This was such an entertaining read. It reminded me so much of Crazy Rich Asians, which is one of my all time favourite movies. Very excited to read any future books by Kyla Zhao.

This book started off with a premise so unbelievable it was always going to be tough to pull off. Unfortunately, by the end, I was not sold on the steep rise and fall of Sam. The novel leant into the materialism and glamour of the high society setting, but I didn’t find myself enjoying the novel, often shaking my head at its superficial characters and implausible storyline.

The characters kept emphasising how ‘high stakes’ their scheme was but it never actually felt that way. This was probably due to the fact that everything came so easy for Sam. Her rise through the ranks was seamless. Whenever she was confronted with a problem, she could simply use her initiative to talk herself out of it. Similarly, all the social events Sam must have attended were never properly described. I wish there was some form of montage to make her quick ascension seem more plausible.

My biggest issue was Sam herself. I found it difficult to get behind her image-focused and materialistic ambitions. I wished she had purer intentions for climbing the social ladder, such as being able to financially help her mum. Instead, Sam seemed to completely forget her hard-working and ailing mother as soon as she stepped into her new glamorous persona. Likewise, she discarded her best friend, Raina, surprisingly quickly. There was almost no point of her being in the novel. Sam was self-centred and shallow, meaning I couldn’t find it in me to root for her.

I felt no support for the ‘Fraud Squad’. The friendships were problematic and budding romance was unconvincing. Still, I held out hope to the very end that the novel would turn itself around. Unfortunately, it was wrapped up too neatly with none of the characters seeming to face consequences.

OVERALL: This ‘high stakes’ novel lacked jeopardy and excitement as everything came too easily for the heroine. It didn’t help that she was difficult to root for and her romance sub-plot was unconvincing.

This was impeccable, genuinely. Netgalley did that really amazing thing again where it gave me an arc of a book I wanted to buy anyway, and honestly, it backfired, I'm supposed to save money, but now I want to buy the book in paperback lol - thats a testament of how good this book was!

The vibes were phenomenal, think Crazy Rich Asians but like 10x more extravagant and glamourous, with a dash of Gossip Girl. Samantha being an outsider reminded me a lot of Dan Humphrey, but wayyyy less annoying. And I am 90% certain that Tim and Sam's romance was based partially on Crazy Rich Asians, which by the way I now feel a need to rewatch.

I like how this book was so much more than a romance, and it was such a unique idea and concept - I loved it. The setting of Singapore was perfect, and made me want to go there even more - I feel like the glitz of Singapore isn't given enough attention in mainstream media, and I like how this book finally did that.

The storyline was impeccable, the twists and the turns, THE BETRAYAL??? Wow, I didn't see it coming, and Sam was surrounded by some awful people in all honesty, wealth really does corrupt people, but also there is a lot of pressure that comes with it, and a lot of burdens too. I guess money doesn't really bring all the happiness in the world, there are still voids, and the people who are truly happy are those who are content with life, irrespective of their wealth.

Samantha got her dream in the end, and rightly so, she deserved it, and to some extent so did Tim. I like the character development of the two, they really did mature and grow. And I like how the book wasn't central to Samantha, other people were given importance too. Also, I don't think this book needed dual pov, I think we got more than enough from the singular pov, so again, it was written impeccably. I'll be keeping an eye on Kyla Zhao and her work, and I'm hoping she writes more in this glamourous universe.

I liked the ending, it was probably the first time I have read a book with a healthy ending where they don't run into a whirlwind romance, but they take it slow, like you would in a normal and healthy relationship.

This was a refreshing read, especially in a world where books are becoming overly repetitive with tiktok trends and themes, because of its originality in setting, theme, storyline, and even the 'tropes.'

Unfortunately I found the characters lukewarm, I never really connected to their plights. The romance didn't seem to happen naturally. And the plot was forced

Not for me unfortunately. I just didn't get into it and therefore unfortunately put it down and didn't come back to it

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Fraud Squad
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Kyla Zhao
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: YA
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 17th January 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3/5

“Sometimes, we read things because we see ourselves in them, but other times, it’s because they give us a temporary escape from our own lives.”

I was really looking forward to this. In my head I had Crazy Rich Asians-Esque type drama with the same space for letting love reign and all that jazz, but The Fraud Squad fell a little short for a few reasons.

I wish that Argus was mentioned less because I’ve seen Gossip Girl and not only do I know how it ends, I guessed correctly at how it would end. I wish it wasn’t such an obvious set up of a plot device so I could have buried it in the back of my head and been shocked later on in the book.

Actually a lot of the story didn’t make sense. Why give Anya this sad backstory and then drop her like a hat? And where are the two of Tim’s friends from the beginning? Also, fake dating would have been a much juicier storyline to run with, Tim making Lucia jealous and then accidentally falling in love with Sam makes much more sense 😍 rather than Tim proving what felt like a void point to his parents.

Samantha was bordering the edge of unlikable for so long. A bookish peeve of mine is when a character seems incapable of telling the truth for petty reasons 😂. I spent a long time of this novel looking forward to Samantha’s growth and redemption arc more than anything. For me, she needed to do way more groveling at the end to her friends, to Tim, and to her poor mum. Sometimes, realizing you’ve acted unacceptably isn’t enough and that needs to be acknowledged.

Also, I think her entry into high society was too easy. I expected there to be way more scorn rather than just from Lucia and the first meeting with Tim’s two friends. In fact I found the Singaporean high society quite accepting. It actually made it harder to root for Samantha for deceiving them.

The Singaporean working class poverty is just as depressing as the UK, I’m wondering if it’s a true representation because if is then then the world really needs to evaluate if meritocratic societies are doing their jobs.

I really enjoyed how it ended actually. It lifted the whole read by one star I was that pleased at the outcome. Perhaps it wasn’t as captivating as I thought it was going to be, or even could be, but it is a decent read if you love Singaporean culture, fashion, and a main character who loves high society a little too much and isn’t afraid to deceive her way up that social ladder.

🧚🏻‍♀️

I love the concept of this book, of a woman infiltrating high society and showing the truth behind elitism and classism, but unfortunately it just felt quite predictable. The dialogue was very stilted and was constantly bringing me out of the story because it was not flowing and felt very unnatural. It left the characters feeling quite one-dimensional and not real; I couldn't connect to them and found no connection between them either, which left the romance feeling very lacklustre and I just didn't care about it. There was a fun ending of backstabbing and betrayal and I enjoyed the drama of that, but for the first half/two thirds of the book, there were very low stakes considering it's supposed to be such a risky thing that Samantha is doing. Overall this had great potential, but it just fell flat for me.

Thank you for granting me access to read this book.
I was intrigued by the premise of this novel but a little skeptical because it promised to be funny. I'm so glad this book didn't disappoint at all. I laughed so many times and I want to commend the author's use of dialogue in this book. The banter is exquisite! Can't wait for more people to read this!

Samantha has been reading about Singapore's elite in Society magazines her whole life. When she meets Tommy Kingston, eligible bachelor billionaire with a desire to work somewhere that ISN'T the family business, they hatch a plot to turn Sam into the toast of the town.

Brilliant characters, brilliant plot. Little bit of drama. Loved every minute, and although some bits were predictable it didn't take away from the rest of a really enjoyable book.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

DNF
*******
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.
Unfortunately this book was not for me. I really tried to like it, tried to read it - I was so excited by the description. I found the writing style a little too simplistic, or a little cheesy in places. I tried, but I didn't feel much connection to the character set ups and then I found myself not caring about the plot set up!
I am sure for some people, this might be a fun, campy, easy read - I get the gossip girl, Netflix feature vibes! It just was not for me, and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

This was a fun read but I felt a bit disappointed. It started so well, I enjoyed meeting the characters and the set up, unfortunately it seemed to skim over a big chunk of the plot development. We didn’t really get any depth or insight, apart from the basics. I found it hard to like Samantha at times, I just didn’t connect with her, and I really didn’t like the ways she treated people especially her mother. And although she worked hard, she reaped a lot of rewards because of Tim not because she became a better person. The only character that I really liked was Daisy, she was well balanced.
I enjoyed the insight to the world of Singapore’s elite, who doesn’t love a little glamour. And the descriptions were perfect, the author is definitely talented.

Samantha Song dreams of working for a high-end magazine, but her lack of social connections puts this dream out of reach. Instead she works for a drab PR firm. She befriends a co-worker Anya with society connections, who introduces her to Timothy, the son of a wealthy high society family. Anya and Timothy concoct a plan to immerse Samantha in high society to help her forge connections and realize her dreams. I enjoy Samantha's fish-out-of-water attempts to infiltrate herself into society, and the descriptions of the fashion, food, etc. Samantha must decide what she is willing to sacrifice of herself and what is truly important to her as the novel proceeds. I appreciate that the ending was different from what I was expecting. An enjoyable romp with some deeper themes.

Whew, the beginning of this book was rough. I picked up The Fraud Squad because I love Rich People Drama. I've loved it ever since I was younger, because rich people get themselves into such messes. And a book about a working class woman infiltrating the ranks of the elite and potentially taking them down sounded very appealing.

I really struggled through the first quarter or so of The Fraud Squad. The writing felt very unpolished, almost juvenile, and I found myself at times wondering if this was actually a YA book that I was reading, or whether the author had dabbled in YA before. The characters just felt so young. It was a struggle to get past it.

Eventually, though, I managed it, and the book really improved in its second half. By then I was really interested in Samantha and her journey, and I liked reading about her friendships with Daisy and Anya, and also Rai of course. I didn't feel much chemistry between Samantha and the love interest, Timothy, but they were still cute. I wish I could have seen more moments between them in the build up to their romance.

I also really enjoyed the way The Fraud Squad ended. Not to spoil anything, but often this kind of book ends in a particular way, and I enjoyed that the author did something a little different here. It was refreshing!

I would recommend The Fraud Squad to readers who are looking for a more lowkey Crazy Rich Asians. It has a lot of the glitz and the glam of Singapore, but it's not as in-your-face and the characters aren't quite so ridiculous.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Fraud Squad' by Kyla Zhao.

When Kyla Zhao released this cover on twitter and it somehow landed on my feed, I fell in love instantly. The blurb was right up my street. The joy I felt reading the email that I would recieve an eARC of 'The Fraud Squad' was massive. So thank you, publisher.

My joy and anticipation was worth it. 'The Fraud Squad' is what it says on the tin, but what it doesn't say is how beautiful the writing is and how real the characters are. Even characters you think are posh and obnoxious are actually well built and fully dimensional characters.

I could go on about this book for ages but I would like this book to speak for itself so please please please go buy this book by this stunner of a debut author when it comes out.

As much as I wanted to love this book, it just wasn't for me.
No matter how many times I tried, I could not get into it.

I may try again at a later date but for now it's a no go.

3.5 stars

Whilst this was a quick and easy read for me, I found it hard for me to get really invested in the story. The book itself is good and the story is well written. However, I felt like the plot was really predictable and characters lacked depth, I was more interested at the beginning of the story than i was at the end. That being said, I still think this was good for a debut book and I can see the potential Kyla Zhao has as an author.

Take Pygmalion, strip it down of most of its component parts to the core idea and set in Singapore. That's 'The Fraud Squad'. It follows Sam, an entry-level PR worker with a desire for a finer life who becomes the brainchild of two socialites and is transformed into a real socialite herself. Obviously, it all blows up in her face.

I really wanted to like this book more. High society stuff is my jam and the thought of getting lots of detail and sumptuous description were more than enough motivation to pick this up. My problem with it largely came, therefore, from a lack of that. By about midway, I was starting to skim and finding it very hard to feel any kind of sympathy for any of the characters. The entire book never quite digs into the juicy bits beneath the surface, sort of skimming on top until we suddenly reached the ending. Plus, this took me almost two weeks to read - that's how slow the writing felt sometimes.

Samantha as a lead was a bit passive for my taste. She was far more interesting in the beginning than she came to be by the time we reached the ending. I sort of wish more time had been given to her back story, more things that could reflect how she held herself as she became a socialite. There almost needed to be a more interesting angle than 'my family's really poor', that's been done to death.

My other major gripe was the ending. The twists, the inevitable romance, the backstabbing are pretty fun, the 'call is coming from inside your house' angle was great and I didn't guess where it was going, but the ending suddenly happened and wrapped everything up in a neat little bow. There were no real consequences to Samantha's actions. It just didn't feel like a satisfying ending at all - there were so many other clever ways it could have gone than just 'and now everything's fine again'.

'The Fraud Squad' is fine, but it has the potential to be so much more. A bit forgettable, a bit overwritten, but I'm sure it will have its champions.

I loved this - it reminded me of Crazy Rich Asians, but from a different perspective. I was annoyed at myself for not seeing the twist (or several twists), but I suppose that’s a sign of good writing haha! I actually grew to really love Sam and Tim together and was heartbroken there was no epilogue. Not your typical HEA, but still satisfying!

A quick, easy and fast paced read that I finsihed in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. It was funny and the characters were so well developed, I didn't want it to end.

A huge thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an early copy.

I can only describe this book as a love child between Crazy Rich Asians and The Devil Wears Prada.

The fame, fashion and bits of drama - and I ate it all up.

‘Samantha Song has always dreamed of writing for a high-end magazine, but that dream always seems like a fantasy to her as she and her mother have the constant struggle to male ends meet with the debt left by her deceased father.

But after going with her rich best friend, Anya Chen, to dinner, she meets Timothy Kingston - a son of one of Singapore’s elite families.

It’s an opportunity for her to infiltrate the high society world to help her achieve her dreams - and Anya and Timothy agree to help her and go along with it.’

The synopsis reminded me of little kids trying to get out of doing something they hate (cleaning, homework etc.) which made it quite funny for me, but I love the adult version better. We see what Samantha has to wear, say and do to make people believe that she fits into a high society which I loved, too many storylines gloss over it which defeats the purpose.

I really enjoyed the main characters, they do feel like best friends even though Samantha and Timothy didn’t meet that long ago. They all really helped each other and gave the other good advice.

The romance was good, no live at first sight and in love within days knowing each other. There was actual time within the romance that made it feel a little bit real and more realistic which I really appreciate.

I really like this book. I finished it really quickly because I was enjoying it so much - it’s perfect with a lovely hot drink and a cosy blanket.