The Lost Twin by Diana Finley details the story of two boys, one given a life of privilege and another a life of solitude and loss. Both boys share the same mother, but through life events, are provided with very different upbringings. This story is heart breaking for one of the boys. It details each boy’s life. It was very interesting to see the differences that nature vs. nurture can make in a child’s life. This book was very engaging and difficult to put down. There were lots of twists in this book with thorough explanations of the characters which made it very easy to follow them from chapter to chapter. The end of the book was unexpected. I recommend this book.

The Lost Twin is a poignant story about a young Irish girl, sent to England for a termination and the heartbreaking decision she was forced to make. When Marie unexpectedly gives birth to twin boys, she is only able to keep one. She manages to create a good life for her small family, but the loss of one son is felt deeply.

This novel looks at the family bonds we all feel and how different upbringings can shape our personalities. It is told from the perspective of Marie and her two sons, and I found the narrative from the son she couldn’t keep to be particularly moving. An emotional rollercoaster of a read.

What a sad book this was. It’s full of emotion, and just when you think things are going to be resolved the plot twists again. It was a very good read though, and I’m looking forward to reading more from the same author.

Spanning across 30 years this is a story of a young mother, forced to give up one of her babies, one of her two twin boys, Barry and Donal, and how that one moment in time’s impact has on the families life’s and how it resonates through all their futures.

Beginning in 1970 the main narrative is told by the twins mother, Marie, but also switches between both sons pov as well, giving the whole book extra depth and allows you to follow first hand how each of their lives have developed throughout the years, taking us with them right up to it’s conclusion in 2005.

Discovering that she was pregnant and the father nowhere in site, young Marie is sent from her home in Ireland to London for a secret abortion before anyone finds out that she has disgraced her family. But upon arrival in London, not wanting to go through with the abortion, she desperately wants to keep her baby and Marie hears about a mother and baby home, St Agatha’s, run by nuns which she turns to for help keeping the baby. What she didn’t know beforehand is that the nuns put the babies up for adoption. She also didn’t know that she was expecting twins!

After the birth Marie is put under immense pressure to put both her twins up for adoption against her will. With gritted determination she manages to keep one of the babies whilst the other was swiftly adopted by a rich couple who were desperate for a child.

Heartbroken from the Donal size hole in her heart she leaves St Agatha’s with nothing but a tiny sum of money and one of her sons. After queuing for hours at the council offices in hopes of finding a bed for the night in the pouring rain she is granted a few weeks in a local b&b which doesn’t open until 6pm, so with time to kill and needing somewhere dry and warm to feed the baby she goes into the only open cafe she can see. And it is there that she first meets Sylvia.

Sylvia is the first person Marie meets when she leaves the convent and she is also the first person that has shown her any kind of kindness, helping her when no one else would. Sylvia is also her salvation when she helps Marie find and gain a respectable job as a housekeeper for a wonderful older lady, Erna Goldstein, who not only hires Marie but has a self contained flat within her home for Marie and her baby son Barry to live.

There is also the dual narrative as it follows Donal’s adoption and his life. He has always known that he was put up for adoption, but what he doesn’t know is that his name was changed by his adopted parents to Robert, he doesn’t know that he has a twin brother and he doesn’t know that he has a mother who has never recovered from being separated from him!

You know, Sylvia, sometimes I’m almost happy; I tell her. There’s just the one area of my life causing me pain and anxiety, and I can’t stop it. That feeling of loss eats away at my soul every day and every night – and the sadness never seems to lessen. If anything, it consumes me more and more as our separation wears on ….

With her obvious talent for writing, with this book the author has a way of reaching deep down into your very soul with some truly heart wrenching narratives as well as throwing in some completely unexpected twists that hit you like a sucker punch to the gut and leave you reeling! Amongst all the heartache there are also rays of sunshine so it’s not all doom and gloom, but it is a rollercoaster for your emotions!

The book is wonderfully written, the characters are real and completely engaging, all playing their part to create this captivating story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Marie, a young innocent Irish girl, falls pregnant and is sent to England for an abortion but she cannot do it and goes to a home for unmarried mothers instead, thinking that they will help her keep the baby. When she gives birth to twins the nuns force her to have one adopted, Donal, while she keeps Barry but she spends her whole life yearning for the missing twin and what affect will that have on Barry?

A very good story working well being told in alternating chapters by Marie, Barry and Donal. There were lots of twists in the story to keep your interest and I loved the way the differences in their upbringings changed them but they both had the same natural intelligence and ability, and were birth childhood misfits as if something was missing but they had no idea what.

A really thought provoking and enjoyable read. The storyline definitely took some very unexpected turns but it kept me fully engaged throughout,

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. As I was expecting this book to be more of a psychological thriller, I was disappointed. It is more of a domestic/romance. Needless to say, I could not finish it. Slow beginning.

Forced to decide which baby to give away must have been excruciating painful for a mother. Marie was placed in a precarious situation with no parental guidance or support and then to have a nun that was judgmental Marie must have been an emotional wreck and then to go into the world with a baby with no skills! How was she going to support herself and find shelter.
However, she finds her guardian angels, but the age old question, “ When and how much do you tell the child you kept about the twin you were forced to give away?”

What if the family who took this child were cruel or maybe they were wonderful and he doesn’t want to be found? Adoption is a heartbreaking loss for the mother giving up the child, but a blessing of the heart that they never believed would take place.

The author shows us more of the mother that had her child ripped from her arms. The suffering and longing she felt the author was able to convey and connect in her character which was phenomenal! You could almost step into Marie’s shoes and feel her tears on your cheeks! I could empathize with Barry, but I felt more pain for the other twin because of his loss of his true mother.

I loved this book!

Thank you to the authors and publishers who work diligently for us the readers.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions..

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Stories for the opportunity to read this book. This book started quickly, getting in to the story quickly with the body of the twins. From the births to the end of the book the story unfolds following the mother and both boys through the years.

I found the story would jump several years at a time and sometimes it seemed to move on without blending well from one time to the other.

I would have liked more information as to why certain things were happening. More description would have explained the motives behind some of the actions the characters performed.

The basis of the book was strong and I liked some of the characters with the exception of Barry, he was unlikeable. I found I couldn’t feel the emotions of the characters which left the book lacking. I enjoy a book that makes me laugh out loud or cry. If you were to add more descriptive text about the characters one would be able to care for them. I found this book just ok.

Imagine being shunned by your family because you are pregnant, going to a home for unwed mothers, giving birth to twins, and being forced to give one twin up for adoption. This is the situation young Marie finds herself facing. Follow Marie as she tries to make a life for herself and her son, Barry, while her heart yearns to have the other twin back in her life. This was a good read, and has a very unexpected twist!

Its 1970 and Marie Tully is in labour being assisted by nuns where she gives birth to twin boys Barry and Donal. Marie is from Ireland and has been sent to London to give birth, hidden and out the way and have her babies adopted but she cant part with them, she has bonded with the boys. She is forced to hand one son over for adoption and she moves out of the convent with her remaining son.

When Barry is two she finds a job as a live in housekeeper and she sets down roots working and living in Erna Goldstein's home forever wondering what happened to her other son, Barry's twin brother named Robert by his new family.

We follow the lives of the three main characters, the paths their lives have taken, the journeys they have been on and the lifestyles each son has reflective of their upbringing.

I had no idea which way the book was going to go as I went in blind however, it certainly did not disappoint. I was hooked from the first page and I loved the twist about 3/4 of the way through, it wasnt one I saw coming.

The book is well deserved of ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

This was just an ok read for me, I personally didn’t think it was a very good read but I did finish it but was left feeling a bit underwhelmed if I’m honest.

A 2.5* rating from me which makes it an ok read.
Another new author to me.
A domestic drama and romance is how I would categorise this book.
Twins are separated at birth, and tells the story of the Marie the mom, then Robbie and Barry ( the twins)
The story is an easy read, with a reasonable pace which kept my interest.
The characters I engaged with were the Marie and Robbie, Barry is a very unlikeable character. Erna is a real poppet too.
I found Barry’s abrupt personality change difficult to accept.
I really didn’t expect the twist, I had it in my minds eye what would happen. That Barry would lure Robbie to his death on the Cheviot hills to get his kidney.
As for the duplicate birth certificate, surely as he was known legally by change of name of Robert that he would have had to change his name legally again, especially as his driving license was in his changed legal name.
A pleasant if not predictable ending.

I downloaded this book and seem to have a copy of something called finding Lucy by the same author instead!

So unable to review