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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
This just wasn’t for me. The cover and the title lured me in immediately but I just couldn’t get into it.
I was honestly going to give up and mark this book as DNF about 30% in. Why? A good chunk of the book at that point was exposition dialogue. Nothing was happening at all. I was very bored.
The descriptions were odd too. Items were just described as the brand name without any other descriptors as to style. There’s a difference between a Gucci dress and Bottega heels and a midnight silk Gucci dress and a black Bottega pumps.
I didn’t even remember the story was set in Singapore until the characters went to the kopitiam.
All of the characters felt very one note so it was hard to root for them or really care about them.
I was entertained and I noted a lot of potential. I did like the S gala and what conspired there and all the backstabbing that happened afterwards. That was fun!
Thank you, NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was honestly going to give up and mark this book as DNF about 30% in. Why? A good chunk of the book at that point was exposition dialogue. Nothing was happening at all. I was very bored.
The descriptions were odd too. Items were just described as the brand name without any other descriptors as to style. There’s a difference between a Gucci dress and Bottega heels and a midnight silk Gucci dress and a black Bottega pumps.
I didn’t even remember the story was set in Singapore until the characters went to the kopitiam.
All of the characters felt very one note so it was hard to root for them or really care about them.
I was entertained and I noted a lot of potential. I did like the S gala and what conspired there and all the backstabbing that happened afterwards. That was fun!
Thank you, NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t be the only person who imagined Henry Golding as Timothy the whole time
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed the audio of this so much. I'm a big fan of the "let me pretend to be something I'm not and then get called out" trope and this delivered. Lucia was such a bitch! I loved Samantha but she did start getting a big head and acting like her best friend didn't exist. I hated the way she talked to her mom at times but she redeemed herself in the end. Her mom was such a sweetheart doing the best she could to keep them afloat. Timothy gave me jerk vibes a few times but most rich people do. I was sad when it was revealed who had betrayed Samantha. Such a great story.
I liked it, nothing too salacious. It was a cute read. A little slow at some times but then also realistic at some points. I liked it a lot and read it pretty quickly because it was interesting most of the time.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Fraud Squad felt like it wanted to be a version of [b:The Devil Wears Prada|5139|The Devil Wears Prada (The Devil Wears Prada, #1)|Lauren Weisberger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388179604l/5139._SY75_.jpg|38765] and [b:Crazy Rich Asians|16085481|Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)|Kevin Kwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364852559l/16085481._SY75_.jpg|21571970] as Sam (our main character) works in publishing and wants a career working at a luxury, fashion magazine (think Vogue!) and the story is set in upper-crust Singapore society. However, it doesn't quite achieve the charm of either books and Sam comes across as deeply unlikeable instead.
To begin with, the central plot is about Sam trying to fake it until she makes it as a socialite with the help of actual members of the high society - Tim and Anya. However, this makes no sense from all angles. The purpose of this fraud is to ostensibly because if Sam (born to a lower-middle income family) is able to pull this off, then they would be prove to Tim's parents that one's station in life does not matter and they would stop forcing him into a career as an investment banker despite his family's insistence that he carry on the family business. But the major plot hole is that why would Tim's parents care about some stranger successfully worming her way into their snobbish crowd and how would it really serve Tim's case?
From Sam's perspective, access to these events means that she will have a chance to land her dream job by making a splash and charming the editor in chief of her favorite magazine. The goal is to convince her of Sam's excellent taste and writing. However, there's also a major plot hole here: Sam goes around announcing that she has a PR job at a magazine in the Kingston family's media empire - realistically, any one of her coworkers would have realized that she isn't who she claims to be.
These major plot loopholes are never addressed and I might've been able to let it slide if the book was more fun but it really wasn't because Sam just felt like such an unlikeable character. She has no qualms about lying to her friends even though they were supposed to be a "Fraud Squad" together. And Tim and her have little to none chemistry so I couldn't even root for them even though they were supposedly the romantic heart of the story.
Finally, other reviewers have mentioned how flat its depiction of Singapore society is and how some of its descriptions (like the commons surnames) are outright wrong - it makes me wonder why the book was even set in Singapore in the first place.
To begin with, the central plot is about Sam trying to fake it until she makes it as a socialite with the help of actual members of the high society - Tim and Anya. However, this makes no sense from all angles. The purpose of this fraud is to ostensibly because if Sam (born to a lower-middle income family) is able to pull this off, then they would be prove to Tim's parents that one's station in life does not matter and they would stop forcing him into a career as an investment banker despite his family's insistence that he carry on the family business. But the major plot hole is that why would Tim's parents care about some stranger successfully worming her way into their snobbish crowd and how would it really serve Tim's case?
From Sam's perspective, access to these events means that she will have a chance to land her dream job by making a splash and charming the editor in chief of her favorite magazine. The goal is to convince her of Sam's excellent taste and writing. However, there's also a major plot hole here: Sam goes around announcing that she has a PR job at a magazine in the Kingston family's media empire - realistically, any one of her coworkers would have realized that she isn't who she claims to be.
These major plot loopholes are never addressed and I might've been able to let it slide if the book was more fun but it really wasn't because Sam just felt like such an unlikeable character. She has no qualms about lying to her friends even though they were supposed to be a "Fraud Squad" together.
Spoiler
She leaves Anya's birthday party early to attend Indonesian heiress Daisy's birthday party - but it's only so that she can speak to Missy, the editor in chief. She lie to both Anya and Tim in order to do this - even though she knows that there'll be media at Daisy's birthday party. How does this make sense?Finally, other reviewers have mentioned how flat its depiction of Singapore society is and how some of its descriptions (like the commons surnames) are outright wrong - it makes me wonder why the book was even set in Singapore in the first place.