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harleyrae's review
4.0
I had received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway
3.5/5 Stars
My God I just can't believe that ending! It was a mind blowing ending! So I literally just finished this book about 10 mins ago and have no earthly idea on how to wrap my head around this. So let my first off start by saying that sadly when looking for a page number I accidentally spoiled myself on what is a MAJOR twist. That being said I decided that I still wanted to keep an open mind and instead of wondering whats gonna happen next(I still did this, it got very intense there) I wanted to try and focus on how the author would get there and how it would all wrap up. With that in mind I was still blown away by the ending, the last 20 pages I literally had goosebumps while reading this. When I began reading this I decided to go into it blind, which I feel was a very good decision, so on that note I'm not gonna say what this is about, just that you should read it.
What I didn't like:
1. How at times the story moved really slow, I understand what the author was trying to do, it just kinda dragged on for a bit.
2. The set up of the novel, now this might not be the authors doing, but at the beginning of each chapter it would state whose POV it was, which was fine, but halfway through the novel it was decided that everyone mentioned in the chapter was gonna have there name on the top of the page. That made it a bit confusing, I preferred how it was the first have with only one name at the top.
3. How the parents were never around. I know this is a common theme within YA but these parents were literally nonexistent. I think if we had been able to get their POV it would have really added to the story.
4. The writing style. While I really liked this book, the writing style didn't help. For me this was the worst part of the book. At times it felt as if a high school student was writing it. For me this was my biggest issue.
5. Lastly, I didn't like how it was almost easy to guess part of the ending. There was many hints throughout the book that made it real easy to guess.
What I did like:
1. The multiple POV. Now I'm not one who normally likes many POV's but I feel that have so many really added to the story. It made you question what you were reading, and the sanity of all the characters.
2. Well of course the ending, I mean how could I not.
3. Now this might be contradicting what I said earlier but I liked how the pacing was, yes I still feel it to be a bit slow but overall it was a good choice. It really gave you a sense of the characters and allowed you to get the know them better. It really made the ending that much more shocking.
4. The idea of the novel, it really messed with you while reading this, but in a good way.
All in all I was very pleased with how this book turned out. I hope to get the chance to read more books like this someday!
P.S. I know many other reviews said that the grammar was horrible, I believe it had gotten fixed in the edition I was reading. I did not encounter as many grammatical issues as other people.
3.5/5 Stars
My God I just can't believe that ending! It was a mind blowing ending! So I literally just finished this book about 10 mins ago and have no earthly idea on how to wrap my head around this. So let my first off start by saying that sadly when looking for a page number I accidentally spoiled myself on what is a MAJOR twist. That being said I decided that I still wanted to keep an open mind and instead of wondering whats gonna happen next(I still did this, it got very intense there) I wanted to try and focus on how the author would get there and how it would all wrap up. With that in mind I was still blown away by the ending, the last 20 pages I literally had goosebumps while reading this. When I began reading this I decided to go into it blind, which I feel was a very good decision, so on that note I'm not gonna say what this is about, just that you should read it.
What I didn't like:
1. How at times the story moved really slow, I understand what the author was trying to do, it just kinda dragged on for a bit.
2. The set up of the novel, now this might not be the authors doing, but at the beginning of each chapter it would state whose POV it was, which was fine, but halfway through the novel it was decided that everyone mentioned in the chapter was gonna have there name on the top of the page. That made it a bit confusing, I preferred how it was the first have with only one name at the top.
3. How the parents were never around. I know this is a common theme within YA but these parents were literally nonexistent. I think if we had been able to get their POV it would have really added to the story.
4. The writing style. While I really liked this book, the writing style didn't help. For me this was the worst part of the book. At times it felt as if a high school student was writing it. For me this was my biggest issue.
5. Lastly, I didn't like how it was almost easy to guess part of the ending. There was many hints throughout the book that made it real easy to guess.
What I did like:
1. The multiple POV. Now I'm not one who normally likes many POV's but I feel that have so many really added to the story. It made you question what you were reading, and the sanity of all the characters.
2. Well of course the ending, I mean how could I not.
3. Now this might be contradicting what I said earlier but I liked how the pacing was, yes I still feel it to be a bit slow but overall it was a good choice. It really gave you a sense of the characters and allowed you to get the know them better. It really made the ending that much more shocking.
4. The idea of the novel, it really messed with you while reading this, but in a good way.
All in all I was very pleased with how this book turned out. I hope to get the chance to read more books like this someday!
P.S. I know many other reviews said that the grammar was horrible, I believe it had gotten fixed in the edition I was reading. I did not encounter as many grammatical issues as other people.
ambeesbookishpages's review
2.0
The full review can be found at The Book Bratz!
When I first opened up this book I wasn't planning on giving it a bad review, rating it low or disliking it. I was excited for it actually! But then I began to read and I thought "Oh, this is interesting." and then I started thinking. "No. What?" Quickly from there my dislike grew. Now, I didn't hate Twisted Fate, I loved the idea behind it, and I saw what the author was going at. But, that isn't what you got.
Sydney and Allyson are completely opposite of each other. One is all prep and the other likes to skateboard, misbehave and smoke. Then Graham moves next door. While Allyson is busy falling head over heals for him Sydney knows something is up, but who is going to believe the misbehaved stoner? But Sydney feels like she is going to run out of time and soon uncovers what she believes are dangerous secrets about Graham. Is Graham really who he is made out to be?
I found Allyson to be very childish, and a suck up and Sydney to pretend that she is care free when she real isn't. I felt like a good majority of this book was about how Sydney has so much potential and is just wasting it. Twisted Fate is also told in multiple points of view. Which four of them aren't needed, they just confused me. I can see that the author was trying to build the suspense, but it leads to more confusion and frustration instead. Plus, the point of view changes go from first person to third person. Which is quite annoying.
The author skimmed over a lot of stuff, Graham's camera is such a big part of his life, and he has this whole process set up to receive equipment but it is never talked about. What did he get? What does it look like? When did he start filming? It is a same with a lot of the things. They are brushed upon and that is it, no further detail then that. Because of that there were so many questions that where left unanswered.
The ending was sort of thrilling. I has me reading faster to get a grip of what happened. But then there are questions, and things that still don't add up. There is so much about this book that I need to talk about but I can't because of spoilers, and I don't like putting spoilers in my reviews.
When I first opened up this book I wasn't planning on giving it a bad review, rating it low or disliking it. I was excited for it actually! But then I began to read and I thought "Oh, this is interesting." and then I started thinking. "No. What?" Quickly from there my dislike grew. Now, I didn't hate Twisted Fate, I loved the idea behind it, and I saw what the author was going at. But, that isn't what you got.
Sydney and Allyson are completely opposite of each other. One is all prep and the other likes to skateboard, misbehave and smoke. Then Graham moves next door. While Allyson is busy falling head over heals for him Sydney knows something is up, but who is going to believe the misbehaved stoner? But Sydney feels like she is going to run out of time and soon uncovers what she believes are dangerous secrets about Graham. Is Graham really who he is made out to be?
I found Allyson to be very childish, and a suck up and Sydney to pretend that she is care free when she real isn't. I felt like a good majority of this book was about how Sydney has so much potential and is just wasting it. Twisted Fate is also told in multiple points of view. Which four of them aren't needed, they just confused me. I can see that the author was trying to build the suspense, but it leads to more confusion and frustration instead. Plus, the point of view changes go from first person to third person. Which is quite annoying.
The author skimmed over a lot of stuff, Graham's camera is such a big part of his life, and he has this whole process set up to receive equipment but it is never talked about. What did he get? What does it look like? When did he start filming? It is a same with a lot of the things. They are brushed upon and that is it, no further detail then that. Because of that there were so many questions that where left unanswered.
The ending was sort of thrilling. I has me reading faster to get a grip of what happened. But then there are questions, and things that still don't add up. There is so much about this book that I need to talk about but I can't because of spoilers, and I don't like putting spoilers in my reviews.
alizalondon's review
1.0
Rating: 1.5 Stars
12 hours after finishing this book, I’m still left wondering what I just read.
Twisted Fate was a book with a lot of potential, but sadly, didn’t deliver. After finishing, I spent an hour ranting to just about anyone who would listen, and although I’ve cooled down now, my feelings haven’t changed.
Let me start by saying that this is going to be a very difficult book to review. As all my reviews, as a requirement, are spoiler-free, writing this one in the same way is going to make it considerably harder to properly express my opinions(But don’t worry-it’s still spoiler free). Twisted Fate, while it could have worked in theory, it didn’t, and I’ll try to explain why.
First of all, Twisted Fate is about sisters Allyson and Sydney Tate, who are both enamored by a boy who moves next door. However, Ally and Syd share different views of the world, and while Ally thinks that Graham it cute and has a crush on him despite his secretive past, Syd believes that he’s a psychopath, although she can’t help but like him too.
This book possesses some of the worst characterization I’ve see in a while. Sydney is a cardboard-cutout, a completely stereotypical emo jock, while Allyson is a completely stereotypical “good girl.” The entire extent of their characterization consists of this:
Sydney: Wears black, rides a skateboard, listens to heavy-metal music
Allyson: Pretty blond hair, bakes muffins, calls her parents “Mommy” and “Daddy” in her late teens
That’s it. The rest of the characters were worse, which is why I’ve neglected to mention them here.
The other thing this book has were a billion POV’s. Normally, I would be okay with this, but as they were all told in first person, they all sounded the same. It got too confusing for comfort, and to make things worse, sometimes it would switch into third-person randomly in the middle in the chapter.
The plot was slow, no development at all, it felt like the entire book was just waiting for the end. Not much else to say about it.
The ending was interesting, and also the reason why many people either end up loving or hating this book. It’s been described as “reminiscent of We Were Liars,” because they both have twist endings, but while We Were Liars had an ending that made total sense and left me in tears, Twisted Fate‘s just doesn’t make sense. The ending, designed to take you by surprise, wasn’t really surprising at all, but that wasn’t the main issue with it. In We Were Liars, it’s possible to go back and think, “Oh, that makes sense,” but in Twisted Fate, there are certain scenes previously in the book that make it impossible for that twist to be true. The ending left me far too confused and the is main reason for my fierce dislike of this book.
All in all, Twisted Fate was not my cup of tea, as it contained too much confusion and lacked too many elements that make up a good story. If you’re looking for better characters, better plot twists, and better everything else, I suggest We Were Liars instead.
If you’ve read the book and are confused as to what happened, read my spoiler-filled explanation here
This review can also be found on my blog at Musings and Books
12 hours after finishing this book, I’m still left wondering what I just read.
Twisted Fate was a book with a lot of potential, but sadly, didn’t deliver. After finishing, I spent an hour ranting to just about anyone who would listen, and although I’ve cooled down now, my feelings haven’t changed.
Let me start by saying that this is going to be a very difficult book to review. As all my reviews, as a requirement, are spoiler-free, writing this one in the same way is going to make it considerably harder to properly express my opinions(But don’t worry-it’s still spoiler free). Twisted Fate, while it could have worked in theory, it didn’t, and I’ll try to explain why.
First of all, Twisted Fate is about sisters Allyson and Sydney Tate, who are both enamored by a boy who moves next door. However, Ally and Syd share different views of the world, and while Ally thinks that Graham it cute and has a crush on him despite his secretive past, Syd believes that he’s a psychopath, although she can’t help but like him too.
This book possesses some of the worst characterization I’ve see in a while. Sydney is a cardboard-cutout, a completely stereotypical emo jock, while Allyson is a completely stereotypical “good girl.” The entire extent of their characterization consists of this:
Sydney: Wears black, rides a skateboard, listens to heavy-metal music
Allyson: Pretty blond hair, bakes muffins, calls her parents “Mommy” and “Daddy” in her late teens
That’s it. The rest of the characters were worse, which is why I’ve neglected to mention them here.
The other thing this book has were a billion POV’s. Normally, I would be okay with this, but as they were all told in first person, they all sounded the same. It got too confusing for comfort, and to make things worse, sometimes it would switch into third-person randomly in the middle in the chapter.
The plot was slow, no development at all, it felt like the entire book was just waiting for the end. Not much else to say about it.
The ending was interesting, and also the reason why many people either end up loving or hating this book. It’s been described as “reminiscent of We Were Liars,” because they both have twist endings, but while We Were Liars had an ending that made total sense and left me in tears, Twisted Fate‘s just doesn’t make sense. The ending, designed to take you by surprise, wasn’t really surprising at all, but that wasn’t the main issue with it. In We Were Liars, it’s possible to go back and think, “Oh, that makes sense,” but in Twisted Fate, there are certain scenes previously in the book that make it impossible for that twist to be true. The ending left me far too confused and the is main reason for my fierce dislike of this book.
All in all, Twisted Fate was not my cup of tea, as it contained too much confusion and lacked too many elements that make up a good story. If you’re looking for better characters, better plot twists, and better everything else, I suggest We Were Liars instead.
If you’ve read the book and are confused as to what happened, read my spoiler-filled explanation here
This review can also be found on my blog at Musings and Books
nagam's review
3.0
3.5, I think.
That ending? Holy crap. I had suspicions at the end, but I just don't see how it ended the way that it did. I liked the mystery and figuring out what was going on, but the ending just feels like I'm suspended in mid-air after jumping out of an airplane.
That ending? Holy crap. I had suspicions at the end, but I just don't see how it ended the way that it did. I liked the mystery and figuring out what was going on, but the ending just feels like I'm suspended in mid-air after jumping out of an airplane.
cookiemonstaly's review
3.0
Sydney and Allyson Tate are sisters, and polar opposites of each other.
While Allyson is the model daughter – sociable like their mother, enjoys sailing like her father, and loves baking muffins – Syd is the rebellious one that will surely give their parents a bad name, if it wasn’t for her perfect grades in school. Allyson couldn’t do a math equation to save her life.
Bring in mysterious and almost-too-perfect blond haired Graham Copeland, the literal boy-next-door. His appearance further pulls apart the sisters as their disagreement builds in regards to Graham.
To Allyson, Graham’s quiet ways and shyness is a mirror of her own awkwardness, making him an instant friend to her. It’s not long before she develops a strong bond that turns into ‘love’ for her.
Sydney thinks her sister is crazy! Graham is anything but Prince Charming, and his secretive past only makes her more wary of him. Graham Copeland is a psychopath, Syd is sure of it. But is she ready to face to truth?
Twisted Fate by Norah Olson was so difficult to read in the beginning. It could be because I had a book hangover, or it was because the plotline of this story was quite difficult to get into.
The main characters in this book fit into perfect moulds, that it irked me to no end. Allyson was the too-perfect daughter that was so naïve, it bordered on stupidity. Her unwavering trust and adoration for Graham made me feel like grabbing her shoulders and shaking her until some common sense entered her empty head.
Sydney, on the other hand, had no direction in life. All she did was smoke pot, skate, and have an on-off relationship with her guy friend that spits out deep quotes when stoned. Syd’s other mission in life is to expose Graham for what he truly is – whatever that may be. She’s just sure that there’s something wrong with him, but she also cannot keep her attraction for him at bay.
To top it off, the story is told from different perspectives every chapter. With Allyson being a complete airhead, and Syd being stoned all the time from smoking pot, you don’t really know who to trust – because all the chapters don’t add up.
The only redeeming factor of this book is the very last page. As in, the very last page of the story. While the plot is quite predictable, the ending is an amazing twist to the story. I would say the ending is a good reason to pick up this book.
Recommended for those who like a little bit of psychological thrill to their story, but definitely not for those who cannot stand shallow characters and love triangles.
While Allyson is the model daughter – sociable like their mother, enjoys sailing like her father, and loves baking muffins – Syd is the rebellious one that will surely give their parents a bad name, if it wasn’t for her perfect grades in school. Allyson couldn’t do a math equation to save her life.
Bring in mysterious and almost-too-perfect blond haired Graham Copeland, the literal boy-next-door. His appearance further pulls apart the sisters as their disagreement builds in regards to Graham.
To Allyson, Graham’s quiet ways and shyness is a mirror of her own awkwardness, making him an instant friend to her. It’s not long before she develops a strong bond that turns into ‘love’ for her.
Sydney thinks her sister is crazy! Graham is anything but Prince Charming, and his secretive past only makes her more wary of him. Graham Copeland is a psychopath, Syd is sure of it. But is she ready to face to truth?
Twisted Fate by Norah Olson was so difficult to read in the beginning. It could be because I had a book hangover, or it was because the plotline of this story was quite difficult to get into.
The main characters in this book fit into perfect moulds, that it irked me to no end. Allyson was the too-perfect daughter that was so naïve, it bordered on stupidity. Her unwavering trust and adoration for Graham made me feel like grabbing her shoulders and shaking her until some common sense entered her empty head.
Sydney, on the other hand, had no direction in life. All she did was smoke pot, skate, and have an on-off relationship with her guy friend that spits out deep quotes when stoned. Syd’s other mission in life is to expose Graham for what he truly is – whatever that may be. She’s just sure that there’s something wrong with him, but she also cannot keep her attraction for him at bay.
To top it off, the story is told from different perspectives every chapter. With Allyson being a complete airhead, and Syd being stoned all the time from smoking pot, you don’t really know who to trust – because all the chapters don’t add up.
The only redeeming factor of this book is the very last page. As in, the very last page of the story. While the plot is quite predictable, the ending is an amazing twist to the story. I would say the ending is a good reason to pick up this book.
Recommended for those who like a little bit of psychological thrill to their story, but definitely not for those who cannot stand shallow characters and love triangles.
erinarkin20's review
2.0
Twisted Fate by Norah Olson was an interesting read. I admittedly couldn’t put this one down but it may have been for all the wrong reasons. In my case, this may just be one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” situations because once I finished this book I found myself a bit frustrated.
Sydney and Alyson are sisters and complete opposites. When their neighbor Graham moves in across the street, immediately Sydney sees a something in him that makes her want to spend time with him. At the same time, Alyson is a bit wary. She thinks he is weird and there is something about him that she doesn’t trust.
There is a bit of a mystery in that Alyson is trying to figure out what Graham’s deal is and she enlists the help of her best friend, Declan. As things unfold, the story got a bit convoluted for me. I have to say, that I wasn’t completely surprised by the ending of this book but I still couldn’t really figure it out. There were a lot of POV’s that I thought were unnecessary and ultimately the twist at the end fell a bit flat for me. I also didn’t really get the obsession that Graham had with his videos and what he was really up to.
As I said, perhaps this one just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy.
Sydney and Alyson are sisters and complete opposites. When their neighbor Graham moves in across the street, immediately Sydney sees a something in him that makes her want to spend time with him. At the same time, Alyson is a bit wary. She thinks he is weird and there is something about him that she doesn’t trust.
There is a bit of a mystery in that Alyson is trying to figure out what Graham’s deal is and she enlists the help of her best friend, Declan. As things unfold, the story got a bit convoluted for me. I have to say, that I wasn’t completely surprised by the ending of this book but I still couldn’t really figure it out. There were a lot of POV’s that I thought were unnecessary and ultimately the twist at the end fell a bit flat for me. I also didn’t really get the obsession that Graham had with his videos and what he was really up to.
As I said, perhaps this one just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the review copy.
kailey2213's review
3.0
The ending of this book is just fucked. Didn't think she was capable of something like that. and to think that throughout the book I was thinking Graham was the bad guy.
khairun_atika's review
3.0
Haunting, disturbing and beguiling. Twisted Fate is a riveting tale of two sisters, and how their lives turned upside down with the arrival of new neighbour Graham Copeland. As handsome as he is mysterious, Allyson is drawn to him but Sydney is suspicious of Graham and his experimental, "artistic" movies. Graham's intensity and reliance on drugs to create "beautiful movies" are disturbing, an unhealthy obsession which clashes with Sydney's profound intelligence. This made Sydney and Allyson's relationship even more stagnant, and what perplexes the reader would be the finale. I think that Norah Olson had carefully and meticulously weaved the critical plot points to other parts of the novel, before everything comes together into a shocking twist that would haunt the reader. An intriguing read.