Thank you to the author and publisher for the ALC and eARC!

Saving Face is follows our main character, Monica, 20 years after she stole the identity of one of her friends to provide a better life for herself. She is a successful business woman and nominated for a big award. However, with this recognition, the more eyes on Monica. Will her identity remain a secret?

To be honest, I have very mixed feelings about this book. However, the TLDR of it is I think that the idea of this book was what drew me in and the suspense of it really keeps the book going, but the execution fell slightly flat for me.

Let's first dive into what I liked. I really enjoyed my time reading this book! I really liked the narration of the book, I don't love this audiobook narrator, however, I think that the narration of this book really helped to bring the story to life. You can really tell that the author did so much research into the background of this book. The main character's backstory is based on a real place, so the amount of research required to create a convincing backstory is a lot. I liked seeing that research really shine through the story. Seeing how the relationships of the main character and the people in her old life change as well as seeing how she interacts with people in her post college life was really interesting to me,.

Now to what I didn't like. I think that this book could have made a really great thriller. Not saying that it does not make a good literary fiction, because it does, I just think that it could have made a great thriller given the premise of the book. The author also did a lot of telling and not showing, which in some cases I did like, but overall I did not like. Furthermore, the author would spell out the negatives regarding racism and misogyny within the situations that the main character experienced, rather than showing the reader through action and small dialogues that would have created more depth to the stories and characters. Was the mystery a little predictable? Yes, but the suspense of the how everything would play out kept me motivated to finishing the book.

Though I did have criticisms of this book, I did really enjoy seeing the characters interact with each other and seeing how everything played out. I would recommend this book.

I'm such a fan of Mansi Shah's work, I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this novel!

Ami Shah is on the verge of everything she’s ever wanted: her skincare brand is about to be acquired by a major company, and she’s up for the prestigious ChangeMaker Award. However, the only problem is that Ami Shah doesn’t really exist. Twenty years ago, orphan Monica Joseph stole the identity of a wealthy classmate and built a new life under a false name. Now, with a nosy journalist digging into her past, Monica’s carefully crafted empire is at risk. To protect the truth, she’ll have to return to the place and the secrets she’s spent two decades trying to outrun.

This book had me on edge from the start. The author masterfully builds a tense atmosphere, capturing the emotional weight of living a lie and the isolation that comes with it. The main character’s growing distrust of everyone around her was heartbreaking, but it made perfect sense in a world where secrets rule and truth feels dangerous. No one in this story walks away blameless, which only deepens its exploration of humanity which is flawed, complex, and real. The novel tackles classism, racism, and bias with nuance and honesty, and still delivers a gripping, satisfying ending. It’s both a compelling story and an important one that I definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author, Harlequin Audio, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Park Row for the ARC/ALC of this book.

Wow! This book is an amazing read! I was so immersed in the story and the storytelling, orphan Monica Joseph used her wealthy classmates identity in order to leave poverty in Singapore and attend business school, in America she has rebranded herself as Amni Shah, a cosmetics CEO with dead parents. Amni has always shied away from the spotlight and press but when she becomes nominated for a prestigious award she and her company are thrust into the spotlight. That's when the ominous texts start, threatening to expose her and her past. As Amni (Monica) tries to figure out who has found out her secret, everybody is a suspect and she must return back to the place she swore never to go back to, Singapore.

The authors story telling is very immersive and I love the way she describes Monica's thought process. Monica has amazing character development throughout the story as she comes ever closer to being found out.

I loved how this was also kind of a mystery as Monica was trying to see who in her small circle could have discovered her past. I love how she reemerges from the scandal as a new person, going from Amni back to Monica as she realizes that the name no longer suits her.

A great read!

Such a powerful story! Packed with many societal issues that span across generations, the author does a really great job of capturing social disparities, gender discrimination, poverty, inequality and finding oneself among all of this. Most importantly the story highlights how even though education offers the best avenue to spread wings, the communities who most need it are barred from it.

Initially set in Singapore, the story shares the life of Monica who was abandoned and orphaned as a child. She is exceptionally smart and is desperate to escape to a better life than what she’s deemed to; a maid and a servant.

Stealing her wealthy classmate’s name, Monica embarks on a new journey leading her to establish her own company which is focused on bringing best skin care for people like her. At the peak of her career, things start to fall apart when she becomes the first woman of color to be nominated for a grand award and simultaneously starts receiving mysterious and threatening messages vowing to share her secrets.

From start to finish the story was intriguing and well developed. Really enjoyed the narration by Soneela which bought the emotions well into life! The characters felt real and Monica’s story tells us the sad truth of what it’s like to be born poor and helpless. And the reality of what women face when trying to make a mark for themselves. The author note was very interesting too as it explains how the story came into life and the process behind writing this with historical contexts.

Would recommend!

Saving Face is the first book I’ve read by Mansi Shah. I had mixed feelings about this book and had a difficult time trying to rate it. Monica is such a complicated character. The way she handled the spam calls seemed strange to me. Naria, the journalist, was incredibly messy character to the point where I couldn’t stand her. There’s a part in the book where I didn’t understand why Monica let her get away with such scummy behavior without consequences. The culprit behind the spam calls didn’t surprise me at all. I found that Divya was the only honest Indian woman and the only true girls’ girl in the story. What bothered me the most was the portrayal of Indian women. It cast them in a negative light which is especially frustrating in today’s political climate. Climbing the corporate ladder is already difficult and this type of representation doesn’t help. Back to the storyline, the pacing was off. The beginning moved slowly and I struggled to get into the story. However, I really enjoyed learning more about Monica’s past and her present-day trip to Singapore. Once Monica’s secret came out, the ending took a strange turn. I didn’t love how things escalated so quickly or how abruptly the story ended. The last 30% could have been much more developed. With all of that said, I applaud the author for researching complex topics and pushing her writing capabilities. Though I had mixed feelings about this book, I’ll definitely check out her earlier books.