This book started off great. I liked the story concept, the characters were interesting, and it was a fairly easy read. It wasn’t as good as We Were Liars though and at the end I felt like I still didn’t understand enough. I feel like the author could’ve given more character information about Jule. It was a little confusing on what information was real and what was made up in her head and I felt that a little bit more of an explanation about her childhood and why she became the way she was would’ve been helpful. ( )

An interesting story and certainly full of twists, but I found the beginning less than compelling and the writing just average. Frankly, I did not understand the protagonist or her motivations. ( )

Abandoning this one, may try again another time. UPDATE: Jk I finished it anyway. Didn't get better - still left thinking "What? But why?" There seems to be a serious lack of motive established throughout this, that ends up leaving a hole.

See the full review at baileysbooks.home.blog!

Recommended: noooope
Stay away if you want events that have a coherent order, characters with clear (or any) motivation, or a story that's unique and unpredictable - because the surprise is pretty clearly predictable from early on

Thoughts:
I almost abandoned this. I even moved it to my "Attempted" shelf. But then I was on the train and had to stand, so this book on my phone was my only reading option for that half hour.

To clarify, I didn't hate this book, despite it's one star. I just did not enjoy it, though clearly many do. Though I can appreciate non-linear stories, this one got quite confusing, jumping all over in time and in location, to the point where I really could't give you a straight placement of events, just a general "before this, after that" or them. This ended up leaving some holes for me, and some questions still unanswered as to why some things were mentioned or happened.

( )

[b:Genuine Fraud|33843362|Genuine Fraud|E. Lockhart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503003099l/33843362._SY75_.jpg|54780211]
I confess. I’m one of those people. I judge a book by it’s cover. Well, in a good way of course! If the cover appeals to me then I will read the blurb and see if the story appeals as well. That was the case with Genuine Fraud. That cover is so eye-catching that I secretly hoped the blurb would be ‘my kind of thing’. Although today someone told me covers aren’t always a safe bet. I will say my gambles have paid off lately go me.

As you’re reading my review of Genuine Fraud I think it’s safe to say it ticked the right boxes! And what a wonderfully fun read it was. Yes…it’s a little dark, a little murderous but you can’t help but immerse yourself in this fast-paced, thrilling tale. I enjoyed the aspects of the story I feel like it adds to the story.

The first thing to say is that the story is told in reverse. The reader starts at the beginning of the book with chapter 18. Towards the end of the novel, you find a chapter 19 which fills in a few of the blanks. I don’t think I have read a book presented in this format before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was exciting and different, each chapter revealing a little more of what actually happened to the characters. I was questioning everything. I believed no one. Wonderfully compulsive.

I’ve seen a number of mixed reviews for this book. Many of the readers have previously read one or more of the author’s novels. I don’t fall into that category and E. Lockhart was a brand new author to me. From what I’ve seen, Genuine Fraud is quite different to the author’s other works and maybe that’s the problem? Starting Genuine Fraud with no previous experience may have helped me. I’ve also seen many comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley. Well, here’s a bombshell for you, I’ve neither read the book nor seen the film! I will be totally honest with you now and confess to absolutely no knowledge of the plot.. Maybe that helped me enjoy this book a little more than others, maybe I missed a number of subtle nuances others got.

Would I recommend this book? I would. I managed to read Genuine Fraud in a day. It would have been fairly easy to read it in less time than that had I not had other obligations. I enjoyed my first experience of E. Lockhart’s writing and I’m looking forward to adding We Were Liars to the TBR in the future. It’s a gripping, multilayered read which I found compulsive and thrilling.

This was my first E. Lockhart book, but I am pretty sure it won't be my last. Genuine Fraud was an intense read, and I whizzed through it as I just could not put it down. I had so many questions, and a burning curiosity to understand what was going on... and just who Jule and Imogen are. This is a book filled with twists and turns and surprises just around the corner: while definitely enjoyable, that makes it incredibly hard to review this book without spoilers, which is why this review will probably be much shorter than usual.

I deeply enjoyed reading this book: it was fast-paced and full of suspense, and even though I had suspected a few of the twists from fairly early on, it kept me guessing myself right up to the end. The narrator is deeply unreliable, and none of the characters can be trusted, which makes this read even more delicious to devour in few sittings if (like me) you like working your brain to understand twisted relationships.

I have to admit, none of the characters were particularly (read: at all) likable: most of them are spoilt rich kids who do little more than travel, shop and enjoy themselves, while complaining about how miserable they are. They were, however, extremely well drawn, and while I disliked them profoundly, I found them to be very believable. Most of the stuff that happened appeared to me fairly unrealistic anyway, but overall worked well within the novel, so that I almost never questioned how a particular thing could be happening.

One thing I wasn't too convinced by was the way in which it was narrated. The story is told almost entirely backwards, starting with an event and working our way to how it all started. I thought this was a brilliant and very original way to tell a story, until I actually got into the book. While I liked the theory of it, I found reading backwards to be much too complicated for me, and I soon started feeling slightly confused and ended up losing track of some details. This was entirely me, though, and you might enjoy it greatly and not feel confused at all!

Overall, this was a very entertaining read, and would have been perfect if it hadn't managed to thoroughly confuse me after a while.

I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )