The author is immensely talented and I am thrilled to see so much being represented in the truest manner. This was a true cat-and-mouse book and it got me hooked. I was invested in all the characters as I learnt more about the twins' relationships and their relationships to others. Just.. so much to take in. I would have given it a 5 stars because, it felt like a really slow burn to me and I wanted the pace to pick up a little at the beginning? But, still. A book I would gladly recommend!

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The world that Akwaeke Emezi built wrapped me in a daydream as I find myself affirmed in this narrative. I have no idea what to write apart from the fact that I wished the writer ended it by narrating how the care would have looked like to a traumatized person in the book's reality. It would have been very interesting to see what that would have looked like.

All in all, I really do enjoy the writer's style of writing. The pacing was great and the world-building was a little "telling" but I do not mind that at all for the effect that it brings to the story.

This book has all the elements that I enjoyed in a book: it involved time-travelling, it showed queer love, it had nonbinary representation, our main protaganist was Jewish, it showed the intimate bonds of sisterhood. I did like the pace of the book and how it was rooted in alternative timelines of historical accounts and figures, I found that really interesting. This was not a 5-star read for me because at times, the development felt really rushed. I was not completely immersed in the timeline and struggled to keep at the story at the beginning. The book often felt very "tell" and not "show" and I wished the author developed the story further because the world felt so, fascinating and yet there are many things left undetailed or unexplored.

Also, I had to flag up all the content warnings for the book. It had briefly mentioned rape and sexual assault. It had (sort-of) detailed description of abortion and parental rape. Those were things I thought the author did a really shoddy way of telling that story. It all felt.. rushed.

Massive content warning for domestic violence/abuse. I have absolutely nothing valuable to contribute here apart from how much my heart breaks for Natalie/Gray and women like her. This book speaks to me on a personal level and so it took me longer to finish it despite it being a shorter novel. I.. wished the author explored Natalie's personality & life more beyond being happy with Nick because I found myself wanting to know how she may feel/be after knowing Sean is away in Mexico.


that aside, i thoroughly enjoyed the cat mouse chase of finding out who Isabel was. i looooved the twists and the whole stolen identity trope!