Absolutely brilliant book , loved the way the story unfolded from the past to present . Lots of twists and turns between the twins and their relationship with the main man . I will definitely be reading more from this author

The Twins sounded like an amazing read when I read the synopsis so I instantly hit request on Netgalley. Sadly the book didn't measure up to my high expectations. To begin with, the book jumps back and forth too often between characters. At times it was hard to figure out which POV I was reading (could it not have been labeled?). The story is also told in different timelines, again, which were not specified at the start of the chapter so I was guessing my way through when something had occurred. ⁣

Susan and Sarah are identical twins virtually indistinguishable from each other. They have a very troubled upbringing, neglected by their mother and suffering at the hands of a stream of “uncles” whom she allows to stay. They run wild, play truant and keep the company of boys much older than them and are always trying to escape the grasp of social services.
There is one constant - Jonny - a caring boy who starts a relationship with Susan not realising that she is only thirteen. They become part of a group but things fall apart following a disastrous event that has long reaching consequences.
Years later Jonny, Susan and Sarah are reunited but the past come to a head with disastrous consequences.
I really enjoyed this, whilst I predicted part of the ending the rest came as a surprise - found it very engaging.

I was filled with unease from the first chapter, where Sarah finds her identical twin, Susan, at the door after thirty years of no contact. It was not a happy reunion, despite the welcome given to Susan by Sarah’s daughter and husband. And from there on starts a malicious game of waiting, watching, and striking when the time is right. The story carries with it a sense of disquiet and tension all throughout, as if a tightly-coiled spring will unfurl at any moment.

I thought I had it all figured out by around 25%, but I was only partially right. The final twist had me dumbfounded. It is all too mind-bending and vicious for me to even think about. I feel some trigger warnings, such as rape of a minor, violence, prostitution, and drug addiction should be mentioned.

Susan and Sarah’s impoverished and violent childhood, spent unloved and largely ignored, tugged at my heartstrings. No child should have to practically raise themselves in such a manner. Their mother’s motivations remain unsaid, but I formed a poor opinion of her.

The author underlines the closeness of the twins repeatedly, and shows how separation affects them physically and mentally. So it was fascinating to watch how they moved from such closeness to a deep, dark hatred–and especially why the shift happened.

The only problem I had with the book was that it was difficult to keep track of the timelines and the narrator. The story alternates between 1985 (when the twins were teenagers) to 2018-2019 (when they are adults). Even though the years are clearly marked, sometimes there are flashbacks and it confused me. Also, I had to do some back-and-forth reading to understand who was the “I” in a certain chapter–Susan or Sarah.

Overall, The Twins is a tense, dark, gritty, and distressing novel with a cracker of a twist at the end that will leave you holding your head in your hands.

(I received a review copy from Rachel’s Random Resources in exchange for an honest review.)

I read this for a blog tour.

This book left me a bit confused, which twin was it? Who killed who? What exactly was going on? But I think that's intentional as even they didn't seem all too sure who was Sarah and who was Susan.

From a childhood of neglect to crime and drugs, then finally to safety in Cumbria, or not. When one twin comes after the other and no one else seems to be able to tell them apart (even Sarah's husband and daughter struggle) then how can they know the truth?

Twisted and pretty dark, this is a very jarring story - as the secrets come out, the twins' lives get bleaker and bleaker, no wonder Sarah doesn't want her sister back in her life, she's managed to lock all the awful things she went through away in her mind.

But that ending, very much a "who? What? Wait a minute?" reaction and I'm still not quite sure about a few things...

Susan and Sarah are twin sisters who share everything until they meet Jonny and their whole lives change,but which sister will be better off for meeting Jonny ? They are only 13 when they meet him and over the years the girls come to realise they both cannot have him.So who does Jonny choose ? The Twins is a psychological thriller with a killer twist in the tail which took me by surprise,it had me gripped from the first page all the way to the last chapter,i cannot recommend this book highly enough if you want a book to keep you company through the dark nights then this it.A stunning 5 star read !

I don’t know about you but I always love a thriller involving twins, and this creepy one doesn’t disappoint!

The Twins is a very twisty turny read, it plays with your mind. Of course, like most “twin” thrillers you have a good and a bad twin. Sarah is the good twin with a daughter and husband, and Susan is the bad twin. Who comes back into Sarah’s life causing trouble. But not all is what it seems.

It’s told from two different times – when the girls were teenagers and now, 30 years later. Also from the twin’s perspective, so it can get confusing at times. The author touches on very tough and hard to read topics – child neglect, child rape and drug addiction. So a little warning there.

I found The Twins captivating, made me hungry for more, and in all honesty it kept giving and giving what a reader needs in a thriller. The exciting chase to the end. Predictable ending?… yes and no! Would I recommend?… hell yes! Worthy of a 5 star rating!

I loved the cover and the synopsis, I was excited to start reading.

I struggled at the start of the book, as the reader doesn't know which twin is speaking and when, which takes you away from the story itself, HOWEVER, the story has a lot of tense and dark moments, and I am so glad I continued to the end where I was happily surprised with the twist ending.

I do recommend reading as it is a good book and the author is a good storyteller.

This story follows twin sisters Susan and Sarah. You are immediately drawn in at the first chapter. Sarah is married to Jonny and they have a grown-up daughter called Lucy. Susan surprises them by turning up at their door and we learn that they have been estranged for 30 years. Something has happened in the past that Sarah wants to forget. She needs Susan to leave forever.

This book had the potential to be brilliant. It is written well and I did feel like I wanted to carry on to see what happened. Firstly, the chapters switch between three different timelines but also the narratives of both Susan and Sarah with no distinction. You don't know what moment in time you are at or whose character you are reading about until you've read into the chapter a bit.

The main storyline is great. Although I didn't like a single character in this book, we are given depth of both sisters, learning about their tough childhood and how they met Jonny. The book touches on a lot of different subjects from abuse, drug addiction, rape and teenage pregnancy.

For me, there was one too many twists. It ended up confusing and a little far fetched and unbelievable at times.

The Twins is a dark, twisty thriller that will take readers on a ride into the dark depths of a person's soul.
The story follows twins Sarah and Susan. Sarah seems to have it all: a loving husband, a daughter, and a happy home. But when Susan shows up after years apart, Sarah's world comes crumbling down. You see, Susan is the "bad" twin. Both girls grew up super close, doing everything together. They were so close, they were basically one person. But then something happens, and Sarah knows, even though she can't remember, that Susan is evil and she needs to stay away. Susan isn't about to give up on being part of her sister's life again, though, and she will stop at nothing to get what she feels she rightfully deserves.
I did find this book a little slow at first, and it took me some time to get into it, but once it got going, it was definitely a tense read. The story does change from the past to the present, and it doesn't always come across clearly when it does change. But once you figure out what period of time you're reading, it's easier to follow along with.
There are some triggers within these pages, like rape and violence towards a child. If you're a more sensitive reader, you may want to proceed with caution while reading.
As a twin myself (fraternal, not identical), I was intrigued by the dynamic between Susan and Sarah. I never really had that deep connection with my own twin. We were basically two different people who just happened to share the same birthday one minute apart. It was definitely fascinating to see how these two characters were written and brought to life.
There's also a bit of a twist at the end. You may think you know where things are going, but you may just have to think again.
Overall, not a bad read. I liked it, even though it did take me a little bit to get into.
4 stars.

The Twins by J.S Lark is a psychological thriller by an author I have never read before. If ther is anything I really love, it is discovering new authors whose work I really get immersed in. The Twins is an excellent example of a new author with exactly that!
One evening Sarah answers a knock at her door to discover it is her twin sister, Susan who she hasn't seen in 30 years. Sarah is reluctant to allow Susan in but her daughter, Lucy insists the long lost aunt she doesn't know comes inside. From here the story begins to unravel, showing us they may be twins, but one is totally not as good as the other and in this dark twisted story Johnny, Sarah's husband is caught in the centre.
The story is told from both Sarah and Susan over different timelines also. We see the past and just how close the sisters were, the almost telepathy they had as children. We see how events shaped their lifes and we move through the years, swapping perspectives and time lines a lot. This was a little confusing as I wasn't sure who I was with and when sometimes, but I got over it.
As the story develops we come closer to the event of the estrangement of the sisters and I thought I had it all worked out, until I realises I didn't.
A book that really has you thinking and trying to work it out, to no avail. Skillful writing at it's best, the author has managed to weave her story so cleverly that the twists and turns lead to misdirection and you are, at times left scratching your head!
A highly recommended read for me for sure. With thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and NetGalley for the copy of The Twins for me to give you my thoughts today.

The Twins is a book that should come with a warning as it’s only when you start to read that you find out there is a lot of things in here that are of a sensitive nature, to name a few....drug use, abortion, prostitution, rape, abuse and pedophilia.
This is a hard one to review as the storyline was a really good one, for me it was the subject matter at times and the jumping around from timelines as at times I didn’t know which twin was the character in that time line at that moment for some of the chapters.
Twins Sarah and Susan are identical and as they are basically left to bring themselves up as their mother is useless they are inseparable, that is until Jonny comes on the scene, they have both fallen in love with him and this is what parts the twins for years as one is the winner and the other the loser. Years later we find one twin with everything, Jonny, the house and the much loved child, thirty years later the other twin knocks on the door and will do anything to take back what she thinks should have been hers.
This was a hard read at times but was a good psychological thriller with a lot of twists throughout. The timelines were confusing but maybe that was me but the ending was worth getting to.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just OK , I found it a bit hard to follow so it took me several days to get through ...

My goodness, I don’t even know where to start with this one!

Books are often described as having a twist, but this book has so many twists and turns that it really entangles you in its web of secrets and lies.

I have rarely come across a book with such a complex and totally compelling plot. Do not plan anything once you have started this book, you will not be able to put it down. This is one of those books that I ended up carrying around the house, and reading it whilst trying to do everyday things.

The whole twin connection and interchangeability is central to this book. The story flicks back and forth between both Sarah and Susan’s perspective, and there is not just a dual timeline, but the triple timeline, as we go from their childhood, to recent events, to present day. It works beautifully and makes for compulsive reading.

I found their childhood particularly riveting and it had a very authentic feel.

Visceral and at times shocking, this book is an absolute must-read for anyone who likes a psychological thriller. It’s so cleverly plotted and suspenseful, making for a gripping read.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
This is a fast paced twisty psychological thriller. The story is told in two timelines, when the twin sisters are teenagers and 30 years later in the present., where we then also have, before the accident and after the accident!, As young teenage girls they just do what they like, they don’t go to school, they hang out in the evenings with a few older boys, they drink cider and smoke cigarettes their mum spends most of her time either in bed or in the pub with her boyfriend of the moment.
A few tough topics are wound into the story, child neglect, child rape and drug addiction. It’s a sad story and hard to read in a few places, well written, I had to keep reading , and although I had figured out the end I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s definitely a 5 star read,

This book has so many twists and turns that literally left me with my mouth hanging open. It is the story of identical twins who live with their single mother and a succession of "uncles" and spend most of their time hanging out on the streets and stealing. It flips from 1985 when the twins were 13 to the present which was sometimes confusing because I wasn't sure which twin was talking but I could usually figure it out rather quickly. Through the time changes there is a good development of the characters, who aren't always likeable. The twins were close as twins are until Jonny comes into the picture and jealousy rears its ugly head. Fast forward to the present. Sarah is married to Jonny although it was Susan who was dating him at 13. Susan, who has been out of her life for years, suddenly shows up on Sarah's doorstep, obviously out to get Jonny back. Sounds like your usual jealous revenge book--WRONG! It took me a while to get into this book because it seemed confusing at first, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down and read late into the night to finish it. I would like to thank netGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I look forward to reading more from Ms Lark.

First and foremost, I should mention that I read an ARC of this from Netgalley so it might be that some of the things I had a problem with will be fixed in the final copy.

This writing style made my head hurt. There was jumping back and forth between perspectives and timelines and I could hardly keep up with the jumps because there were no chapter markers with names or years. Perhaps it was the point to confuse the reader with these twins, but it was not at all enjoyable. I found myself getting increasingly frustrated that I had to read a couple sentences to guess who was talking and what chunk of time we were in. Also, there were 2 or 3 spots where the wrong sister's name was used based on whose perspective it was. I have no idea if it was intentional or not based on the plot and conclusion of the book, but again, I didn't like it.

Trigger warnings up the wazoo for this one - rape, pedophilia, drug use, heroin addiction, abandonment, abortion, prostitution, I'm sure the list goes on.

Also, there was not one likable character in this story. Susan sucked, Sarah sucked, Johnny sucked, their mother sucked, and even Lucy sucked. Yes, I stand by Lucy sucking because what kind of adult daughter learns that her mother has been through something traumatic and presses her for endless details without a thought of how reliving such intense trauma might be harmful? I understand wanting to know more, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that you don't push for information like that. So yes, Lucy sucked too.

I wanted to DNF this at 10% in because I could tell it wasn't for me, but I wanted to push through for Netgalley's sake. If you look at other reviews, people seem to like it. Not me. 100% hated it. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

It’s one of those books that leaves you wanting to pause life, to continue reading. I started reading this Wednesday night and finished it by Friday morning. I was engrossed from the first page and really did not know what was going to happen from one page to another and I was left on tender hooks thinking what next.

It was gripping, intense, full of so many twists even right up to the end page and disturbing but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a book that really pulls at your heartstrings.

The twins had such a hard upbringing, I really felt for them and was emotionally involved from the beginning, especially when the story was told from their childhood. What they went through was totally soul destroying, heart-breaking and what no child should ever have to witness or be a part of. What I did love was the bond they had, even with all that going on around them, they felt safe together and wanted to protect each other. It really is like that being twin, someone always there for you as a sister and best friend. Someone you can always rely on no matter what, it’s definitely the most wonderful thing about being a twin. That and sharing clothes!

I liked the element of the twins meeting and getting to know Jonny as he brought some much-needed happiness into their life. It was a way for them to escape their home life. Just a shame there wasn’t two of him!

I felt invested in the girls from the beginning so of course when Sarah and Susan then got separated, I really felt sorry for them. Years later Susan turns up on Sarah’s doorstep and it sparks all sort of emotions. Sarah is happily married, with a daughter, and really not interested in Susan at all. Susan having had a harder life wants to make amends and be a family. It was great how the story went back and forth from past to present. Which built up the story and allowed you to get the picture of what happened to cause these heighten emotions and the separation of the twins.

As well as the growing up aspect, with what the girls faced, it was also everything after that happened. Being an identical twin, I think that was one of the main reasons I found it hard and disturbing in parts. Without giving too much away, I just couldn’t imagine the jealously, lies and secrets that could come between them. That was before the story started to unravel and I soon understood! I can see why being a twin could cause competition, but this was next level. Luckily, we didn’t experience any of what they did. Or ever fancied the same boy!

I finished the last page and just couldn’t stop thinking about it. To the point I was told by a few people close to me, it’s just a book. It didn’t happen.

A book well written, even if dark, with deep issues, that were really sad – I loved it, and how it flowed and kept you guessing throughout. I can’t wait to read other bloggers reviews and discuss it with them.

If you like physiological thrillers, then you will love this.

I was drawn into this book by the bright cover and intriguing tag line.

This could have easily been a relatively straightforward tale of unrequited love and revenge but this talented writer ensures that there is much more to the tale than that…

Spanning over 20 years, this book draws you in from the beginning with the sudden arrival of an estranged twin and takes you on a whirlwind of unexpected twists and at times, some very dark moments and memories!

I loved the use of different timeliness to develop the tension and story line, as well as the slow but sure unravelling and relaxations around the main characters and their relationships.

This is an original, gripping page turner and it had me guessing and shocked throughout.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Quotes:

The head teacher told Mum we’re feral.

There’s a strange detached sensation that tingles through my nerves. I feel as if I’m sitting up high in the corner of the room watching all of us acting out a scene in a play. I’m in the audience. High above them, on the upper balcony. Like a queen on a throne orchestrating all of this.


My Review:

I had some issues while reading this one, but while I debated my feelings and looked at my notes, it is still a cleverly crafted 5-star read. It was not an easy tale as the plot was unique and complicated and bent back on itself several times, and was cast with a slate of complex and difficult characters. It was also deeply disturbing, smartly contrived, indubitably twisty, frequently frustrating, and intensely intriguing. The twins were delinquents before they were even juveniles – by thirteen they were hooligans, hoochie mamas, drug addicts, parents, and prostitutes. Wow. Mind Blown. J.S. Lark is a wily wordsmith and not to be trusted.