” novel. I thought I had this thriller figured out until I didn’t! Great cover!

The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Caryle is a psychological thriller that focuses on the dysfunctional relationships between family members including the strained relationship between two twin sisters who are mirror images of each other. In fact, they are so identical family members cannot tell them apart. If you liked this book, I highly recommend another upcoming thriller, Mirrorland, which is ironically also about twin sisters with a plot that includes a missing person believed lost at sea and a love triangle. Both novels are excellent and keep the reader guessing about what really happened on those boats. In this novel, the younger twin, Iris, is called home to Australia to help out her twin sister Sunshine. I'll abbreviate the plot, Sunshine and her husband were sailing on their sailboat boat, Bethsheba, (the boat Iris loved as a child and had hoped to inherit), when her stepson got sick. Sunshine needs iris to help her sail the boat to another island to avoid problems with customs. Sunshine has her sister convinced that this will be a grand reunion and adventure at sea. Iris is all too eager to help out because her own life is falling apart. We learn that Iris is jealous of Sunshine’s perfect life with her handsome husband and baby on the way (spoiler- the baby will help her inherit the family fortune), but she pretends to be happy for her. Everything seems to be going well on the trip, until Iris wakes up one morning at sea and finds her sister is missing. I admit that Girl in the Mirror is a slow burn while they are out to sea, partially because I do not know that much about the world of sailing, but the plot quickly picks up when Iris makes landfall after trying to no avail to find her sister. When she reaches the shore Iris lets everyone believe that she is Sunshine and that Iris is the one who was lost at sea? Surely, someone in this very dysfunctional family will notice the difference between the sisters? The reader will likely go back and forth about whether Iris is a horrible person or if she should have a chance at her fairytale ending since Sunshine was always treated like the favorite child. But be careful what you wish for as Sunshine may not have had the perfect life that she described to her sister. This book has so many twists! I will not spoil the ending, because honestly you have to take a few leaps of faith to get there, but OMG! Readers will be left with so many questions. I had to reread the last chapter twice to get the full impact. Very dark and suspenseful. Thank you to #netgalley for the ability to get an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. #TheGirlIntheMirror Warning about potential trigger for rape.

This was my first book by Rose Carlyle and it won't be my last. I enjoyed the writing style, which was provided just enough detail about the characters to grab and hold my attention. I loved the concept of a twin assuming the life of the other twin. The ending was intense and provided the one last satisfying twist I expected.

It's not very often that I dislike a character so much that it nearly makes me quit reading the book. Iris is that character. I skimmed through to get the storyline and was left disappointed and with a feeling of deja vu ("A Simple Favor" comes to mind). I saw the ending coming and hoped it would be ... more? I appreciate the ARC from NetGalley, but I'd have a difficult time recommending this read.

Amazing debut novel by Rose Carlyle.
The story is about mirror twin sisters, Summer and Iris Carmichael. Summer was always the perfect twin with the perfect life, Iris was always the problematic twin and jealous of Summer’s life,
At the request of Summer, Iris goes to Thailand to help her sail the family yacht to the Seychelles. When she wakes up in the middle of the ocean alone in the yacht with no sign of Summer she makes a decision that will change her life forever.

The book is very well written, characters are very believable. The end is something you won’t see coming at all and will leave you wanting to reread it just to make sure you actually read that ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advanced reading copy.

**Trigger warning for the book content**-- Rape

This is a wild ride of a thriller that I didn't know until the last words of the book.

Summer and Iris are mirror twins meaning they split at the last possible time and Iris has dextrocardia (heart on the right) which is how they are classified as mirror twins. When the girls are 14 their father dies and leaves a crazy clause in his will stating his fortune will go to the first grandchild heir. 100 million dollars to a newborn that the parents can't spend and it can't be given to the other members of the family.

Summer is a neonatal nurse that meets her husband Adam under very sad circumstances. He loses his wife tragically at the time of his son's birth. They quickly fall in love and get married.

Iris is a lawyer living in New Zealand and has recently split from her husband. She comes back to Australia and then is soon contacted by her twin in need. They need her to sail her father's yacht from Thailand to a small South African country while their son is very ill in the hospital.

There is a boating accident and then Iris is left all alone to pretend to be her twin.

There are so many twists and turns in this book that at times it is hard to keep up.

This is a fantastic thriller that is a must read!

I received The Girl in the Mirror as a free Friday read from @bookclubgirl – thank you!
 
3.5 stars

I think it’s best to go into this book with as little knowledge as possible. The book is about mirror image identical twins, Iris and Summer. Their father’s will states that his entire state will go his first legitimate grandchild. This puts his ex-wives and some of his children in a race to the alter/nursery. Summer isn’t interested in the money, marries a widower with a small child; Iris marries quickly and tries to become pregnant but the marriage fails.
 
Have you ever finished a book and felt a combination of unsatisfied and the desire to discuss? Or even on the fence about whether you liked the book? That’s me. On one hand, I really enjoyed this book but on the other, I’m so frustrated by it. If you’ve read it, DM or have a spoiler free convo in the comments.
 
What I liked: The beginning does a good job of grabbing you and setting up the story and the ending is fast-paced, edge of your seat. The plot is not realistic but if you suspend belief and go with it, I think the author grabs and holds your attention.
 
What didn’t work for me: The middle of the book dragged for me, there’s a lot about sailing and days at sea. I know some of it was clue building and setting up the ending but I think the pacing could have been sped up a bit.

I don’t love the good/bad sister troupe and the male figurehead pitting the women against each other, tying their ability to have a child with getting the fortune.
 
I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable, which I’m ok with if we can justify their actions. In this case, I’m on the fence if their actions are justified and believable, which led me to not really root for any of the characters.
 
While I didn’t figure out the ending, I did guess two of the twists early on. I think this isn’t necessarily bad, because the author does leave breadcrumbs setting up the twists.

Who should read it: This felt like a nighttime soap to me, so if you’re into high drama shows with somewhat implausible plotlines try this book. This book is a good vacation read, suspenseful, easy read.

Twin sisters so alike but so very different. Their dad dies and his will stipulates the first to have a grandchild will be the heir of the majority of the family fortune. Summer is the perfect twin that everyone loves. She married the father of her patient after his mother died. She needs to have a child of her own though in order to inherit the money. What lengths will the siblings go to in order to gain the wealth? A great thriller that will keep you turning the pages.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good psychological thriller. There were several things that happened that I did not see coming and I was completely shocked. I love a story with twins. I will definitely recommend this book.

Iris offers to help her newly pregnant identical twin sister sail the family yacht from Thailand to the Seychelles. During the trip, a horrible accident happens and Iris makes a decision that will change her life forever. The book was good but there were a couple of scenes that I felt were really unnecessary for the overall story. While I found some of the story to be a bit predictable, I was actually shocked by the ending.

“SISTA SISTAAAAA!” This is one (insert expletive here)’d up book about a pair of (twisted) twin sisters. I went into this book blindly (thanks Bookstagram) and I am here to tell you that the hype IS REAL. The riveting story of Iris and Summer was incredibly unique and oh, soOooOoOoo scandalous! Carlyle managed to accomplish something that I have never experienced in my 28 year reading career… she managed to increase my intended rating of 4 stars to a glimmering, shimmering five star rating with the sucker punch that was delivered in the FINAL SENTENCE of this book. Me oh my, what a wild ride it was! It is as if the book gods heard my relentless pleas for a thriller that would knock me flat on my ass. Here I am, flat on my ass. MERCI BEAUCOUP!

The twists and turns in this story will keep you engrossed. Can Iris/Summer keep everyone fooled or will she be discovered. I thought the final ending was a little rushed after all the suspense leading up to it. Would make a good TV movie.

This was very fast read with with some expected and unexpected twists and turns. It’s full of sibling rivalry, family secrets, exotic locations and greed as two twin sisters are vying for $100 million inheritance.

This story of mirror twins and their connection and their ability to switch and fool others into not knowing which twin is which takes this thriller to new heights!
There were parts that were pretty far fetched and it was written in a way that none of the main characters were very likeable but I still very much enjoyed debut psychological suspense!

It’s a hard book to review without sharing too many details of what happens in this novel and spoiling all the surprises that occur! Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.