I'm of two minds when it comes to the book. The writing was engaging and the plot of fun, but it all ends up feeling really slight. Due to the nature of the book and the trope of the unreliable narrator, I came away feeling like I didn't know the main character at all, which is a shame. Unlikable though she may have been, if the book had dropped the police confession format sooner, and actually gotten inside of Ava's head, I would have enjoyed the story much more. I'd rather read about a bad guy than a complete cypher.

My thanks to Harper Collins/The Borough Press for an invitation to read this book via NetGalley.

When I first read the description of this book in my mail—the story of a lawyer who meets an old college roommate who involves her in a shady business, it didn’t really sound my type, but since I was offered a chance to read it, I decided to give it a go, and I’m glad I did because this turned out a fun and entertaining read and a nice change from my usual picks.

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.

3.75 stars

Counterfeit follows Ava, a suburban mum (with a nightmare child) who is feeling stuck and pretty bored with her life. Enter Winnie, her former college roommate who has a proposition for her…

Winnie is importing counterfeit goods from China and is returning them to US shops for a refund, it’s a genius plan and it’s making her a LOT of money and she wants Ava to join her.

The flogging of fake handbags might sound like a weird and boring premise for a book but Counterfeit is so good. It’s told in flashbacks as Ava is recounting her story to the police, and has the fast pacing of a thriller.

It’s glamorous and intoxicating and I want a film adaptation immediately!

Counterfeit follows Ava Wong who is living a seemingly quiet life with her husband and newborn son. However when her husband starts getting more freedom through his work she feels as if it’s time to take up an offer her old college friend Winnie has proposed. Winnie and Ava build a counterfeit empire that is drawing dangerously close to being uncovered. I really enjoyed this book the characters were so interesting and flawed yet Kirstin Chen was able to make me sympathise with them. There were some really thrilling moments and it was impossible to put this down - not to mention a plot twist about half way through that I just couldn’t see coming. I would highly recommend this! 4/5 stars.

A good read which could have benefited from more depth for its characters. The whole premise is very intriguing as revolving around counterfeit luxury goods and gives you a sneak peek into the world of fake apparel. The protagonist is quite bland and makes questionable decisions which can be infuriating at times. Even though i would qualify this book a beach read, some of the issues addressed really hit the mark and do make you think about the way we consume without thinking twice about the implications of our buying habits. A decent story but not unforgettable.

I was surprised when NetGalley offered me this book. It probably isn’t a book I would have chosen, but I really enjoyed it. Ava is an Asian American.she is a lawyer married to Oli, a transplant surgeon. They have a 2 year old son, who is quite happy to throw tantrums. She met Winnie Chang 20 years previously and they meet again by chance. Winnie is wearing designer clothes and accessories. How did she manage to come into so much money? Well the answer is in the story. The story moves between America and China. Some insight is given into Chinese factories, where girls have a poor standard of working environment. I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for an Arc of this book.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Reading this book made me want to go out and buy myself a handbag - a real one, not a counterfeit one; but would I really be able to tell the difference?
Counterfeit is such a fun read! It offers an insight into the Chinese counterfeit trade linked with luxury brands. Ominous from the onset, Ava Wong is talking to a detective - and this is how the story is mainly told. Ava, once a lawyer, is now a stay-at-home mum dealing with her son Henri's full-blown temper tantrums. Aside from the tantrums, he also has delayed speech and is unable to get into a decent pre-school. Her husband Oli, is a surgeon who lives away from home.
Ava's old roommate Winnie gets in touch with her and soon coerces Ava into a lucrative counterfeit handbag business; they buy original handbags only to return them using the luxury fake versions.
I really would have liked to have read more from Winnie's perspective and I thought that the little twist at the end was brilliant.

Counterfeit by Kristen Chen was such a fun and entertaining book that I read it over the course of a single day, much to the detriment of my other plans.
Ava's life seems picture perfect, a lawyer with a handsome surgeon husband who is on a career break to care for their toddler son. When an old college roommate reaches out , Ava is confused but decides to meet up for old times sake. She is curious about what happened to Winnie, who left Stanford under a cloud to return to her native China and has not been heard from since. The last thing she expected was the Winnie who shows up to their coffee date, dressed in designer clothes, dripping in jewellery and clutching the latest must have handbag. Winnie needs Ava's help, or rather her husband's help, as a transplant surgeon she is hoping that he will review the case of an old business partner who has helped propel Winnie to wealth and success. As the women rekindle their friendship, the relationship becomes a little more complex, especially when Winnie reveals to Ava just how she makes her money, by running a large scale scam involving counterfeit designer bags imported from China. Despite her initial disgust at the prospect, marital difficulties and financial struggles eventually force her to re-evaluate her stance and she gets roped into the scam, or so she tells the police officer who is taking her statement , which is how we as readers are told the story. The scam has been rumbled, Winnie is in the wind and Ava has been left literally holding the bag, and it seems like her only way to avoid prison will be to come clean about the whole affair. This means that there is some degree of unreliability to her narration, as she could just be telling the police what they need to hear to get her off the hook, and this made for a more fun reading experience .
This is a fun light and clever read, and I could easily see it being adapted for the screen.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Ava and Winnie were roommates during their time at university but it's been years since they've seen or spoken to one other. Then, in their late thirties, they bump into each other and slowly fall into each other's lives. Winnie helps Ava with her two-year-old son, Henri, and fixes marital spats with her husband, Olivier. Ava is enticed into Winnie's business of counterfeit luxury handbags.

Told as an explanation to a police detective, the book follows (mostly) Ava's non-linear recount of her dealings with Winnie, her foreign travel visiting manufacturers and the impact of it all on her life. It questions just how far one will push their morals when there is a promise of money and all that it brings.

This story has the tone of many other contemporary mysteries; it's lightly thrilling, captivating and with an interesting premise. It's a quick read, jumping through the action, and providing many new plot points.

However, the fast pace meant it lacked emotional depth. Each event happens so quickly that even after big reveals, there is little time spent exploring the consequences upon the characters. By the nature of the book's structure, it has a 'telling' rather than 'showing' tendency so little feels impactful. It reflects real speech but lessens the effect.

Throughout, there are several intriguing sub-plots, such as the cultural and societal expectations placed on Ava as a mother. It was a shame these were not emphasised more as her reliance on Maria, the nanny, and the changes the newly-gained money brought to their relationship would have been interesting to explore. Although, this could have been me wanting something that this book never aimed to give.

Overall, this was a compelling and enjoyable-enough read but it did not have the character complexity that I, as a reader, would have wanted.

I really enjoyed this twisty tale of two women and the paths they take. Ava and Winnie's story draws you in from the beginning and you're never sure who is sharing the whole truth. It's well written and I got the sense it could be adapted into an entertaining TV series. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review)

Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a straight 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 the perfect facade, 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 breaking point. Winnie Fang, who abruptly dropped out of college under mysterious circumstances, is now looking to reconnect with her friend twenty years later.

Ava is an American-born Chinese woman, and Winnie was born in China. The two women were roommates at Stanford. Twenty years later, Ava is married to a Doctor and they have a two year old son. When Ava and Winnie reconnect, they start selling fake handbags. Ava knows she is playing with fire, but the payoff is too big to refuse. This is an enjoyable and easy book to read. The women are unreliable narrators. There's lots of twists and the pace is steady.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #KirstinChen for my ARC of #Counterfeit in exchange for an honest review.

Easy and quick read. I loved the fast paced story. It was not what I was expecting, quirky and interesting. A story of Ava and her old friend Winnie who delve into the counterfeit market of handbags.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Thank you so much Harper Collins for sending me an advanced copy of Counterfeit.

This book isn't my normal type of read, but after receiving a copy I decided to dive in. And am I incredibly glad I did!

Counterfeit follows two Asian-American women who are trying to make their way in the world. One is in a failing marriage with a tantrum-prone toddler and the other is a glamorous business-woman or so it seems.

When Winnie and Ava reunite, Winnie quickly recruits Ava into her counterfeit bag scheme. The book is told through Ava's eyes as she is being questioned by the police. I just love this decision, it's so unique and fun. Especially when Ava sidebars into something else to explain to the police officer that she isn't as bad as one thinks.

Her life is so interesting, struggling with the choices that were pushed upon her. Once a successful actress, prompted by her controlling husband, she quits her job to raise their son. And she soon looses her sense of self. Winnie's arrival and her ability to work and make her own money really helps her get her life back on track.

She claims that she was pushed into a corner, being emotionally and financially abused by her husband and manipulated by strong-willed Winnie. But is Ava as innocent as she claims?

I just love the unreliable narration aspect of this novel, as Ava is telling her version of the story to law enforcement. So you have to read beyond all of that to see if she's as clueless as she wants the police and the reader to believe.

One of the best books I've read all year.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this plot, but I really enjoyed it.

I loved the fact it was told as if Ava was speaking to the detective the whole time and the twists towards the end threw me completely! I also just loved the whole hustler-style plot and scheming; it was so intriguing to read about.

I found Ava’s character rather naive to begin with, but this was certainly proved wrong towards the end. Winnie, I found harder to like but I’m not sure if that’s just because I felt like we didn’t see enough of her character despite being the other main character.

If you’re looking for a different story about two females refusing to conform then I’d recommend as a quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If there's one thing I love, its hustlers. I quite enjoyed this book. I would of liked a little bit more, because it was very fast paced. Other than that a quick enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This had so much promise! The premise was brilliant and I wanted to see how Counterfeit would break down stereotypes while being sharp and witty. However, this book failed to deliver.

Our main character, Ava, is seemingly living the ideal life with her hotshot lawyer career (that she's on maternity leave from), a doctor husband (who she is having problems with) and an adorable toddler (albeit with language and social/emotional delays). Then her old college roommate, Winnie, waltz back into her life with a crazy scheme after disappearing after a college entrance exam related scandal.

All of this sounds great in theory but I found both characters incredibly dull. This wasn't helped by the writing style where Ava is 'confessing' to the reader/detective. There are many times during the book that felt stale, as if the author was trying to be funny but failing.

Additionally, Counterfeit did not delve into the racial stereotyping of Asian Americans, or did so at a superficial surface level.

I feel like I'm being too negative right now as I did enjoy parts of this book. This was a quick and easy read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable read by Kristen Chen following the story of Ava who gets involved in the world of counterfeit handbags through an old college roommate, Winnie. I enjoyed the story as told by Ava as she explains the situation to a detective and the intrigue and emergence of the unreliable narrator as I read on. It was also very interesting to get an insight into the world of counterfeit items.

This was an intriguing and entertaining read.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

I've been trying to open this book for a few days but with no success.

An Engaging and different read but an amazing one at that.

Ava and Winnie, once friends at college re-meet as adults. We see Ava is struggling with a child and a husband who is away most of the time working, here is where Winnie will come in and has a plan to change Ava’s life but is it for the best?

Definitely a unique read, as someone who knows nothing about the world of expensive handbags this put my insight into that read and it was different. I also like how we were introduced to Chinese and the Chinese American culture which was really nice to read.

The ending was a wham moment but I really did think it was a clever ending, this book is a must for a beachside read. I really enjoyed it and look forward to what the author next comes out with.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my arc in exchange for my honest review.