A woman who built her entire life on a stolen identity is finally forced to confront her past when a journalist starts asking questions. To protect everything she’s built, she has to return to the one place she swore she’d never go back to—home.

ALC REVIEW:
In terms of the story, I absolutely loved the themes that this book covers. The premise immediately drew me in especially because we know that Monica is not really Ami right away. I love books about con artists they are always so interesting. Monica interacting with everyone else who has no idea she’s kept this facade for so long while it’s eating her away was fun to read, it definitely added to the tension.

The pacing as a little off, there were moments I was absolutely gripped and then I was pulled out of the story. Also if that hadn’t been an early copy, I would’ve switched to physically reading it.

Thank you to Harlequin for this early copy!

I’m always so interested in reading about the every day life of characters from a background different than mine.

Now don’t let this bright pink cover fool you. The novel doesn’t shy away from tough themes and gets to the heart of some weighty issues.

Ami is such a complex and deep character. I felt with her on her issues and struggles. Class, the trade off of getting ahead, being non-white in a white world. It gave me so many things to think about.

I liked the time spent in Singapore and the mystery of who knew Ami or should I say Monica’s secret.

Soneela Nankani Did a great job narrating the audiobook. She brought Ami and her struggles to life. She kept me interested in the book and her voice sounded perfect for how I envisioned Ami.

I listened to this book a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions as Monica/Ami's story progressed. The author did a great job weaving so many complex themes through out this story.

SAVING FACE by Mansi Shah is the first novel that I’ve read from the author, but most certainly will not be my last. It took absolutely no time at all for me to sink my teeth into this one. With a synopsis like this, how could I not?

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳-𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.”

Talk about a juicy read—and mysterious! The female protagonist is nervous, scared, and desperate to figure out who is trying to blow her cover and spill her secrets. My heart was pounding, I was sweating bullets, and biting my fingernails right along with her. What she felt, I felt. The author does a phenomenal job in pulling you into her world. Oh, and the best part? I was never able to peg down the snitch.

Not only is this novel entertaining and addictive, it also has SO many deep layers and intriguing complexities to navigate. The author includes themes like race, class, and identity and expertly blends them with reflections on abandonment and adoption, then ambition and drive. It’s a very well-rounded novel.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Rags-to-riches plot
- Mystery and suspense
- Secrets and lies
- Adoption stories
- Female entrepreneurs
- Skin & beauty industry
- Los Angeles & Singapore settings
- Character-driven novels

Overall, this is a super addictive and entertaining read that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish! SAVING FACE is out now! Highly recommend! 4/5 solid stars!

Saving Face was an unexpected delight. Although I had not previously read any of Shah’s work, I was intrigued by this title’s comparisons to Yellowface, a novel I greatly enjoyed. While both titles have an identity-theft storyline, Shah’s novel distinguishes itself by offering less satire and more incisive social commentary on privilege. What elevated this book to a five-star read was the author’s note. Shah grounds her narrative in a lesser-known piece of Singapore’s history, weaving meticulous research with a compelling story centered on a protagonist facing formidable challenges. Saving Face is a powerful novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy underdog narratives, strong female protagonists, and thoughtful examinations of identity and privilege.

This was such a powerful story!

So much good commentary on stereotypes and classism and shared cultural heritage and more. There is something to be said about understanding why some people lie or Westernize themselves or make other choices that assimilate rather than stand out.

This book had some similar tones to Yellowface and Julie Chan is Dead with the stolen identity theme. The suspense and thriller aspects in Saving Face are a bit more reserved than those books and balanced more with Monica being real and honest. This is one of those rare books where I wouldn't say the main character was likeable or unlikeable. I definitely respected her and appreciated her commentary.

The drama held my attention and was very entertaining. The rich, Singaporean lifestyle felt a little like a Kevin Kwan book. I loved how much the story brings the reader into the plot. And even during the chaos of everything, there is still analysis on equality. People dont want to see and believe in folks who don't look like them, they want assurances that they're the norm and we're the other.

Saving Fave explores caste a lot while still having an engaging story about Monica. I thought this was a well-done book filled with both intrigue and commentary.

Thank you to HTP and The Hive for the ALC!

It's stories like this that remind me the safety that is needed to be your full self. I really appreciate being reminded of that.
As a corporate worker our main character is being awarded a really prestigious award. She is first and foremost so honored but quickly wants to rebut it. She has a hidden part of her story and origin which is a big reason that she doesn't want the award.
I love the whole cast even the non understanding ones, it all felt very reflective a world that I am familiar with.

Great narration.

A story that touches on many important issues and the title alone is genius!!
Ami Shah finds herself in a corner after she has been nominated for the ChangeMaker Award. An award that she doesn’t want since it comes with a lot of attention, especially for someone who has built her success on lies. And now Ami’s secret is in peril. An addicting read with mystery elements and a journey of finding your true self and home. The narrator, Soneela Nankani does a wonderful performance portraying Ami Shah and several of the other characters in the book. She kept me hooked till the very end. The anxiety and tension was felt throughout the book. There’s an array of interesting issues, like beauty standards, poor vs privileged, academics, business, etc., that I believe many women will find interesting. A beautiful and deep story with many layers that are slowly unveiled. I loved it.

"Family was something that was different for everyone and changed based on circumstances."

A very special thanks to the author and Harlequin Audio for the gifted copy.

This was great and I had no issue with it, other than that it just wasn’t my style of Book. So I have nothing bad to say I just would say it’s not my cup of tea. It definitely deserves this star rating though, and I hope others enjoy it.

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.