The Shadow Girl by Jennifer Archer (review)

On the morning of Lily's eighteenth birthday, her life changes when her father dies in an accident. As she tries to get to grips with the loss, she's disturbed by her mother's distracted references to a past Lily doesn't remember, and she relies more on Iris, her secret second self whose voice has always been with her. Exploring her father's locked workshop leads to troubling discoveries, such as a valuable violin that Lily can mysteriously play beautifully despite having no training. At the same time, Lily is torn between Wyatt, her longtime best friend with whom she recently shared a kiss, and Ty, the young man who appeared at the scene of her father's accident. It soon becomes clear that Ty has information about Lily's past that he's keeping from her, and Lily is stunned when she finds out what it is: Iris was Lily's violin prodigy sister, who died young of leukemia, and from whom Lily was cloned. The slow unspooling of family secrets is compelling, and Lily's distraction by two hot guys is both situationally logical and romantically pleasing. However, the book tries to do too much by making Iris' playing a supernatural healing force, leading Ty, who has a brother in a coma, to search Lily out in the hopes that she acquired Iris' curative musical ability; additionally, the science is old-horror-movie muddled and made-up, with lots of holes in its exploration. This is therefore best suited for romance audiences who like a little extranormal twist; they'll likely forgive the scientific bogusness and just enjoy the blend of secrets and pounding hearts.