My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - 1 day
Pages - 450
Publisher - Corazon Books
Source - Review copy
Blurb from Amazon
A moving and funny story about sisters, secrets and second chances.
Twin sisters Beth and Lisa do everything together, so what will happen now they both want a life of their own?
Beth has a secret she's kept from everyone except her sister. But it's time to get on with her life. Could a seductive Italian, a smooth-talking charmer or backpacking around Australia be the answer?
Lisa feels she's always lived in her sister's shadow. Maybe now it's her turn for some fun, whatever the consequences. But will her drunken antics land Beth in trouble?
And when it comes to the crunch, will one sister have to give up what she wants so the other can have what she needs?
Another entertaining page-turner from the No.1 bestselling author of Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? – where things, and people, are not always as they first appear!
My Review
Twin sisters Beth and Lisa could not be more different, Beth is pretty much meek, a people pleaser and relatively submissive. Lisa is opinionated, forth right, will seize the day at any given opportunity and life and soul of any party given half a chance. We open with the girls as children then flip to adulthood, the frustrations sisters endure that we all know too well and maybe a few new ones too!
This is a pretty unique read and can I just say until I checked Amazon for the pages count (I always add that) I can't believe the book is 450 pages it certainly didn't seem that long! I would have read it a lot quicker if life didn't get in my way.
I always write non spoiler reviews, seriously what book "lover" does that and ruins a book for other readers, ugh. Anyways, certain things are hard to discuss because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Relationships are at the heart of the story, mostly centred around Beth, Lisa and their family, boyfriends and friends. Sibling relationships can be a nitemare the girls provide a fresh take on the old sibling rivalry. There is humour in some of the scenes and some heart wrenching moments too, love, loss, life, personal growth, self discovery and I feel like I am harping on but relationships/family are everything with this tale. Someone you love making you second guess yourself, manipulating, scathing and yet the sisters are so close.
I think we all have a relationship or know someone who has someone like that in their life. I went through periods of mixed feelings for both Beth and Lisa. Like, hate, dislike, sadness and it is hard to say why in any great detail. Beth is very doormat like, I just wanted her to have a backbone and rise up, I felt so sorry for her at times though and frustrated on her behalf. Lisa I disliked quite quickly but as the story progresses I flip flopped a bit there too. As we learn more about the characters and what they have experienced/endured you can't help but reevaluate your feelings and ideas about them both.
It is a story that flings curve balls that you really don't see coming. You are pulled in quickly with a childhood incident and then wonder what is coming next, where is the story going. As Shepherd teases out the details you are absorbed in their world before you realise you are a quarter of the way through the book and the rug has been pulled again. 4/5 stars for me this time, I can't believe this is my first dance with this author but it certainly won't be my last!
Many thanks to you and your wee helper for this great review, Llainy. I look forward to dancing with you again. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interestingly written story. Lovely review, Lainy!
ReplyDeleteThis one sounds very good, thanks for not including spoilers. Hope the kitty is doing well and happy weekend!
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