ARC Review: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Author: E. Lockhart

.This review can also be found on YA Books Central.

This is my first book by E. Lockhart and boy did it stress me out! Told in reverse, I flipped through pages to discover the mystery behind the characters that I wish to never cross.

What I Liked:

I can’t remember the last time (if ever) that I read a book in a backwards timeline. It’s so unusual, but I liked it! I wanted to reach the end of the book to know how everything happens and what made the main character land in a run-down motel in Baja California, Mexico (so close to me!). And whoa, quite a disturbing ride! 

Without spoiling much, what I can say is that one of the main characters is the kind of person I never want to cross paths with. The kind of character who gives me the chills and why I stray far away from thrillers/mysteries. She is a social chameleon alright, who must always get what she wants from you and be LOVED by you if you want to stay safe. Super creepy yet interesting to read about. Sort of.

What Left Me Wanting More: 

I tried really hard to care for the characters in this book, but I couldn’t. Sometimes, there wasn’t even enough time for me to start liking them when the main characters would take them out of their lives. Often cold heartedly. And the main characters weren’t likeable enough for some obvious reasons so at the end, I was left without a character to hold on to.

The end of Genuine Fraud left me a bit frustrated as well since there really wasn’t any big reveal/plot twist to surprise me. It turned out to be predictable and the character doesn’t seem to act any differently throughout the novel. It’s not that I was expecting a redeeming arc, but I was expecting something more.

Final Verdict:

Genuine Fraud is certain to appeal to fans of mysteries with its backwards timeline and creepy characters. This is the type of read I kind of wish to erase from my mind, but I cannot deny it had me reading non-stop to get to the bottom of it all!