I've seen this book talked about over on BookTube alot with a lot of varying ratings. I was definitely excited to get a copy of this through NetGalley.

In the beginning of the story, it's rather strange and hard to get into. It definitely establishes that we're going to be following along with an unreliable narrator.

I've never read anything by E. Lockhart before so I didn't know what to expect from the writing style. I liked this book a little more than I thought I might.

Thanks for the advance copy!

This book was extremely difficult to get through. Though it is short in length, I found the plot also very short and not particularly interesting in many ways. The protagonist sees herself as an action hero, which I actually loved as a concept but which just feels like a waste of time in practise. The book also moves backwards which should reveal twists and turns but it's fairly predictable what will happen. I had a hard time with this book once past the first 20% or so when it became clear that there was no real strong plot. There is no indication that the protagonist really wants or needs anything and no obvious motivation for anything she does and all the other characters are so two dimensional that it's hard to care at all.

I loved ‘we were liars’ so was keen to read this new work. It didn’t disappoint. Told in a unusual way, your opinion on Jule is challenged all the way through. I just loved it!

I read my way through about one third of this book and gave up. I found it a bit confusing but, having said that, if it had been more interesting, I’m sure I’d have concentrated better. I liked none of the characters. I was so disappointed as I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s previous book, We Were Liars.

I haven't read We Were Liars yet but heard all the hype, of course it's on my tbr. So when this book came on Netgalley I jumped at the chance of reading.
Firstly, let me say I'm not a big reader of thrillers but I will literally read anything.
I loved the gimmick of this being told in reverse (but did get a bit confused in parts) but sadly I HATED the main character, she really, really got on my nerves. And that put a damper on reading it for me, a lot.
I'm sure this book will appeal to many but sadly not to me.

“It was like being able to fight, she realized. And being able to change accents. They were powers that lived in your body. They would never leave you, no matter how you looked, no matter who loved or didn’t love you.” 

Thank You to NetGalley or the opportunity to read this book.

This is my first . Lockhart book, and I'm so excited, I've been seeing it everywhere, and it's been so hyped for me, that I could only wish I got a change to read it.

Genuine Fraud follows Jule, who's intelligence lead her into a charmed life. With so many lies and reinventions of who she wants to be, it is only a matter of time until it all catches up with her. With an intense friendship, murder, bad romance and a girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

I loved the writing style, E. Lockhart kept me guessing for more and more, I could not put it down since I started, and I was always guessing what would happen next.The way that is writen complements the suspense of the story. Without spiling anything, I can say this is full of mind games, and plot twists with some flashbacks, that work perfectly for this story.

I loved Jule although she's a different character than we normally see in YA, this difference made me care more about Jule, however I can see how it may seem that it is not relatable to any one who reads this book.

“Do you think a person is as bad as her worst actions?...I mean, do our worst actions define us when we're alive? Or, do you think human beings are better than the very worst things we have ever done?”

At first it was fun and different but then the style of the rewinding story got very old very quickly. This is down to the almost clinical way it was set up so it felt like I was flipping back through a book instead of just going to the beginning and starting from there. It made sense in the beginning but once we started learning about how Jule found herself in that situation it would have been a nice change of pace it the story started to unfold chronologically.
It felt like I was taking two steps forward and one step back and by that point you have already figured out the story and just want your suspicions confirmed.

The story in general was pretty cool. Not really knowing or trusting the protagonist and watching her characteristics become undone and seeing how she reinvents herself - all that jazz was fun to watch and even imagine whether you could do the same, but not really knowing Jule came at the cost of not caring about her. I realised I wasn't too concerned with her past, with whether or not she was telling the truth or with what her damage was and once that happens it's a drag to get through the rest of the book.

Despite how short this book was... it was still too long for the plot. If more happened or less was written it would have kept me intrigued for longer, but by half way I was pretty much ready for it to be over.

This is a short book that I read in about 3-4 hours.
It's really gripping and there are loads of twists and turns that keep you hooked.
At first I really admired the character Jule. I loved how tough but smart she was and wanted to get fit and strong so I could take care of myself like she does. Lockhart really drew me in to the character which make the revelations about Jule even more shocking!
I found the writing easy to follow and I loved that the story was written going back in time, it was a great change. Unfortunately, there were a few moments where I had to reread sections to clarify certain events in the book. I was also able to predict a few events in the book which is why I couldn't give it a higher rating. I would rate this 3.5 out of 5.

I received an advance copy thanks to netgalley. I really enjoyed the backwards timeline which slowly revealed the reason for everything. The plot isn't terribly original though, but it was a quick, fun read.

Sorry I didn’t finish this book, I didn’t enjoy it. I just couldn’t get into it at all.

Many thanks to Netgalley and E Lockhart for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Two girls, two identities, mix them up and what do you believe?
Told backwards from June 2017 to June 2016, this unusual story confuses yet beguiles. How easy is it to change identities and disappear?
Imogen, rich, adopted, craves freedom.
Jule, orphaned, athletic, homeless.
Both girls have secrets yet some are darker than others.

The following brief review appears on Goodreads, but I hope if possible to write a more detailed one for my blog. (My life is just being slightly eaten by university right now.)

wait, that's the end? BUT I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

I mean this definitely isn't a book for people who always like to know what's going on because I spent most of it not having a clue what was going on. In a good way. Mostly. Literally nothing in this book is as it seems, so every time you think you've got to grips with it, the rug gets pulled out from under you again. It's very effective, but also very confusing.

I think my ability to keep track of things suffered slightly because I was reading an ARC and some of the formatting was out of whack, but also I have a terrible memory for things like dates so the fact that the headers told you when something happened didn't allow me to keep track of things very well -- I couldn't remember what the previous one had been in order to know if these were before or after. I settled into it more as it went on, but it did make it super confusing at first.

I'm also still... really confused. I'd hoped for some kind of explanation at the end, but all I got was more questions, because all the answers I thought I'd been given turned out to be fake as well.

Rating: 3.5*

I just couldn't get into this book as I really didn't care at all what happened to the main character - she really irritated me! I am sure this is just me and it is a great read but I had to give up half way through.

There's a sweet spot in the suspense genre where character study combines with psychological horror. This sweet spot has produced masterpieces like Dare Me, Dangerous Girls, Allegedly, and now Genuine Fraud. These are stories about bad people who don't get their punishment, because that's not how the real world works. Real life is messy. Sometimes, bad people live on.

First things first: I KNOW a lot of people are going to be comparing this to We Were Liars. Genuine Fraud is a very different novel, and I expect that plenty of people who hated We Were Liars's pretentious rich kids and poetic writing style will love Genuine Fraud's straightforward writing style and morally black main character. I enjoyed the former a fair amount, but this book blew me away. Weirdly enough, the difference between We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud is similar to the difference between Dangerous Girls and Dangerous Boys: they're both excellent books, but the first one of each pair is more concentrated on atmosphere and one final twist, while the second one is more about the why than the how.

Genuine Fraud is the story of Jule West-Williams and her best friend Imogen. Anything else said here would spoil the plot. This book is told in flashbacks, with brilliantly subtle clues as to what's going on, and reveals that made my heart pound. I have to say that I wasn't totally shocked by much about the book, but damn, if the ride wasn't enjoyable.

This book is about the outcasts, the kids who aren't rich and perfect. It's about how far someone might go to have their own happy, wealthy life. The tension builds so slowly in this story. You feel sympathy for Julep towards the beginning, and even towards the end.

I admit, there were confusing parts. If you're someone who wants everything to be clear from the beginning, don't pick this up. But for me, the unanswered questions worked perfectly. This was a book that left me absolutely desperate to finish. Even when I predicted twists, every moment was full of tension. Just... let this book surprise you.

My copy of this book came from Netgalley. I so enjoyed We Were Liars that when I saw this book was available, I knew I had to request it!

It is an incredibly compelling book, very hard to put down. It is also a book that is hard to say too much about without risking giving things away, so I won't say more, but it is a very good, very exciting and very absorbing book!

Thank you to Netgally and Hot Key Books for the e-arc.

I’ll preface this by saying the best way to go into this is blind. I knew next to nothing about it going in- but I have read and enjoyed E .Lockharts other works- and the short length of the book appealed to me. What I will say is this book is engaging, intriguing and well structured. The characters are well written and rounded and the story drags you forward at a comforting pace. This is a really high four stars- more like 4.5 and only short on the five stars due to 1. I reserve those for books that give me a brand new feeling and excitement and 2. I don’t read much in this genre, and though I loved it, I’m not familiar with troupes.
However, I thought this was surprising, it never felt fake or cheesy, and the line between truth and lies was really interesting to explore. It was nice to see how the front cover played into the story so fluently as well.
This is a good base point to start this book- I would recommend it, would even go so far as to say it’s fantastic. It you want a quick thrill- pick this up. If you really want to know more about what I felt about the characters and structure and so on- feel free to read through the headings below to see if you’d think this book is for you. I don’t want to spoil, so some story set-up or hints may be shown below and things I wasn’t aware of going in- so move forward at your own discretion.


Character

The set up for each character is so smart. It doesn’t blab everything all out at once, dropping hints, ideas down. Giving insight a little at a time. It twists the time you spend with each character, warping your perception of them all the way to the end. Everyone has layers and is complex, and you can only see so much through Jules perception. She’s an unreliable narrator, and at first you’re inclined to trust her opinions and word on everything. You’re willing to sympathise and trust her- to believe whatever bad she may have done is justified.

Structure

This here is what really made the book shine. The timeline is not linear- and is mostly skipping further and further back in time (with intermissions of leaps forward). This structure warped our perception of the situation- creating mysteries for the reader that the main character herself was privy to but we either didn’t have enough information to fully comprehend her thought process or the answer was in the past. The going backwards in time never felt like a flashback (even though that’s what it was- this whole book is more or less one big flashback- but it doesn’t feel like that). Every scene either raised questions or gave insight- and sometimes gave both. It never felt like the book was info-dumping. It was all subtle and deliberate, and it must’ve taken a lot of work to make this structure work so well. This was the perfect way to tell this story- and it was why the mystery ad intrigue of this book worked so well.


Plot

The plot is in the mystery. It’s in the little things hidden in each scene- and how the author peels layer after layer of information to us without it ever feeling like info-dumping. It’s all intriguing, and it pulls you forward to find the answers. Everything is suspicious. The way the story is going never quite clear till the latter half of this book- and then you realise it was heading this way all along. Is it about grief? Revenge? Deception? Read it and you’ll see.


Conclusion

Overall, this is an intriguing book (and yes I know I’ve used that word a lot) that is told in an engaging way that makes this such a compelling read. The mystery keeps you going, and the complex characters make this rich in a way the author manages to warp all perceptions of them throughout the book as we learn more and more about them. I would pick this up if you’re looking for quick read full of quiet thrills that will keep you wondering right to the end.

I love E Lockhart so so much and Genuine Fraud did not disappoint. Twisty and dark

A rollercoaster ride with Jule, a very unreliable narrator. The story is told backwards for the main part, so you have to work hard to piece the story together - and try and work out exactly who Jule is and why she is where she is....

I've read two E. Lockhart books previously - one of which I enjoyed (We Were Liars) and one of which I didn't as much (Fly on the Wall). In both cases however I really liked the writing style and appreciated the premise of the stories.

Genuine Fraud has a really interesting structure and it took me a little while to get used to it. It starts and finishes with the same scene, working backwards until the end where we're brought back to the present moment. It also has an unreliable narrator which always makes for a wild ride. I appreciated that even in the last few pages I was questioning who the narrator was.

Jule is a girl on the run - but why is she on the run? And where did she come from? This is a mystery thriller with murder and deceit. It's a short read (as Lockhart books generally are) and you can whizz through it in a short amount of time.

There isn't a whole lot of character building but that's to be expected when the protagonist is unreliable. She's the master of disguise and pretends to be several different people - the main being her best friend Imogen.

Although the story was really interesting (and apparently the same storyline as The Talented Mr Ripley, which I haven't read) because it was so short and fast-paced, I felt like you missed out on a lot of the elements that make thrillers so addictive. At no point was I particularly bothered by any of the characters or even what happened to Jule in the end. That was a big issue for me because why else am I reading?

I don't recommend this book if you're looking for an intense thriller that sucks you right in and leaves you wanting more - but if you're looking for a quick read that isn't your standard mystery novel then this could be a good choice.

This is a fascinating, engrossing book from the author of the much-loved We Were Liars. Tonally it's very different to this and her other previous work which I also loved, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, it tells the story of Jules (whose truth you never really fully understand). Yes, there were some flaws (the ending was not the most satisfying) but it was so engaging and well written that I read the whole thing in an evening. Sign me up to the E. Lockhart fanclub, stat.

My only real criticism was the age of the characters - I understand that this is because the author's previous books have come under the YA category, but it felt like the book had originally been written with characters in their early-to-mid-20s and then just made them a few years younger when told it had to be for a younger audience. I thought this made it just a little less believable (a 17/18 year old doing all this? Really?).