Review: The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Synopsis:

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day…a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?

Pages: 400 pages (Hardcover)
Publisher:Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Released: August 31, 2010

Back in August of last year, I heard about The Twin’s Daughter. I instantly loved the premise, the cover, and the promise of twists and turns. However, it wasn’t until just recently when I had the chance to finally read this novel.

Let me just start by saying that this exceed my expectations. The book starts with Lucy, the narrator of this novel, opening the door and finding her mom’s twin sister on the doorstep, the sister she never knew her mom had. Aunt Helen is quickly accepted inside the family, but there is something off about her. Unlike her sister, Aliese - who was raised in a wealthy household, Helen grew up in a rough orphanage and was constantly told that she was the unwanted child.

Even though we don’t see much of Helen’s past, you do feel some sadness over what happened to her. But I couldn’t help wonder if she also had some resentment towards her sister. Enough resentment to go single white female on her.

A lot more happens in the book, but I don’t want to ruin the fun of anyone planning to read this. Just know that there are some twists, with a second helping of turns, mixed in with some betrayal, and a dash of romance.

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Overall:

As I was reading this I had different feelings. There was excitement as the climax approached and I was trying to guess what happened. I also felt sadness, over the two twins and their lives. And I did have moments of happiness, as I read about Lucy and Kit. Their romance is both cute and endearing, a stark contrast to the rest of the book.

The Twin’s Daughter has to be one of my favourite reads of this year. When I was reading this I, and I imagine many others, probably thought this would be predictable, but boy was I wrong. There were times when Lucy would be oblivious to things that were happening around her house. As a reader, this usually frustrates me, especially, when it is something that is incredibly obvious, but in this case it didn’t. Whether it was due to innocence, grief, or whatnot, it made sense for Lucy to not really understand what was happening. I found myself making excuses for her, especially by the end when we were both wrong on so many levels.

I can’t say enough about this book. If you haven’t read this yet, do so immediately!

5 stars

Review: Eon by Alison Goodman

This is an updated review that was originally from my old blog, Books may Vary.

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.

Pages: 544 pages (Paperback)
Publisher: Firebird; Reprint edition
Released: August 31, 2010

Ever since Eona could remember, she could see the Dragons, but in a world where women are thought to be to bring corruption in a world of dragon and magic, they are pushed aside. Eona’s master decides to disguise Eona as a male and train her to be a Dragoneye. If Eona, now known as Eon, is accepted as a Dragoneye, it will bring riches to her master and bring her into a life of stability. If she doesn't get chosen, then she'll be sent away to the salt mines. Both paths bring hardships, but only one will leave her constantly watching her back for fear of death.

Eon isn't successful at first and all seems to be lost, until the Mirror Dragon, a dragon that hasn't been seen in 500 years, shows up. Her master is pleased, Eon is pleased, and everything is hunky dory. Until Eon realizes bringing back to the Mirror Dragon made her position among the Dragoneye even more dangerous than before. Without knowing it, she's made herself a huge politic chip that is just waiting to be moved around the board. Eon will have to find her place within the Palace and find herself as well. If she doesn't succeed it will bring death and misery, not only to herself, but to everyone as well.

The story told in Eon isn't anything new. A female disguised as a man in order to infiltrate a palace is something I've read before. However, Goodman does a good job in weaving something that is somewhat predictable into a compelling and refreshing story.

Eon's struggles with her gender and trying to fit in were one of my favourite parts in the novel, but also one of the more frustrating aspects. There were many times when I wanted to reach out and tell her what the dragon was saying. I thought it was obvious, but then again because I'm not in her situation and I'm simply on the outside, so it seemed more obvious to me. Even though it was frustrating, it did make sense when you think about her point of view.

I also enjoyed the politics in the novel and seeing Lord Ido do his stuff. Even though he is one of the villains of the novel, he was one of my favourite characters to read about.

There are many great points about Eon, but I would have liked to read more about the Prince and seen more about how Eon trying to do go through life in the Palace. The ending also isn't an ending and you will have to pick up Eona when it comes out to see what will happen next in this duology. Other than that, this was a great read.

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Overall:

Eon is filled with rich characters, a refreshing plot, a lovely setting rich with Chinese and Japanese culture, and writing that flow smoothly. Even though there are many pages in this book, it never felt like an overwhelming task to finish. Everything just worked.

I enjoyed my time reading this and I can’t wait to pick up Eona!


5 stars

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing this book for review.