This was a book I struggled with, I just couldn't get into it and it didn't help that I felt no empathy for the characters. I found the twins behaviour odd. At the beginning when they were in the bath together making a soap sud building I thought that they were children but then it was revealed that they were twenty seven. Also their actions with the black headed seagull was strange. Maybe all this coloured my further reading of the book but despite the twists and turns this book was not for me.

This book is a bit different from my usual reads and I found the pace a bit pedestrian. That said there is an interesting twist towards the end and all in all I found it reasonably enjoyable.
The story centres around twins Nan and Ana who work as archivists in the national library and who are convinced that a series of scathing reviews written by Eben about their mother’s novels are responsible for her taking her own life. The twins allow Eben access to their mothers archive held in the Library in the hope that they will be able to make him pay. Things do not work out quite as smoothly as they expect with unforeseen consequences.

I really enjoyed this dystopian novel, the talk of the Great Sickness reminded me heavily of Covid especially whenever characters were asked about their vaccination status.
I was heavily invested in Nan and Ana the palindrome twins.

Eban sounded smug and it has to be said a little annoying.

Overall though I did really enjoy it, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher and the author for writing such a gripping and engaging story.

This story is about twins, Ana and Nan, whose author mother committed suicide after receiving countless negative reviews from a man called Eben. He's beside himself with upset that he is being publicly blamed for the suicide. He works as a security guard at the local library and asks the twins permission to have access to her books and diaries. The twins say yes and hatch a plan to get him back for what he's done......
I struggled to stay invested in this story. The plot sounded great on paper but when it came to the actual reading of it, there were parts that seemed to drag and be quite flat. They didn't hold my attention and then it was a struggle to get back into it. It's a real shame as I know there would have been a lot of work that went into writing this book. It just wasn't for me.
I received a free ARC book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #hodderbooks,#fflur_dafydd_awdur.

I certainly wasn’t expecting this when I decided to read this book. I was drawn to the setting of the library and the suicides suggested there might be more to it than meets the eye. Well there certainly was! A dystopian locked room thriller sees identical twins,Nan and Ana, out for revenge against a literary critic Eben, who they hold responsible for their mother’s suicide. Add in a security guard on probation and we have the four key protagonists through which the story will unravel. There’s a dark sinister dystopian society that sends a shiver through you; a country where books are banned for spreading disease. The twin’s mother’s character is gradually revealed, and the relationship between the characters unravels slowly as the events of the day progress. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are plenty of twists and turns in this story.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-arc in exchange for a review.

Luckily I was a little forewarned this being a dystopian novel because I like this genre and so I started reading it not expecting it to be a story that would have many similarities to my own world. And indeed it did not. There were a few references to a ‘great sickness’ and a ‘neighbouring country’. The sickness caused the government of this fictitious country to set a lot of rules, including one that forbid the use of paper. Aargh! What horrible thought! This was not just because people apparently could get ill from handling paper, but later on in the story it turned out the government was using this for a whole other purpose. There were many references to a neighbouring country where apparently a prince ruled, but those references didn’t to anything to shed more light on the story.
Although some of the characters appealed to me, I was not so impressed with others. The twins the whole story revolves around are quite strange to begin with, and not in a nice way. The library guard was not a really nice person too but he was, at least to me, more real than some of the other characters. The story begins quite intriguing but unfortunately later on it just dwindles and I found some parts overly drawn out long. There were a few surprises so as what happened with one of the twins’ female colleagues but I found this part rather gross and unbelievable.
Still, I finished the book because at a certain point I realised I really wanted to know how it would end.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this review copy.

This is set in a world after the "Great Sickness" and twins Ana and Nan are seeking revenge against a reviewer called Eben, who they believe was the reason why their mother took her own life after a deeply harsh review

This is not the story I thought it would be. That said it is clever and unusual. It’s based in the future, and told from various points of view. As the story unfolds more and more things come to light about the world and the restrictions therein that it’s set in. A different read from the norm.

Once I got into this I did enjoyed it but it took me a while to gel with the book. Written in multiple POV’s, largely unreliable narrators, but centred around twins Nan and Ana. Following their novelist mother Elena’s suicide, they determine to bring critic Eben to justice, blaming him for her death following his vitriolic criticism of her writing. Set in the national library of an unnamed small country I would describe this as a dystopian fantasy, which is well outside of my comfort zone. I can see this will be a great read for many as it’s original with some good, well fleshed characters, although I found them all unlikeable.

Briefly, when Eben contacts the library asking to view Elena’s diaries, as he is writing her biography, the twins, who work there, arrange access for him then close down the library when he’s there locking them, the public and their colleagues in. Alongside this there is an interesting second plotline about the library and it’s strictly controlled access believing that books spread and carry germs.

I so I wanted to love this but I only liked it. It’s a well written literary read and to my knowledge totally original in concept but I think it will be a bit of a marmite read. I’m somewhere in the middle, I enjoyed it but would recommend to fantasy lovers rather than thriller readers. Give it a go. 3.5⭐️

Thanks to netgalley and publishers for arc
I tried twice to read this book but both times I am sad to say I failed
I just found it uninspiring and not very thrilling at all so it didn’t grip me as I expected it to and I just couldn’t get into it sorry

What is Truth? Is it objective or subjective? Who controls it and to what ends? This novel addresses that question through the allegory of a mystery thriller. It is set in a world recovering from “The Great Sickness”, with the implication that, for all practical purposes, only two countries exist: a large, dominant, one and a small, subservient, one. In the National Library of the small country, four characters are on collision courses, but only two of them know this.
Ana and Nan Oodig are twins who work as archivists within the Library. They are the daughters of the late Elena Oodig, a famous writer who had jumped to her death after receiving an excoriating review for her last book.
Eben Prytherch wrote that review and is haunted by guilt, although he doesn’t believe this could possibly have been the motive. He is primarily a reviewer but is about to start writing Elena’s biography, for which purpose he has been locked into a room in the Library where he can look at her collected papers, diaries, etc. It is a criminal offence to remove any material from the Library.
Dan Matthews is a Porter at the Library, one of a team but, on this particular day, all the rest are at a conference so he has sole charge of the building. He is a paroled convict, but also an IT expert. His job gives him the power to enter any part of the building, and he is equipped with a video recorder which constantly feeds back to Security. His IT skills mean he can manipulate that reality.
Security is paramount because books are precious commodities, but also because they contain paper and paper, uniquely, is a major and continuing source of disease. No one seems to realise that this is clearly untrue and that the library’s main function is actually to digitise all literature it considers relevant, and that it therefore controls all knowledge. The twins’ plan is easy to execute, in theory. Having seduced Dan into hacking the security system, they intend to enter the room where Eben is working and kill him in revenge for their mother’s death. It starts to fall apart almost immediately, and rapidly descends into chaos, as secrets spill out and jeopardy intensifies for all the major players.
The story is told alternately from the viewpoint of each of the four main characters. It is well written, at times quite lyrical and flows smoothly. Characterisation is good although none of them are really likeable; the Twins are seriously weird; Eben is a pathetic wreck and Dan is naïve and ingenuous. However, the male characters are excusably weak because the small country is a palely disguised matriarchal autocracy. The underlying idea, however, is that what we think is based on what we know to be true, and knowledge is controlled by those who maintain it. The truth, in this world, is only what the state exposes it to be. As a character says at one point it is “My Truth”. The story works well as a straightforward fantasy thriller, but it also work as an allegory of our world. The former is a 3 star and the latter is a 5 star. Arithmetic, the only unchallengeable truth, makes that a 4.

When I requested this book I was under the impression that it was a closed circle mystery. The blurb did not indicate that it is set in a futurisitic setting and had it I probably wouldn't have requested it.

That said, I read the whole thing and for much of the book couldn't quite decide it I loved it or hated it. Having finished the book I think I have decided it was somewhere in the middle.

Overall, I struggled with the characters. They were all flawed which did indeed make them interesting but none of them were likeable so I felt that I couldn't find a way into this book.

Without giving too much away, by then end of the book I felt there was a lack of explanation regarding some of the events. For me it was an average book.

I really struggled to get into this book, but I persevered because I hate not finishing a book. However the second half of the book really picked up and felt like there was almost a different writing style that I preferred and didn't feel so clunky

The title, blurb and artwork had me request this straight away.
However, I mistakenly thought this was a locked room set in present day, and unfortunately it’s not. It is a dystopian/ futuristic novel. This is not one of my chosen genres but I read on regardless.
It starts slow, gains good ground, I read in two sittings. Ending is what needs to happen but not necessarily a preferred/ liked ending? Hard to say too much without giving important details away.
I did not find any character likeable, and I feel the male characters had no depth at all.
On the whole, not for me but that is a personal thing and if you like dystopian mysteries then it could be a perfect story for you.

This book was both better and worse than I had initially expected. It was slow to start and it eventually ended up being dystopian which is not a genre I typically read. The characters are well written although there are many disturbing moments despite that - most notably, in the first chapter when the twins take a bath together. I believed them to be young children as a result, and yet it was later revealed that they were in their twenties. The world that they live in is also disturbing but very vague and unfinished. The country that they live in doesn't even have a name, and there is a lot of confusion surrounding the government and the roles of men and women in its society. The story increases in pace and improves towards the end of the novel, with the ending itself being the highlight for me as I could not have pictured it finishing any other way.

I am sorry I didn't realise when I requested it that this novel was futuristic. I have tried to get into it several times but finally gave up. What I have read is well written so that is why I have given it 3 stars but the theme just isn't to my taste.

This book is about twins and the loss of their mother and how they seek revenge.
This book isn’t what I expected and I didn’t enjoy it , it is part dystopian and has the essence of a great story but it didn’t hit the mark for me.
The writing is excellent, the characters unlikeable and I found the story hard going at times .
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton .

A twisty mystery about twin girls struggling after the death of their novelist mother. It took me a while to get in to this book and it didn't really grab me as much as I had hoped it would. I usually love books about books and libraries but there was something missing from this one for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Sorry I van't be more positive in my review, such as it is.

Almost impossible to review without ruining the book. I loved it.

I was concerned that the identical twin trope would overwhelm this book but it didn’t at all.

I love libraries and I love the vivid descriptions used in this book that took me back to my favourite.

Not my cup of tea at all. Firstly, there's no indication at all that this is fantasy/dystopian, and I'm not a fan of those genres. I spent the first few pages wondering why there were no temporal or geographical roots to the story. It just seemed in limbo. Could have been any country, any time.

Secondly, not one character is remotely likeable: not twins Ana and Nan, who are hell-bent on killing the novelist/critic, Eben, whom they believe sent their mother, Elena, to her suicide. Not Eben, not feminist Elena, not Dan, the ex-con porter working in the library where the whole plot plays out.

There is no doubt that Dafydd is a skilled writer, but I found this to be laboured and over-intense and if I'm honest, rather tedious. I always finish a book but it was hard-going and not that enjoyable.

There's a long list of people to thank in the author's acknowledgements. Very nice. However, she seemed to have forgotten the most important people: her readers. I'm not impressed.