Amina Akhtar | #FashionVictim

Plot (via Goodreads): 

Fashion editor Anya St. Clair is on the verge of greatness. Her wardrobe is to die for. Her social media is killer. And her career path is littered with the bodies of anyone who got in her way. She’s worked hard to get where she is, but she doesn’t have everything.

Not like Sarah Taft. Anya’s obsession sits one desk away. Beautiful, stylish, and rich, she was born to be a fashion world icon. From her beach-wave blonde hair to her on-trend nail art, she’s a walking editorial spread. And Anya wants to be her friend. Her best friend. Her only friend.

But when Sarah becomes her top competition for a promotion, Anya’s plan to win her friendship goes into overdrive. In order to beat Sarah…she’ll have to become her. Friendly competition may turn fatal, but as they say in fashion: One day you’re in, and the next day you’re dead. 

Review:

Somewhere in an alternate universe, Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) found out that Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) is her biological father. Well, not really - but it's what it feels like. Anya St. Claire is a brilliantly written bad girl that you don't have a choice but to root for.

Akhtar has created this mesmerizing, glamorous, and gory world in which beauty is pain and fashion kills...literally. The minute I opened this novel, I knew that I was about to experience something phenomenal. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the little figurines head on the cover was off it's body and that was only the beginning. Anya St. Claire is my ultimate hero. She is fearless, sarcastic, stylish, and pretty damn mad. The plot to this one had me a little hesitant to begin with. Why? Because as much as I loved this novel, a plot like this in the wrong hands could've been a 2/5 kind of book. Akhtar took this plot and gave me a novel that had me laughing so hard that it was actually an ugly cackle. It features everything I could've dreamed in a read - body count, dark humor, over-the-top characters, and a hot detective. Sign. Me. Up. Saying I loved this novel is an injustice. I am in love with this novel. It is the perfect read for fans of thrillers that need a little palate cleanser. Sure, you know who the killer is, but you will never guess who's next, what she'll wear, or what she will say next. I love you, Anya St. Claire.

The secondary characters in this novel were just as well written as Anya. The fun thing about reading characters like this is that they are stereotypical, cliched, and so in your face - but that's the fun part about reading them. Having these lively folks in your life was like traveling back in time to an episode of Ugly Betty. Fashion is everything and nothing outside of the world of this Vogue-esque magazine and the runways during fashion week will ever matter. One scene in which characters wear fur when it's a blistering 90 degrees in New York actually had me laughing and left me a little uncomfortable just imagining it. But, Akhtar knows exactly what she is doing with this world and I was loving being in the last row of fashion week watching everything unravel.

There was not one thing I didn't like about this novel - other than when it ended. The plot was amazing and fun to read, the characters were exceptional, and I have to thank Amina Akhtar for bringing out my darker side. I love her writing, I love her deadpan humor that Anya St. Claire so effortlessly gave the reader, and I loved the twisted and comedic ending. All in all, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I think I'll be reading Amina Akhtar for a long time.

Special thanks to Crooked Lane Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5