ARC Review: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Title: Genuine Fraud Written by: E. Lockhary Published: September 5, 2017 by Delacorte Press (Random House) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge. Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat. Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. A bad romance, or maybe three. Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her. A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

**** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher at ALA in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

This is one of the most unique books I have read in awhile. I enjoyed We Were Lies and I was interested in reading more of E. Lockhart’s books. And I am so glad I did because this was a super interesting read with unlikeable characters, plenty of surprises, and a plot that kept me on my toes.

The thing to keep in mind about Genuine Fraud is that it is definitely a thriller. I wouldn’t really call it a mystery because there wasn’t anything to solve but it was full of twists and turns and plenty of thrills.It had all the trappings of my favorite kind of a thrillers too. It had me guessing from beginning to end and even when I thought I knew what was going on it had me doubting myself and the characters. I love when books are like that. I love being surprised and confused and this book definitely did that.

I think the biggest thing that kept me confused though was the structure of this book. It’s not your typical narrative style. No, you read the book backwards. You start at the climax, the last chapter, and then work your way to how it all began. You would think this would mean that there weren’t any surprises, but there were. Sure, you could piece together the big picture stuff but there was still a lot of drama and surprises. I have never read a book like that before. It took a little while to get used to but when I did, I was so into it. It added to the drama of the book and made it all the more interesting.

The other really interesting thing about this book was the characters. These are some truly unlikeable characters. I am one of those readers who likes when the characters are terrible people, and that’s a good thing because that is exactly what had happened in this book. These characters were seriously awful. They were self-centered and awful. But they were also really complex. Jule was a character that I had empathy for even when she did the most terrible things. I mean don’t get me wrong, she was absolutely awful and out control but interesting. She was also an unreliable narrator. So much of my confusion and doubt came from not knowing or trusting Jule. If you are like me and you like unlikeable characters then you will love the characters in Genuine Fraud.

The thing I really appreciated about this book is that it’s uniquely written and weird but it’s also a quick read. It’s a book you could read in a day if you read fast and/or have the time to devote to it. It’s only about 260 pages and the font is pretty big. But it’s also such an engaging read that you will want to find out what is going to happen, or well had happened. I really couldn’t put it down. I flew through this book. It was really interesting.

I really enjoyed Genuine Fraud. It wasn’t a perfect book but it was incredibly engaging. It was a thriller that kept me confused, a uniquely written book, and unlikeable characters.

I give Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. I think this is probably one of those books that either you love it or hate it kind of book. I in particular loved it. It's a unique book but it was good. If you like YA thrillers or want something completely different then check this book out.

Have you read Genuine Fraud? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!