I am a fan of cult books and this book was definitely for me. It was not as fast paced as I would normally like but it was more a slow born and I did put it down for a few weeks about half way through. I am glad I went back and finished. If you are feeling like I was, I recommend taking a short break and then go back, you will be glad that you did

Loved this book! Did not see the end coming. It was a real page turner. Great character development and original story line. The ending never occurred to me. Not even a blip. Author did a great job of explaining everything from the past to make the present seem so believable. I had just recently finished another book that involved identical twins switching places so I thought I had thought of every possibility, but still never saw this one coming. Protagonist was so likable, you wanted her to “win” in the end. The ending is still a shock. This is a must read because you won’t believe how it ends.

SSaskia Sarginson’s Identical is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of sisterhood, identity, and the haunting shadows of a troubled past. The novel opens with Alice receiving a desperate plea from her estranged identical twin, Cecily, setting the stage for a tense and captivating narrative.

Thank you Boldwood Books, Saskia Sarginson and Netgalley for the eARC of identical.

First book by Saskia Sarginson and I really enjoyed her writing style and pacing of Identical. I felt that it felt a little slow in the middle 3rd but definitely picked up again for the last 3rd. The plot is itself has some really good twists and turns regarding our MC's Alice and her twin, Cecily. It's set on 2 timelines, then and now and follows implications of the strict religious upbringing they both were exposed to. This may put some off, but I found it ok and not overdone. The pay off near the end of the book surprised me which is always a bonus.

A good 3.5 read for Storygraph and round to 3 stars for Amazon, Waterstones

Very twisty, somewhat drags in a few places plot wise, but over I enjoyed this book. It kept my interest and kept me guessing

A thriller that moved quickly to throw this reader into turning back pages to see if I missed some clues. Identical twins, one twin asks her sister to change places for a week so she can take care of "things". Not an original plot, but Saskia Sarginson did manage to make the twins into individuals instead of replaceable pieces of a puzzle. Watch for clues, they are well hidden.

This story about identical twins was interesting. Both were raised by ultra-religious parents in an old historical home. One twin feels a deep connection to the house and the other leaves home at 16 to escape the rules thrust upon them by their father. There is a lot of back and forth between the here and now and the early days when the family was together. I thought the premise was good but honestly didn't really like the book. Too much of the religious background was not of interest to me. 3.5 stars but I rounded it up to 4.

My Review
I first came across author Saskia Sarginson when her debut novel The Twins came out in 2013. I haven't read all of her books since but I'm delighted to have re-discovered her recently.
Her book cover for Identical did win me over with its colours.
We meet twins Alice and her sister Cecily in this story. Identical but living very different lives and completely estranged from each other. So when Alice gets a message from Cecily one day looking for help and asking her to step in to Cecily's shoes, her life and her home for a moment, Alice knows Cecily wouldn't ask unless something desperate was happening.
Leaving instructions for Alice on everything to do while she is gone and so as not to raise suspicion, Cecily disappears with Alice realising quite late on that Cecily never mentions how Alice can contact her should she need to.
Strange and not possible sightings of Cecily by a neighbour make Alice quite nervous and the more time she spends around her niece Bea and Cecily's husband, leaves Alice with the impression Cecily is not telling her everything.
A story fraught with drama and tension, you won't want to place it down for a moment...
Has Alice unwittingly placed herself in danger and who will believe her if she ever needs to tell what they have done.
She knows she probably should never have trusted her sister.
I really enjoyed this one and at times the hairs on the back of my neck were standing..
I loved how author Saskia Sarginson told the story through the eyes of both sisters, we get a great telling of it.
Well worth your time.

Giving this book 3.5 stars.

It started out a little bit slow but picked up towards the end. It was a bit difficult to connect to the twins in this story. I like that we got both viewpoints of the twins.
This book also goes back and forth between past and present which could get confusing at times.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book! I wasn’t expecting more than a run-of-the-mill psychological thriller but actually it proved to be more than that, bringing in aspects of historical and domestic fiction too. The characters were compelling and the plot was completely immersive. A really good read. Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

From the first chapter I was totally hooked and couldn’t put it down, I loved the story felt so unique and complex. This book had so many twists and turns pulling you deeper and deeper into the enthralling narrative. I read this book in one day desperate to reach the breathtaking conclusion. This is a must read for psychological thriller fans.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this book.
The story was a good idea, but for me it was very drawn out and only came to light in the last 5 pages, although I had figured out what had happened long before this.

The writing is good and the characters were interesting but unfortunately, I did not like this book
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

This would not be a book I would choose browsing the shelves of a bookshop. However, I am glad I received an ARC as it is totally different to what I had expected. A very well written and enjoyable book.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Loved this
Lots of twists kept this interesting and gripped from the start

"Identical" was a riveting read that kept me on the edge of my seat; I simply couldn't put it down. The pages seemed to turn themselves, and the ending was completely unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

I did not see that ending coming! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved how this book jumped straight into the story, there was no messing around. Wow wow wow

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'identical' by Saskia Sarginson.

Absolutely loved this fast paced, gritty and unputdownable psychological thriller filled with suspense and twists!!! This book is fantastically written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all making your heart pound and you constantly second guessing.

What an absolutely HUGE success by the extremely talented Saskia!! Where have you been hiding all of my life? Why on Earth have I never read any of your books until now!! Well, I am just so pleased that has been rectified and I have now added all of her previous books to my Amazon wish list and I cannot wait to get stuck into each and every one!!This may be the first book This book had me hook, line and sinker from the first page and I could not put it down!!! Every time I said one more chapter it ended on a cliff-hanger and I just had to know what was going on!!! This kept on happened over and over until before I knew it I had devoured the whole book in one sitting!! If you are going to read this then clear your day because it is truly unputdownable. I started this this morning and finished it at approx. 2pm, reading it in one sitting. This is one of those fascinating books that will have you questioning the characters and yourself throughout!!! You have no idea who to believe and if any other of them can be trusted!!! Saskia has done an absolutely amazing job of weaving the perspectives of the twins Cecily and Alice, who are our protagonist's, together at the perfect times leaving you needing to know what happens to each at the end of every chapter. It is ram packed with twists, turns and surprises you'll never see coming. I definitely didn't and I have read hundreds of crime and psychological books so a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS Saskia!!! It is getting harder and harder to surprise me but you managed it in this successful, chilling and page turning psychological thriller!!! Grab your copy and jump on the rollercoaster ride of secrets, family, suspense, chills, twists, thrills, mystery and everything you could ask for in an epic page turner!!! Saskia's fantastic and evocative writing skills ensures you are sucked into the lives of the characters feeling your heart pounding and the hair on your arms raise. This book is rammed with suspense and tension and will keep you biting your nails, on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding while your flipping the pages because you just cant stop. I loved the fantastic ending that left me wanting to pick up more of Saskia's books and get stuck straight in.

This may be the first book I have read by this very talented author but it most certainly won't be the last and I cannot wait to get stuck into more of her previous and future books!!!

Saskia's fantastic emotive and evocative writing skills brings each of the characters to life and leaves you feeling that you are standing next to them as their story unfolds and lives start to tumble around them. Each of the characters were realistic, well rounded and strong characters which makes it a realistic read. All the characters were well developed and are brought to life throughout this fantastic book! I was completely invested in each and every one of them. I have twins myself so every time I spot a book that has a storyline based around twins or with twins playing a large part of the storyline I just have to read it and I also find that I seem to become even deeper invested in twin characters! My heart went out to Cecily, Alice and Henry after the traumatic childhood they had and what they had to deal with. No child should have been treated the way they were. The storyline does include suicide so please take this into consideration before starting as it may upset readers. Saskia really has done an absolutely fantastic job of creating such larger than life characters and they will stay with me for a long time as well as the storyline!

Overall an addictive and gripping emotional rollercoaster of twists, family, suspense, tension and everything you could want in a gripping thriller!!

#Identical #SaskiaSarginson #BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers #BookAndTonic #RachelsRandomResources #rararesources
@SaskiaSarginson @BoldwoodBooks @BoldwoodBloggers @BookAndTonic @RachelsRandomResources @rararesources

https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks

https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R

https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhitlock86/

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/34299953-kirsty-bookworm86

https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFZ2XZBSFHIHXBXGZLBQ666XVK4A?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_mb_l_prf

Captivating, this is the first time I have used this word to describe a book. I was glued to this story and I'm still reeling from how it ended. The story follows twin sisters who were dealt an extremely difficult childhood. Their father rules with an iron fist and both women try to make peace with their lives in the world, but when I tell you I was shocked by the twists this story took. Definition of didn't see that coming, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Identical - Saskia Sarginson

Love a book which turns everything on its head and this certainly didn’t disappoint.

Getting totally involved with the main characters - an empathy was grown towards them all and the desire to get to the root of what was going on.

Safe to say, that rug was swiftly pulled from underneath me just before the end!!

No spoilers here - but I definitely didn’t see that coming!

Great read - and will see what else Saskia has written now!

I hadn’t heard of this author before, but I was intrigued by the blurb and wanted to know moe about the story – and I’m so pleased I did. What an exciting read!
The book is about Alice and her twin sister Cecily, who had a very difficult childhood with their mother, domineering father and older brother Henry. They were brought up as Catholics and religion was very important, their father using it to enforce his long list of rules and his severe punishments for breaking any.
The story is told in first person, so we get to see the viewpoints of both Alice and Cecily. It is the present day and Cecily contacts Alice after years of being estranged and Alice not even being in the country. Cecily explains she is in an unhappy marriage, her husband is an alcoholic and she needs to get away for a few days to work out what to do and how to sort everything out. But she wants Alice to play her, while she has the time away. They’re identical twins, so she is the only person available. Alice accepts.
She moves into Hollyhocks Cottage with Cecily’s husband Gabriel (Thankfully they’re sleeping in separate rooms!), her teenage daughter Bea and the cat Sukie. She isn’t particularly happy about it, but feels she owes Cecily a favour and after all, it’s only for a week and then her sister will come back. She has a notebook her sister’s written, so she knows her routine, a wardrobe of Cecily’s clothes to wear, her special beauty products and even what kind of foods to cook. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, I absolutely loved this book! I do enjoy a good psychological thriller and this was fascinating. There was mystery and intrigue straight away, as you want to know what’s happening and why Cecily wants her sister to take her place. It becomes even more interesting as it soon becomes clear that what she has told Alice isn’t entirely true. Your thoughts run this way, then the other, as you try to piece things together and work out what’s actually going on and why.
I don’t want to say much else about the story, because it’s quite twisty-turny and I don’t like spoilers, but I loved it. It was a real page-turner, I was up until the early hours reading and was desperate to know what was going to happen next. This was the first of the author’s books I have read, but it’s unlikely to be the last.