Absolutely not what I expected, especially the ending. This book kept me engaged as I followed the struggling marriage and challenging parenting demands of Oli and Ava. At the lowest point, Winnie, a long forgotten college roomate re-appears in Ava's life. The two begin to work together importing designer purses. The story follows their ups and downs. The ending offers a great twist!

I really liked this book! I enjoyed it from the beginning but I loved it about halfway through when things started to change…

Thank you so much to Netgalley and William Morrow for an arc of Counterfeit by Kristin Chen.

I absolutely loved this novel. I thought I would like it and ended up enjoying it so much more with my already high expectations. It is well written and interesting and I was invested from the beginning . I did not expect the twist and change in narration in the middle and I loved it. I will definitely need to pick up more of Chen’s work!

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen is a great read. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. If you are looking for a great easy read, this is your book.

Thank you to William Morrow for my copy of Counterfeit.

I really loved this book. The story around the Counterfeit designer bag ring felt fresh and really made me think about how this is probably actually happening in real life. The women were creative in how they bought fakes and returned them to luxury stores without getting caught for years. It was a fun and fast read that I definitely recommend!

3.5 stars - this was a short audiobook - maybe 5 hours at adjusted speed. The narrator did a great job with it and it was just a fun listen.

Ava Wong is a stay at home mom, who after working as a corporate lawyer, decides to stay home with her two year old son (who has learning and behavior needs) who also has a nanny. While on a trip to China visiting relatives, her husband (a surgeon) removes her access to credit cards, and needing money, she begins working with a former roommate to sell counterfeit handbags. Winnie’s business, she discovers, is purchasing expensive handbags from stores and returning them with super fakes, then selling the originals online. The whole story is told as Ava tells the story to an investigator. We hear some chapters from Winnie’s perspective, beginning with part 2.

I thought the idea was interesting and my favorite parts were probably learning about the fakes and businesses in China.

You might like this one if you like
Unreliable narrators (who is counterfeit?)
Learning about fake bags
Mysteries or crime fiction
A story about the model minority myth for Asians and how they play it to their advantage.

In the RBC chat with her, she said she wanted to write a book about the model minority myth and how to move on from it. In this article I linked to below, she said that people in the USA view Asians a certain way and when they don’t meet those standards, they are deported.

I loved the article from the author about how she saw in the Washington Post, a story about an Asian preschool teacher who basically did this counterfeit scheme. Then the author went to China and toured a bunch of factories that make “super fakes.”

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen is a cat and mouse game - two college friends reunite at a precarious time in their lives. Ava Wong is a Stanford grad, once a lawyer, and now married to a workaholic and mother to a constantly crying toddler, Henri, who is not developing according to plan. She would be lost without her nanny, Maria. Winnie Fang left Stanford under the cloud of disgrace and an SAT scandal. She comes back into Ava's life with a business proposition - be a contact in her world of counterfeit prestige handbags. (Admittedly, I was not the target for this book since I did not know what a Birkin bag was, lol). Although this was a quick, fairly entertaining read, I found the characters unlikeable, and really not people I could relate to. Old, the surgeon husband was a jerk and quite controlling. The real twist in the story was who was the mastermind of the whole operation - the story is mostly told from an interview with Ava and a detective, so obviously the scheme has run amuck. Bit by bit and flashbacks, and hearing Winnie's perspective you learn what really happens.

COUNTERFEIT by Kirstin Chen is a really fun novel! I was excited to read this one since it was the Reese’s Book Club pick for June and I usually like her picks. It was a really enjoyable read! It’s about an Asian American woman, Ava, who reunited with her college friend and ends up in the counterfeit luxury handbag business. I loved the behind the scenes of the manufacturing business side in China and the Asian American rep. While some parts were a little over the top and unbelievable it was an overall fun and easy read. It was an interesting writing choice as the novel is told in flashback. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job! This would make a great summer beach read!
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Thank you to Harper Collins Canada via NetGalley for my advance review copy!

QUICK TAKE: I really loved this soapy caper about two Asian American friends who build a global counterfeit purse ring, This is THE USUAL SUSPECTS meets HUSTLERS, full of escapism and wish fulfillment, but it is also a grounded exploration of motherhood and culture and class., and Kirstin Chen’s plays with reader expectations and unreliable narrator tropes in such a fun, provocative way.

I really enjoyed Counterfeit by Kristin Chen! This is a story of a woman, named Ava, who hears from a friend, Winnie, she hasn't heard from in 20 years. I was hooked from the beginning. Ava is actually telling the story to a detective, so it kept me hooked. It is an easy read and has some drama and mystery to it. I learned about exclusive, designer handbags and a little bit about the counterfeit industry. There was a great twist to the story! I didn't really like that there was no use of quotation marks, as Ava is speaking to the detective. Overall, it was a quick, fun read and I will definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

An interesting story focused on two women: Ava and Winnie, whom reconnect and work together to grow a counterfeit handbag business. The storytelling has a unique set-up that took me a little bit to follow but then clicked for me. I found the story a little slow in parts but also had the drive to want to know more Throughout the whole story I found myself rooting for Ava as she navigates being her own person, along with being a wife and mother. This book is great for those who enjoy heist storylines! Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Wild, Just Wild - this story had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the story. I loved how they told the story, in the beginning, it was a unique way of expressing a character's point of voice. I also love that Winnie got a chance to say her side of things.

I don't know if these two ladies are bad bitches or just con artists I can't decide if I admire them or am scared of what they can accomplish.

without giving anything away everyone should read this story for the thrill if nothing else

Ava Wong hasn't heard from Winnie since Winnie mysteriously left Stanford. Winnie shows up after 20 years wanting to reconnect with Ava. Ava is instantly pulled in by Winnie's confidence and wealth that Winnie displays. Told in the format of a confession to a detective, this book throws you into the world of counterfeit handbags and takes you along for a funny and exciting ride. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

Ava is lonely and frustrated - her surgeon husband works constantly and her son is experiencing developmental delays she does not want to acknowledge or accept. She wasn't distraught to leave her corporate law firm job since she didn't like it anyway, but now she is stuck wondering what to do next. Enter Winnie, Ava's former roommate from her Stanford days. Winnie had abruptly disappeared during a cheating scandal, but has now reappeared in larger than life fashion. Winnie coerces Ava into joining her counterfeit handbag business.....or does she? Told from Ava's point of view with "clips" of Winnie's perspective, the reader is left wondering about the real ring leader.

This book was great! Two women take charge of their futures in an unconventional and risky way. It's also a book about the so-called "American Dream" and how one really has to set out to achieve it. Highly recommend if you are looking for something a little different.

Counterfeit was such a compelling story, I read it in just one day. The two female con artists are both smart and likable. Their plan was fascinating to follow and I found myself hoping they’d stay safe somehow. I could see this book easily turned into a movie.

Well, this was a nice surprise! I really enjoyed this and found it to be fast-paced with moments I wasn't expecting. Will be recommending this title.
Thank you Netgalley and Book Club Girls.

What a propulsion exciting and original al thriller! AVA gets drawn I to a get rich scheme by her old friend Winnie to sell fake upscale handbags. I devoured it despite knowing nothing about upscale handbags! A must read.

Thank you William Morrow for providing me an eARC to review via NetGalley. I thought this novel was ok. The short length and the lightness of the story makes it great as a beach read, but I still found myself struggling to get invested in the story. I think my issue was that I didn't like Ava, the main character, but it seems like the audience is supposed to feel sympathetic toward her.

I really enjoyed this book… until the end.
I like how part 1 is Ava’s story and consists of her discussions with a detective (which is you! The reader!). A great idea to have the reader be the detective throughout part one - made me feel more immersed in the story. Part 2 seems to be more truthful/factual and deals with the fall out of Ava and Winnie’s schemes. I was roped in to this story from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down. And then all of a sudden it ended rather abruptly and there was an epilogue. That kind of threw me a little bit. But other than that, I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers Ltd for the electronic advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I often struggle to find fun reads with substance, but COUNTERFEIT fits this perfectly! Ava, a Chinese American lawyer who has put her career on hold to raise her young son, recounts to a detective the story of how her former college roommate, Winnie, lured her into a counterfeit bag operation. This confessional tone drew me into the story immediately, and makes COUNTERFEIT quite an intriguing page-turner.

Initially, I closed this book wishing there had been more. Who is Ava really? How much of her story is the truth? But the point here is that Ava is a sharp-witted woman who has leveraged the model minority myth—the true scam here—to her advantage. This book left me with the feeling that it had achieved its goals. I also enjoyed the details of Ava and Winnie’s family backgrounds and the insights into designer bags and counterfeit bags. Absolutely recommend this book!