I received an ARC of Counterfeit from William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.

Counterfeit is a novel best experienced if you go in cold, but I have to write something besides “this book is good and you should read it” (although it is and you should), so here are the basics: Ava Wong is a Chinese American lawyer struggling to raise her chaotic young son, Henri, until her long-ago college roommate Winnie reconnects with her and ropes her into a scheme selling replicas of luxury handbags (there’s a bit of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul energy here).

It’s deliciously fun. I often enjoy stories about con artists at work, and Counterfeit scratched that itch admirably. Chen, of course, is conning the reader as well, and she does so by structuring the novel in a way that reminded me of Persona 5—Ava is recounting the story in retrospect, in a sprawling dialogue-stripped monologue, and offhand comments here and there indicate to the reader that she is speaking to a detective. How did Ava get involved with the handbag scheme? How did she become so successful at it? How did she get caught? How will she escape? Will she escape? This structure generates all these questions in the mind of the reader, which makes for an engaging experience, and Chen wields it to great effect in the second half of the book.

That wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for Chen’s crisp, highly controlled prose. Ava’s narration is both playful and insidious, but other characters allow Chen an opportunity to adopt a looser and more natural style that highlights the intentionality of Ava’s voice. Chen’s ability to subtly escalate tension is most evident in a knockout scene in which Ava brings her son to a preschool as part of the application process. It’s hilarious, but it’s also more nerve-wracking than most life-or-death fight scenes I’ve read in other novels. I was utterly delighted by it.

There aren’t many characters in Counterfeit (it’s a short book, brisk and readable), but the way Ava and Winnie contrast and complement one another generates more than enough energy to keep things moving. Their Asian identities are crucial to this story: the idea of what is real and what is fake, and how you can tell the difference, and whether it matters, are all inextricable from what on the surface seems like a fun caper about righteous scammers. Chen elegantly weaves in political subtext—subtext about what is earned and what is deserved by those who have been swallowed whole by systems of power—without it dampening the momentum of the plot, and I appreciated that. This is a refined and accomplished novel.

Okay, I wrote some other stuff. Now I’m gonna say it: this is a good book and you should read it.

Thank you to Book Club Girls for the early read. What a fun fast paced intriguing story. Will recommend.

dnf for more me, just couldn't get into it. The story didn't hook me from the start and I think that was the main reason why I didnt want to continue with it. But mostly I could already tell it wasn't going to for me so that is why i dnf'd it

OMG……

This book is a worldwind and I totally did not see that coming.

This is a definite must read! I could not put it down at all!

The ending completely shocked me!

I can say that I never liked Oli and he was a huge ass to me.

This book was brilliant and the plot was phenomenal!

Ps. My name is in this book. Cecily… not because of me but it is my name.😃

Kirstin Chen's Counterfeit is the perfect book to kick off summer with - breezy & hilarious with a dash of mystery & thrills, I absolutely loved this!

I loved the way this was structured - it's hard to get into too much detail without getting spoilery, so all I'll say is that the format made for a few nice surprises throughout. I thought Ava & Winnie were both really complex, interesting characters, their actions throughout really challenged my own perspective on just who the "bad guys" are when it comes to the luxury goods market. Counterfeit had a lot to say - about identity & belonging, the price to pay for the "American Dream", international labor laws, the role the luxury market places in perpetuating often inhumane conditions in exchange for status & wealth; there was a lot of substance underneath the fun & I really appreciated that. & Chen's writing was just so sharp, there wasn't a single dull moment throughout - I was very satisfied with the way everything wrapped up!

I think this would make such a great movie or limited series, highly recommend picking this up if you're looking for a quick, fun, impactful read! & thank you so much Kristin Chen, NetGalley & William Morrow Books for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

This was a fast-paced, fresh, and fun romp about crime, and artifice, and the American dream. It’s a bold blockbuster of a book, and it throws you right into the action. There are some great twists and turns, and I found myself rooting for our brash heroines.

This was a fun read, and I would definitely watch a movie version of it!

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by HarperCollins Canada and William Morrow.

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. 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.

I liked this at first thinking it was such a unique storyline but after the second half started it kind of all went downhill. I loved the description and learning more about this area in the counterfeit handbag world and the scams around it, but I thought the characters were all pretty flat. The lack of quotation marks during Ava’s narration was a little off putting at first, but it started to flow once I realized who she was talking to. But Part 2 was a different voice and it had quotations.. The formating of with and without quotations was very annoying. It was a quick and light read, but I think my expectations was too high to like this as much as I wanted to.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins and Kirstin Chen for providing me with a digital ARC of this book. This is crime fiction light at it’s finest, very well written, witty and fast-paced. I had trouble putting it down. Ava Wong is a Chinese American attorney living what seems to be the perfect life with a surgeon husband, little boy and a beautiful home. However, all is not what it seems and when her former college roommate gets in touch with her after twenty years, she is in a vulnerable position. Winnie Fang is from Mainland China and has had to scheme her way through life and is now running a very successful counterfeit purse operation. She needs someone with a US passport to help run her expanding operation. Ava quickly gets involved and is soon in over her head. This book touches on many issues ranging from parental competition to cultural differences and expectations in the United States and China. The ending ties it all together quite nicely. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining story with substance.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘦; 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴; 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴."

Confession: I have a serious designer bag addiction so I completely identify with this quote from 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗜𝗧, the story of Ava and Winnie, two former college roommates wrapped up in a replica designer handbag scheme. It's got fashion, it's got glam, it's got crime and it's got secrets, so why was I so bored?

Okay, maybe bored is a stretch but this book has everything I love but left me cold. Maybe it was the dual POV - one is Ava's first-person perspective via an interview with the police investigating the fake handbag ring and the other is third-person focusing on Winnie's side of the story - but I felt completely removed from the action and didn't care about anyone involved. It was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. I wasn't invested in whether Ava and Winnie got caught or got away with it - I just kind of wanted it to be over.

Strangely, I do think it would make an interesting movie or TV series - watching the women pulling off these crimes could be a lot more compelling than reading about it.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for a copy to review.

What a delight this book is! I appreciate the interesting premise. I'm intrigued by the counterfeit industry and this was a brilliant way to dive into it. Plus the ending is exactly what I wanted.

Oh my gosh! I loved this!! I don’t want to give too much away but it was just packed with so many different aspects that kept me hooked and wanting to to read more. It was so much fun and I just enjoyed it so so much!

Although intriguing with a surprising twist, I just didn’t like the two main characters. Ava is married with a young son. She is a Stanford graduate and lawyer, staying home with her son. When she hears from a former college roommate, Winnie, the two embark on a scheme of getting rich quick, capitalizing on the market for designer handbagS. I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it’s not me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a quick, breezy trip through a scamming friendship and various international shenanigans. It was enjoyable, but I worry it suffers comparisons with other scammer stories, and in so doing, loses a little of its shine.

Counterfeit was a fun read. I was immersed in a not so glamorous world of high end knockoffs and it was fun watching the house of cards being built and then toppled. I really loved the cultural interplay in the novel and the first vs second generation immigrant experiences.

I studied at a language school with almost exclusively Chinese students, who told me that their best students went to the best schools there and the smallest difference in a test score meant the difference between a top school and a mediocre school because of their population, so a lot of them went to study abroad as a result. This book brings a bit of that dynamic to the table and gives us a view of the entrepreneurial dynamic flourishing in China, even if it’s not entirely ethical.

This book really challenged my morals - I shouldn’t have been rooting for Ava and Winnie, but even though I knew they were criminals, I really was hoping they’d find a way to get out of trouble.

Counterfeit was a fun cozy mystery with lots of fashion and some drama! 👜

Ava Wong has always played it safe and has built the “perfect life” with her husband and son. But is it really perfect? Underneath the perfect exterior everything is falling apart. That is, until she runs into her old college roommate, Winnie Fang. The secret to Winnie’s success? She runs a counterfeit scheme with expensive handbags.

I had high hopes for this one, and unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. I’m not sure if it’s because I went in with such high hopes and was obsessed with the story line, but I just wanted more! I still enjoyed the overall story and like I said, more of a cozy mystery rather than a thriller or jammed packed with drama!

Very well written and interesting overall, but I should’ve known better than to go for a contemporary novel. It’s just not my cup of tea. But I can definitely see the appeal for others. I encourage anyone if the story sounds good to you to give it a try!

On the surface, Counterfeit is a run-of-the-mill crime caper, in which two women team up to launch a manufacturing business to make and distribute counterfeit handbags. And not like the obviously misspelled Prada clutches we all used to buy down on Canal Street back in the early 2000s, but high-quality knockoffs that are (nearly) impossible to tell from the real thing. But the story ultimately turns out to wrestle with much meatier topics, from reclaiming and challenging Asian stereotypes (by having her characters use those model minority perceptions to their advantage) and critiquing the myths surrounding Chinese overachiever culture.

This was a really fun contemporary novel about two Asian American women who create a counterfeit handbag scheme. There's a potential unreliable narrator, strained family dynamics, and really astute commentary about consumerism and capitalism. I really enjoyed my listen but it wasn't anything particularly outstanding or unique.

The audiobook was an excellent production and I highly recommend it!

A humorous and suspenseful read. I thoroughly enjoyed Chen's depiction of the struggles of Chinese and Chinese American people, as well as the issues those who are successful face. I love reading about the various designer handbags and the symbolism that they portray. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

What happens when you start a counterfeit bag scam with your former college roommate? Ava is a struggling stay at home mom with a difficult toddler. When her shady, former college roommate shows up with a simple get-rich scam, how can she say no? The story leads to an international crime ring and some surpising narrator twists. Really like this one.