Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen

22 reviews

kcruzoyola's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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jlaz_13's review

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adventurous funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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cursedepub's review

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adventurous funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

a fast-paced, exciting, smart, and compelling book that i read in 3 hours on a sunday night. witty and evocative prose, deeply interesting characters, great insights into the American dream and to Asian-American culture, and, for me, a happy ending. the playfulness with reader biases, unreliable narration, and point of view was super enjoyable too. 
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kathyf1687's review

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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franklola's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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vaniavela's review

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adventurous funny
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is an easy read. The story begins with a first-person narration by Ava, who narrates her experiences with Winnie to the detective. Ava is not really likable, but she had good character development. That said, aside from her and Winnie, the other characters have no personality at all. They all seem really one dimensional. 

Through this book we not only get an interesting premise, but insight into complex issues such as family expectations, consumerism, and labor exploitation.

Unfortunately it was a bit difficult to read because there were no quotation marks through most of the book. Being honest, I don't like that style of writing, especially since there is a lot of talking and no action. 

Overall it was a great book, but I'm hoping for better!

tw: toxic friendship, toxic relationship, xenophobia, racism, alcoholism, medical content.
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anntharai's review against another edition

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funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read this on a recommendation and without reading the blurb and I’m so glad I did. It was genuinely funny and interesting, and I definitely thought it was going to end a lot darker than it did. 

I thought there was going to be a time shift twist or some heavy foreshadowing payoff -  the plane Winnie gets on was going to be the one that crashed in Ava’s testimony/another plane with the same counterfeit part issue. If this was intentional from the author bravo it worked, if not maybe I’m a bit grim hahah)


Though I did have to look up a lot of the bags to understand some of the designer humour 😂. 

I liked the structure and the style, plus the narrator Catherine Ho did a phenomenal job.  
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kirstym25's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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erinmjustice's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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nadia's review against another edition

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lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No

3.75

This was a really good listen! Perfect for captivating my attention while doing chores around the house or commuting. There's a lot more depth than meets the eye to this one and I appreciated where Kristin Chen took the book. Didn't quite make my personal 4⭐️ threshold because of a couple narrative elements that felt a teeny bit off/awkward and a couple plot points that I didn't fully connect with. I saw someone else say that this would make a great movie and I wholeheartedly agree!
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