Kirstin Chen

HUSTLERS meets BIG LITTLE LIES in the thrilling new novel about women breaking bad that everyone will be talking about in Summer 2022...

Counterfeit

For fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise--an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. Money can't buy happiness... but it can buy a decent fake. Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home--she's built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years, and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business--someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences. Swift, surprising, and sharply comic, Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind. Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced, Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life.

Lindsay

to share one’s secrets is to force others to bear your burden; to stay silent is to spare them.

Equality is about having choices, even if my choice isn’t the one she would have made.

I’m merely suggesting that all of us fixate on certain kinds of cheating, while willfully ignoring other kinds.

Alys

I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book. It's fast paced, the characters are likeable, the plot is twisty and smart, it's delightful. A quick, light hearted read. 

Saffia

Lisa Wright

** spoiler alert **
           I enjoyed the narrative throughout, loved Ava as a character, but found the ending a bit sudden and somehow incomplete.

Elisavet Rozaki 

Patricia Nelson

Quick and easy summer read that had a few plot twists to add to the interest for the book. I didn't find the characters likable, but they were interesting for sure.

Mae Erceg

This book was a roller coaster ride ! I have to minus a star because I feel like the main characters weren’t relatable for me but I really enjoyed the plot and every aspect of it. The ending was a bit on the lame side, I won’t lie, but I would read this book again! 4/5 stars, would recommend !

Interesting and expertly written; I love how Ava’s knowledge of the field heightened chronologically as she got deeper into her work. Kept me guessing and pulled between worlds, never knowing who to trust - which was perfect. Definitely recommend!

Nina

First book in a long time that I couldn't put down and when I did have to put it down; I couldn't wait to get back to it! 

Gisela Ayala 

grace richards

3.5,, the pov switch caught me so off guard good lord. 

overall, the book is good the plot is just a bit weak in some places

Juli Nazzario

People hate to see girl bosses winning. This book was clever and entertaining! I’m a fan of true crime, so it’s no surprise that I also enjoy fictional crime.

Cheri McElroy

Ava has given up her career in law to be a wife and mother to her difficult son. She’s not fulfilled and is an easy target for her former roommate who is running a counterfeit handbag scheme. She’s a reluctant player. Or is she?

This was a fun, quick read with complicated relationships and unlikeable characters that kept me guessing. Definitely enjoyable.

Elissa Bowe LeBeau

I’m a sucker for any book about the counterfeit fashion world, and this one did not disappoint. It was the perfect length and I really enjoyed how the story was told. It’s unique and quintessential, all at the same time.

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen came out on the 7th of June and was published by William Morrow. It's barely been two months, and the book already has over sixteen thousand reviews on Goodreads, and is in the top 10 in two categories on amazon. It's 284 pages long and while normally I complain that a book should be longer or shorter, I can't with this one because it's just perfect. It's also not a debut as the author has written other novels such as Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners, both of which are on Kindle Unlimited. This book is perfect for readers who liked Bad Blood, and shows like Inventing Anna!

When Ava reconnects with her old college roommate Winnie, literally not one person could have predicted the outcome; that the two of them would run a counterfeit scheme involving replicas of luxury handbags.

I won't argue that the book is perfect. It absolutely isn't! But amidst all the garbage that seems to get published, it's good to come across an author who can write something interesting, while still addressing more complex topics such as how the Asian American community is viewed in the United States and how quickly the model migrant narrative can change when profits are threatened. I absolutely hated Ava's husband and his white boy obliviousness to everything. I adore Winnie and the guts she had to pull all of this off.

Seher Mohsin

Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen came out on the 7th of June and was published by William Morrow. It's barely been two months, and the book already has over sixteen thousand reviews on Goodreads, and is in the top 10 in two categories on amazon. It's 284 pages long and while normally I complain that a book should be longer or shorter, I can't with this one because it's just perfect. It's also not a debut as the author has written other novels such as Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners, both of which are on Kindle Unlimited. This book is perfect for readers who liked Bad Blood, and shows like Inventing Anna!

When Ava reconnects with her old college roommate Winnie, literally not one person could have predicted the outcome; that the two of them would run a counterfeit scheme involving replicas of luxury handbags.

I won't argue that the book is perfect. It absolutely isn't! But amidst all the garbage that seems to get published, it's good to come across an author who can write something interesting, while still addressing more complex topics such as how the Asian American community is viewed in the United States and how quickly the model migrant narrative can change when profits are threatened. I absolutely hated Ava's husband and his white boy obliviousness to everything. I adore Winnie and the guts she had to pull all of this off.

Counterfeit

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