Wow. This blew me away. When I read the premise, I knew that it sounded interesting and was excited to pick it up to read. Now that I have turned the final page, I can honestly say that this is a winner. It lived up to all my expectations and then some. This is my favorite thriller of the year so far.

I will say that the style of this one takes some getting used to. It is not an easy read because the narrative style flashes forward, flashes backward, and also flashes into a character's imagination at a moment's notice. I can see this being frustrating for some and so I want to prepare you, future reader. This style may not be for everyone, but I loved it. I am very much game for a little magical realism thrown into my thrillers and, if you are too, then this is the book for you.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this one is how it plays with a child's imagination and how imagination becomes a coping mechanism (and a learning mechanism) for the characters. It is so intriguing and it works. The descriptions are also so vivid, especially the descriptions of a house that holds much mystery and an imaginary world inhabited by children. I was transported to this imaginary world and I felt the blurred lines between reality and imagination that the story was trying to convey. It made me question everything happening as a reader. It was such a brilliant technique and I was sometimes blindly guessing each step of the way.

This was a thrilling, tense, dark, and imaginative read and completely sucked me in as a reader. I will be raving about this one to others and truly believe you need to give this a go. If any of the above appeal to your reading tastes, I think you will not be disappointed.

I received an arc from Scribner and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Scribner, Dart Frogg Communications, Carole Johnstone, and NetGalley for providing me with both a physical ARC and a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

El and Cat are mirror twins. They grow up in a beautiful old house with a nice grandpa and a sometimes-mean mommy. Fueled by such tales as The Count of Monte Cristo, Crooked House, and Treasure Island, the girls turn their house into a fantasy called Mirrorland. After a turn of events, Cat and El are forced to start a different life. They leave Mirrorland, they grow up (and apart), and lead separate lives. One day, El goes missing on her boat, and Cat is forced to return to their childhood home to put the pieces together again.

I don’t think any description of this book can do it justice. It is part fantasy, part thriller- an unconventional and brilliant pairing. The story alternates between Cat and El’s childhood, specifically their adventures in Mirrorland, and Cat’s quest to discover El’s fate. I loved how much detail went into the creation of Mirrorland. Reading about it gave me serious Erin Morgenstern Night Circus/Starless Sea vibes in the best possible way. The fantasy element helps the reader to buy in to some of the twists and turns that this plot took. I was so willing to suspend my disbelief for this one, and it paid off.

In addition to being beautifully written, Mirrorland proved to be a fast-paced, page turner. I couldn’t get enough of it and read the last two thirds of the book in one night.

This is Johnstone’s debut novel, and I am so looking forward to whatever she does next! Mirrorland is available from Scribner on April 13, 2021.

Thank you to Scribner, Carole Johnstone, and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for my honest review!

GoodReads synopsis- “Cat lives in Los Angeles, far away from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues in almost every room: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting...”
——
This book is a whimsically frightening story, with great twists and turns. It was as if Stephen King teamed up with The Brothers Grimm to write “Gone Girl”. I loved every minute of it! Johnstone’s writing is magical and deep, while still propelling the plot forward. I couldn’t put it down and thought about it often when I wasn’t able to be reading. Highly recommend this to those who enjoy great writing, thrillers, and mystery.

This is an amazing fantastic debut!!!!!!!!!! It was so dark I could only read it in the daytime!!!!!!! I highly recommend this book

Based on the cover and description, I was expecting more of a classic gothic tale, but much of this book leaned heavily into fantasy. I don't usually love fantasy, but I am a fan of Child Escapes To Fantasy Land To Compartmentalize Trauma, a la Alice in Wonderland and Pan's Labyrinth, so I stuck with it. What a wild ride. I'd recommend it to readers who enjoy a dark fairytale/mystery, and don't mind doing a bit of work. A very cool debut.

I really tried tried with this book, but I didn’t enjoy the flashbacks or all the discussion of mirrorland. I have also read several books about sisters and twins recently and I just think it’s played out a little.

DNF at 65% I won’t be reviewing this on my Bookstagram.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for this advanced reader’s copy. I appreciate it.
#NetGalley #Mirrorland #CaroleJohnstone #Scribner
The premise of this book is very intriguing. Cat and El are identical twins. As kids, they are super close. They have a falling out as adults, however, and Cat flies to LA and makes a life there. When El goes missing though, Cat comes back to their childhood home where El and her husband, Ross now live. When she gets there, she is reminded of Mirrorland, the fantasy world, that she and El created when they were girls. From there, she’s pulled into Mirrorland through clues given to her by someone.
This book is full of twists and surprises. It’s beautifully written. Unfortunately, the beginning is very slow and the characters are difficult for me to care about. The second half picked up and was interesting enough for me to hang in there but, as a whole, this wasn’t an easy read. Cat herself wasn’t particularly likable. We found out very little about her and what we did learn made her hard to like. Even more so for El and Ross. Character development is key to a good story. I cannot help but have trouble getting through a story if I don’t care about the fate of the characters.
I hope this author continues to put out books. Ms. Johnstone is a talented writer.

MIRRORLAND was a trip, and I loved it. This book combined all the best parts of surreal horror and a gripping thriller! What a wonderful read. It was a wild mystery, thriller. I put money on you will not figure it out. Whew. A solid book that everyone needs to get.

What in the world did I just read? This book is crazytown. Pirates? Clowns? Fantasy? Thriller? All of this rolled into one book.

El and Cat grew up in such an abusive home that they created a fictional Mirrorland in which to hide. There were large chunks of the story where the reader doesn’t know if what’s happening is real or imagined, which characters are real or imagined and even the protagonist seems to have blurred her memories from childhood and can no longer see reality. There are twists and turns throughout.

The psychological thriller portion of the story kept me completely engaged. I got lost during the fantastical portions simply because that’s not my preferred genre. I would highly recommend this to a reader that likes dark, atmospheric, thrilling novels sprinkled with magical realism.

MIRRORLAND was a trip, and I loved it. This book combined all the best parts of surreal horror and a gripping thriller for a read that quite literally kept me up at night.

I found the first half of this book to be a bit of a trudge, overloaded with details about El and Cat's imaginary world. I started getting more interested towards the middle of the book once Johnstone dug into the basis for the twins' childhood fantasies. Overall it was an okay read, but probably not one that will stick out as I think back on my 2021 reading.

Wow! This is one amazing book! I feel like I need to take a long walk and decompress! I predict that "Mirrorland" by Carole Johnstone will be one of the most talked about books of 2021 and will make every list of top thrillers. The story is complex and clever, with unreliable characters written so you don't know who to trust at all. Everyone is a suspect! What is real and what is imaginary? Just when I thought I had it all figured out...BAM...another twist that I didn't see coming! It's definitely a slow burn, but that's what makes it so good! I don't often reread books, especially thrillers, but I will read this one again to see if there are clues that I missed the first time around. Five out of five stars!

So many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this marvelous book in exchange for my honest review.

I was provided a free copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was not what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a thriller, but the fantasy aspect was off-putting. This would be a much better Young Adult book if toned down a bit.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph!

Mirrorland is less a mystery of who-dun-it and more what-in-the-heavens-is-happening?
Mirrorland dances through present and past events of the main character, Cat, with precise skill from the author. While Cat is trying to figure out what happened to her missing twin sister in the present, she is also reawakening the complex memories of a unhappy childhood. The book has themes of trauma and abuse, and reading from the perspective of a character who has mentally repressed memories was unique.
While the book is packed with plot devices and twists that kept me entertained, some of the surprises felt weak or ill executed, leaving me to scratch my head and wonder at the choices several characters made.
All in all, Mirrorland kept me turning page after page until its very satisfying end.

Fantasy created in childhood, haunt the girls in adulthood. Twists and turns keep the reader reading.

What a ride this was! The story follows twin sisters Cat and El who created "Mirrorland" when they were children. As adults they became estranged but Cat is forced to come back to their childhood home and Mirrorland when El goes missing but leaves behind clues to her disappearance. This was quite a ride and a bit uneven. The first half of the book was kind of slow for me and I found it hard to get into the story. However, when Cat starts following the clues, more and more strange things happen that tie back to their fictional world of Mirrorland and a host of questionable characters show up, it got really interesting. By the second half of the book I couldn't put it down and stayed up til 2 am to finish it. I would describe this The Thirteenth Tale meets Gone Girl. This is one you have to stick it out to get to the good parts but its worth it.

After seeing the blurb from Stephen King, I was immediately intrigued by this novel. Unfortunately, I found it to be a pretty standard, stereotypical thriller.

This is a story about a girl with a mirror image.

I was hesitant going into this, because I had seen comparisons to The Girl in the Mirror which was really not for me... but I’m glad I read this! The characters weren’t immediately likable, but I think that was intentional & the author still found ways to make them compelling. I also loved that the numerous twists & turns totally threw me off!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Also, the audiobook narration was A++

Thank you Netgalley & Scribner for this e-Arc!

“Because in Mirrorland, anything—everything—is possible. In Mirrorland, you are safe. Fear is never to be feared, horror is only make-believe, and escape is inside every bone and vein and breath and brick. And all it asks for in return is one thing. Only ever one thing. That you have to be brave.”

El and Cat are estranged twin sisters, one living in America and the other in Scotland. When El mysteriously disappears, Cat travels to Scotland to help with the investigation. After returning to her childhood home where El and her husband Ross still live, Cat finds clues that lead her on a treasure hunt. She must remember the past and Mirrorland in order to figure out what happened to her sister.

I absolutely love everything about this debut psychological thriller. It is best to go in blind and lose yourself in the magic of Mirrorland. You will meet a mouse, pirates, cowboys, Indians, clowns, the tooth fairy and a witch. While I have to admit I was confused for a good third of the book, the reveal was everything and more. Just when you think the twists can’t get any better, they do...and then again and again...and again! It’s so surprising that you want to go back and reread the book with new eyes to see what you missed. There are very few books that I want to reread, and this is one of them! While it can be compared to Gone Girl, it also reminds me a lot of The Girl in the Mirror. I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s clever, disturbing, fantastical, mysterious and very surprising. Please experience Mirrorland’s unique magic, you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner publishing for the ARC of Mirrorland in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars