I hate to say it, especially since I had high hopes, but I feel pretty mixed about this book. This story is an extremely heartbreaking but compelling recounting of a catfish that manipulated and abused multiple women for years. On paper, I find that very compelling, but, in reality, I also find myself thinking that this perspective is just not for me.

The catfish, “Ethan”, reveals himself, quite clearly, to be a misogynist and overall bigot very early in his exchanges with our author and I believe most of the other women. This is never addressed within the text and all the women seemingly ignore this, in my opinion, blatant non-starter. I ultimately sympathized and related with almost everything the victims of “Ethan” experienced, but this hang up really bothered me. Then I sort of came to the conclusion that this book is just not for me. I personally feel like this is written for white, straight millennials and I’m none of those things. With that in mind, I would prefer not to rate this but since Netgalley requires it, I'll settle for a middle of the road 3 star.

***I received a audio ARC from Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for free and am leaving an honest review***

If you read the MsScribe reveal on Bad Penny or followed any of the Amy Player/Victoria Bitter sagas, the revelations in this will not surprise you in the least, but might be just as engrossing.

Even if Fandom did all of these things first and in a more bonkers fashion, it was a time capsule of an Internet Time (Not that you can forget - Akbari constantly reminds the reader how differently things worked then when it came to texts, photos, and chatting.) Most intriguing, of course, is that because of the way "Ethan" worked - no phone calls, only chats and emails - Akbari had the full record of their relationship at her fingertips to excerpt. And excerpt she did.

The audiobook kind of emphasized how, much like the recitation of one's own dreams, the allure of someone else's gchats is probably most interesting to the originator(s). (Having reviewed my own catalog of mid-to late 00s gchats at a late distance, I always think they're much more fascinating than they probably are). The beginning dragged, and the pacing would have likely benefitted from a greater integration of all of the women's stories in a single timeline, but at its heart, this was Anna Akbari's story, and so her experiences with "Ethan" were the central focus.

Was it great? Meh. Was it compulsively listenable? Yes.

CAUTION: REVEAL BELOW




[Did the whole thing read like a vendetta meant to get back at DOCTOR Emily Slutsky for being a sociopath? (she's a DOCTOR, if you forgot.) For sure it did.

I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it used a journalist's detachment rather than a victim's perspective. Where is the expose about female sociopaths on the internet that cover the motivations of people like MsScribe and Emily Slutsky? That's a book I'd like to read

Compelling read that made me angry on behalf of the women who were scammed. I enjoyed the fact that it was narrated by one of the protagonists of this unfortunate story as well. It made the whole story feel more real. Solid four stars!

If you are like me a love a good documentary of the likes of the tiddler swindler or inventing Anna then this book is for you.
Thanks to Hachette Audio via NetGalley for a audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
There is no Ethan follows Anna Akbari (the author) who has a virtual relationship via a dating app with a man called Ethan who is emotionally manipulative and twists her psychologically for months until she decides enough is enough. Anna a sociologist herself figures there are some things about Ethan than just don't add up and after some very sleuth investigations she finds other victims of Ethan's serial lies. But who exactly is Ethan?
I have a lot to say about 'Ethan' without revealing too much all I'm left with is that 'Ethan' is a sociopath.
Having had a family member who was herself a victim of catfishing to her financial detriment years ago. This book had me tutting and rolling my eyes, angry because how could intelligent strong women fall victim to this kind of thing? But I know having witnessed it first hand that it hits so much deeper. It is a kind of torture in the soul, in the most vulnerable parts of your self.
The book is narrated by the author herself and all of 'Ethan's' parts are narrated by Justin Price. They both do an excellent job at conveying the pure frustration this book will induce to you.
My only critique is that sometimes the book felt a bit repetitive as we got taken through Ethan's relationship with some of his victims all of which were similar as Ethan used the same M.O throughout only changing slight details. Perhaps this could have been summarised more and more focus would have been better spent in the investigation element.
3.5 star rating from me.

I loved this!!! I was so hooked I listened to it all day!

The format and story reminded me of the podcast, Scamanda, Definitely check that out if you want more like this!

Proud of the women for coming forward and wanting to stop this from happening to more women. As the story unfolds you feel all the emotions with each woman. The beginning of hope that you may have finally found someone. And then the confusion and frustration when the excuses keep coming.

Definitely check out There is No Ethan. Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Akbari, Hachette Audio and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read it. I have written this review voluntarily.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐢𝐫, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐒. 𝐔𝐠𝐡. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 (𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧) 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲.

𝐈 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤! 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 “𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧,” 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 (𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 “𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧’𝐬” 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 (𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞), 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲—𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨). 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠; 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒜𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝒜𝓀𝒷𝒶𝓇𝒾, 𝐻𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this gripping nonfiction book by Anna Akbari, narrated by the author and Justin Price. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this seemingly perfect man. He always had reasonable excuses about why they couldn't meet in person or even on video, or why plans were canceled at the last minute. He wasn't after money, so they had no reason to not believe him. But eventually, they discovered each other and through their investigations, they found dozens of other victims.

Wow - this was gripping and definitely a must read by everyone, especially those who are using online dating apps. These were very educated, successful women who fell for this con, and while I was screaming at them to pay attention to the red flags of never meeting in person, we all could fall prey to deception. Even in this world of fake news and catfishing being a thing, we are still at our cores trusting people. When you add emotional connections to that, it's more understandable. But it's appalling what are immediate changes in his life so that there are no further victims. Bravo to these women for opening their private lives to the public in order to help prevent this from happening to others. Eye opening for sure.

Anna Akbari tells the story of how she was catfished (before catfishing was a recognized term in the internet lexicon) by a man named Ethan. She vulnerably presents conversations she had with Ethan, and she also summarizes Ethan’s conversations with two other victims. Always meeting through online dating, Ethan stuck to chat and email correspondence refusing to speak on the phone or meet in person. Finally growing suspicious, the three women eventually connect to find out who Ethan is and what his motivations are. A gripping story of the horrors of the internet, There is No Ethan draws readers in to feel the frustration of the victims. The audiobook is unique in that while read by the author, Ethan’s dialogue is read by Justin Price. The second narrator popping into the narrative might take some getting used to at first, but giving Ethan a voice really helps paint the picture of the charismatic con man. The audiobook will really allow readers to relate to Anna and realize this truly could happen to anyone.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced audiobook copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It was so frustrating to "experience" the ride Ethan took these women on! I am always really interesting in catfish stories, and I grew to understand how these women were able to be taken advantage of. There were so many red flags but... they also felt like they were developing relationships with this person. I think it's fascinating how much influence and charm someone can have without even meeting them!

Initially, the male narrator breaking in to read messages from Ethan was hard to get used to, but I grew to appreciate it.

I appreciate the vulnerability it took to tell these stories.

Quality of Writing 3/5
Value for Intended Audience 4/5
Pacing 3/5
Vulnerability 5/5
Narration 4/5
Overall Enjoyability 3.5/5

How can an audiobook be "unputdownable?" This memoir is utterly captivating, reflecting the engrossing narrative it unfolds. "There Is No Ethan" chronicles the stories of three intelligent and successful women who fall prey to an internet predator. However, this is no ordinary catfish tale. Ethan, a master of emotional manipulation, ensnares women through online dating platforms, using sophisticated mind games and the illusion of intimacy. This memoir is unlike any other I have encountered, offering a mind-boggling listening experience. Highly recommended for its gripping storytelling and insightful exploration of digital deception.

Honestly, I found myself a little disappointed by this book. I'm usually a big fan of catfish stories and true crime, but this story just felt really repetitive and boring to me. I did like how the audiobook was produced, using a male narrator to read for "Ethan", though.

Oh my God! This story is horrible, but not in a way that will make me shy away from reading it but because such people exist! True crime can always make one feel uneasy and distraught, but this audiobook touched some chords I didn’t know I had in me to feel… There is no Ethan will mess you big time, and make you think if you really know the virtual people around you, and also if it was today, with all the deep fakes nowadays it would make much harder to caught red handed a person trying to con you, like the person that created Ethan did….

If you think this is a fake story, think again, if you search all the participants in the internet you will find them, and to make things worse, the catfish in this story is still out there working with access to vulnerable women, that perhaps don’t have any idea of what their caregiver is capable of… this person gave me so many vibes of Amber Heard, when you listen or read to this book and if you assisted to the Johnny Deep and Amber heard trial you’ll know exactly what I meant…

I was very lucky to have access to the audiobook read by Anna Akbari, and I must say, she has a gorgeous voice, and I could really feel the invested she was in this whole tempest that was Ethan, Justin Price did a very good job as well, hey what I leaned with this story, its really easy for one to be manipulated if the person manipulating you is a sociopath… why make people suffer through so much and in many cases during so much time, what did false Ethan gain with this, and even after the book ended is something you wont have a real answer, I just hope this person (fake Ethan) will get their own deserving hell times 100 for each person fake Ethan duped out there.

To everyone out there, be weary if you like someone you never seen before, that don’t let you hear their voice even more than see them… nowadays, with deep fakes is even worse, you cant really be sure if people are real even if you hear their voices or watch them in video… they may be AI… this is the worst time to be virtual dating…

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing, for the free AAC, and this is my honest opinion.

“Akbari gives a page-turning and riveting examination of why stories like Ethan's matter for us all.”

I’m so glad they caught this guy! It was astonishing hearing each woman’s rationale for still talking to Ethan. I would like to think I would have cut him off right away with all the 🚩🚩but, if I was as invested as they were? I don’t know! I feel for all of the victims. How is this person still out there practicing medicine?! Highly recommend this one.

I'm a sucker for some catfish nonfiction.

I am so thankful to Hachette Audio, Grand Central Publishing, Anna Akbari, and Netgalley for granting me advanced audio access to this twisty true crime read before it hits shelves on June 4, 2024.

This book tells the very real tale of how three women caught one of this generation's biggest catfish. I became pretty obsessed with catfishing and the perpetrators behind the conning and the web of lies they tell to spin their narratives. There's something so seriously sick and sadistic behind the eyes of individuals who get off on catfishing and wasting the time of those genuinely invested in relationships.

In this book, we hear about how Anna, British Anna, and Gina all get catfished by a man who goes by Ethan, tormented for countless months, and ghosted after every promise of meeting up. Thankfully, this catfish never asked for nude photos or monetary requests, but this entity took loads of valuable time and wreaked emotional trauma for these women.

It was very interesting to hear each lady's story, and as they slowly began to figure out there was no basis behind the person they were communicating with. I know thousands of people have probably been catfished in this lifetime, and I'm eager to read and listen to more stories, outing those con-persons the way they rightfully should be.