Please take my comments with a grain of salt. While I didn’t really connect with this story, some of that could be due to cultural background and a lack of familiarity with Korean literature, pop-culture, television, etc. I’ll be the first to admit I’m approaching this from an American sensibility.

I’ll start off by saying that the plot summary sounded intriguing, but the execution felt chaotic. There were too many twists that didn’t feel fully explained enough to be believable, and all the drama left me feeling emotionally drained instead of intrigued and wanting more.

I was unable to really empathize with the main protagonist. She felt too high-strung with sudden mood swings, paranoid thoughts, and jumping to conclusions (both good and bad) based on assumptions she makes about other characters. She would go from naïve-sounding to foul-mouthed in the space of a couple paragraphs. I couldn’t understand her motivations, as they seemed to fluctuate between self-preservation, altruism, greed for the sudden luxury she was experiencing, and revenge. Perhaps some of it can be chalked up to her socio-economic standing and traumatic history, but she doesn’t come across as especially astute at critical thinking for most of the story and instead seems mostly reactionary.

Now, all that being said, there is a certain level of justification for some of it toward the end. However, for me it was a little too late. I didn’t get a solid sense of who she was or why I should care about what happens to her. The fact that so much was revealed in the epilogue, and that those left standing are suddenly willing to move forward together in a positive and supportive manner seemed a bit trite.

I hope there are others who enjoy the high level of drama, jealousy, intrigue, family secrets, and hidden agendas. If that sounds right up your alley, then this book might be a better fit for you than it was for me.

This was so bad it hurt to read it! Maybe it was the poor translation or cultural differences or simply an unexperienced writer, but this book needs some more work. The synopsis sounded interesting and had a bit of Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train feel to it. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver.

Thanks to NetGalley, Randon House/Ballantine/Bantam books for providing an advanced copy.

Two young women meet on a train. The young mother disappears and leaves her baby with the other one, with instructions to bring him to his wealthy relatives. There is a misunderstanding, and the family thinks she is, in fact, the daughter in law. This is a house full of secrets...
This book started off strong, but I quickly figured out the main plot twist. This was an average read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Really, really, REALLY didn't like this. A crappy story (a woman meets a young mom on a train, the young mom vanishes, and the woman pretends to be the mother of the baby and brings the baby to his wealthy relatives) with crappy writing and a crappy translation. I definitely wouldn't recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

I loved this book! Super twisty and if you love a good thriller you'll enjoy this. Two women meet unexpectedly and what transpires is wild! Highly recommend.

This gripping psychological thriller pulled me in from the first page. Two desperate women cross paths on a train, but only one steps off—assuming a new identity and stepping into a life that seems too good to be true. Tense, twisty, and rich with dark secrets, this story is a chilling reminder that sometimes survival means becoming someone else entirely.

This book was so good I finished in two days the twist kept twisting can you say flabbergasted very much I was totally surprised because I was not looking for this treat !!! So good please put a trigger warning for those that might be triggered by such topics!!!

I need everyone to read this book! It's definitely a hidden gem that more people need to discover! The amount of twists and turns had my jaw on the floor. I couldn't stop turning pages until there were no more pages! I was on the edge of my seat until the very end, and then i was left staring at the wall. This is a must read for thriller lovers!

Thank you for the ARC!
This book was amazing ! I literally could not put it down and finished it in a couple days. I loved following the main characters story and seeing how she got to where she was . Definitely lots of twists that I didn’t see coming . Definitely recommend !

This was a fun read. The premise is great, and sets up the book well for lots of interesting twists and reveals. There were parts of the last quarter of the book that felt repetitive and dragged a little bit, but the ending was pulled all the treads together in an interesting way. If you’re looking for a thriller with a strong set up and lots of twists and interesting reveals based on characters’ pasts this is a perfect book.

Masterful blend of angst, romance, and the ache of missed chances! Raw and flawed characters that were well written. Emotionally charged.

Jae-Young left everything- her job, apartment, her dead abusive boyfriend. Now she is on a train to become safe. There she meets a woman with a baby who is fleeing an unfaithful husband and looking to stay with in-laws she has never met. When Jae- Young leaves for a moment and comes back the woman is gone but the baby is still there with a note saying to take the baby and go the the in-laws. It is luxury. They think think she is the daughter-in-law. It is easy to become invisible when you are someone else. There are a lot of twists in this book. People are hiding a lot. The book description alone should make you read this but that is just a bite of this delicious tale. Read this book!

A dark and dazzling thriller with a setup so bold, you won’t believe where it takes you.
A Twist of Fate is the kind of novel that grabs you in the first few pages and doesn’t let go. What begins as a chance meeting between two strangers on a train reminiscent of the Hitcock setting, turns into a chilling psychological puzzle, unraveling piece by piece.

When Jae-Young meets a young woman on a train, she is on the run. It's just minutes before the woman offers her a solution and Jae-Young doesn't have time to consider the alternative. She is truly complex - flawed, guarded, and desperate. Her choices are risky, her motives unclear even to herself, and that’s what makes this book pulse with tension. When she’s mistaken for someone she’s not, she plays along. What sets this book apart is that the deeper she sinks into this borrowed life, the harder it is to tell who’s using who.

The writing is sharp and atmospheric, gothic almost, and full of creeping dread and tension. The plot shifts under your feet just when you think you’ve found solid ground. It plays with questions of identity, guilt, and survival, all wrapped in a wealthy, troubled family that may have more to hide than she does.

I couldn’t look away. If you like thrillers that twist logic, morality, and trust into something wicked and unrecognizable, A Twist of Fate is your next must-read.

#ballantine #randomhouse #seahjang #atwistoffate

Oh my goodness! This book is a hidden gem I need to put on your radar! So many jaw-dropping twists, so many mind games that’ll have you fidgeting in your seat—and when you reach the end, you’ll be screaming, “What the hell did I just read?!” It’s cunning, entertaining, full of clever schemes, and absolutely mind-blowing. While the last quarter drags a bit and gives off strong K-drama vibes, the pacing quickly picks up again, delivering a perfect conclusion that’ll have you jumping in your seat with delight.

The story follows Jae-Young, a woman trapped in an abusive relationship. After a brutal fight, she escapes by boarding a train—carrying a terrible secret that could destroy her future. In her cabin, she meets a young mother who shares her heartbreaking story: her husband left her for another woman, and she’s traveling to meet her wealthy father-in-law for the first time. But when Jae-Young returns from the restroom, the woman has vanished, leaving behind only her crying baby and a chilling note asking Jae-Young to deliver the child to the father-in-law’s remote home.

Believing she’ll just drop off the baby and disappear, Jae-Young soon finds herself drawn deeper into the family's world. The brother-in-law mistakes her for the child’s mother, and their lavish mansion, dripping in luxury, starts to feel like the perfect place to hide from her past. But nothing is as it seems. The family is haunted by secrets, deaths, and tragedies, and when a mysterious caregiver enters the picture, things take a darker turn. Jae-Young realizes she may have made the biggest mistake of her life by stepping into this role—and now, with nowhere left to run, she must play along with monsters just to survive.

This is one of the wildest rides I’ve read in ages—and I wholeheartedly recommend it! It’s highly addictive and impossible to put down. I’ll definitely be reading more Korean thrillers after this!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Bantam for providing me with a digital review copy of this secret gem in exchange for my honest thoughts!