This book was very much out of my comfort zone - I chose it for that very reason - and by the end of it I really enjoyed it and got some good meaning out of it.
The narration is interesting - poetic and melodic at times, disconnected and pointed at others. I realise this is an advanced reader copy, but the spacing of the paragraphs and chapters were irregular, making for a jagged reading experience, many times I couldn't tell who was speaking and characters' responses to one another felt irrelevant, like they weren't partaking in the same conversation. This improved very much throughout the book, but some lines still stood out here and there, so I wonder what the final print will look like and whether this was completely intentional. If so, I wonder why - the story itself, I feel, made its point.
The Hypebeast started rather abruptly and the first chapter is a blur to me. I struggled to find a thread to follow and started to get worried about what I had gotten myself into, but it's almost as if the style of narration changed and grew with the character, so I am glad I continued reading.
The MC and other characters' introductions throughout about the first 10 chapters were confusing, but I got a handle on them as I went. I liked that bits and pieces of characters and their appearances were dropped throughout interactions - you don't quite get a complete view upfront.
Though I was a bit confused at first, the story really fleshed out during parts 2 and 3, and part 4 brought everything home. The ending is poetic and rather satisfying, though this is one of the few books where I didn't like the MC at all.
And this might be about making-money-quick-schemes; the greed for money and the power that it brings, but I enjoyed the perspective on wrongful incarceration (oh, the irony), generational trauma and religion.
It was a completely new perspective for me; challenging and enlightening.

Thank you very much for this ARC for my honest review!

I gotta say this book gave me anxiety in the best way possible. The characters in this book are fast-talking, and just waiting to rip you off. The story follows Hamid. A small-time crook in Canada. He’s always looking to make a quick buck.

He eventually gets caught up with Abdul. A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, who is now a social media celebrity. Hamid gets sucked into his orbit, and things quickly start spiraling.

I couldn’t put this down. The author writes with intensity. The descriptions used to describe Hamid’s surroundings are top notch. You really feel like you’re along for this ride. I can’t say enough good things any this book. I don’t think it would be my cup of tea, but it was just tense. And there is also some real depth to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the advanced copy of this! Awesome stuff!

I really enjoyed the concept and how everything worked in this thriller novel. The overall concept worked well with what I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. The characters worked in this concept and was glad everything worked together to tell the story. Adnan Khan has a strong writing style and can’t wait for more.