This was a good read. You learn something about Wall Street while also being pulled in to the story. If the world of finance interests you this is a great choice.

I read an advanced digital copy of this novel courtesy on the publisher through NetGalley. Review available on goodreads.

Peek behind the Wall Street curtain with plenty of snark and humor

The opening is pretty cringey -- classically misogynistic in the way most Wall Street romps are. But as much as Wall Street movers and shakers are tiresome and humorless, Former hedge-fund manager Luke Fellows is gifted with the ability to laugh at himself. While this book is funny and satiric, readers are likely to learn a little bit about the world of finance.

Snatch 2&20" is a memorable novel by Luke Fellows and one I highly recommend. If you are looking for an entertaining escape and enjoy a little zing in your reads, this is the one for you. Very enjoyable read. I loved it!

Snatch 2 & 20 is an interesting read, a satirical look into startups, their billionaire owners and the financial markets that facilitate them. As someone not unfamiliar with this world I could not help but think that "never a truer word has been spoken in jest". At times it came close to the bone.

Quite a heavy reliance was placed on the reader knowing something about financial markets and it helps if you have a passing classical knowledge too but don't let this put you off. If you've been there you'll relate (albeit uncomfortably), if you've not you'll cringe at the thought of just who might be in charge and what they might do!

If you've come across and enjoyed the non-fiction "OneCoin" saga this has more than a passing resemblance in many respects.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I should say the as the daughter/grand daughter and sister of Oxford educated classicists there was a lot in this book that certainly hit home! It was a clever juxtaposition of the modern world and the teachings of a classical education.
The swamp of Wall Street most certainly lives up to its name as our protagonist Giles attempts to navigate his world of crazy tech entrepreneurs and stay in his own world with his ex stripper wife. There are shades of Carl Hiassen here in the comedy of errors that arise due to such disparate characters,
It has often been pondered what exactly some trendy "tech" companies actually do or sell. Maybe here lie the answers!!

This was a fun, over the top, satirical comedy about life in the Wall Street, and I enjoyed reading it.

In fact, the author did a wonderful job in writing the story in a unique manner. I had no idea what would happen to Giles as he started working for Peter and Egon. Moreover, the author makes the story thrilling and also blends well it humor. The story and the characters are unpredictable and contains few twists and turns. I also like the way it ended as I did not expect the twist in the very last page. Additionally, on a side note, I really liked the concept of PEACH project as it was very interesting.

Similarly, the characters are also quirky and vivid that makes you connect to them easily. I liked quite a few supporting characters too. Cherry is hilarious as Giles’s wife. Also, I liked Giles’s narrative, and laughed at the scenes where they meet Bill, Brandy and Daria at the pool. At the same time, I hated Peter because he was volatile, moody and unpredictable. Egon was eccentric and crazy but also quite memorable.

However, there were times where I didn’t understand the impact or workflow of how the Wall Street Industry worked. While I loved learning terms like Asset Allocators and the background of Hedge Funds, at times it felt like the author targeted this book for a niche audience having a financial background.

Other than that, overall, this was fun and entertaining to read. The author did a great job as a debut novel and looking forward to similar releases in the future.

I really hoped to snicker throughout this book at the craziness of folks on the Wall Street front. I was hoping for a Carl Hiaasen version of Wall Street. I was expecting funny, a little raw, and and definitely making fun of Wall Street tycoons.

Giles Goodenough is some kind of hedge-fund Wall Street guy who moves invisible money on paper and has really no idea what he is doing except showing up to work hard and put a lot of effort into doing nothing and then collecting exorbitant paychecks. He has an ex-stripper for a wife and even gets head-hunted by other firms. FOR DOING NOTHING. He winds up in a deal that is more than he can handle with some really freaky people - all of whom DO NOTHING.

I did not laugh once. I didn’t even smirk, smile, or roll my eyes. I kept reading in disbelief and the reason I am giving it two stars is because I kept reading hoping it would get better. I feel like some of my distaste is due to the fact that one of my biggest pet peeves is people who work harder at doing nothing and swindling someone than if they would just put in an honest day’s work. I get that there are some really freaky people controlling a crazy amount of money and in turn politicians. This was sickening, not satirical. Maybe if Giles and his wife would have become people who put in an honest day’s work it would be different. But they continued doing nothing - just in a different setting. Maybe if you’re a Wall Street guy you will like it and snicker at the poor people who work their a$$es off everyday instead of living whatever kind of “dream” this is.

Giles Goodenough is a trader / advisor on Wall Street. He has a ex porn star for a wife. He is trying to keep his job and make money while trying to make sense of his job.
At times weird, funny and downright hilarious. It won’t be to everyone’s liking but I suspect the young mans thinking may reflect actual Wall Street behavior

Well written and funny book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The setting makes it stand out but is also relatable.

I didn’t see the ending coming which made this book even better.

I was hovering between awarding 3 or 4 stars for this book. When I looked back, I realised that in the first sitting I'd read nearly half of the book, so I was clearly very engaged. Hence the 4 stars.

Rather like the Roger Crane play "The Last Confession", this book forces one to confront what happens within a well known institution, whilst secretly hoping that it's not as bad as it's being painted, even while suspecting that it really is.

I like the fact that the author doesn't attempt to justify his lifestyle and openly admits his character flaws. None of what goes on is presented in a sensationalist way. The sexual practices (some may say excesses) and (what some may consider dodgy) business practices are simply presented as facts.

The only criticisms I have are that there are many TLAs (Two/Three Letter Acronyms) which it would be nice to have expanded on first use, the heavy use of industry jargon and the occasionally over-long (IMO) descriptions of scenes, the extensive use of Latin (I'm so glad that Google real-time image translate exists) and many obscure words where other more common ones would do. Regarding the last criticism, it rather felt like the author was showing off.

I've just noticed that the criticism paragraph is longer that all the others! Please do not take that the wrong way. I awarded 4 stars because I really did enjoy the book and was sorry when it came to an end.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!

you know that guy in almost everyone party...that guy that just tries too hard. With too much crazy stories using absurd language...well this book is that guy. you read it because you can’t stop yourself. Just like you can’t stop yourself listening to that guy at the party. Then, right before the party ends..or in this case the book...bam...the guy aka the book tells you such a shocking real story that you leave the party (or in this case finish the book!) with your mouth gasping still trying to grip some sense into what you just read.!

Throughout reading this book I couldn't help but feel as though it had been written with the end film adaptation in mind. Whilst it was an ok story and approached some of the lesser liked images of the hedge fund world it felt as though it was written for a male audience and so I found it hard to truly enjoy and didn't really bring any new insights or story than already portrayed in films like Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short. It was worth reading but just didn't really engage me as much as I thought it would.

Slow starter but as the book went on, I really enjoyed the absurdity of it, especially Egon. If you can get by the first few chapters, you will start to enjoy Giles too.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This novel was good. It took me a few chapters to really get comfortable with the author’s style. But once I did, I enjoyed it.

Giles Goodenough works on Wall Street as a research analyst who is hired to gain insight into a tech firm, Zyxview, and its founder Egon Crump. Sound suspiciously like Elon Musk, no? The story is outrageous at times and as much as I remembered it was fiction, I’ve seen enough real events that should have been fictional occur in real life. So, I know there are some real events you just couldn’t make up if you tried and I wondered how much of this novel was based on the author’s real experiences.

It is outright satire and at times reminded me of American Psycho, sans gore. The characters are certainly colourful! It’s a fun novel if you’re a sardonic person. The only thing that bothered me was the author’s excessive use of side thoughts expressed in parentheses. Many of these could just have been sentences.
Not bad. I would recommend it if you’re into stories – fiction or nonfiction – about Wall Street hijinks.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodness, several times I had to try to decide if this was a memoir or fiction—maybe both. I found it quite scary and reminiscent of a real Ponzi scheme. Is the banking system and the govt really like this—I am reading this in Sep 2020 so yes a lot of it seems exactly like what is happening. I was given this book to read for a review and I have to say I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone I know although some people may like it.

While the sotry this book tries to convey is interesting, the writing style unfortunately does not do it justice. It is snarky and engaging but honestly , at times the book reads like talking to a person who cannot stay focussed! Too many side subjects and comments make it a hard to stay focussed. Having said that it was stil la fun read.

I used to work in the City, so I thought this could be fun. But I'm afraid I found it rather tiresome - I got the message in the first page and then there was nothing new. I know this is supposed to be funny but, if many a true word is spoken in jest, then this is a terrifying reminder of the sort of people who handle the world's finances.

Written by a former hedge fund manager as a (hopefully loosely based) memoir. This book is a satirical romp through the bizarre world of finance and technology. It’s filled with greed, sex, eccentricity, corruption and the sleazy sides of humanity.
You’ll laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all but will also shake your head at the realization that much of it is reality.

This book is alarmingly funny. Why? Because people and actions which are so offensive just shouldn’t have made me laugh so much. Witty and sarcastic, this book offers an insight into a world which seems unreal but is obviously a part of our society. I wanted to hate the protagonist but I just couldn’t - he was hilarious and the choices he made just kept tumbling him into deeper strife. A lot of people might look past this book as not being their regular cup of tea - please stop and give it a chance!