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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
"The story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge.
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was."
Having heard so many good things about We Were Liars, a book that I am still wanting to read, I requested this book straight away.
The story is written backwards from present day to where it all began, the last chapter landing us back in present day. This is a format that I have never seen done before, and while I didn't have a problem with it initially, after a while I found it very confusing and hard to follow.
For a psychological thriller, this book lacked suspense. It was too obvious what had happened. Being told in reverse meant we were reading to discover the hows and whys, but it never seemed to ratchet up any tension. I was expecting a plot twist that never came and for a short book, it was quite boring.
Saying this, I did enjoy the writing style and this novel will not deter me from reading anything else from this author. Genuine Fraud is a book that will appeal to many readers, but it just isn't for me.
2/5*
"The story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge.
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was."
Having heard so many good things about We Were Liars, a book that I am still wanting to read, I requested this book straight away.
The story is written backwards from present day to where it all began, the last chapter landing us back in present day. This is a format that I have never seen done before, and while I didn't have a problem with it initially, after a while I found it very confusing and hard to follow.
For a psychological thriller, this book lacked suspense. It was too obvious what had happened. Being told in reverse meant we were reading to discover the hows and whys, but it never seemed to ratchet up any tension. I was expecting a plot twist that never came and for a short book, it was quite boring.
Saying this, I did enjoy the writing style and this novel will not deter me from reading anything else from this author. Genuine Fraud is a book that will appeal to many readers, but it just isn't for me.
2/5*
Hmmmm... I had some issues with this. It took me a while to get into it and actually want to pick it up and continue reading it.
Then just as it was starting to get interesting and I was intrigued to read more, the key scene on the boat happened and I realised all the similarities throughout the book, and especially in that scene, with The Talented Mr Ripley. Since this book's plot follows The Talented Mr Ripley's so closely, from about halfway through this book until the penultimate chapter, I wasn't surprised by any of the plot twists/developments that happened - they were almost identical to TTMR. I understand the author gave credit in the 'author's notes' to that book and a few others (which I hadn't read and don't know the plots of) but I just don't think mirroring another work's plot so closely works for thrillers - which are usually predominantly plot driven. Being able to predict half of the plot of the book took all of the fun out of it and I found I was just continuing reading it so I could be finished with it.
The final chapter does differ from TTMR (I think, can't fully remember the plot), but may take from another of the works the author says she was 'inspired by'. If I hadn't known the plot of TTMR and therefore not been able to predict the plot, I would have given this 2 stars (decent writing, but nothing amazing or that captivating) but unfortunately, I have to give it 1 star
Then just as it was starting to get interesting and I was intrigued to read more, the key scene on the boat happened and I realised all the similarities throughout the book, and especially in that scene, with The Talented Mr Ripley. Since this book's plot follows The Talented Mr Ripley's so closely, from about halfway through this book until the penultimate chapter, I wasn't surprised by any of the plot twists/developments that happened - they were almost identical to TTMR. I understand the author gave credit in the 'author's notes' to that book and a few others (which I hadn't read and don't know the plots of) but I just don't think mirroring another work's plot so closely works for thrillers - which are usually predominantly plot driven. Being able to predict half of the plot of the book took all of the fun out of it and I found I was just continuing reading it so I could be finished with it.
The final chapter does differ from TTMR (I think, can't fully remember the plot), but may take from another of the works the author says she was 'inspired by'. If I hadn't known the plot of TTMR and therefore not been able to predict the plot, I would have given this 2 stars (decent writing, but nothing amazing or that captivating) but unfortunately, I have to give it 1 star
Genuine Fraud is so Lockhart. I suppose it's a psychological thriller, something I tend to steer clear of these days but I gave it a go because I just love Lockhart's writing style. It does also manage to avoid some of the cliches of the genre too.
Jule is your ultimate unreliable narrator, reinventing herself as she hides from something in her past. She misses her friends Imogen and Paolo, yet she's in a Mexican resort pretending to be Imogen. What is going on?
Ultimately, nothing is too surprising but I liked the journey to get there, with all the little lies and truths knitting together through flashbacks. These flashbacks get older the further back they go and you start to realise how far from the truth Jule has strayed.
In true Lockhart style, there's plenty of rich East Coast girls and trips to Martha's Vineyard. It seems surprisingly easy for Jule to pass herself off as Imogen, she has access to just enough to path the way for her fraud. I liked Jule's origin story, the idea that she is the superhero or action hero in her own story. She so doesn't want to be who she once was, that she creates her own narrative.
Remember when "new adult" was a thing? Well if it still is a thing, Genuine Fraud would fall firmly into it. The characters are college age and they have independence. The girls are orphans but it's not done just to get rid of the parental figures.
Jule is your ultimate unreliable narrator, reinventing herself as she hides from something in her past. She misses her friends Imogen and Paolo, yet she's in a Mexican resort pretending to be Imogen. What is going on?
Ultimately, nothing is too surprising but I liked the journey to get there, with all the little lies and truths knitting together through flashbacks. These flashbacks get older the further back they go and you start to realise how far from the truth Jule has strayed.
In true Lockhart style, there's plenty of rich East Coast girls and trips to Martha's Vineyard. It seems surprisingly easy for Jule to pass herself off as Imogen, she has access to just enough to path the way for her fraud. I liked Jule's origin story, the idea that she is the superhero or action hero in her own story. She so doesn't want to be who she once was, that she creates her own narrative.
Remember when "new adult" was a thing? Well if it still is a thing, Genuine Fraud would fall firmly into it. The characters are college age and they have independence. The girls are orphans but it's not done just to get rid of the parental figures.
⭐️3-3.5/5. I seemed to have enjoyed this more than most...
I liked it enough. Thought the structure was confusing.
i literally closed this book and said 'wow that was dumb'
firstly, there's no reason it needed to be told in reverse order. it wasn't THAT clever. it would have been perfectly fine to tell it chronologically.
secondly, ending who? resolution where? the way it wrapped up was all very strange and sudden and wasn't nearly satisfying enough to count as a ending
and thirdly, am i supposed to like these characters, or root for any of them? cause i wasn't a fan of any of them, especially jule and imogen.
wouldn't really recommend.
firstly, there's no reason it needed to be told in reverse order. it wasn't THAT clever. it would have been perfectly fine to tell it chronologically.
secondly, ending who? resolution where? the way it wrapped up was all very strange and sudden and wasn't nearly satisfying enough to count as a ending
and thirdly, am i supposed to like these characters, or root for any of them? cause i wasn't a fan of any of them, especially jule and imogen.
wouldn't really recommend.
i literally closed this book and said 'wow that was dumb'
firstly, there's no reason it needed to be told in reverse order. it wasn't THAT clever. it would have been perfectly fine to tell it chronologically.
secondly, ending who? resolution where? the way it wrapped up was all very strange and sudden and wasn't nearly satisfying enough to count as a ending
and thirdly, am i supposed to like these characters, or root for any of them? cause i wasn't a fan of any of them, especially jule and imogen.
wouldn't really recommend.
firstly, there's no reason it needed to be told in reverse order. it wasn't THAT clever. it would have been perfectly fine to tell it chronologically.
secondly, ending who? resolution where? the way it wrapped up was all very strange and sudden and wasn't nearly satisfying enough to count as a ending
and thirdly, am i supposed to like these characters, or root for any of them? cause i wasn't a fan of any of them, especially jule and imogen.
wouldn't really recommend.
unsatisfying ending, didn’t explain the main characters motives