Mundie Moms

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Book Review- The Twin's Daughter

By Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Published by Bloomsbury Teen
Released on September 1st, 2010
Source- the author
4 Stars- It's A Wonderful Read


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?

Filled with shocking twists and turns, THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end (quoted from Goodreads).


I adore Lauren's talent for writing historical fictions, as she paints a vivid picture of the era and has this ability to make me feel like I'm apart it. Like The Education of Bet, The Twin's Daughter is a well written historical fiction/ victorian era book.

The Twin's Daughter has a cast of great characters, a fast paced plot full of twits and turns that left me quickly turn pages to figure out the "who done it", and a beautiful victorian era setting. The mystery unfolds within the very beginning of the book when young Lucy, the main character answers the door to find her mother's (unknown) twin sister. From there, the plot thickens and becomes much more twisted.

Through the education of Aunt Helen, the twin sister to Lucy's mother, Lauren allows us to be educated in the ways of society during this era. Lucy's is an only child, and comes from a well to do family. Helen's transformation not only gave me the chance to see what she needs to do to be accepted into London's higher society, but also what's excepted of women during this time.

I liked reading the book from Lucy's perspective. While she's innocent and at times seems naive, her voice is strong and what surprised me most about her, is her ability to observe. I know that's weird to say, but with all that goes on with the story, if Lucy's observance of the little details hadn't happened, than she never would have been able to solve the murder-mystery. Lucy is a very likable characters, as her family's wealth and privilege put her in the higher class in society, but she isn't a character who's snooty or a snob. She's humble, and has a silent strength that is well developed as she privately tries to unravel the mystery behind horrific death that occurs in her families home.

My two favorite supporting characters are Helen and the love interest Kit. They were the most realistic to me and were also well developed. Lauren did a wonderful job at growing Helen and Lucy's relationship, as well as Kit and Lucy's. I liked the immediate connection Lucy and Kit had. Their relationship wasn't one that was rushed and one I felt grew naturally and was very fitting for their time period. I really, really adore these two characters.

The Twin's Daughter is a wonderful read, as it offers a little bit of everything to it's readers. It's a brilliantly written historical fiction, as it's vividly detailed historical setting, realistic family dynamics, and sweet romance draws you and makes you feel like you're apart of another era. It's the suspense wrapped around it's twisted murder mystery that will leave you glued to the pages until the very end and as you try to figure out what really happened.

Waiting On Wednesday- All Things Cassandra Clare

Today's post is a little different, as it's not a book who's release I'm anxiously awaiting today, it's a movie. Let me give you a hint.....

Why hello Jace! All the recent buzz surrounding The Mortal Instruments movie has got us anxiously awaiting the announcement of who's playing Jace and finding out more about the movie. I don't know about you, but this is one movie I can't wait to see. Luckily we'll be treated this year with 2 books from Cassie- City of Fallen Angels & Clockwork Prince, that will help contain our excitement leading up to the movie's release. I don't know about you guys, but I'm just as excited to read City of Fallen Angels & Clockwork Prince as I may about the TMI movie being released .

SO why the picture? Do I really need to explain it?! Kidding... recently Hollywood Crush had a post (where this picture was taken from) talking about why Alex P is the perfect casting choice for Jace. Yes, we agree with what they said as he will always be our Jace, BUT the reality is he may not be cast as Jace. Either way we're all anxiously awaiting the announcement of who will play Jace. In the mean time head over to Hollywood Crush's post about Alex P playing Jace and leave them a comment (http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2010/12/10/alex-pettyfer-city-of-bones/).

It's going to be an exciting year in the The Mortal Instruments world and we're looking forward to it!

Labels