I'm just going to jump right in with this book. First of all notice that I didn't put a rating on it because I still don't know what to think. I legitimately JUST finished this book like ten minutes ago and I'm still processing what I just read.
This is the Goodreads description because I'm too upset to form my own:
Ivy and Iris haven;t lived together for years - when their mother and father divorced, each parent got custody of one twin. But after a tragic accident takes their mom's life, the devastated sisters are reunited, and Iris moves in with Ivy and their dad. Iris takes their mom's death especially hard. She barely talks, spending hours alone in her room. Ivy can't stand to see Iris so sad. She promised Iris that she can share her life now. After all, they're sisters. Twins.
It's a promise that Iris takes seriously. And before long, Ivy's friends, her teachers, and even her boyfriend fall under Iris's spell. Soon Ivy begins to think there's something wrong with her twin. It's almost like Iris is out to get her. Ivy tells herself she's being paranoid. It's not like she's in any danger from her twin...
I think that first off I'd like to say that this book was AMAZING and
despite what tear filled ramblings come out I would definitely recommend.
The first part of this is going to be spoiler free, but I will be sharing my opinion on the end of the book later and will give full warning when we get to that point.
The first thing I want to talk about is characters. I LOVED the characters in this book. Ivy is from the beginning set as a unique character and the fact that she seems to suffer from OCD and potentially some sort of anxiety (maybe?) disorder adds to the believability of the insanity that is her twin, Iris. From the description it shouldn't be surprising that Iris suffers some major form of mental issue. My best guess would be sociopathy though I'm not a psychologist so I couldn't say for certain. Maybe somewhere far up on the psychopathy scale but she doesn't show all twenty signs of being a psychopath. Some people are more susceptible to developing mental illness and having a close family member, not to mention a twin, that suffers from one increases the chance of having one as well even if it's a different mental health issue.
I read some reviews of the book after finishing it because I wanted to know what other people thought of the ending. One review made me think a bit about the characters and if they were fully developed or not. And I have to say that some of the characters did fall a bit short. Ivy's friends Haley and Sophie did seem a little two dimensional. But reading it I could care less because the book was still enthralling. I was so wrapped up in Ivy's emotions that I didn't care whether a background character, who I don't even like to be completely honest, was a little flat. I think the time and energy went into making sure you felt just how frustrated and upset Ivy was and that you felt upset for her, and that was time well spent.
I think my favorite character would have to be Ty. I mean can I just say best boyfriend ever!?! He sticks by her and... I'll get back to him later. Don't want to spoil anything.
While the whole evil twin and good twin plot is kind of overdone I thought this was a fresh take on it. I figured the whole idea had been exhausted but this book shattered that crazy notion I had. The author totally takes a known plot line and twists it and makes it her own. I was captivated from the start to the very end.
Now we get to the fun part.
Spoilers!!!!
Okay that ending totally messed me up. For those of you reading who didn't read the book, shame on you (But not really because I would do the exact same thing) here is a brief overview. Ivy, the good one, finally gets Iris to confess to killing their mom and Iris's old best friend. Ivy then gets into a fight with her dad over something Iris again framed her for and ends up spilling everything. Her dad proceeds to believe her sister, which BY THE WAY he has only really known for two months over her and she gets locked up in a mental hospital. Iris goes and visits her and tells her that if she gets out and accuses Iris of muder Iris will pin all the blame on her. BAM, end of book.
I was legitimately crying at the end I was so mad. At first I hated the book for the ending so much but logically I have to admit that if the book wasn't good I wouldn't have been feeling that kind of emotion but AHHHHHHHH.
I want to go back to Ivy's boyfriend Ty because I kind of left that hanging. At the end of the book Iris tells Ivy thet Ty hates her now and blah blah blah. But I don't believe it. Maybe this is me trying to regain control but Ty was the ONLY person to stick by her side when everyone else turned against her. Ivy told Ty that Iris was the one who killed their mom and Kat, Iris's old friend, and he didn't think she was crazy. He forgave Ivy after a picture came out with her kissing his friend. He was super uncomfortable around Iris and wasn't taken in by her charm like everyone else. I think Iris was just being a witch, I want to use a stronger word but I will refrain, and lying.
There, boyfriend rant over.
I have to admit that I was left totally unsatisfied by this ending but I did LOVE it as well. I think it would be a great ending for a book with a sequel. Oh my gosh I want a sequel. Not just because I want a happy ending but I want closure. If Iris kills Ivy, fine! At least it's closure. I mean please no, but still this doesn't feel like an ending.
