Cover Image: People Like Her

People Like Her

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Emmy is instafamous, an Instagram mom who makes a living by posting content about her two children and her “chaotic life”. But it’s all a carefully created facade that her husband Dan secretly loathes.

While Emmy’s life is full of the perks of being famous (vacations, thousand pound coats and a lucrative BBC hosting gig hanging in the balance), there are always the trolls that follow online. And then things begin to happen IRL (“in real life”) like their house being broken into. And then it gets much, much worse.

<i>People Like Her</i> got me in the end with a killer twist. The build-up in the novel is great and Emmy truly is a mum you love to hate.

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I really enjoyed this one! I recently noticed I love book involving social media and this one did the trick. It was a really nice take on what the idea of social media can do to those who revolve around the influencing world. It also gave a good look at the negative aspects of it. For sure a fun twisted book!

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This one was a really quick read. While I didn’t hate this one, I didn’t fall in love with it either. If it weren’t for having read this one for a buddy read, I honestly may have DNF’d it and I would have missed out on a good ending! The first 1/3 of the book is just unnecessary talking about Emmy and her “Instamum” friends which I don’t feel added a whole lot to the story. I found myself skimming a lot of this section and honestly felt like it could have been edited down. Thankfully I made it through all of that and was able to get to the “meat” of this one. The suspenseful storyline was done well and I appreciated the multiple POVs between Emmy, her husband, and the culprit. I thought I had a lot of this one figured out but was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong. While this one didn’t knock me off my feet, it was still a solid debut and I give it 3.75 stars.

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The first half was so incredibly dull and the second half was so disturbing but not in an entertaining way. This book felt twice as long as it actually was, the third perspective was entirely unnecessary and added nothing to the story, and the main characters were so unbelievably unlikeable that I don’t think I’d ever read another book by this duo again. Two stars only because I managed to finish it.

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This is a story about the lives we see in a grid of little squares.

I found the concept of this book really unnerving, and it felt like something that could easily occur given the obsessive emphasis people place on the lives of those they admire. The characters were detestable, but I think that was intentional. Extra points for the follow through, I appreciate authors who don’t pull any punches.

3.5 stars.

Thank you @netgalley & @harperbooks for this e-Arc!

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This book grabbed me from page one and just didn't let up. WOW! What a book! Thankful to NetGalley for providing me a copy to read and review. Don't hesitate...pick up and read ASAP!

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*2.5 rounded to 3

This is a story about the darker side of internet fame. Emmy has a huge following on Instagram where she post about her daily "struggles" as a mom. Her "struggles" include an untidy house (that she messes up herself to seem more relatable on the internet; they have a maid twice a week), and children who kept her up all hours of the night as babies (her kids slept straight through the night). Her husband Dan is a writer who hasn't written anything new in eight years. They are both awful people. Emmy uses her children as props, but hardly seems to spend time with them unless it's for an event or photo. Dan is constantly contradicting himself, saying he doesn't like Emmy using his children, and ends up doing the same himself, justifying his reasons.

For me, this book was so slow. I feel that nothing really happened until the last 50 pages or so, and it was a struggle for me to get to that point. Things did happen, one event or another, but it didn't seem like it added to the story any.

I was also confused on how the mystery person was introduced. I was reading from Dan's POV (it alternate between Dan and Emmy), when it suddenly changed, without warning. I was wondering why his tone shifted so abruptly, then realized we are now hearing from our mystery person. I caught on, but still wish the transitions were shifted better.

Although most of the book was slow, when the action picked up, I was there for it! The action was slow burn, our mystery person detailing what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. It had my full attention. I was panicking! Things happen, then the epilogue. I can't express my feelings without spoilers so I'll just tell you that THERE. IS. A. TWIST!

Thank you to Ellery Lloyd, Harper, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

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This book is a solid 3 1/2 for me. The story was a great idea and it definitely got it's point crossed about the dangers of putting yourself and your family out on the internet for all to see. Being a parent some of the things that were portrayed with the children I found disturbing and also made me rethink about things I've seen on social media. Parts of the story seemed monotonous to me.

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This month I am helping co-host with @a_novel_idea11 the #novelideasbookclub! The book we are reading this month is 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿 by @ellerylloyd. This book is on sale today!⁣

This book is a very quick read. Only 275 pages, I zoomed through it! Told by 3 different POVs, it tells the story of a “Mama” influencer with over a million followers. Emmy is a mom of two who manages a social media lifestyle brand called Mamabare. Her husband Dan is a struggling novelist and the third point of view is told be someone stalking their family. ⁣

People like Her shows a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of a major social media influencer. Emmy has built her brand on the idea that she’s just like an honest, regular mom! But she has paid staff helping her with everything and she’s often gifted incredible things for a few photos on her Instagram. This is not to say she doesn’t work hard. I know my own Bookstagram takes many hours of work trying to get the right angle for a photo or managing my TBR with Pub dates! Emmy knows it won’t last and she has to come with increasing wild ideas to keep creating content for her Instagram. Her family’s livelihood depends on this as she is currently the sole breadwinner. ⁣

I’m very excited to discuss this book next week as I think there’s many discussion points. I happen to love bloggers and I’ve followed a few for several years. It was very fun to see the look behind the filter for many of these huge accounts. Emmy is very unlikeable, but she’s also too entertaining to stop following! ⁣

Thanks to @harpercollins and @netgalley for my review copy. I also used a @bookofthemonth credit.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

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People Like Her offers a behind the scenes look at the life of a social media influencer told in 3 perspectives - Emmy, the popular Instamum with a million followers, Dan, “the husband” and an unnamed follower turned stalker - that definitely reminds you of the real existing dangers of putting your life - or a curated version of it - online. While I wouldn’t call it a thriller necessarily, it definitely had creepy vibes, a few unsettling moments and parts that had me questioning the character’s actions out loud…to myself…

The characters were well developed, and I enjoyed the story told through multiple perspectives, but I didn’t truly “like” anyone in the story - perhaps that was planned? I actually even actively disliked several of them. The second half definitely picked up the pace, and I struggled to put it down. I haven’t read any social media based storylines, and I enjoyed the exploration of who people really and what they present to the world on social media. This would be a great book club pick with so many aspects to discuss! It’s definitely worth the read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins and the authors for the opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book.

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People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd is a novel following viral influencer, Emmy, who runs a mommy instagram called @the_mamabare. Emmy is a highly curated, ambitious woman who shares her life with her pretentious author husband, Dan, and their two children on instagram. Emmy is surrounded by other mommy influencers who also strive for the life Emmy has, but you quickly learn it is not it is cracked up to be. Along with a gluttony of freebies and money, there are terrifying messages and threats that Emmy becomes immune to, instead killing them with kindness at the directive of her agent. However, one revenge-filled woman whose life was affected by Emmy's social media influence makes things more tangible as she invades more and more of Emmy's life.

This book was a compelling read that brought up many interesting points on social media, the role of influencers and their culpability, and the monetization of lives, particularly of children. The first half was a bit slower with learning about Emmy and Dan's day to day, and just how much work is required for social media influencers. The author did a great job of creating a voice for Emmy as superficial as her captions yet so repressed. Dan was also nauseatingly pompous, very similar to Penn Badgley in Gossip Girl or You, with the tortured author who is oblivious to how shallow he also is. The last third of the book picked up quickly and was a wild ride. How Emmy and Dan handled their personal traumas was very fitting for the characters and I felt totally vindicated with my thoughts on Dan. This was a great 3.5 star read for me. Overall this is a very enjoyable novel that I recommend for some brain candy!

Many thanks to the publisher Harper and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

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I was rather turned off by the attitudes toward women who are infertile, assuming that we are unhinged women. I didn't like that she was impersonating a "sob story" to get attention. I read a decent amount but found that this just isn't the book for me.

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Going into this one I saw some mixed reviews, if you go into this one expecting literary fiction with suspense and a high level of creepiness I think you will enjoy it. This one did a great job of keeping my attention, and I kept going to find out what was going to happen. I enjoyed the Epilogue for the additional creep factor. And I def recommend it!

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When I first started this book, I was veryyyy intrigued. The premise was unique to me (an instagram mom that inevitably overshares which leads to stalking situation)--granted I haven't read Follow Me yet. As I kept reading, I felt as if somehing was missing but I can't quite place my finger on what that is.

What I enjoyed
-I liked that in each chapter you got the persepctive of the mom, dad, and the third unknown character which was obviously the stalker
-The overall message that you need to be careful what you share on social media

What I didn't like so much
-Emmie was soooooo cold. Like seriously,
-Parts were rather predictable
-The ending was rushed and slightly unbelievable

Overall it was a quick read (less than 300 pages) and has 100% make me think twice about what personal information you share on social media

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Emmy is an Instamum - a famous Instagram social media influencer - living in England. With over a million followers, she’s the leader in her niche. She prides herself on her honesty and real-ness, but really, it’s all a facade to make her more likable and more relatable in order to gain more followers which translates into more dollars.

Dan, Emmy’s husband, is a struggling writer. His first novel eight years ago was quite a success but his second novel has been in progress ever since. For as much as his wife’s career troubles and annoys him, he can’t deny it pays the bills and provides them with lifestyle that he cannot.

A third, unknown character slowly reveals herself by sharing information about her traumatic and tragic past. Through these pages, we also learn that she attributes the root cause of her pain directly to Emmy, and that Emmy must pay for this.

What unfolds is a sinister, twisty novel about an internet famous family pretending to be “regular people” and what happens when a follower decides to take a step beyond the screen.

I could not flip the pages fast enough. I was completely absorbed by the stories of Emmy, Dan, and the mystery narrator and love that they each told their stories from their own perspectives. The story took turns I wasn’t expecting which I also absolutely loved.

Though the novel on the whole was dark, much of the story was fun and wildly entertaining. As a humble #bookstagrammer trying to make my mark in an impressive community, I was absolutely fascinated by the workings of a full time, professional influencer. I know how much time and effort goes into my small page and I just can’t imagine what goes into getting and keeping that many followers.

I also loved how “real” the story felt. It was a totally plausible concept and the build up and execution all worked perfectly. Even though Emmy and Dan took every precaution, they were still exposing themselves to millions of strangers, making themselves and their children vulnerable and exposed. I thought much of the backlash and effects of being instafamous were well addressed and also well researched.

This is one that can’t be missed and I wholeheartedly recommend!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy of this fantastic novel.

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This book seemed so intriguing when I read the synopsis and was ready to get immersed in the story of a instamom.. something I can somewhat relate to as being on social media and having kids of my own. People like her is a story of an insta-mom celeb, Emmy, and her entire life revolving around Instagram. This book has quite a few triggers, and without giving spoilers, for those that refrain from abortion, miscarriage, child abuse/endangerment, I'd highly suggest skipping this one.

This book was a really easy read. I did struggle for about 1/2 way through the book- as it only talked about Emmy and what she does for Instagram. It sounded so superficial and kind of gave influencers a bad rap. I did not like Emmy's character as she just seemed so shallow and fake in so many parts of the book and I would hate to follow someone like her in real life. But with all that aside, the author did a good job of portraying her as a loving mother.

The thriller portion of this book is what kept me going after 1/2 way through the book. When the plot got juicy, I couldn't put the book down as I needed to know how the ending was. The last couple of chapters seemed to have redeemed itself, but the ending fell so flat for me. After all that Emmy has been through, I felt they again used what happened to them to get into the face of the audience- which meant book deals, interviews, etc. that influencers thrive for.

I wish the book ended differently and made these influencers a bit more "human". I wish they had learned from what happened to them (the major plot twist), but it seemed they did not. Parts of the book seemed so unbelievable as well that I gave this book barely a 3 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC of this book in lieu of an honest review.

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People Like Her explores the life of a famous influencer and the downside of sharing too much of your life on social media. I was initially intrigued by the concept of the book, but unfortunately, the execution fell a little short for me. The book focused a lot on the social media influencer aspect, which definitely became repetitive at times. It's is billed as a thriller, but I didn't find it to be very thrilling at all and would liked to have seen more emphasis there.

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I have heard such amazing things about this book but I just can't get into it. I think it's the mommy blogger view - I just can't relate. Everyone says it's really good if you can get into it though!

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This was fun! I loved learning about "instamums" and the twists were fun and unexpected. The ending was satisfying. I think I read it in 2 days. Couldn't put it down!

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This book was disturbing in more than one way. First, the main character, Emmy is inconsistent in that she seems to genuinely care for her children one moment and then wishes she’d never had then the next. She’s calloused and sociopathic. Definitely not someone you want to route for. Her husband in the end doesn’t appear to be much better. I felt bad for their children which is who the antagonist threatens. There are a few scenarios in here that, as a mom, I never want to even think about happening to any child and this book has me empathizing with how the characters felt for their own children. It made me felt sick to think about. I think someone who isn’t a mom might be able to read this and love it. But I believe it’s audience is mothers and for them I think the content is sickening. Not a fan.

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