This is not my typical kind of read and I give it 4 stars because the sadness far outweighed the little bit of happiness this family experiences throughout the years.
In 1970, a young mother is sent to a children and family home ran by nuns. She is forced to give up one of her sons and kicked out into the streets. She can't go back home due to a very strict father. This book follows these 3 individuals the next almost 40 years of their troubled lives.
Barry grows up to be a spoiled rich kid, a drug addict, and abusive. He's the one who got to stay with his mother as she found a way to support them. He's so ungrateful and I just find myself wanting to slap  him.
Robert (Donal) is gave up for adoption and kicked out in the streets after various stays at several homes. He's frugal, kind, and down to earth. Everything his twin is not.
Barry finds Donal and they are just starting to know each other when fate decides it's not meant to be. From here, I had a feeling which direction the book would go and I was right. I just wish this family were reunited much sooner and maybe this book would have been a much happier ending. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a free book for my honest review.

Marie was the helpless, pregnant girl of 18 who gave birth to twins, where she had to take up the most difficult decision a mother could take - to give up one baby as she couldn't bring up both of them. Years later, her son came to know there was a brother lost in the world, and the truth nearly tore mother and son apart. 

MY first book by this author, I was shattered with the premise of the book and followed the lives of the three characters. Marie evoked my pathos and sympathy for her. The story moved at a steady pace, but it felt to be quite slow for me, until the latter section when a twist changed it.

Overall, a good read

The Lost Twin is a tough read by Diana Finley. It's extremely well written, very emotional, and will take you on one hell of a ride. That said, I got really sick of Barry and ended up stopping. I just couldn't take his behavior anymore. But that's me. Others might be fine with continuing.

I was interested in this book because of its title about a lost twin . I was not disappointed because there was a good storyline and interesting characters. The only part l did not really understand was  the end where the twin took up the dead ones identity. It was resolved and l felt happier with the ending.

This book was drawling on so long and was bland and boring sadly. I had such big hopes for the book but the story and characters did nothing for me. Not my cup of tea.

As a mother of twins I was drawn to the title. A fascinating read from the start. Interesting how 2 people who happen to be born from the same mother at the same time can go on to lead such different lives. Very sad ending.

I was given a copy of the Lost Twin by Diana Finley by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. This is the first book I have read by this author. The book is bout Marie who has twins in convent when she is just a teenager. She has to give up one of the twins for adoption. When she leaves the convent with Barry she goes to look after an older lady they become firm friends but Marie always wonders what happened to her other son. The story is told by Marie, Barry and the other twin Donal. 
The book is a lovely easy read with a few twists along the way. There is a major twist half way through. A great book if you enjoy family saga and psychological thrillers.

Heartbreaking and emotional for SURE!! Omg this book had me in tears!!! goodness! I felt horrible for what Marie went through. First of all I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book. It was a bit of a slow burn, there was a lot of information and a lot of character build up, there were times that the stories between the three characters were very repetitive that at times annoyed me. But one thing is for sure as we get into the story of the lost twin, I started to feel this emotional pull and I ended up liking it. 

I am a huge fan of happy endings, and redemption, I also love characters that supports each other and love each other, and this book has a lot of those good things. Even though the book had a few sour apples, it is worth reading.

This is a simple book, easily read and understood.

Marie finds herself in a mother and baby home in England, banished from Ireland after becoming pregnant. She births twins and is forced to give one up. The story continues with 3 narrators- Marie, Barry and Robert (renamed by his adoptive parents from his birth name, Donal) and we see how this affects all of their lives.

It plods along nicely until Barry and Robert meet. After that this book slides into ridiculous and I was not impressed by the decisions taken and the neat ending. It wrapped things up but was so far from believable! 

I was expecting more of a psychological thriller and this was more a misery memoir- not my favourite genre. I’m sure fans of this style will enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Thank you for letting me read and review this book! I went into this book not knowing much about it and I'm so glad I did. It was well written and really grabs the reader from the first page. I was hooked and read this one quick! I could not put it down! One of my favorites this year!

This book sounded good but I was a bit disappointed with it. It turned out to be an OK  read but not as good as I had expected

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the arc of this book by  Diana Finley. 

3 stars- this was a good book which is well written and a good read, read within 1 day.

The summary of the book definitely piqued my interest. It is a drama book with a bit of romance. From the beginning of the book I felt for Marie. Those nuns were so cruel to her, but those were the times and how an unwed pregnancy was handled. I can't imagine on having to make a choice like that. Thanksfully, Marie found a guardian angel and was able to make her way in the world. Barry was a hard character to like, but I kept wanting to give him a chance.  Robbie was a little more likeable. I didn't see the plot twist coming though I enjoyed it and it kept me engaged! It is a good book for discussion.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. 
I was disappointed in this book as I was expecting this book to be more of a psychological thriller, 
Needless to say, I could not finish it.

This is a good book, sad at times. What happens when you make a decision, then regret if for the rest of your life.  Giving up one twin and raising the other.  It was different times back then.

#TheLostTwin#NetGalley 
Marie Fully a young girl of eighteen who has went to a home for unwed mothers run by Nuns.  She is delivering her baby when they find out there is a second baby.  The nuns keep saying she has to leave one behind as she has no money or support system to help her. She is heartbroken but makes the decision to keep Barry and let Final be adopted.  As time passes she gets a job as a housekeeper for Edna Goldstein.  She never stops grieving for Donal.  She tells Barry later in life.  Will the boys meet?  Will there be anger?  Read on to find out if the brothers reconnect ?  Will they be alike or very different ?  Will Marie meet her Son Donal?  A story of family, friends, secrsts,and love.  Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Lost Twin by Diana Finley details the story of two boys, one given a life of privilege and another a life of solitude and loss. Both boys share the same mother, but through life events, are provided with very different upbringings. This story is heart breaking for one of the boys. It details each boy’s life. It was very interesting to see the differences that nature vs. nurture can make in a child’s life. This book was very engaging and difficult to put down. There were lots of twists in this book with thorough explanations of the characters which made it very easy to follow them from chapter to chapter. The end of the book was unexpected. I recommend this book.

The Lost Twin is a poignant story about a young Irish girl, sent to England for a termination and the heartbreaking decision she was forced to make. When Marie unexpectedly gives birth to twin boys, she is only able to keep one. She manages to create a good life for her small family, but the loss of one son is felt deeply. 

This novel looks at the family bonds we all feel and how different upbringings can shape our personalities. It is told from the perspective of Marie and her two sons, and I found the narrative from the son she couldn’t keep to be particularly moving. An emotional rollercoaster of a read.

What a sad book this was. It’s full of emotion, and just when you think things are going to be resolved the plot twists again. It was a very good read though, and I’m looking forward to reading more from the same author.

Spanning across 30 years this is a story of a young mother, forced to give up one of her babies, one of her two twin boys, Barry and Donal, and how that one moment in time’s impact has on the families life’s and how it resonates through all their futures.

Beginning in 1970 the main narrative is told by the twins mother, Marie, but also switches between both sons pov as well, giving the whole book extra depth and allows you to follow first hand how each of their lives have developed throughout the years, taking us with them right up to it’s conclusion in 2005.

Discovering that she was pregnant and the father nowhere in site, young Marie is sent from her home in Ireland to London for a secret abortion before anyone finds out that she has disgraced her family. But upon arrival in London, not wanting to go through with the abortion, she desperately wants to keep her baby and Marie hears about a mother and baby home, St Agatha’s, run by nuns which she turns to for help keeping the baby. What she didn’t know beforehand is that the nuns put the babies up for adoption. She also didn’t know that she was expecting twins!

After the birth Marie is put under immense pressure to put both her twins up for adoption against her will. With gritted determination she manages to keep one of the babies whilst the other was swiftly adopted by a rich couple who were desperate for a child.

Heartbroken from the Donal size hole in her heart she leaves St Agatha’s with nothing but a tiny sum of money and one of her sons. After queuing for hours at the council offices in hopes of finding a bed for the night in the pouring rain she is granted a few weeks in a local b&b which doesn’t open until 6pm, so with time to kill and needing somewhere dry and warm to feed the baby she goes into the only open cafe she can see. And it is there that she first meets Sylvia.

Sylvia is the first person Marie meets when she leaves the convent and she is also the first person that has shown her any kind of kindness, helping her when no one else would. Sylvia is also her salvation when she helps Marie find and gain a respectable job as a housekeeper for a wonderful older lady, Erna Goldstein, who not only hires Marie but has a self contained flat within her home for Marie and her baby son Barry to live.

There is also the dual narrative as it follows Donal’s adoption and his life. He has always known that he was put up for adoption, but what he doesn’t know is that his name was changed by his adopted parents to Robert, he doesn’t know that he has a twin brother and he doesn’t know that he has a mother who has never recovered from being separated from him!

You know, Sylvia, sometimes I’m almost happy; I tell her. There’s just the one area of my life causing me pain and anxiety, and I can’t stop it. That feeling of loss eats away at my soul every day and every night – and the sadness never seems to lessen. If anything, it consumes me more and more as our separation wears on ….

With her obvious talent for writing, with this book the author has a way of reaching deep down into your very soul with some truly heart wrenching narratives as well as throwing in some completely unexpected twists that hit you like a sucker punch to the gut and leave you reeling! Amongst all the heartache there are also rays of sunshine so it’s not all doom and gloom, but it is a rollercoaster for your emotions!

The book is wonderfully written, the characters are real and completely engaging, all playing their part to create this captivating story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.