“People thought that being one of a kind made you special. No, it just made you lonely. What was special was belonging with someone else.”

So I really loved this book. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did because I'm not the biggest fan of literary/historical fiction. It's a genre that I don't gravitate towards, but I was still really interested in picking this up because of all the hype.

This novel follows twin sisters Desiree and Stella, who one day decide to run away from their small town and go find a new life for themselves. A few years later, Desiree comes back to her mother's house with a child in tow, while Stella disappears to pursue a life passing as a white woman. Even as life sets them on different paths, Desiree never stops looking for her twin, her other half.

The characters were all so fascinating. We follow the twins and their two daughters, and while I enjoyed some perspectives more than others, they were all so compelling. They were such flawed people, but I always wanted to know more about them.

I'm a big fan of character studies, and this novel really delivers in exploring the complexities of a family torn apart over decades and how they rekindle their relationships with one another.

This book spans years and generations, and that is something I love in books. It makes me sympathize and care even more about the characters.

The discussions of race, colorism, identity, motherhood, and loneliness in this book were all dealt with so much nuance and complexity while still remaining very accessible.

The biggest critique I see of this book is that it's super slow. And I kind of agree and disagree with that. The pacing is very consistent throughout, and because it's a family drama that stretches through years, there is never really a point where it gets fast-paced. But once you get accustomed to the cast of characters and the various perspectives, it's impossible to put the book down. You keep reading to learn more about why characters make certain decisions, even though the answers aren't always clear.

Also, listening to the audiobook helped me!! If I was reading it physically, I probably would have had a hard time reading the first few chapters and getting into the book, but the story worked so well on audio that I was invested right in the beginning.

There are quite a few romances in here, that while not really the focus of the story, I really enjoyed!! Especially the romance between Jude and Reese.

Overall, this book was a really great surprise, and I want to read more from this author because I loved the writing style.