When Jey and I were born, somehow my parents convinced themselves we were both human. They even let the local priest of Rasus into our house to perform the holy branding on our splotchy little foreheads….But our mother was an Other, a princess of light and virtue straight out of a fairy tale. Jey and I are the forbidden porduct of an Other and a human–always twins, one human and one redwing. A redwing is supposed to be drowned by it’s parents at birth, but mine thought I was special. You just looked so much like a baby, my father says.

Title: The Hidden Twin

Author: Adi Rule

Series: Standalone?

Publication: March 22nd 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Pages: 272

Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review

Summary from Goodreads:

For eighteen years a girl with no name, a Redwing, has been hidden away in a small attic room within a city of hissing pipes and curving temples perched on the side of the great volcano, Mol, while her sister, Jey-identical except for her eyes-has lived her life in public as an only child. Their father had hoped the hidden girl would one day grow up to be a normal human girl and not the wicked creature mythology has promised, so he secretly spared her life as an infant.

But when she switches places with her sister, striking up a flirtation with the son of the Empress while working in the royal gardens and gets attacks by two suspicious priests on her journey home, she is forced to call forth fire to protect herself, unleashing her previously dormant powers and letting her secret out. She soon catches the attention of a cult with a thousand year old grudge as well as a group of underground rebels, both seeking her for their own gain. But when her sister goes missing and the Redwing uncovers a great plot to awaken Mol and bring fiery destruction upon them all, she is forced to embrace her powers.

My Thoughts:

Oops? That was my first thought when reading this. The Hidden Twin is kind of the epitome of an accident and I really don’t know how I feel about it. While the writing was decent, the story and plot itself was such an overworked, overused, obviously recognizable trope that I sort of wanted to throw it out the window.

Because of what I just said, I had a really hard time getting into the book – and for that reason, my reaction is basically bleh. What sounded original and intriguing in the synopsis ended up being an exact replica of every other young adult dystopian fantasy ever. A girl who is different from everyone else figures out she must be the one to save her people… yea, say hello to Divergent, The Hunger Games, Matched, The Maze Runner (Though Thomas is a boy), and every other book ever written. Just… UGH!

I wish there was more to the book itself. The plot was character driven, which would have been fine if the characters were interesting and original. But, instead, the reader is forced to rely on the development of a stock image character in order to get any sort of satisfaction out of this book – and boy, let me tell you, you will be left wanting.

Something was seriously missing from this story. It lacked a punch, it lacked character, and it lacked depth. It was sort of like reading an essay that was based off of the bare minimum requirement to pass – and that’s still sort of a compliment.

I will leave you with this interpretation of my overall feelings on The Hidden Twin: