User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
***ARC provided through NetGalley***
Eh, this was okay. It definitely made me feel kind of queasy at times. There are some uncomfortable truths about how being someone online (influencer or not) can affect a person. On the other hand, it was nearly impossible to root for the characters (I literally only cared if Emmy and Dan made it to the end for the sake of their kids), the writing was sloppy and repetitive, and the overall climax required too much suspension of disbelief for me.
I can definitely see this being a popular thriller next year, but you probably won't be hearing very much about it from me. 2.5 stars.
Rating: really liked it
Underrated.Starting with a tangent: In my 2022 quest to downsize my physical tbr, I did a GR looksie at my physical tbr shelf and found the lowest rated books I own.
Spoiler alert: out of 236 total books (at the time I was doing this) this was the third lowest rated at something like 3.35 stars. So I considered just decluttering it without giving it a go; however, before doing so, I checked to see if any of my friends had read/rated it. And, not only did I see that a couple super discerning friends of mine liked it...I saw that my homie, Kelly the Book Boar
really liked it. As in, rated it 4 stars. High praise indeed.
So I sat down that same day and started this thing, and well...In my opinion, and as I said above, this book is super underrated.
I could write an extended social commentary piece about this thing to rival an old college paper, but alas, I will save you all the long-winded pretentiousness and outright boredom and just say this:
This book has a lot of great things to say about social media and the way in which it's changing our world. It covers all sides of so many aisles, in so many different ways. And within the walls of a thriller-esque chick-flick novel, mind you.
Who would have thought.
Anyway.
I was really impressed with this book as a whole. As someone equal parts perplexed, fascinated, and disgusted by the modern advent of the influencer/vlogger/You-Tube/IG/TikTok star phenomenon, this book both solidified my concerns...and challenged them.
And I really thought the ending was well done as well.
Ignore the cover (it doesn't really suit the the book, in my opinion) and take a chance on this if the blurb sounds interesting to you. I personally really enjoyed it and have found myself thinking about it a lot since finishing it.
Rating: really liked it
See my video review here: https://youtu.be/gm6gtdXYhgA
In People Like Her, we are introduced to a UK family: Emmy, Dan, Coco, and Bear. However, Emmy has an unusual job--she is a social media personality! She has a large following and plays into her fans, crafting a polished story to be portrayed and offering placating support. One fan is not that happy with Emmy which puts her entire family in danger. How will this story end?
This book had one of the strongest beginnings-I was laughing so much that people were asking me, "What's so funny?" When I was at university, it was funny to see people taking these over-the-top and extremely fake pictures for social media, obviously trying to prove to someone that he/she was much happier than actuality. Additionally, this book raised some great points for discussion. What do you post online? What are the rules/guidelines? How do you safely post material online? What are the rules with kids and the Internet? This book really would have been great to read in a book club. This book also provided additional information about social media--apparently, the social media personalities can have agents and can receive all kinds of free stuff.
This book also had some serious flaws. The format of the book was that Emmy and/or Dan would have 50 pages and the fan would have 1-2 pages leaving the book in an undefined genre: Was this book a fiction story about social media or is it supposed to be a thriller? The thriller components were not evenly balanced so it seemed a bit off. Additionally, the characters in the book were not particularly likeable so it was hard to feel very invested. And last, but most importantly, the ending didn't make sense. At all.
If you are interested, Ellery Lloyd does have a new book coming out March 31, 2022 called The Club.
2022 Reading Schedule
Jan Animal Farm
Feb Lord of the Flies
Mar The Da Vinci Code
Apr Of Mice and Men
May Memoirs of a Geisha
Jun Little Women
Jul The Lovely Bones
Aug Charlotte's Web
Sep Life of Pi
Oct Dracula
Nov Gone with the Wind
Dec The Secret Garden
Connect With Me!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lisa_of_Troy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvmS...
Facebook: https://facebook.com/LisaofTroy
Email: hello@lisaoftroy.com
Rating: really liked it
#Mamabare
#Influencer
#Instamum
#Hashtaganythingandeverything
As the #hashtags indicate, this book is about a social media influencer named Emmy Jackson. She’s the proud mother of two young children, and has made her way from magazine fashion editor to having her own influencer brand.
Her shtick? Mamabare - A mom who bares her soul about how difficult it can be with young children. Sleepless nights, vomit on clothing, bags under eyes. Her 1 million followers love how honest and relatable she is. Before Emmy knew it, her Instagram profile took off as her “fans” loved hearing her motivational speaking about how all of the negatives are worth it to have her wonderful children.
Problem #1 is that she exaggerates. Emmy really does love her children and her husband, but she isn’t as harried as she likes others to believe. It’s what makes #s. Nobody in the UK wants to see a happy mother who has it together, so she fibs here and there.
Problem #2 is that because Emmy wants to be loved by everyone and says whatever is necessary to increase her influence lifestyle (without thinking of repercussions), someone has a vendetta against her. This person will do whatever it takes to make Emmy pay for the injustices she carelessly causes.
Ellery Lloyd, a pseudonym for wife-and-husband authors Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos, does a stellar job revealing the darker side of social media. It can be dangerous and addicting - mentally and physically - for some people using sites like Instagram (or Insta...as the cool cats like to call it). Not to mention, most social media in this day and age really isn’t that fun due to the state of our world right now. 🤦♂️
But I digress.
The story gets quite dark as things progress, and it’s easy to get lost in the pages as the suspense increases. You know what else increased? My hatred for the characters. There is no question that some people will do anything for fame and influencers, and that is evident here. Despite my disdain towards these folks, it’s an intriguing and sometimes emotional tale that that hooked me...and kept me on my feet. I was never sure how everything would wrap up.
#Dark
#Diabolical
#Realistic
#EndOfReview
#OneMore
#3.5stars
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
Rating: really liked it
First of all, let me put it out there that I think social media is incredibly silly, and influencers are not professionals in any way, except maybe in the art of illusion, so I believe any advice an influencer gives should be taken with a grain of salt. With that being said, I was apprehensive to pick up another book about an Instastar (Instagram Star), but I'd heard and seen so many great things and it was also a December BOTM selection, so I decided to give it a shot, which I am so glad I did!! What a sinister, wickedly well-crafted tale this was about the potential harm influencers can cause with idle words and just how dangerous it can be to have complete strangers like, and even worse, follow your every move. This book hit close to home, as several years ago I was the victim of a robbery at my home (thankfully when I was not home), on account of my roommate at the time's posting and oversharing our personal details, including where we lived! I mean, who else would have known we would be out for a two hour window in the middle of the day on a Sunday? Our online 'friends' and 'followers,' that's who!
Moving on, this was most likely my favorite thriller of 2020, and I absolutely recommend anyone looking for dark, edge-of-your-seat entertainment, go out and get this ASAP! I was literally enthralled and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning New Year's day reading this to completion. That's saying A LOT, because I love my beauty rest!!
The perspectives provided came from our protagonist Emmy Jackson, aka @the_mamabare, a #1 Instamum influencer with millions of followers. At the beginning of this novel, the perspectives alternate between her and her struggling novelist husband Dan, illustrating how envy can creep up in a marriage when one spouse, especially the wife, succeeds and the other spouse flails (or fails, you decide). After a few chapters of thinking this would be about what was once a happy marriage, and has now become a toxic and negative one, we are introduced to a third and unidentified perspective. This is when things picked up, and all hell broke loose and I became enthralled. This perspective is definitely not a fan of Emmy's and is actually an obsessed stalker, with vengeance planned, but we aren't told why or how until the last quarter of the book, and at that point I was in for the long haul! This was the most intense read I read in 2020, because there was just no telling how events would transpire, which had me hooked! I love it when I know that the good guy might very well perish unexpectedly, it adds an element of surprise that I crave! As one can probably imagine, I went through a wide range of emotions while reading this, which is always a sign of great storytelling, IMO, and I was blown away with the final reveal and how events unraveled. I especially enjoyed the slight hint of perhaps a follow-up story at the end, fingers crossed!! Bravo Ellery Lloyd, you have gained a steadfast fan, and I simply can't wait to read more of your work!!
Rating: really liked it
Emmeline Jackson is ‘mamabare’ an Instamum and a huge ‘brand’ with many followers. She is married to Dan, a writer and they have a daughter Coco who is four and a baby boy named Bear who are used in the brand. Their story is told in alternating points of view, interspersed with an as yet unknown person on a revengeful course of destruction.
The story hooks you in immediately, you know something awful is happening and it then backtracks and unfolds well. The alternating perspectives is absolutely fascinating as their perception of events is almost polar opposite. My sympathy for much of the book lies with Dan until the end when I realise that these two deserve everything they get. Have they no boundaries? Emmy’s life is a bilious inducing micromanaged, manipulated one and so forced and fake it confirms everything I’ve always thought about ‘Insta stars’. Yeah, yeah, I know, paint me green and call me The Grinch 😂. Then she starts to get somewhat tired and jaded with it all - well, boo, hoo! There’s one unforgivable thing she does to her oldest friend Polly that shocks to the core as it’s cynical and a vile betrayal. There are some really good moments of creepiness, there’s alarm, panic and tension as the obsessive revenge seeker ups the ante and how. There are several really good twists as you reach the finale and well played Ellery Lloyd as you sure fool me!!! It’s clever and leaves you wondering and pondering just when ..........
Overall, it’s a well written novel with a good premise and plot. It’s a compelling, easy to read psychological thriller which I recommend to fans of the genre.
4-5 stars.
With thanks to NetGalley and Pan McMillan/ Mantle for the arc for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Followed by Millions, Watched by OneSet in London, Emmy is a successful influencer, a mummy blogger who is showing the world all the struggles and challenges as a mom –the good, the bad, and the ugly. But mostly the ugly, which makes her much loved and relatable among moms over the world.
Who wants to see the perfect mum and family?
" when it comes to online life, mothers just don’t respond well to other mothers’ success – if comparison is the thief of joy, Instagram is the cat burglar of contentment.”Her platform is based on total honesty - Right?!
There are 3 narrators:
Emmy, aka “mamabare” the wildly successful “Instamum” influencer. You will not like her, which is, of course, the point.
Dan, the fed-up husband who is sick of his wife’s monetizing every mundane moment of their family’s life. But Emmy’s job pays the bills. He struck just the right note of snark and serious which I loved. His commentary, especially in the beginning, was hilarious.
The nameless stalker: a person who is obsessed with “mamabare” and has a personal vendetta against her. She is plotting to take her down. Emmy must suffer as she has suffered. But why? The why and how she does so ramps up the tension and makes for riveting reading.
*As an aside, their children’s names are Coco and Bear. Who names their kids Coco and Bear? In the beginning when I’d hear their names I thought they were talking about their dogs 🤷🏻♀️
But, back to the story. This was a brilliant look into social media while also being a thrilling page-turner. I was hooked from the beginning, and the tension only grew as I listened. The alternating viewpoints was a device that worked brilliantly in this book and kept the pages flipping furiously (metaphorically speaking, since this was an audio). The last half of the book is when the story begins to take some dark twisty turns.
I listened to this on audio, with a cast of narrators. Their performances were excellent and definitely enhanced the experience of reading this book. It was pure fun, and I HIGHLY recommend listening to this one!
4.5 stars
Ellery Lloyd is a pseudonym for two authors, Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos, a husband and wife team. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Rating: really liked it
Another waste of a BotM pick.
This sounded good, but isn't. First of all, I don't know who edited this, but they need a new job. I actually, for the first time in my life, felt the need to highlight all of the errors in the first 50 pages before I gave up on this book. Here are some examples:
1. In the first Dan chapter, he says, "I am not calling my wife a liar." Then he goes on in the next paragraph to explain how she goes about lying to her fans. He says there's a difference between bullshitting and ly ing, and gives examples of both, which are both lying. There is no difference. She is flat out lying to everyone the way he puts it. In pages that follow, at least the ones I read, she continuously lies to everybody.
2. The first time you find yourself reading from the stalker's point of view, there is no header, and they start talking in the middle of a Dan chapter. Legit, the header says Dan, so you expect it to be Dan's POV, and it all of a sudden starts this small section in all italics for absolutely no reason, and with no explanation of what just happened. Sure, I'm smart, I can figure it out eventually, but why is this in a Dan section? I don't care what you have to title it, but you title it something and don't put it in someone else's POV section.
3. This one made me very confused: "an evening so hot that most people were standing outside on the pavement."
......... Wait it's so hot outside that these people are all standing outside in the heat, on the pavement, which is no doubt putting off probably the most heat compared to, I don't know standing inside where the air conditioning was? Or in the shade on the grass? Wtf is this?!
There's more, but I want to get to the more important issue at hand: neither, I repeat neither, MC is likable. The authors spend SO MUCH TIME telling us why Dan and Emmy are terrible people. She flat out lies to her child. During an interview he stands aside and reads his own book and chuckles randomly. Even in the story of when they first met, she lies about being single and he finds out she's been dating someone else for three years and she just kind of goes oh, oh well, I just hadn't gotten around to telling him I'm seeing someone else. How is that not a huge red flag for Dan?
Lastly, and then I'll be done with my rant on this horrible book, the prologue is unnecessary and pointless because we can just figure out on our own that there is a stalker coming. And speaking of the stalker, at least the parts I read, her parts are unnecessary as well. The book can go through from Emmy and Dan's point of view and still have readers understand there's a stalker without their point of view.
This is a terrible book, and I'm starting to really question the choices book of the month makes. If I strike out a third time like this with an awful book I've had to spend money on, I'm going to stop subscribing. That's how bad this book was: I want to quit the place that gave it to me.
Rating: really liked it
Quick thoughts:
A thriller about a social media mom influencer, People Like Her is exciting and addictive right from the very start. Emmy has mastered being an influencer and appearances of the perfect life, but underneath it all, there are cracks and troubles bubbling away.
This is a book I devoured in one sitting; dark, troubling, full of secrets, intriguing, and even emotional at times. Also, can I just say, I love that title with double meaning!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
Maybe a 2.5, but I’m leaning towards 2.
I just felt so unsatisfied in the end. The great reveal of the mystery stalker was anticlimactic and honestly just sad (like depressing sad, not poorly done- though the motive seemed a little loose). The parents were both bad people most of the time, too caught up in their own heads and annoyed with each other to make me want to root for either of them. And the take on being an influencer? I mean, I’m sure that’s true for some people, it just felt like the most extreme scenario to me.
Also the twist at the end? All I could think was “… okay?” It didn’t even feel like a twist. where was the intimidation?
Rating: really liked it
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The court of public opinion was not super kind to PEOPLE LIKE HER. A lot of popular bloggers
really did not like this book, and after reading it and seeing how hard it comes down on influencer culture for being a vapid and pointless exercise that basically attracts the worst of the worst, I'm wondering if maybe it left a lot of people feeling attacked? There's definitely a "not all influencers" knee-jerk reaction that comes to mind when reading about the piece of work heroine, Emmy, who really is the WORST. But ultimately, that's what ended up making the book such a win with me. The dark humor, grim satire, and totally unlikable characters who nonetheless make the book feel real.
There are three narrators in this book. One is Emmy, a mommy blogger who goes under the name Mamabare, and is fake as all get out. Everything she says and does is content, done for the sake of driving traffic and making money. She's kind of sociopathic. Maybe she even is a sociopath. But she's good at what she does and is basically the queen of teflon spin.
The second narrator is her husband, Dan, a washed-up writer who is quietly resentful of his wife's success but nonetheless claims the moral high ground in his narration. He thinks the whole thing is ridiculous even though it's clear that he'd like to be the one in the limelight. He mostly plays the role of stay-at-home-dad/voice of reason, and the constant push and pull between him and Emmy is clearly leading to some strain.
The third and final narrator is a mysterious stalker who hates Emmy and wants revenge. It's not immediately clear what Emmy did to make this person so angry, but we learn their story through a gradual unspooling that is chilling and just as disturbing as I'd hoped it would be. The stalker drives the narrative tension and really adds a dark slant to the story, as Ellery Lloyd tackles a number of subjects, such as sexism in parenting, conspicuous consumption, bystander effect, and all sorts of other grim and not-so-cheery subjects, all with a slightly tongue-in-cheek tone that keeps it from being too grim.
This is a British book so I think whether you're going to enjoy this book depends on whether you like and understand British humor, which is subtler than a lot of American humor. I actually prefer it and watch a lot of British mysteries, which tend to feature these unlikable, hit-too-close-to-home sort of protagonists. If you don't like unlikable protagonists, you probably also won't enjoy this book. Personally I do, as long as they are the fun kind of unlikable, in the "love to hate them" sort of way, especially in thrillers where that dislike can remove the emotional stakes and make the book feel less intense.
I'm sad this book has such low ratings on Goodreads because I really enjoyed it. If you liked Janelle Brown's PRETTY THINGS or Katherine St. John's THE LION'S DEN, you'll probably enjoy this book! The ending was just *chef's kiss*.
4 stars
Rating: really liked it
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To me this was a very good, well written topical online media suspense.
We never know just what we are giving away, revealing to the world on the Internet. Not one of us are excempt from this. I’ve seen people put online they are on holiday yet in the past has added photos or check in maps revealing where they live.
This veers around a young mother on Instagram who ends up with a huge amount of followers. She adds more and more photos and plenty of her young child.
Her husband had many reservations and concerns about this.
But this mummy grew and grew in popularity and she’s now earning big money.
We all know that there are plenty online who have “opinions” and they certainly make them known!
We know how things can spread from one social media platform to the next! It’s full of gossip, backbiting and lies. And pretence.
Those are some of the downside.
I was hooked to this book not so much on the story but how topical this in and relevant in this day and age.
Letting our guard down online can reach consequences that are awful.
Made me think.
Rating: really liked it
Eye opening book into the world of influencing.
⚠️ Possibly mild spoilers below ⚠️
I’ve seen all your mixed reviews and was looking forward to seeing if I would love it.
And for the first half I did, after I got passed how annoying Emmy is but then it went downhill.
I found Emmy to be insufferable, there wasn’t anything she wasn’t willing to exploit for the sake of the gram, including miscarriage. How that whole situation was handled was insensitive and horrible.
The big twist and person/reason behind it all was also so crazy. Though, it does highlight a very real issue of society putting ‘influencers’ on a pedestal and taking their word as gospel even though everything they’re posting and saying is due to a big pay cheque and staying ‘on brand.’
When you really think about it the whole concept is unsettling, which I do think this book highlighted well. It’s a reminder that someone’s opinion whether they have 100,000 followers or 100 followers is worth the same. And that it is just an opinion. Not expert advice and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Okay, rant over. 🤗 though People Like Her is fiction and extreme, I recommend if you want a behind glimpse of the world of influencing.
Thank you Pan Macmillan Australia for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. 💖🌿
Rating: really liked it
I’m annoyed.
Rating: really liked it
First. TRIGGERS: EVERYTHING related to fertility and babies - multiple miscarriages, multiple abortions, fertility treatments, infertility, death of an infant, motherhood and some condescension of all of the above.
I know for a fact that being triggered by this book plays a big role in my mostly ambivalent but overall negative take on it. Being in the throws of my own fertility battles, this book was a difficult one to read without getting choked up in anger and in sadness.
To be clear, People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd (a pseudonym for husband and wife co-authors) is a very interesting read - the concept is brilliant for a thriller and I believe most thriller lovers would enjoy it! At times, the writing was a little choppy and I got lost in the train of thought but overall, it really grips the reader. The story is exceptionally relevant to our times and especially to everyone who maintains a public Instagram account.
In no way, shape or form, is it my intention to insult the authors! They wrote a debut thriller that as a thriller is great! It is definitely a nail biting, stomach churning suspense with several interesting twists. I can absolutely see why this book was picked for BOTM and many people like it. The topic just wasn't for me.
It is unlike me to write a somewhat negative review but I felt it was needed as this book is growing in popularity but, like most books, comes without trigger warnings. If my warning protects just one mother or a woman aching to be a mother from unnecessary hurt then my review is worth it.
Thank you for reading my review on Goodreads! Follow me on Instagram (@journeyofthepages) for further bookish engagement! www.instragram.com/journeyofthepages I hope to meet you there!
