Atmospheric and mysterious

The premise of this book was really interesting, but in the end I thought it was a tedious read... This one just wasn't for me, but I still enjoyed some parts. I would be ready to try the next books of this author and see if they are a better fit for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC!

Mirrorland. Wow. This book actually left me speechless at times. I'm going to start off by saying; I really didn't enjoy the first 16% of this book. HOWEVER, the next 84% was AMAZING. Did you like that math? I'm what they call S-M-R-T 🤣🤦‍♀️. The only reason I didn't enjoy the first bit was just the fact that I couldn't get into the make-belief and for some reason thought it was real? Why would I think that? I don't know...
.
Sooo, once I smartened up and really realized what was going on, I was HOOKED. Identical twins, Cat and El invented mirrorland when they were younger. Mirrorland was filled with witches, pirates, CLOWNS and honestly everything you think of when you're younger(why did I think this was real🤦‍♀️). However, the twins grew up and they grew apart and with that mirrorland died. They have gone years without speaking to one another, but one day Cat gets a call that El is missing. Holy Guacamole, I get the whole gone girl reference back. This book, and these twins were crazy !! This was such a dark, fun, twisted read. This book will honestly keep you flicking pages right up until the last page. Betrayal and revenge is what mirrorland is about and I was here for it! Mirrorland 100% kept me on my toes and kept me guessing the ENTIRE time.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: April 20, 2021
Cat has tried for years to escape her past. After growing up in Edinburgh, she moved across the world to California nearly twelve years ago, and has had no contact with her estranged twin sister, El, since. When Cat receives word that El has disappeared at sea, she is forced to return to Scotland in hopes of finding her sister alive. But once in Scotland, she is flooded with horrible memories from her past, and only Ross, her long-time neighbour and one-time love, is there to help her sort through the wreckage. But Cat is convinced El isn’t dead, she feels it in her bones. And as the police start to give up on the investigation, Cat starts to receive messages that can only have come from El. Cat knows her sister is trying to send her a message, but why is she being so cryptic? Who is she hiding from?
“Mirrorland” is the debut novel from Scottish author Carole Johnstone, previously known for her award-winning short stories. Not only does “mirror” depict the genetic relationship between El and Cat, but it also speaks to their imaginary “Mirrorland”, where both twins would hide out from their abusive grandfather. The house itself is magical, with secret compartments easily turned into sailing ships, and it has its own “Narnia” vibe. I, also, am a huge fan of stories where Scotland is the main setting, so this pulled me in right away.
Initially, it is difficult to determine what is real and what is imaginary. The story is told from Cat’s perspective, and goes back and forth between time periods, when Cat is an adult who has returned to find her sister, and when her and her sister are children playing in their imaginary land. This parallel of course, is obviously intentional, and as the story goes on, it is obvious why Johnstone chose to write in such a way.
There are enough twists and turns in this novel to keep the ending completely unpredictable, albeit a tad unbelievable. Every character that is introduced has some secret they are keeping, and, like Cat, it is difficult to tell who to trust and who to believe. The ending itself was extremely satisfying, and, without giving away spoilers, it played out just as I hoped it would.
“Mirrorland” is well written, full of magic and imagination, well still managing to portray a heartbreakingly accurate depiction of childhood abuse and neglect. A powerful debut novel, I look forward to Johnstone’s future works, as she clearly has the creative chops to be successful in the long-term.

This story is about El and Cat, Mirror Twins. Identical in everyway. They lived in this house with their mother and grandfather. Their mother loved to read them stories and told them tales of their father, who would soon return. But when Bluebeard came to their house in the evening, the girls went to Mirrorland, a magical place. This was how they survived. Something happens in that house, when they are 12. They later are found in Edinburgh harbour, only telling their first names. Years later, Cat returns to the house she grew up in. Her sister El is missing presumed dead. The man both sisters have loved, is married to El.
Their beginning and their end, enfolds before us, with clues of El's disappearance, and memories that had long been hidden away and forgotten.
The end will surprise you.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read his book..it was intriguing and held my interest. 3.5 out of 5

Cat and El lived through a terrifying childhood, but at twelve, they left that life behind and started a new one. Twenty years later, El has disappeared, and Cat returns to their childhood home and starts reliving her old nightmares. Childhood imaginations come to life, and Cat can no longer tell what is real and what is fantasy.

This story is heartbreaking and horrifying. The author deals with traumatic issues gently but profoundly. I couldn’t put this book down! The pacing is perfect – the suspense and mystery keep ramping up, leading to a satisfying and surprising ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advance copy of this novel.

Where does fantasy stop and reality begin. Cat and El are identical twins raised by a mother who told them tales of pirates, Bluebeard and Blackbeard. It is Mirrorland, It is Mirrorland, their imaginary world, where they escape the harshness of reality, But when El goes missing the edges of reality and fantasy blur for Cat as she searches for her sister. Did El die when she rook her boat out? Wouldn't El have sensed that as an identical twin? As fanatasy turns into memory some horrible truths emerge and revenge is the only solution.
A dark psychological thriller that keeps you reading. well written and engaging I couldn't put it down. A great read.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book.

I had a really hard time getting into this book and ended up skimming the whole book in the hopes I would get into it. The idea of this book captured my attention and I was so excited. It was very complicated and needed your full attention to pick up the clues. I'm not the biggest fan of the magical realism genre, so I think that's why I had a hard time getting into the book. However, the writing had an atmospheric feel and a sense of another world.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a copy of this book.

Well, this book certainly wasn't boring! The story was fantastic, but the writing was a bit murky. It blended Cat (the main character's) current reality with her imagination world from childhood. It was a bit confusing. I really think if it was written as "Present" and "Past" (every other chapter maybe), it would have been much more clear. I had never heard of the term "magical realism" until I came across this book and read a few of the other reviews - but that's definitely what it is!

A fanciful story of a make believe world spun out of abuse and isolation. Twins torn apart and brought back together through tragedy and mystery. Book one was a slow burn and book two the explosion and aftermath. The ending left me saying wow, never expected. A strong 4 star
Thanks netgalley for the arc

I didn’t know what to expect from this book and while it took a while to understand what Mirrorland was and even try to picture it, I enjoyed the twists and turns of the novel. I was left as baffled as Cat, whose estranged twin sister, El, disappears one day and leaves clues for Cat to piece together about her disappearance. The story is, at times, heartbreaking, but, despite its dragged-out ending, it is a enjoyable read, bringing the reader into a fantastical yet frightening world.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the ARC.

A very different psychological thriller. I struggled through Book 1,,but couldn’t read Book 2 fast enough ! It is a story of identical twin sisters. and their disturbing and abusive upbringing. As the reader reads between the decades, of fantasy,play, love and deception , abuse and power, she /he) becomes more and more addicted to stay with the book until it’s conclusion.

Fantastic thriller Debutt novel by the author .The plot has some novelty in it and the narration is engrossing.The innocent playtimes of the children forms a very important aspect of the story and so relatable too.

Room + Gone Girl + Night Circus = Mirrorland.

The story starts with El going missing, presumed dead on her boat The Redemption. Estranged twin sister Cat heads back to the place she swore she'd never return, and for the first time in twelve years is back in Edinburgh. Not just the city where she grew up, but her sister and brother-in-law Ross had bought the girls' childhood home.

Going home means remembering. Mirrorland is the fantastical imaginative land where the girls escaped. Raised by Mom and Grandpa, the girls spent their first life reading stories and hiding from the Tooth Fairy in the Clown Cafe.

Remembering is hard for Cat - she spent so much time in Mirrorland that if you were to tell her the Witch was a real person, she would struggle to believe that what she thought was a figment of her imagination was in fact a real person. But as she starts to remember, to find the clues and diary entries her twin left for her, Cat learns more than she ever bargained for.

I loved the flashes into Mirrorland, I could so clearly see the imaginative world take shape and the girls transform as they sailed the high seas to the Island, or walked the yard like Andy Dufresne.
I could feel their terror as hid from Bluebeard and Blackbeard, their glee as they outran the ToothFairy, the love and loathing they had for eachother as they started on their second life.

I already feel like I need to go and read it again, to pick up on the nuance that I missed the first time through.
Highly recommend.

I read this book in one day, I just had to see if I had it all figured out. Even though I realized how this book was going to end it didn’t stop it from being an intense, creepy, psychological thriller. The main character returns to Edinburg after receiving word that her twin sister has been lost at sea. The book goes back and forth to their childhood to present time but the chapters about their childhood are told in a fantasy world of pirates and an imaginary place, Mirrorland where they went to escape the horrors of their childhood. It is a bit confusing a times but once you get into the swing of it it becomes easy to read. There are numerous twists not only in how her sister disappeared at sea but what took place with them as children. It is a dark and upsetting storyline but it isn’t dwelled on and is used to show you why the sisters ended up as they did. It is a story of obsession, family, love and the secrets people keep even from themselves. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this chilling story.