I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I've been a Radley fan for years, even before her books were published. I always look forward to a new book because I know it will be well written an enjoyable, although I will admit that this one isn't my favorite.

Very sweet story about 2 people and total opposites.
One is optimistic who came to realization that nothing is as good as it looks.
Other pessimistic who came to realization that nothing is as bad as it looks.
Combining both characters who so nicely compliment each other creates amazing story.
Having epilogue put everything into nice perspective. In the end all you do is smile and which those two the best.

Great book. well written, well paced, and well done.

I loved the characters and the unusually complex setting of the theme park in Scotland. The main characters all had depth and realistic backgrounds, The angst was well managed, and the romance wasnt the insta-love that all too many lesfic romances seem to thing works well.

The interplay of the family situation, the boardroom dynamics and the workings of the park, along with a crash course in being an influencer, made this an interesting read as well as a HEA romance.

Genuinely enjoyed this one.

have not read Amanda Radley before and I really enjoyed this book. It was out of the ordinary which is what I liked about it. The book took place in Scotland in a Theme Park. Beth Fraser is struggling to run her family’s theme park and resort. She’s got a board of directors wanting to kick her out. Her brother, Cameron, thinks bringing in a social media influencer will help their online presence and bring in more revenue. Jemma Johnson is a travel influencer with almost a million followers. She’s always wanted to visit Fraser Park in Scotland and jumps at the chance for a week-long visit. I had to look up “influencer”.
Beth and Jemma end up working together to try and save the Park and Beth’s job. I enjoyed this book very much. I am now a fan of Amanda Radley.

Really liked this book. It was fun reading about basically living in an amusement park. I also appreciated the topic social influencers and how Jemma comes to the realization of how fake it can become. The age gap part is also a nice addition, always lovely to read those.

A week instead of just a couple of days at an amusement park that's been family owned and operated or generations? Sign me up! I love amusement parks.

So does Jemma, a social media influencer, who goes to Fraser Park in Scotland for a few days to detail cool stuff there. There's a lot of setup and posing and multiple takes in her room before she heads out to the park. Where she runs into....

Beth, half of the current duo running the park (with her brother Cameron). Beth is overworked and constantly under pressure. It was a little difficult for me this time with the instalove, but I get it, opposites attract, no matter how weird it is that someone like Jemma would be so instantly attracted to someone about a couple decades her senior who always looks aggrieved.

It's a slow-burning fire, and eventually Jemma gets an offer from Cameron to stay longer, to give a more in depth look at the park for her subscribers. She agrees, mainly so she can hang around with Beth more. Beth, for her part, wishes Cameron would shoulder more of the load.

We all know there's a happily ever after to be had, which comes after just a bit of drama toward the end. That isn't so bad. There's some handholding and no explicit sexytimes, so if that sort of thing isn't what you want to read, this is a safe book.

Overall, I wasn't totally enamored with the book, and I was extremely skeptical about the differences in the two, both in personality and in the age gap, but this is escapist read. On the Drama Llama scale, I'd pin it at a two.

On the star scale, I'll give it a three out of five.

Thanks to bold Strokes books and NetGalley for the reading copy.

3.75 stars. Under Her Influence is a sweet opposites attract romance set within a family-owned theme park in Scotland. It’s always lovely to see more WLW representation, which was one of the main reasons I requested this book. The romance was well-paced and heartwarming with a low heat level, and the characters also had individual storylines and problems to battle with, which made it all the more interesting. There was a little bit of found family there, too, which was lovely.

I must admit, though, that, for me, the writing felt a little bit robotic somehow. There were A LOT of repeated dialogue tags and a lot of showing rather than telling. A theme park is such a unique, lively place, but that magic didn’t often come through in the book and I found myself wishing for more. I really liked Cameron, Beth’s brother, and he got some great development, but for some reason we kept getting fed the same bits of information about him, sort of as though the author wanted to write about him more than the MCs. At the beginning, the romance didn’t feel believable for me, either. Beth is a tense businesswoman, Jemma is her polar opposite, a fun influencer, and they didn’t really share any banter or chemistry, but for some reason Jemma was smitten from the beginning. I love opposites attract, but we needed something to pull them together more. A shared similarity, a vulnerability, anything. It was more just throwing them together and hoping for the best.

All in all, this was a relaxing, enjoyable read with a satisfying HEA but there always felt to be lacking something, whether it was chemistry between the characters, or the sort of personality and sparkle to the writing that allows the reader to be immersed in the story. It was a story told cleanly from beginning to end, but not much more than that, and unfortunately, romance doesn’t work without the feeling.

I was provided with the ARC from NetGalley via Bold Strokes Books.

Amanda Radley’s ‘Under Her Influence’ follows a co-owner of theme park in Scotland and an influencer tasked to bring the Fraser Park’s into more people’s radar. I really liked the idea and the premise of an easy and uplifting sapphic romance set in the Scotland and around theme park. It felt like it would an easy and lovely read, but it unfortunately felt short to me in some aspects. There was a huge potential with the story and the characters, especially as Beth and Jemma’s personalities crash almost instantly and there’s huge potential for drama and misunderstandings, and while on some level that has happened in the story, I didn’t feel that ‘Under Her Influence’ met my expectations fully. I generally have nothing against age difference in romances – as long as both are consenting adults – but here the age difference between Beth and Jemma felt too big, perhaps not necessarily because of an age-number but rather due to generational gap, with Beth having no grasp of the world Jemma is part of. Sometimes those differences can be a great clash between characters, but here I just didn’t see the sparks fly so to speak, and as a result the romance between Beth and Jemma felt flat and forced for me. While I didn’t love this book, I may still check some other works by the author – the premise was really nice.

Since I'm a big fan of Amanda Radley's romantic comedies, I had no doubt that I'd enjoy Under Her Influence. And I did! Her trademark dry wit and family-centered, low-angst romance always satisfies and this was no different. I always seem to learn something about a new industry, too, so that's a bonus.

This time around, we're spending time with the owners of a Scottish theme park and a social media influencer. Beth and Jemma each have their issues - insecurity, feeling trapped in the reality that they have lived for so long but not having either the motivation or understanding to move on. It took me a little while but I did eventually come to care and connect with each of them. Cameron and the kids were an extra layer of adorable added to the mix. I only wish I could have heard the accents because, thanks to Simone Lahbib, I adore a Scottish accent. Yes, even a Glaswegian one.

So if you're a fan of Radley's previous work, I don't have to tell you that you'll like this one, too.

Thanks to BSB and NetGalley for setting me up with a copy!

I loved that book, it's well written as always with Amanda Radley. It's a slow burn romance, some people may not like that but I enjoy stories where you get to know the characters. I enjoyed the age gap story, it was different from other books I usually read. One of the best books I read this month!

This was an easy, low-angst read that I breezed through. It’s the third book I’ve read from this author and I expected
a bit more friction between the two MCs. I love how Radley writes witty, snappy dialogue and that was missing from this book.

The two MCs are both suffering from stress and anxiety and I felt a bit stressed out too reading about it in such detail. I also feel like I learned way too much about being an influencer.

There also wasn’t a whole lot of chemistry between the two MCs and the romance, while sweet, felt forced onto the characters. Don’t expect a lot of heat, either. There are a few kissing scenes and it’s implied they sleep together, but this is a Radley book so there’s nothing “on-screen”.



Alternate story below!!



Okay this may be a spoiler, but I think it would be super cool if Cameron turned out to be actually a psychopath and poisoned his wife and is slowly poisoning his sister, which would account for her health issues. He’s doing it because he actually wants to sell the entire place and live on some tropical island somewhere and the affable but incompetent front is to hide his true Machiavellian self. He lured Jenna there, knowing his love-starved sister would find it hard to resist her and he manufactured situations where they had to be together but never in a million years would such a high-flying, worldly influencer give stodgy older Beth a second glance. That way, when she eventually succumbs to the poison it can be explained as her being “broken hearted”. BUT!! Beth and Jemma figure out something is fishy and they work together to take him down and in the process fall in luuuuuv! Cool, huh?!

But anyway, that doesn’t happen and Cameron turns out to be a very nice guy.


This book was okay but not on my reread list.

3.5 stars

I LOVED this book so much. I literally could not put it down. This is my first story by this author and I will definitely read more. I loved both main characters. I’m definitely a Beth, wanting to be more Jemma!

I loved the descriptions of the park and what an influencer actually does. I didn’t really think about it being such a short time frame - it just seemed to work

I was really disappointed when I finished the book!

I've been a Radley fan for years, even before her books were published, first reading the fanfiction. I always look forward to a new book because I know it will be well written. This book was not my favorite, but I enjoyed it. I liked the theme park setting (well timed as I visited Disney this month). I didn't quite get the characters' chemistry. Beth was one dimensional, just stress. And Jemma's eventual shift at the end of the book felt a little bit out of nowhere.

That said, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I loved this book so much I was already writing my review in my head after the first chapter. The characters and their history made them all the more engaging and sympathetic. I liked Jemma enough but I really fell for Beth. I felt so bad for her and the struggles she dealt with. The children were well written and quite enjoyable. The theme park descriptions were awesome as well as showing the behind the scenes stuff that's involved in  the everyday running of said park. This was my first book by this author and I now feel like I have to but every one of her previous books since this one was so great! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

“Under Her Influence” is a low angst, sweet age-gap romance.

Beth Fraser is struggling to run her family’s theme park and resort. She’s got a board of directors wanting to kick her out. Her brother, Cameron, thinks bringing in a social media influencer will help their online presence and bring in more revenue. Jemma Johnson is a travel influencer with almost a million followers. She’s always wanted to visit Fraser Park in Scotland and jumps at the chance for a week-long visit.

While this is a romance, the romance doesn’t really start until about 80%. The majority of the book is Beth and Jemma getting to know one another and figuring out their struggles.

Initially, Beth is skeptical about Jemma’s presence at the park. She’s too busy for social media and doesn’t really understand the influencer business/lifestyle nor does see how it’ll positively impact the park. Despite Beth’s doubts and serious demeanor, Jemma does what she can to talk to her and tries to get to know her anyway. Jemma is impressed and attracted to Beth and I loved their development. Beth is overwhelmed with her work as all the responsibilities of the resort fall on her. Jemma is getting more and more discouraged with her platform and having to look perfect at all times.

I liked their friendship in the beginning and how they each helped the other. Their romance developed pretty slowly and as I said, nothing really picks up until about 80%. However, I really enjoyed what we got. I appreciated the fact that there were no grand declarations of love seeing as how the timeline is a week. I was still happy with how it ended up and the ending made me smile.

Just a note to fans of steamier books, as with all Radley books, this is very low-heat and/or clean in regards to steamy scenes. There’s handholding and some light kisses but don’t expect anything beyond that, not even fade to black.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a more light-hearted, low angst romance.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

A great read!
As I've learned before, Amanda Radley's stories are touching, exciting, making you fall in love with characters.
This story is about a sweet family and the woman who finds herself finding a new home with them. I loved Jemma's and Beth's relationship depeloment. I did feel as if though Beth's relationship with her brother could've been further explained and we could've gotten more details about their past and what connects them.
I'm giving this book 5 stars because every time I opened it it made me smile and get excited and that's exactly what a good book is meant to be.

‘Under Her Influence’ by Amanda Radley is a sweet love story and leaves the reader feeling happy and contented. And that’s exactly what I want from a romance these days. Ms Radley keeps angst to a minimum and lets her readers enjoy the blossoming of love between her characters. Beth Fraser runs Fraser Park, a theme park in Scotland, where she takes the brunt of the responsibility and decision-making, whilst her brother apparently skates through life without a care in the world. When social media influencer, Jemma Johnson comes to the park to check out all it has to offer, Beth is perplexed. What is an influencer? She barely knows what Instagram is, so the idea that hundreds of thousands of people would follow Jemma on her travels around the world is beyond her. But as a hostile board threatens everything Beth has worked for, she realises that the park needs new ways of attracting customers.

I loved this story, as it was gentle and endearing, with two main characters I could really get to know. Beth was determined and focused and worked non-stop. In her way Jemma was the same. But the way they chose to deal with life was completely different, and bringing them together worked so well. It was a fee-good love story, with wonderful descriptions of the park. So wonderful that I want to go to Fraser Park. Tell me its a real place please Amanda Radley!

I was given this ARC to review.

4 stars. Fraser Park, a Scottish theme park owned by Beth Fraser and her twin brother, is having some troubles with money. Her bother decides to hire an influencer, Jemma Johnson, to help promote the theme park and draw in more business. Beth is not happy with Jemma t first, until she gets to know her. She feels an attraction to her and knows she should stay away, as Jemma will leave at some point. Jemma travels around the world recording herself for YouTube. Jemma feels attraction to Beth, no matter how much Beth seems to not want her there. Beth knows she needs to do whatever it takes to keep her theme park running.

I enjoyed this novel. I liked the dynamic that was built with Beth and Jemma and how their feels for each other changed throughout the novel. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it. It was an easy read and I would definitely read it again. Jemma and Beth both have an age difference, but it didn't make a difference in the book. I liked how Beth's brother was involved and helped bring them closer together.

I now know more about an influencer and how it works then I did prior to this read. In my opinion when you can be entertained and learn in the same read, that is a good thing. Jemma Johnson, did not travel much as a child and when the opportunity presented itself to make a living doing just that, she made the most of it. But, was she being true to herself? Beth Fraser, co-owns a theme park and nature reserve with her twin brother Cameron. But, is Beth working smart?

I enjoyed the park descriptions and how the park has been handed down through generations and run mostly by women. There is hardly any angst which tends to be the norm with Radley reads. I like that as a refreshing change of pace. There are many characters to like in this read, especially Cameron's children, Abigail and Luke.

I also appreciated the work that goes on to present an image on social media. And something to think about is how that image can be adjusted or manipulated to present the picture you want people to see. Hummmm....algorithms.