Book #Review: Copycat by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Book Title: Copycat
Author: Kimberla L Roby |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Christian Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, Paperback

Cost: $19.99

Pages: 172

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: 01/31/2017
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Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author who "writes with high-octane levels of emotion" (USA Today).

Befriending Traci Calloway Cole is the best thing Simone Phillips has ever done. Traci is the kind of woman Simone wants to be-in every way possible. She begins copying her role model. Not because she wants to be Traci. She just wants to be exactly like Traci.

Traci doesn't worry, though. She knows Simone doesn't mean any harm and that her mimicry is only sincere admiration. Until she discovers how far Simone's obsession has gone. It is then that Simone's entire world begins unraveling, and dreadful secrets from her past are exposed with no warning. Secrets that she'll do almost anything to protect.

I went into Copycat right after reading A Deep Dark Secret (Review) and I was excited to see what this one was going to be about.

Copycat is a fun, wild ride that shared the story of Simone and Traci. Traci is super successful writer with a great heart, she’s from a good family and wants to make friends with another author from her town. She meets Simone while at the hair salon and they connect. Once Simone realizes Traci is as nice as she seems in her interviews she decides to ask for her advice about becoming an author. She's got a manuscript written but she doesn't know where to go from here. 

Traci is receptive and decides to share the advice she wishes she’d been given when she first started so she could have avoided some of her mistakes. In building the friendship with Simone she won’t be alone as an author anymore in her home town.  Once Simone realizes that Traci is as success full as she is because of who she is as a person Simone decides she needs to be just like that to become successful too. But instead of being a genuine her, she decides to be a second Traci and then the story goes off the rails.

As the story progresses Simone increases the instances in which she copies Traci, form dinner choices to clothing choices. Her partner begins to get annoyed at the changes he’s seeing and asking more questions than she’s comfortable with and as the story progresses her decisions begin to have real implications for her. There are also many times in which she could have pulled back and my gods she ignored them all.  We eventually do learn Simone’s motivations for being anyone but herself and that helps to humanize her even as you are yelling at her to get it together. I especially loved that when she went to church God literally had the words set up for her and she just couldn’t hear it.  Anything that began to challenge her new world view was studiously ignored.

There are moments I expected the story to become a bit of a thriller as Simone’s behavior escalates, particularly with someone she considers in her way. And in real life when these obsessions get to be like this they tend to hurt the person who they are obsessed with as that person can never live up to the ‘perfect’ version of themselves that the copycat believes them to be. And I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was all going to shake down. Listen when that final scene happens??? I cannot get over how it went down. We love to talk about vengeful women but petty men?? Girl…

I really enjoyed the read. And can recommend it if you’re looking for a quick read. 

I did have a few small issues and these maybe personal reading preferences so take it with a  grain of salt.  I noticed that when the book started the way it was being told was shared in a bit of ‘tell’ instead of showing me manner, eventually this gets dropped but if you’re not hooked by then you might end up putting the book down.  The tone of the book wasn’t really that of a book written for adults at first, it felt like something that a young reader could pick up and understand and that might be off-putting to some. Just know that changes as the book advances and we get a better narration style as the story progresses. 

One of the things I can say about Kimberla is in her writing she has always been pro-therapy, be it spiritual therapy in advancing your walk with God or actual psychotherapy. And especially in this case she shared about why Simone needed it. I loved the lessons shared as well that both women needed to learn.

I highly recommend for those looking for a good quick read. Enjoy my loves

 ★★★★☆

Happy Reading my loves,