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I vividly remember being extremely against e-readers and book apps and I’m pretty sure I said that I would never be one of those people who reads her books online because real books are just so much better. Well never say never because I am almost ashamed to tell you how long it takes me to read a real book these days because that only happens in the few minutes that I read before going to sleep. It’s shameful I tell you!!
I honestly thought that I would never stray from true flesh and blood books. I love the feel of them, the smell of them, the sound of the pages turning. In fact when I was a kid I begged my Mom to let me change my name to Page so I could open a bookstore and call it Pages when I grew up. Genius, right? I still think so!
I say all of that to preface the fact that I have literally been holding on to this book and trying to read it since July. Like I said earlier, that is just shameful!!! The wonderful people at Blogging for Books let me pick it out and I was super pumped to read it and then it got sidelined because of all the truly amazing Kindle and Audiobooks I have been reading lately. Ugh. So let’s get to the review shall we?
A Fine Imitation is Amber Brock’s debut novel and it immediately grabbed my attention with the cover page. I love anything to do with the 20’s and the description sort of reminded me of Gatsby! Here’s the full description for you…
“Set in the glamorous 1920s, A Fine Imitation is an intoxicating debut that sweeps readers into a privileged Manhattan socialite’s restless life and the affair with a mysterious painter that upends her world, flashing back to her years at Vassar and the friendship that brought her to the brink of ruin.
Vera Bellington has beauty, pedigree, and a penthouse at The Angelus–the most coveted address on Park Avenue. But behind the sparkling social whirl, Vera is living a life of quiet desperation. Her days are an unbroken loop of empty, champagne-soaked socializing, while her nights are silent and cold, spent waiting alone in her cavernous apartment for a husband who seldom comes home.
Then Emil Hallan arrives at The Angelus to paint a mural above its glittering subterranean pool. The handsome French artist moves into the building, shrouds his work in secrecy, and piques Vera’s curiosity, especially when the painter keeps dodging questions about his past. Is he the man he claims to be? Even as she finds herself increasingly drawn to Hallan’s warmth and passion, Vera can’t suppress her suspicions. After all, she has plenty of secrets, too–and some of them involve art forgers like her bold, artistically talented former friend, Bea, who years ago, at Vassar, brought Vera to the brink of catastrophe and social exile.
When the dangerous mysteries of Emil’s past are revealed, Vera faces an impossible choice–whether to cling to her familiar world of privilege and propriety or to risk her future with the enigmatic man who has taken her heart. A Fine Imitation explores what happens when we realize that the life we’ve always led is not the life we want to have.”
This book truly has it all…set in the 20’s, partially based in NYC, partially based at Vassar, a steamy affair, secrets galore, and art!! It’s truly a glamorous book and one I stayed up to finish one night because the ending was so damn good!!
I think Amber Brock’s A Fine Imitation was just fabulous and now I can’t wait to read more of her books!!
Are you a reader??
What are your favorite kind of books??
I LOVE my kindle. But, I miss the smell of a book lol. This sounds like an interesting read. I haven’t heard of it and will have to consider it! Thanks for sharing :)
I got through phases of read – I’m on a non-reading phases as well, but I’m sure I’ll pick it up again soon. I was very against e-readers till I downloaded the app on my iPad and realised it meant I didn’t have to worry about bent edges, now I only buy a few in paper.
My dad said the same thing, but he does use his Kindle a lot. He still reads a lot of books to but he really likes his Kindle especially when he’s traveling. This book looks really cool have to read it!
This book sounds fantastic! I love reading and I’ll pick up anything that grabs my attention. Sounds like a winner here.
This actually sounds like a really great read. I’m always looking for interesting new books to get into. I would love to find the time to read through this book.
i have two young kiddos keeping me so busy, so i just havent had time to read a book in forever. ill have to add this to my “to read” list!
This sounds like a book that my wife would love!!! It is amazing how much we are reading on e-readers now, I still love a good old fashion book.
I’ve pushed myself to read more this year. Like you I am loyal to a book. I want to hold it and turn the pages. Problem is, I’m running out of places to store them. I need to go the e-book route.
I’m with you. I never thought I would be an e-reader and far prefer the real thing but sometimes you just have to give in! It’s just too easy. This sounds like a great book.
It takes me a long me to read books lately because I only do it on planes or before bed. This one sounds great if I ever get through my to read list!!
Looks like a good book for me and interesting, Gonna check this out
What a great book I see. I usually like to read differ books on my kindle.
I like a good paperback book. I would totally be interested in this one since it is set in the 20s which is one of my favorite decades to learn about!
Now, this actually sounds like a really good book! I love reading about the social issues of climbing life’s ladder in a period piece. I still buy paper back books because I like the feel of them.
Owning a real book is great, but in my case, our bookshelf started overflowing and we don’t have room for another bookcase, so I bought my husband a paperwhite kindle.
This sounds like a good book. I am adding it to my list of must reads. I alternate between real books and the kindle app on my phone.
I used to read a lot but ever since I started blogging, that changed! I have a lot of good books here but this sound like a good one too.