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sarah_haddad91's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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
1.0
szdalessa's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-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
2.0
namsmommy09's review against another edition
3.75
I thought this story was interesting. Definitely not what I was expecting but in a good way. I love that you learn to love first one lady, then the other and ultimately you get to see how things play out. This book was also an interesting look at the "counterfeit" industry.
ktswings's review
4.0
3.5
Fun fact: Consignment shop buyers are supposed to be trained to not buy fake goods & can be fined for doing so.
Fun fact: Consignment shop buyers are supposed to be trained to not buy fake goods & can be fined for doing so.
last_leslie's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
suzyq436's review
3.0
Good: I enjoyed the storyline.
Not so good: The entire story is told rather than shown.
The first part was hella boring and read like one long school essay. Then part two came along and I started to enjoy the story but not enough to give this a greater than average rating.
Not so good: The entire story is told rather than shown.
The first part was hella boring and read like one long school essay. Then part two came along and I started to enjoy the story but not enough to give this a greater than average rating.
amberbillingsley's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
suvata's review
4.0
• Scribd audiobook • Kindle ebook
• #StoryGraph: fiction contemporary emotional lighthearted medium-paced
288 pages | first published 2022
The story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise—an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners.
Money can’t buy happiness… but it can buy a decent fake.
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.
Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences.
• #StoryGraph: fiction contemporary emotional lighthearted medium-paced
288 pages | first published 2022
The story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise—an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners.
Money can’t buy happiness… but it can buy a decent fake.
Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.
Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences.
cindy_f's review
4.0
Counterfeit by Kristin Chen
I picked up this book out of sheer curiosity of the world of the counterfeit designer handbag scheme. Its about two Chinese American women and former college roommates who reconnect after many years. Winnie convinces Ava, a corporate lawyer and mother of a toddler to join her in this “victimless” crime to make a lot of extra cash. This venture takes Ava to China were she navigates the sinister world of procuring excellent fakes in order to pass them off as the real thing in the U.S.
This story was quite propulsive and entertaining. The storytelling is unique in that most of it is told as a confession by Ava to a detective, spilling how she was manipulated into this scheme and that she has no idea where Winnie is. We also get Winnie’s perspective and it’s up to the reader to flush out the fake. Great plot and characters!
I picked up this book out of sheer curiosity of the world of the counterfeit designer handbag scheme. Its about two Chinese American women and former college roommates who reconnect after many years. Winnie convinces Ava, a corporate lawyer and mother of a toddler to join her in this “victimless” crime to make a lot of extra cash. This venture takes Ava to China were she navigates the sinister world of procuring excellent fakes in order to pass them off as the real thing in the U.S.
This story was quite propulsive and entertaining. The storytelling is unique in that most of it is told as a confession by Ava to a detective, spilling how she was manipulated into this scheme and that she has no idea where Winnie is. We also get Winnie’s perspective and it’s up to the reader to flush out the fake. Great plot and characters!