Mundie Moms

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson, Book Review


By: Norah Olson
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
To Be Released on: 1.20.15
Source: arc from publisher to review, in exchange for my honest review
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When Alyson meets Graham Copeland, the new boy next door, she instantly feels like he’s a kindred spirit—shy and awkward like her, someone who has trouble making friends. It’s impossible to resist having a crush on him.

As usual, her sister, Sydney, sees things differently. In Sydney's mind, Graham's odd personality and secretive past scream psychopath, not sweetheart. Her gut is telling her to stay away from him, and to protect a love-struck Alyson from her own naïveté. But despite her instincts, Sydney is surprised to realize that a part of her is drawn to Graham, too.

And the more Sydney gets to know him, the more she realizes just how right—and wrong—she is about everything.

Perfect for fans of Michelle Hodkin, and E. Lockhart’s We Were LiarsTwisted Fate is an unputdownable novel, teeming with suspense.


 Normally I'm not a fan of the dark, twisted, psychological thrillers, but this is a book who's premise really intrigued me. Plus it's by a debut author. You guys know how much I love supporting debut authors. 

Twisted Fate follows the story of Sydney and Allyson. Two sisters whom are completely opposite of each other. Allyson  is the good girl, and Sydney is the more reckless one. One loves to bake and the loves skateboarding. Then there's Graham. That cute new boy who recently moved in next door. You can probably figure out where this one is going. But this is NOT your normal Boy Next Door, romance. Oh no, this is much more dark, twisted, and deadly. Let's just say that while Ally was for falling for the hottie next door, she should have listened to her sister Syd. That is all I'm going to say about the sisters, because anything else I say could be spoilery.

Talk about disturbing. This book is definitely that. This book's dark side comes in the form of that crazy "I didn't see that coming" kind of ending, and from Graham. I could not stand his character. I don't think I've read about more troubling character than him. He has some serious issues. He definitely falls under the "parent's worst nightmare" with the issues he has. One of the things that made me mad about him, and the issues he has, is how the money he comes from, keeps me out of trouble, and getting help. Don't even get me started on this or the lack of parental support that prevented Graham getting some much needed help. The author did a great job portraying real life with these aspect of the story.

This book had so much potential, but the way the story was executed just didn't work for me.  I felt there was too much missing with the writing style. One of the things that didn't work for me was the multiple points of views. I understand why the author used multiple points of views, but for me I felt that ruined the story. It's not often that multiple POVS work, and if they do, they have to be written in such a manner that not only allows me to feel like I'm getting to know and understand each character on some sort of an emotional level, it also has to continue moving the story forward. I felt this book would have been much better had it been written from one point of view. Although I think the point of view that is not from the sisters nor Graham, worked okay. That pov gives readers more insight into the troubled mind and dark actions of Graham. You'll know what pov that is if you read the book.

Overall this book and I just didn't connect. I could not get into the book. I didn't care for the characters like I wanted to. That doesn't mean I didn't like some of the characters, I did. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and I'm a reader who needs character connection. I really wish I could go into more details about the book, and the storyline itself about why it didn't work for me, but I can't, because of spoilers. What I can say is that there are some troubling things mentioned in this book that bothered me. Remaining spoiler free, I can mention that I've dropped a few hints in my description of Graham, and my loathing of his character, at how trouble he really is.

 Twisted Fate has one heck of a killer ending! The ending is crazy, and was written well. The ending wasn't good just because the story was over. I felt like that last chapter or two leading up to it the end was better written the rest of the book. I don't know if it's because the momentum of the story picked up, or it had to do with the fact it was not at all what I was excepting, or because I felt the writing came together more. That ending definitely messes with you. Though this was not a book I liked, fans of dark, psychological thrillers may like it.  *This book does contain from troubling topics and is not one I'd recommend to younger YA readers.

Rating: 1 stars - This Book Wasn't For Me

The 15 Most Anticipated YA Books Publishing In January 2015


We know how hard it is narrowing down your monthly reading list. 
Thankfully Epic Reads has narrowed it down for us.





  1. Fairest by Marisa Meyer, 1/27/15, MacMillan
  2. I Was Here by Gayle Forman, 1/27/15, Viking Juvenile
  3. Firelight by Brandon Sanderson, Delacorte Press
  4. Ensnared by A.G. Howard, 1/6/15, Amulet Books
  5. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, 1/13/15, Little Brown
  6. Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole, 1/6/15, Simon & Schuster
  7. Golden Sun by Pierce Brown, Del Ray
  8. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking, 1/6/15, St. Martin's Griffin
  9. A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepard, 1/27/15, Balzer&Bray
  10. All Fall Down by Ally Carter, 1/27/15, Scholastic
  11. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, 1/6/15, Knopf
  12. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall, 1/13/15, Putnam Juvenile
  13. Collide by Melissa West, 1/6/15, Entangled Teen
  14. Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falloff, 1/27/15, Harper Teen
  15. The Prey by Tom Isbell, 1/20/15, Balzer&Bray
Find out more about each book here. Which reads are you looking forward to reading?

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