This Darkness Mine

Crazy psychological thriller

This was a very interesting take on fetal resorption and heart defects. What initially drew me to the story is the idea of twin being absorbed and the craziness that follows in this story. This book was just that. Crazy, weird, and pretty good. I liked Sasha and her quirks. For that I would have given 4 stars to this but she doesn't learn anything like a character should, the ending was very unsatisfactory.

“But I am not done yet, and I am determined, I am Sasha Stone. This is mind over matter and my mind is the strongest thing in me and I will not falter, will not hesitate …”

This book was weird and messed up and honestly, all the things I wanted. Not going to lie, what initially hooked me was the twin element. I will read any and all books that have to do with twins. But I thought the mystery and psychological elements incorporated into the story would give it a unique edge, and that it did. I honestly don’t think I can summarize what this book is about, even so, I think you should go into this book with as little information as possible. All you need to know is that This Darkness Mine is filled with mostly unlikeable characters show more and some intensely creepy scenes that come together for a truly unique reading experience.

Things I Liked
The creepy tone is established immediately, and it really sets the stage for what to expect from the characters.

Music is a big part of Sasha’s life and I like how it was incorporated. We see her categorize and equal different speech patterns with different music keys. It really worked for her character and showed how she distanced herself personally from others.

Sasha believing that her twin, Shanna, is communicating with her and influencing her actions is not some big secret. She tells Isaac and her parents early on in the story. I like that it wasn’t drawn out. And they all have appropriate responses that I think work with the story.

One thing I really loved was how Shanna’s messages were formatted. She used a lot of “()” an “-” to create double meanings in her words that elevated the unhinged tone.

Isaac was my favorite character, and I think he was the most likable one too. He was just a genuine sweetheart and deserves a peaceful and quiet life.

I actually liked the dysfunctional little friend group we get to see at around the halfway point. I thought all the personalities meshed well and created this endearing and messed up group.

Things I Didn’t Like
Most of the characters sucked (I liked that they were unlikeable, it just made it harder for me to connected to them) and I didn’t really connect with any of the relationships until around the halfway point. And ugh, the cheating. This book just took a little time for me to become invested.

I feel like some things were not established as well as they could have been, specifically relating to Sasha’s physical and mental health.

This Darkness Mine is a book filled with uneasy plots and complex characters that grip you from the first page. This was a very unique book and honestly, the perfect book for this time of year.

Trigger warning for body gore show less

A copy of this book was provided to me by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

This book is absolutely perfect for what it is: a psychological thriller. Whether that genre is up your alley or not is completely a personal preference.

I don’t think I can give a star rating to this book. This book was an experience. I’ve never read a Mindy McGinnis book before but I will definitely be checking out her other works. There was some really creative prose full of double meanings within conversations between Shanna and Sasha that were extremely impressive.

This book was weird as hell. Sasha has basically no memories whenever Shanna (the sister she absorbed in the womb) takes over her body. I’m still not sure if it’s an alternate show more reality where possession is an actual thing and the sister was real, or if Sasha has Multiple Personality Disorder. Sasha is a well-put together terrible person (she gets called abitch multiple times) and she’s the GOOD twin. By well put together I mean she is so smart and so sure of herself that as the POV it’s hard for the reader and for the characters around her to discern what’s the truth and what is Sasha’s delusion.

The book is dark, it has its graphically violent moments, and it’s a lot to take in. Handle this book with caution, but if you’re up for an effed up adventure- go for it. Don’t be hanging on to the edge of your seat for a resolution though- Things get tied up but there or some intentional loose threads that personally bother the heck out of me. show less

I should probably give this book a 5 because it made me feel so strongly about Sasha, but because of that I can't.

Sasha is a HORRIBLE person...wow...and I thought Umbridge was bad. The manipulation, her hatefulness, her general lack of real emotions is DISTURBING! I just finished the last chapter on my way to work (audiobook), and I was so upset by that ending, and to be honest, disgusted, I felt sick to my stomach.

Ultimately, a great read...could have finished in a day had I started the book earlier...I was glued to this story like the girls were to their sick "dead" game in the book.

Definitely will recommend this book...

#punkrocklibrarian #audiobook #overdrive @MindyMcGinnis #thisdarknessmine

Dark psychological drama. Perfect senior Sasha's perfect life starts to unravel when she starts to feel compulsively drawn to bad boy Isaac, feeling like she knows him in a way she doesn't even know her own boyfriend. Why is she remembering things and feeling things--urges, compulsions-- she has no previous memory of or desire to do? Then she learns that she was a twin, but her sister was never born. Could Sasha have absorbed her twin before birth? Could her sister be living after all--through Sasha? A deliciously creepy book that will surprise you!

I feel a WAY after reading this book. Sasha Stone is one fucked up character & Mindy McGinnis is definitely not afraid to go THERE.

I want to preface this review by saying that I absolutely LOVED [b:The Female of the Species|25812109|The Female of the Species|Mindy McGinnis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455917180s/25812109.jpg|45668311]. The main character in that book was dark, but also kind of relatable (even if she was a sociopath). This Darkness Mine sounded like it was going to be a similar book with an equally dark character, and in a way it was-- but also it was a book that I didn't quite "get".

In the beginning, I kind of loved the way Sasha Stone had it all figured out. She had her goals and she knew what she needed to do show more to achieve them. But soon it became clear that the Sasha Stone that I originally liked/cared about and the real Sasha Stone weren't even living in the same zip code.

I think this book would've been great as a short story. It sort of felt like Mindy McGinnis made me read 370 pages just to write one mind-bending paragraph. As a short story, we wouldn't have to wade through everything to get to something that was really very simplistic in the end.

I will definitely be reading more Mindy McGinnis-- although this book does give me some pause. It confused the hell out of me, and I'm honestly not sure why this idea was ever given the green light. The fact that someone believes the heart is what controls love?? The total lack of all redeeming qualities of almost all of the characters in the book?? It just didn't make sense.

I will say I give props to Mindy for GOING for it and not holding back on the gross, vulgar, or weird.

OVERALL: I'm not sure what the purpose of this book was. I think it would've made a mind-bending short story, but as a full-fledged novel, I wasn't sure I understood the point of it. Sasha Stone is one messed-up individual, so if you do decide to read this, you can at least enjoy a character who is super twisty and damaged.

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The plot of this book is twisty and shocking, and the less you know about it, the better. There were parts, however, where I had to go back a few pages to re-read, because I thought: "did that really happen?" Every time, it did. It made the plot confusing at times, because some of the twists were jarring, but this didn't take away from the quality of the writing. The writing is extremely well done, I just didn't connect with the characters or the plot, taking away much of my connection to the narrative.

Though the plot itself is odd (and at times violently graphic), there's a message underneath the text, showing how terrible people can be to others. In fact, I would argue, the main character has almost no redeeming qualities. As you show more learn more about Sasha, the more you dislike her. She might be one of the least likable narrators that I have ever read, which most likely contributed to the fact that I feel so mediocre about this book.

Overall, if you're looking for something weird, dark, and shocking, this book would probably be for you. But it wasn't really my cup of tea.

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