Traveling Sisters Book Reviews

Out today!!!  Happy Pub Day!!!!!

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar

Norma and I read #FashionVictim with three of our Traveling Sisters and we all were drawn into this story right away.  However, we did have some different thoughts on this one.

Norma’s review

Fashionably dark and a wickedly fun read! Dexter anyone?

#FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar is a campy, compulsive and highly entertaining dark comedy that was a refreshing and fun book to read. It started off a little shaky for me but it sure didn’t take me long to be wrapped up in Anya’s world of fashion, her deadly antics and her mood boards.

AMINA AKHTAR delivers a creative, interesting, unique and easy read here with characters that were not the easiest to like but boy were they ever compelling and highly entertaining to read about though. The story is told from Anya’s point of view and there isn’t a lot of surprises to be had here as we are pretty much privy to the way that Anya’s mind works and what she is up to right from the beginning of the novel. I really enjoyed this approach as she really had me so curious and the tension comes in with the suspense of what she is thinking, going to do next and how.

I haven’t had this much fun following along with a character like Anya since maybe Dexter. I wouldn’t say that the storylines were at all similar though but there were some aspects to their characters that were, which I found to be rather appealing in a fictional-based kind of way mind you.

Brenda’s review

Amina Akhtar takes some of the sillier parts of the fashion world and turns it into a ridiculously, uncanny and bizarre over the top fun read. The characters are so exaggerated, unlikeable and stereotyped it will have you laughing out loud at times but also feeling a little uncomfortable as well.  There are some serious issues here as well but I felt that Amina Akhtar took them to show just how catty things can get in the fashion world.  This is where things went a little sideways for Christina as she felt it was a little much at times.

I love the title and how Amina Akhtar ties that into the story.  That was a laugh out loud moment for me when I read that part of the story.  Such a clever title for this story.

We all enjoyed our unlikable yet so likable in a very unsettling and weird way fashion psychopath Anya.  Amina Akhtar does a good job pulling us into her mind and her intrusive thoughts that really felt real in my head at times, leaving us feeling a little weird at liking her.  We could see how the cattiness like shallow friendships, betrayals, and shifting alliances played on her mind.

#FashionVictim made for a really fun, and interesting discussion for us and it’s one I recommend for groups.  It leaves you with a lot to talk about.  I also recommend this one to anyone looking for something fun and different for an entertaining read and not to be taken very seriously.

Publishing Date: September 11, 2018

Thank you so much from both of us to Sarah at Crooked Lane Books for sending us a physical copy of this book.

From our Traveling Sisters

From Carol’s review

This is an over-the-top, absolutely entertaining, dark comedy.

The story follows Anya St. Clair who works in a fashion magazine and whose main goal in life is to become besties with her glamorous and influential co-worker Sarah Taft. When the opportunity for a promotion is put on the table, Anya becomes hyper-focused on getting it, even if it requires taking extreme and deadly measures.

This novel is deliciously addictive and once I started reading I could not stop. The story is told from the point of view of Anya and takes place in NYC. The characters are not explored deeply but are still compelling enough to give you some chills.

From Christina’s review

God, there was always so much work to do. Update this, kill so-and-so. I wish people understood how hard we worked in fashion – all to make it look effortless, easy.

When we enter into the story Anya is at the very beginning of an ever-growing mania. Her mental health is waning and she’s just dipped her toe into a murder spree that will last the entirety of the book. This is told solely from the POV of Anya and she is something else, to say the least. She’s one of the most complexly one-dimensional characters I’ve ever read. She’s absolutely you’re unlikable, unreliable narrator trope to a T. However, I don’t think Akhtar wrote these characters to be likable, they’re written to be entertaining and this book was pure entertainment.

I would’ve liked to see some break-up of Anya’s frenzy. While I enjoyed reading her POV I think the book suffered a bit because it ended up being a little choppy. I would’ve loved to see the Detectives take on things or a past / present break up of how Anya got to where she is today.

“I need to look like I belong in a photoshoot! That I’m cool and chill and don’t care. I need to affect – what’s the word? Not boredom?” “Ennui?” “Yes!” I jumped up and clapped. “I need to ennui the fuck out of my life. You’re brilliant Dr. M.”

There was a dry, dark and campy humor here that really worked for me and colored my overall enjoyment of this. However, despite the interesting premise things grew a bit tired throughout. The overuse of OMG, WTF and other abbreviations was grating at times. There is also a bit of stereotyping going on in this read. From body shaming to the assumption that anyone working in fashion is vapid, vane and dense. I do think this was meant to be ironic and to poke fun at the stereotypes but it got a little old for me in its redundancy.  For Christina’s full review

From Mackenzie’s review

Anya is someone who is destined to carry a novel. Her voice demands to be heard, and she doesn’t shy away from anything. It might be hard to imagine that living inside the mind of a delusional, deranged, murderous fashionista would be fun, but here we have proof that it is.

Anya is absolutely nuts, in the most fun way. We may see her killing someone off, only to later envision interacting with them and calling them #TeamAnya (Thanks, girl!). Every time this would happen I got positively giddy! There is something about the way Akhtar writes that is so readable.

And then that ending! Wow, what a trip the ending to this book is!!! It is perfect and delightful and twisted—just what I wanted from Anya and her cast of zany fashion friends! I heard that this was chosen for a Book of the Month and I’m so happy for Amina Akhtar. It is a well-deserved, but surprising choice. (Surprising because this book is so different and unique, not because it isn’t amazing). I loved it! I am already excited to see what Akhtar does next! For Mackenzie’s full review

Publishing Date: September 11, 2018

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Intriguing, dark and a good representation to story.
Title: Drew me in, extremely fitting and ties into plot perfectly with multiple scenarios.
Writing/Prose: colorful, exaggerated, satirical, and amusing.
Ending: Satisfying, wrapped up nicely but also open for the possibility of a sequel, and enjoyed Anya’s thought processes in the end.
Overall: An enjoyable, twisted, fun, quick, entertaining, and fast-paced read. Although there were definitely some aspects to this novel that was a little bit trying though with the way some things were portrayed and narrated. Would recommend!

Have you read this one? Want to read this one?  Drop us a comment!  We would love to hear from you