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Book Summary and Reviews of A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock

A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock

A Fine Imitation

A Novel

by Amber Brock

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • May 2016, 304 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. There's never a dull moment in this debut novel centered on an intriguing and tightly woven story line. Vera's struggles are highly relatable, and the anguish she feels will resonate with countless readers." – Library Journal

"An absorbing tale of art, deception, romance, and forbidden desire." – Publishers Weekly

"Brock sketches a hazy outline of 1920s high society as seen through the eyes of a woman who would be free from its hollow promises. Somehow her main character wallows in indecision, even as circumstances allow for the possibility of personal growth and reinvention." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about A Fine Imitation was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Cathryn Conroy

Entertaining! A Fun ChickLit Escape Read with a Well-Crafted Plot That Has Several Clever Twists
This book is a ChickLit escape read. Take it to the beach. Read it curled up in front of the fireplace during a snowstorm. It will keep you entertained for hours. But like most ChickLit, it’s all plot without the enduring depth of literature. That said, we all need books like this once in a while!

Written by Amber Brock, this is the story of Vera Longacre Bellington, a beautiful, charming, sophisticated young married woman who seemingly has it all—a handsome, wealthy husband, a penthouse apartment on New York’s exclusive Park Avenue, and so many servants she doesn’t ever lift a finger except to ring the bell. It’s the socialite life to which she was raised to live. So why is she so unhappy? Shifting back and forth in time between Vera’s senior year at Vassar in the fall of 1913 and 10 years later in 1923, this coming-of-age novel starts out a bit slow but soon picks up the pace as Vera, desperately hurt by her cold, inattentive husband, becomes enamored with a European artist hired to paint a mural on the walls of the apartment building’s subterranean pool. Will she risk everything she has for this passionate, illicit love? And what price will she pay if she is caught?

Not only is this book a wonderful dive into the roaring ‘20s among the super wealthy with lots of period details that make it all just pop, but also it’s a solid exploration of the high-end world of fine art. It’s obvious that Brock did her art history research, and this adds so much to the book—sort of like the difference between seeing a black-and-white photo of a painting vs. the real thing in color.

Kudos to the author on the title of the book, which is a clever play of words on several levels. Still, at its core this is ChickLit with a very well-crafted plot that boasts several clever twists (some of which are predictable if you’re paying attention) that will keep you engrossed in the story until the last page. It’s really quite entertaining!

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Author Information

Amber Brock

Amber Brock teaches British literature at an all girls' school in Atlanta. She holds an MA from the University of Georgia and lives in Smyrna with her husband, also an English teacher, and their three rescue dogs.

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