Counterfeit: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times BESTSELLER - the most exciting and addictive heist novel you’ll read this summer!

The book was divided into two parts. The first part was the backstory of how Ava got involved with Winnie. I thought this part was a little slow and littered with racial stereotypes. There were also no quotation marks to indicate dialogue. I was not a fan of that. I also didn't love the portrayal of toddler Henry.The second part makes you question everything and honestly I still don't know how I feel about the second part.Overall I liked it, though I would have preferred if the author didn't depend so much on racial stereotypes.

The book is divided in various parts. The first part is written in Ava’s first person perspective, whereby she is narrating her experiences with Winnie and also her personal issues to the detective handling the case. After a while, it became very clear that Ava was quite self-centred and whiny, and her insecurities had been manipulated by Winnie, thereby making her an unwilling participant in her nefarious business. And then comes Part II, where you are forced to question whatever you read till then. I liked Part I but it is Part II and what came beyond that enhanced the book from a 3 star to a higher rating.I loved the main character development (though you need to have a lot of patience to discover the development.) The story takes an almost satirical look at modern day consumerism, including the use-and-throw culture and brand fetishes. It is a very quick read, and not at all taxing on the brain.On the flip side,Other than Ava and Winnie, the characters don’t stand out. Most are quite flat and come on a need-be basis into the story.❌ There are no quotation marks for dialogues in Ava’s narration to the detective. I don’t like this writing style.❌ There’s too much of talk and too little action, especially in the first half. The second half is much better.❌ While the “whats” of the story are detailed out, the “whys” aren’t. The motivation/rationale behind most character decisions isn’t explained at all.❌ It is somewhat stereotypical of Chinese-Americans and the Chinese.All in all, this is a nice chick-lit kind of mystery-drama. It is light and relaxing fun, not to be read too analytically and not to be taken too seriously. It has its share of appealing and irritating moments, but overall, it is a decent entertainer.3.5 stars.Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book at my request and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Ava Wong is thirty-seven, a Stanford-educated lawyer who worked at a high-flying job at a law firm but is now on an extended maternity break with her difficult toddler Henri. Born to Asian–American immigrant parents, she has tried all her life to meet their expectations, doing well at school and going on to Stanford, selecting law as that is least offensive of the choices available to her. She is married to French–American Olivier Desjardins, a successful surgeon and has a nanny, Maria whom she finds indispensable. Life seems picture perfect on the surface but things are falling apart behind the scenes. She has recently lost her mother, her marriage seems to be developing cracks, little Henri is impossible to handle, and she finds the idea of eventually returning to work unbearable. Amidst this, an old college roommate, Winnie Fang contacts her seemingly out of the blue. Winnie who had left Stanford under a shadow around her SATs is now much changed—glamourous, dripping with designer accessories. At first, she seems to just want to reconnect, providing some respite to Ava for she is able to calm Henri down, something only Ava’s mother could do. But soon, Ava learns what Winnie really does—deals in counterfeit luxury handbags—passing them off for the real in luxury stores. Initially horrified, slowly, she becomes drawn into this world (one filled with designer handbags—in all shapes, sizes, and labels) and part of Winnie’s business. But all of this is destroying her relationships, and all she has built so far. Where will it all lead?This is a quick, light and enjoyable read which also throws a fair few surprises in one’s way and which turned out to be far more fun than I’d expected. The story opens with a first-person narrative from Ava, which we learn is her recounting her experiences with Winnie to the police. Clearly whatever scam Winnie has involved her in has been found out and Winnie has vanished, while Ava is left to explain what really took place. This takes us back to their college days, Ava’s first meeting with Winnie and reluctance to befriend her; her resurfacing after all those years; also Ava’s own life—her living out dreams that were always someone else’s—her parents’, her husband’s, now Winnie’s—always seeking approval but never perhaps even considering what she herself wanted. We hear of how she gets sucked deeper and deeper into Winnie’s business despite her reluctance. We wonder where all this is going. But then there is a twist, and we begin to wonder once again, and read on a little more closely, as the story takes a turn we weren’t expecting!Ava isn’t the most likeable of characters, and seems almost too insecure with regard to almost everything, even giving into Henri’s tantrums much too easily. (On a related tangent--one can understand her apprehensions over cut fruit when in China but to chuck them in the bin—waste perfectly good food—made me want to smack her). But one can sympathise with a lot of what she has to go through in terms of family expectations, the inclination to always do things to please, and perhaps understand how she loses herself in the process. But with the twists in the story, we begin to question. Is she really who she makes herself out to be? Winnie too, has her own secrets and her story mostly revealed through Ava’s narrative shows her to be perhaps more true to herself, living as she wishes to and unapologetic about what she does. Our look at other characters like Ava’s husband Oli and Maria the nanny or even the people whom Winnie works with is through Ava’s account as well, so one feels one doesn’t really get to know them.The book is light reading for the most part, and while it brings up more serious issues from unreasonable family expectations to consumerism and the reasons we buy ‘labels’, sweat shops and labour exploitation, these mostly come up at surface level. And this is also the case for our characters, for while we do see the stories of our main characters, we don’t really delve into or get to understand their motivations.But this lack of depth does not take away from one’s enjoyment of the book which makes for a great palate cleanser between heavier reads.(review copy received via NetGalley from the publisher)

This book was fast paced and exciting. I appreciate all of the irony and twists along the way. Very enjoyable.

Uma delícia essa leitura e rápida também a história fluí

It took me a while to concentrate and get into this book, but once I did I found myself enjoying it! Also loved the twist. Worth a read.

I really loved it! Its a very easy, feel-good read for a weekend. Sometimes this is just what you need to brighten up your day. If you like fashion and specially bags, this book is just a delight!

Brillant story, awesome storytelling : perfect ; reese whitherspoon's choice was very appropriate and usefull ; i'll quickly look to both the other books by kristin chen