This book was interesting and i pray that i never cross paths with a real Cammie. I felt so bad for Gibson and Shelly throughout the story. I like how the author wrote from different points of view.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Fake by Zoe Whittall was unfortunately a miss for me. I found it to be clunky and predictable. I was waitin for a big pay off but didn't find one. While this one wasn't for me I do think that many readers would enjoy it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the ARC. The Fake is out now!

Published by Ballantine Books on March 21, 2023

The Fake is a novel about trust, its necessity and the consequences of its abuse. More importantly, it is a novel about emotional dependence and need.

Cammie is young, beautiful, sexy, and personable. She seems to be the perfect girlfriend until Gibson (older than Cammie and out of her league) realizes that she’s a nightmare. She’s the female version of George Santos (apart from running for office). Nearly every story she tells is an effortless lie. She’s also a thief and a con artist.

Cammie claims to be in remission from kidney cancer. She claims to be grieving for Morgan, a close friend who committed suicide. She claims her sister is dead. She claims she has been living with (and is leaving) an abusive boyfriend. She claims she sang on the recording of an Arcade Fire song. All lies, but that’s not the worst of Cammie.

Gibson lives in Toronto. He is in the process of getting a divorce from Veda. Before Cammie picked him up in a bar, Gibson was devastated by the divorce and wanted to reunite. Now Veda thinks that Gibson is handling the breakup better than she is. Gibson’s change of attitude is easily attributed to receiving Cammie’s nude selfies when they aren’t in bed together.

Shelby has always suffered from anxiety. Her wife Kate was the only person who knew how to make her feel better. Shelby has been in a deep depression since Kate’s death. Shelby resists contact with Kate’s homophobic family because they “cannot handle any emotional communication that isn’t positive, let alone admit the realities of life being a near-unending nightmare.” Shelby was extraordinarily dependent on Kate and is filled with self-pity because she has no other person to take care of her. She doesn’t seem equipped to take care of herself.

Shelby decides to attend a grief group. The star of the group introduces herself as “Camilla. Chatterbox, over-sharer, main character-syndrome-having Cammie.” Shelby falls for Cammie, but only as a friend who can help her cope with her anxiety. When Cammie claims to have been unjustly fired, Shelby persuades her friend Olive to interview Cammie for a production assistant position on a reality TV dating show. Cammie provides the link between Shelby’s story and Gibson’s.

Cammie differs from Shelby in that, by virtue of her manipulation, she always has someone to take care of her. Perhaps unintentionally, the novel raises questions about dependence: Cammie is dependent by choice (it’s easier than holding a job or staying in an honest relationship); Shelby is dependent because she needs a crutch against anxiety. There is an obvious moral difference between the two women, but is there a practical difference? Sure, people who need people are the luckiest people, but in both cases extreme dependence either destroys other people or becomes self-destructive.

The story follows Gibson and Shelby as they investigate Cammie’s lies and meet some of her (mostly former) friends and family. Their efforts lead to a well-intentioned intervention, but an addiction to lying is different from drug abuse, particularly when lying might be the product of a mental illness. Whether it is possible to change Cammie’s behavior is the question addressed in the story’s closing chapters.

Perhaps a more important question is whether interventions are meant to help the intervenors as much as the person who needs help. Gibson wants Cammie to change so he can keep sleeping with her. It may be that Gibson and Shelby, who suffer because they become dependent on Cammie, need self-interventions to learn how to move forward with their lives.

The Fake might be a good choice for book clubs whose members like to dissect characters and compare them to people they know. The novel’s interesting questions practically cry out for book club discussions. While the plot is a bit thin, characterization is solid. Readers might gain insight into dependent lives (and perhaps their own lives) by investing time in this short, well-written novel.

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Oh no this is so so very predictable. The book was clunky, the villain wasn't very fun, and this just didn't offer anything I haven't read before. Real-life scammers will always be more compelling to me than fictional ones, and I hope the publishing industry learns this haha.

DNF at 35%- This book was just a no for me. The plot never moved. Like literally never moved. I felt the synopsis of the book was the whole book. It was almost like seeing a movie trailer in which the whole movie is revealed-- all the good parts. That's what the synopsis was-- all the information I needed. After really liking Cover Story and digging the show Inventing Anna, I could have just been done with the whole con artist storyline.

This book, unfortunately, wasn't a good match for me. Centered around two people who get sucked into the orbit of a pathological liar, this book couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be. It opens with a thriller-esque suspense scene, which is wildly off the tone of the remainder of the book; the rest of the book reads like it wants to be a character-driven literary fiction story, but there's not really anything keeping you interested in the characters; the beginning of the book makes it very clear how the story plays out. I also found it difficult to get as invested as the characters in Cammie, the liar; if she had been more compelling, I think this story would have hit harder.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC!

Cammie.was.AWFUL! Talk about a horrible character.

But ... Gibson and Shelby are kind. And I think this allows them to be prime targets for Cammie.

Shelby, who already had some mental health issues, really struggles when her wife dies. Her family and friends aer concerned. She keeps it together enough to care for their dog. Shelby finally joins a bereavement group. She mights Cammie there, who helps life her spirits. Shelby ends up loading Cammie money and allowing her to stay with her.

Gibson is divorced, very recently, and living in an apartment that is definitely bachelor pad style.
He meets Cammie in a bar and they end up having sex, which is amazing! He is also loaning Cammie money and allowing her to stay with him from time to time.

Gibson and Shelby start to realize that Cammie has lied to them about almost everything. Yet, they still continue to help and be kind to her.

I didn't love the ending, and this book just made me kinda sad seeing Gibson and Shelby being so taken advantage of. 3.5 rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. A novel about a con artist who takes advantage of two nice people at low points in their lives. Cammie is the charming con artist, weaving tales of woe. Shelly recently lost her wife, and has severe anxiety. Gibson just went through a divorce. Gibson falls in love with Cammie, and Shelly nurtures her. Both seesaw between anger and wanting to "help" Cammie. There's no big ending, just the realization that some people are awful and never change.

"A con artist can make you feel like the luckiest person on earth just to be in their presence. But when the jig is up, they ghost, and you’re left wondering if you ever mattered

After the death of her wife, Shelby feels more alone than ever—until she meets Cammie, a charismatic woman unafraid of what anyone else thinks and whose own history of trauma draws Shelby close. When Cammie is fired from her job and admits she is in treatment for kidney cancer, Shelby devotes all her time to helping Cammie thrive. But Shelby’s intuition tells her there are things about Cammie’s past that don’t add up. Could the realest thing about Cammie be that she’s actually a scammer?

Gibson is almost forty, fresh from a divorce and deeply depressed. Then he meets and falls in love with Cammie. Suddenly, he’s having the best sex of his life with a woman so attractive he’s stunned she even glanced his way, and for the first time ever he feels truly known. This is the kind of desire and passion that musicians have been writing love songs about for centuries. But Gibson’s friends are wary of Cammie, and eventually he too has to admit that Cammie’s dramatic life can feel a bit over the top.

When Shelby and Gibson find out Cammie is a pathological liar, they struggle to understand what they really want from her—sometimes they want to help her heal from whatever causes her to invent reality, and sometimes they want revenge. But the biggest question of all is: how honest can Shelby and Gibson be about their own characters?"

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

The Fake...

Do you want to know what I loved about this book?

Everything!

From the title, to the cover and then the synopsis!!! I was so excited before I even hit chapter one.

Boy oh Boy did Zoe Whittall, deliver!!!!!!

This book was everything I needed it to be and just so much more. It doesn't matter what your preferred genre is, this is a book that will be loved by all.

Teaser :

A scammer as alluring as she is elusive irrevocably upends the lives of two strangers in this gripping novel from the acclaimed author of The Best Kind of People.

After the death of her wife, Shelby is suffering from prolonged grief. She’s increasingly isolated, irritated by her family’s stoicism and her friends’ reliance on the toxic positivity of self-help culture. Then, in a grief support group, she meets Cammie, who gives her permission to express her most hopeless, hideous feelings. Cammie is charismatic and unlike anyone Shelby has ever met. She’s also recovering from cancer and going through several other calamities. Shelby puts all her energy into helping Cammie thrive—until her intuition tells her that something isn’t right.

Gibson is fresh from divorce, almost forty, and deeply depressed. Then he falls in love with Cammie. Not only is he having the best sex of his life with a woman so attractive he’s stunned she even glanced his way, but he feels truly known for the first time in his life. But Gibson’s friends are wary of Cammie, and eventually he, too, has to admit that all the drama in Cammie’s life can feel a bit over the top.

When Gibson and Shelby meet, they realize Cammie’s stories don’t always add up. In fact, they’re far from the truth. But what kind of a person would lie about having cancer? And what does it say about Shelby and Gibson that they fell for it? From the author of The Best Kind of People and The Spectacular comes a sharp, emotional novel about lies, liars, and the people who love them.

Two people - a divorced straight man and a lesbian widow - both meet a person who makes them feel better about themselves. Unfortunately, they met the same person, who just happens to be a pathological liar.

The first 1/3 and last chapter of the book were only okay. The rest of it, though, kept my attention. Trying to figure out what was actually real was a trip, but I did know that Cammie just kept lying.

Three very different people whose lives crash into each other’s to create a very entertaining read! Loved this!

Who doesn't love a good scammer story? We're all reading about Anna Delvey or watching the docs about Fyre Festival, so obviously a fictional scammer story was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, this didn't hit for me. Having not read Zoe's previous work, I can't compare, but in this case, I think I just wanted a better (different?) ending. Obviously, knowing that Cammie is a scammer, we can assume that things will go awry right from the beginning, but even while watching it unravel I was feeling pretty meh. A fine read, and quick, but probably not one I'd recommend.

This was definitely a unique read and I am grateful I took the time to read this even if it's by no means the best book I've ever read.

I'm giving this 4 stars.

There are times when I really hate having to figure out what I want to rate something, and this is one of those times. There are a lot of books that I've rated 4 stars that are miles and miles above this in terms of quality, and so it makes me hesitate with that 4th star. But I picked this up expecting your typical contemporary-which to me means quicker, lighter, easier. And that's what I got. That's not to say that the subject matter itself was all light and unserious, bc that definitely was not the case...Zoe Whittal tackled some serious issues in 'The Fake,' but overall the genre as a whole tends to lack the depth and density of regular fiction/literary fic. So I picked this up expecting as much, and was not disappointed or surprised, I got exactly what I was looking for and expecting!

Gibson and Shelby are two lonely people that are both in the midst of their individual heartbreak, Shelby from losing her wife the year before, and Gibson from going through a divorce. They are both still reeling from the losses of their partners, so, naturally, this makes them a bit more susceptible to being conned by the beautiful & vivacious Cammile. She swoops into their lives at just the right time, seeming to provide just the things they are missing in their lives...connection. (Both physical and mental.) Because they have been starving for that contact they have been missing, they ignore the signs when they first start popping up, but soon they become too flagrant to ignore and are all propelled toward an inevitable reckoning.

I had a good time with this, I think most of us can relate on some level. Most of us have encountered our own Camille, we all have memories about the girls at school that made up outlandish stories, or the friends that get caught in lies and choose to double down rather than admit to their lies. That made the book more enjoyable. My main complaint is probably just that it was lacking in depth and characterization, the pacing wasn't just quick, it was speedy af. First Shelby and Gibson are lonely, then they're in love, then they're getting swindled, then they figure it out, and that's how it happens...bam bam bam. There's no gradual progression, each thing happens right after the other with basically nothing in between. It felt a lil basic, like Zoe Whittal is either inexperienced or else just lacks the skill or talent to really layer a novel. Camille also felt sorta like a caricature of a pathological liar, it was hard to understand her motives, I couldn't tell if she was intended to be villainous, or if we were meant to feel sorry for her.

Either way tho, like I said before, 'The Fake' might be lacking in quality, but it held my attention nonetheless. I love a good unlikable character that we're allowed to hate. In this case I felt like they were trying to add dimension to Camille, trying to give her some backstory, some reasoning for her behavior but it never really clicked. Even at the end when we get a lil epilogue from her perspective and realize that some of her supposed lies were in fact true, I still think she remained firmly in the wicked witch role through till the very end.

I did hope though that Shelby and Gibson would wind up getting together, connecting over their mutual experiences, buuuut it never happened. Oh well. Overall 'The Fake' was just a lil too short, it could have easily used another 200 pages and that would have probably improved this dramatically, but I still enjoyed it just the way it was. I sped through this in a day and consider it a pretty solid reading experience.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. A fun read, but I don't think I'll be revisiting this author any time soon.

An ok story, but con artists seem to be very trendy lately, and this one doesn’t stick out amongst the others.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The Fake opened my eyes to the lengths a pathological liar and con artist will go to scam targeted people who are struggling with grief. Cammie’s personality draws people to her and she has an unbelievable knack of becoming indispensable to several people attending a grief class. Recently divorced, Gibson falls in love with her while Shelby, who just lost her wife feels protective of her.
I so appreciated the three points of view that told the story so convincingly. Zoe Whittall brought out so many emotions for each character as I was reading and made each so very realistic. Loved the uniqueness of the storyline and the way the story evolved. Especially loved the conflicted feelings I had about Cammie by the end of the book.
Many thanks to talented Zoe Whittall, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this just published book. Three and a half stars.

I had no idea what to expect going in and I'm glad. I had read no previous reviews or anything else. Cammie is a scammer. She takes advantage of depressed and grieving people. That is her "profession". She is HORRIBLE. Having said that, I totally enjoyed her. People who can fit themselves into whatever sort of person is needed in someone's life have always fascinated me. We are always hearing about someone and wondering "How in the heck did they fall for that?" Well, this book shows exactly how. Shelby and Gibson, both grieving in some way and here comes the perfect "partner". I felt so sorry for them, but the author did a great job of making me care about Cammie too, and not just hate her. I also liked the peek into Canada, where the story is set. I would have come up with a little different ending, but I still enjoyed it. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Zoe Whittall and Ballantine Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Facebook and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Fake by Zoe Whittall is a fascinating look a the life of a pathological liar and the ramifications of those who fall prey to her lies.

I enjoyed this look into the life of a pathological liar and how her lies affected those in her orbit. I’ve known a few people like Cammie, but none as bad as she is. Shelby and Gibson are both very sympathetic characters as they are the ones being scammed by Cammie. I was a bit frustrated by the way they kept believing all her stories, but I know it’s not that easy when you’re with someone who lies all the time.

I highly recommend The Fake to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was Definitely an interesting book and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something unique and different!

This was such a cracking, fun book. (I don't think that it being "fun" is a commonly used word in other reviews, but I found it fun - and I loved it.) At the beginning, you know that Cammie is a liar, a con artist, a fake. You know this! But as our two other main characters, Gibson and Shelby, become ensnared in Cammie's web of charm, good looks, and spontaneity, you start to forget that she's a fake. You, as a reader, fall for her tricks.

Gibson and Shelby are both lonely and vulnerable. Gibson is coming off of a divorce, living in a sad and empty apartment, when Cammie takes his life by storm. Everything is vivid and exciting, the sex is great, he feels like he never knew what love was until he met Cammie. Shelby is in a deep fog of grief after her wife unexpectedly died of a brain aneurysm, not being able to get out of bed at all and getting lost in her extremely health anxiety. But when she meets Cammie in a grief group, she feels known, less alone, and like she can finally get her head above water. She has someone looking out for her. Cammie is delightful despite her hard past: according to her, her dad killed himself, her sister killed herself, her best friend in adolescence killed herself, and she had cancer and dealt with it all alone. These traits endear her to Gibson and Shelby, making them appreciate her resilience and joie de vivre even more.

But slowly, and despite their rose-colored glasses, Gibson and Shelby realize that Cammie's stories don't make sense. That slow and gradual progression - then the fallout, all at once - is so exciting to watch.

My main criticism of the book is that Shelby's realization didn't quite add up to me, and that the ending of the book goes so fast. I suppose this is sort of accurate to how con artists operate - once they've been found out, they disappear quick - but I wish we could have gotten a little bit more. Other than that, this is a quick, well-written, and intriguing read. Thank you to Random House Ballantine for the ARC via Netgalley!