3 ⭐️
Expected publication date - July 29, 2025

WHAT I LOVED - The unexpected mystery.

WHAT I LIKED - The unrelaible character persepectives that kept me guessing.

WHAT I DISLIKED - Some parts were confusing where I was not sure if it was past or present in the timeline.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to do my first ARC read!

2.5/5 ★★☆☆☆

characters... 2.5/5
the most i can say about these characters is that i really don't feel like i totally knew any of them well enough. the main character jae-young did have a clear motive for a lot of her actions but because most of the book she is relying on faking her personality to survive, i don't think there were enough moments in which we actually got to know her personality. when there were moments where we got a glimpse of her inner thoughts, they were sometimes relatable and human, and crude and harsh in other instances, making difficult to get a gauge on what she's like despite the book being in first person pov. she also goes down the path of becoming an unreliable narrator, but the execution is poor. hyo-jin, the only other character who we occasionally see a pov from during part two, was much more interesting, despite having less time in the book. she is seen as an antagonist for most of part two but seems realistic in her motives. other characters like the grandfather of the baby and the staff fade into the background. jae-young's ex, hyun-wook feels similarly underdeveloped like jae-young even after his past is explained. soo-hyun, hyun-wook's brother feels like a plot device for much of the story until perhaps the last half of part two when he takes a turn for the worst. unfortunately, this made it hard to stay involved with the book.

character development... 3/5
jae-young's character development from a young woman in a sticky situation to an unreliable narrator with so much more underneath was one of the higher points of the book. other characters like soo-hyun and hyo-jin don't so much change until the very climax of the book and are more like a jarring switch, that, though abrupt, doesn't quite surprise you. jae-young, on the contrary, being that most of the story from her perspective, is very interesting in her shift from someone trying to stay out of trouble to letting materialism and money get to her head.

writing quality... 1.5/5
the biggest downfall of the book was easily the writing, the translation in particular. though perhaps some of the many problems could be chalked up to things being lost in translation, and though i tried to give some grace, it was honestly very difficult. the writing is very simplistic- which isn't always bad. sometimes simple is better to get the point across, opposed to using flowery language. this isn't one of those cases. there is far too much "telling" rather than "showing" when it comes to explaining things, or even just describing what jae-young is thinking. the dialogue is either used as a plot device to explain past instances through oversharing that would never happen in real life or comes off as clunky. there are long moments of just dialogue that don't contain many descriptions in between (ex. "she asked", "he replied") which makes it hard to follow who exactly is saying what and left me re-reading parts multiple times. part one also feels very slow, the set-up for everything that goes down in part two taking way too long to lay out. in turn, part two moves almost at lightning speed making you constantly wonder, "what the heck just happened now?"

also...
plot & structure... 2.5/5
originality... 3/5


a twist of fate an underlying tone similar to other pieces of korean media such as the movie "parasite" but fails to execute it in a way that makes sense. the characters and twists fall short and are often a struggle to understand due to the writing. perhaps this would be a much better read for a korean reader if it truly is the downfall of the translation, but i can't help but think that even then it still would not be anything stellar, because the plot is so jumbled and difficult tropes like 'the unreliable narrator' are so poorly executed.



(copied from goodreads)

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This was a twisted roller coaster of a ride!🤯 So many fun twists & secrets. This is a Korean thriller and is translated, and done so very well👏🏻 This book has a unique plot and the author makes it so fun. I thought I knew, but then Jang smacked me with another shock or twist and I was left scrambling trying to figure out what the heck was going on….totally loved the mind games throughout! The characters are fun, well developed, complex, & each one is hiding a secret🤫 This is a bingeable psychological suspense book that you will not want to miss out on!


𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦A unique and fun plot
✦LOTS of secrets and twists throughout
✦A book that takes you on a wild ride filled with shocks, twists, and mind games
✦When you think you know what is going on, only to be dealt another shock or twist
✦Complex and well developed characters
✦Psychological suspense

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

Se-Ah Jang’s “A Twist of Fate” (out July 29 from Bantam, $30), newly translated from Korean by S. L. Park, is a gripping entry in the world of international thrillers.

Compulsively readable and steeped in deception, readers are introduced to Jae-Young as she flees her abusive boyfriend, whose body now lies in her apartment, and boards a train to Seoul with no plan beyond escape. A chance encounter with a young mother, a crying baby and a mysterious note sets in motion a cascade of events that catapults Jae-Young into a life of luxury and peril. Mistaken for the baby’s mother by his ultrawealthy grandparents after his birth mother disappears, Jae-Young steps into a role she never asked for, but one that offers sanctuary. Or so it seems.

Jang expertly mines themes of identity, class and survival, placing her morally ambiguous heroine inside a fairy tale mansion that soon reveals itself to be a gilded cage. The house pulses with secrets, its inhabitants alternately alluring and menacing, and the reader, like Jae-Young, is left constantly questioning who can be trusted. Though a few twists strain credulity, the fast pace and mounting tension make it hard to stop reading. The story unfolds with a creeping sense of dread and escalating tension, as the protagonist sinks deeper into a fabricated identity that begins to unravel around her.

“A Twist of Fate” isn’t merely a story of reinvention — it’s a gripping exploration of the lengths one will go to vanish into a new life, and the steep price of finally stepping into the light.

🌸A Twist of Fate by Se-Ah Jang. 🌸Two women meet on a train to Seoul..Jae-Young, escaping an abusive relationship, the other a chatty woman with a new born baby who is leaving her cheating husband to see if her in-laws will take her and her child in. Jae-Young steps away to avoid further conversation and when she returns, the mother has left leaving the baby alone and crying. Jae-Young takes the baby to the woman’s in-laws’ home. They take her and the baby in thinking she is the baby’s mother since they have never met. WOW! I’m just a few chapters in and I already know this is going to be good! Liking the writing style and I have a feeling there are a bunch of secrets and twists ahead! Thank you to @netgalley @seahjang.writer @randomhouse @ballantinebooks #atwistoffate #netgalley for this e-ARC of A Twist of Fate - Out July 29, 2025 #books #bookstagram #booklover #noseinabook #bibliophile #reading #read #bookreview #aapiauthors #aapibooks #bookstagrammer #aanhpi

This book was very aptly named as it was definitely a twist of fate, filled with twists and turns. The plot was well done, and the characters were not likeable but believable. About halfway through the book, I began to bore with the endless details and repetitions, so it was a slow read for me after that. But the ending was climatic and unexpected - an outstanding turn of events.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Please note that this ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this was certainly intriguing but somehow it just didn’t work for me. I felt frustrated that there were chapters where I was wondering “who are we talking about now?” I later found that the ambiguity was intentional (at least, I think it was) and an attempt to confuse the reader about how is genuine vs who is manipulative. Ultimately, I really didn’t like ANY of the characters (although I did feel a fair amount of empathy for the poor old man).

I finished this feeling slightly annoyed so it’s a 3/5 stars for me.

I wasn’t expecting to get so wrapped up in this story trope, but it grabbed hold of my attention and wouldn’t let go. Thank you Se-Ah Jang and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of A Twist of Fate.

This was a decent read, though I found it very unrealistic at times, and the writing style was often strange and stunted (though likely due to the translation to English). It centers on Jae-Yeung, who is escaping an abusive boyfriend when she meets a young mom and baby on a train. The mom ends up leaving the baby in her care and asking her to take him to his rich relatives in Seoul. When she shows up there, she realizes she can live the life of luxury and no one would be the wiser.

There were a good amount of twists in this book, but so many of them felt either too convenient to be realistic or just kind of “out there”. I didn’t think the characters were all that developed for most of the book, but as I got closer to the end, the author shed more light on the things that happened in their backgrounds to drive the decisions they made in current time. The language was sometimes confusing and I got lost a couple times as to what was really happening, but I felt like the end pulled everything together. The ending again felt pretty unrealistic but I can’t say I was disappointed in how it turned out.

Overall, this was a decent story but the writing style and need to suspend my disbelief knocked it down a bit for me. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced reader copy.

The set-up for this book felt very promising but the execution didn't work for me. This feels like a case of bad translation, as the writing on a sentence level felt chaotic and confusing. When the MC got to the house and everyone just accepted her without any questions, I lost all sense of this book being tied to reality and it made me wonder if a different translation of these moments would provide a clearer explanation for the characters' actions. Translation is such a tricky thing--to both convey what the author initially intended while also needing to make the translation stand on its own. This felt like a case where that dynamic didn't quite come together.

3 stars! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

A Twist of Fate follows Jae-Young after a chance encounter. As she is fleeing domestic violence, she meets a young mother on a train. The young mother suddenly disappears, and leaves her little boy with Jae-Young, telling her to assume her identity and take the boy to the in-laws how where he will be welcomed. When Jae-Young arrives with the boy, she learns the family is extremely wealthy and takes them up on their offer to stay. Not all is as it seems though, and Jae-Young quickly realizes there may be more to this family's web.

A false identity, a mega-rich family, and twists and turns! This book kept me engaged while I read it and felt like the plot to a really good movie! My one critique is that the language in the book was very stiff, and it actually made it difficult to figure out what was happening at some points or took me out of the story because of awkward phrasing. I know this book has been translated, so I'm sure it's just a result of that.

Overall, this book is worth a read! It reminded me a lot of the movie Parasite, so if you enjoyed that film, I think you'd really enjoy this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. A Twist of Fate opens with a bang— our main character, Jae-Young, who meets a new mother and her baby on a train; following this chance encounter, the young mother leaves her baby with Jae-Young and with instructions to take the baby to her in-laws, who can provide them with all the wealth and comforts they could ever need. On the run herself, Jae-Young gets swept up in this world pretending to be the baby’s real mother and a member of this family.

This was a fun, propulsive book! The pages kept flowing and this is a great beach read for summer, something to keep your attention thoroughly engaged. I did struggle with the language in this book but I think that’s probably owed to the translation. The language did feel a bit stunted and elementary at times, making the plot and characters feel a bit ridiculous at times. I do also think some of the plot points were a bit predictable but, the tension built up in this story made it still feel very suspenseful and kept me engaged to find out what happened next.

I think thriller readers will enjoy this one and know that this book will be a fun one to get lost in. I’d recommend this for a great, quick read!

A Twist of Fate is a masterful Korean novel that delves into the intersections of wealth, violence, and female agency with unflinching precision. The story begins with a fateful encounter on a train: a privileged woman, overwhelmed by motherhood, leaves her baby with an abused stranger—a decision that catapults both the child and the reluctant caretaker into the opulent, morally fraught world of the baby’s ultra-wealthy grandfather. What follows is a gripping narrative that interrogates the brutality of hoarded privilege while weaving a surprising, deeply satisfying emotional arc.

What sets this book apart is its refusal to simplify its characters. The women here are vividly drawn, their choices treated with nuance rather than condemnation. In a refreshing departure from narratives like The Push—which often frame maternal ambivalence as a failing—this story acknowledges the messy, sometimes painful realities of motherhood without judgment. The abused protagonist’s sudden immersion in luxury is intoxicating yet unsettling, especially as she navigates the attentions of the family’s charming second son. But the novel never lets us forget the violence underpinning such excess, building to an ending that feels both inevitable and perfectly executed.

Park’s sharp social critique is further elevated by the brilliant translation, which cleverly employs splashes of AAVE to mirror class distinctions in Korean society. This localization choice not only bridges cultural gaps but adds texture to the characters’ voices, making the power dynamics visceral for English-language readers.

A Twist of Fate is a rare gem—a page-turner with depth, heart, and a razor-sharp lens on inequality. Highly recommended for anyone who loves layered, thought-provoking fiction about women defying the roles imposed on them.

Wow, this page-turner of a book felt like a movie! In fact, I frequently found myself thinking about Parasite while reading. Both thematize the vagaries of class relations in contemporary South Korea, both feature infiltration through imposture, both turn a spooky rich person's house into something of a character, and both depict the unexpected formation of working class solidarities. A Twist of Fate adds in more gender politics, which I appreciate. It's also even harder here to recuperate a morally pure protagonist. At the same time, even the most seemingly deranged and evil characters have empathizable dimensions (unlike Parasite). I was initially surprised about how Jang described her relationship to Soohyun, yet upon reflection, I can see where her attachment and empathy come from.

Although my discussion here has been pretty academic, I emphasize my initial characterization of this book as a page-turner. I recall balking that I was only 45% of the way through because there had already been SO many jaw-dropping twists!

This book was aptly named because it was absolutely full of twists and turns. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going I was surprised. The characters were well written, feeling like real people even in some unusual situations. There was a great sense of tension throughout the story that made it a really quick read for me.

The writing in this book is not very good, but I am assuming this is at least in part due to the fact that it's translated from Korean. Puting that aside I thought the plot was very interesting and kept me invested....until about half way. I began to lose steam and found it predictable. Began to dislike the characters and overall just didn't enjoy the latter half of this book.

"A Twist of Fate" is a great name for this twisty, domestic thriller. The vividly written characters, the well paced plot, and the continuous twists in the storyline kept me reading it straight through in one day. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advanced reader copy.

Good lord the twist and turns this book took blew me away. Just when I thought I had it figured out another curve ball. Was a really good book about Jae-Young a young women trying to escape an abusive relationship. She meets a young mother on a train, this encounter changes everything. This book was amazing and kept me wondering what was next. I couldn’t put it down.

A Twist of Fate offers a moody, immersive backdrop and an intriguing case of mistaken identity, but it doesn’t quite make the most of its potential. i am looking for a faster pace and stronger twists and I came away wanting more. Readers who enjoy character-driven thrillers with a slow build may find it rewarding.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It captures you from the beginning and really keeps interest to the end with various twists and turns along the way. It’s a great summer beach read. Some people had issues with the translation. Yes, there are times it’s obvious this was not written in English but that didn’t bother me at all. If anything it was interesting to read literal translations of Korean sayings. I like the short chapters and found it very well written. The end pages say the rights were already purchased as a possible movie and this would be perfect. I look forward to reading more by this author.