Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of Number One Fan! I really enjoyed the first 50ish pages of this book - and then it completely changed for me. Both main characters are completely unlikable. I loved the assistant, but he didn't get enough page-time in my opinion. I felt myself very confused about the villain in this book - Leonard. Why is he obsessed with Eli the writer? Does he have a mental illness? What is driving these actions he's taking? The switch between past and present tense often confused me as it wasn't clearly spelled out that timelines were changing. I found myself questioning a number of the medical issues that were popping up in such a short period of time.

I rarely DNF a book, but I made it to 70% of this one when I decided that I needed to just stop as it wasn't for me. Others who enjoy the book-within-a-book premise, graphic descriptions of torture and more fantasy sort of thriller writing may really enjoy this one!

This started off great for me. It really started with a bang. But for me, i couldn’t get into Leonard’s POV. I found him so… grotesque? I just couldn’t stand being stuck in his head. The lack of understanding of any reality. How everything seemed to be happening to him instead of realizing it was his actions. His character is just deeply disturbed.

I did like the detectives perspective and the assistant. I wanted more form then

This is an excellent thriller/psychological horror book about obsession and the darker corners of fandom. It has a lot of twists and turns and the author did a fantastic job at keeping us guessing what was really going on until the exciting conclusion.

My only complaint is that, in my personal opinion, it got repetitive at times. We know our protagonist is chained up in a basement and she's injured, hungry, and thirsty. Telling us this that many times seemed like overkill. The same with her and her brother and their background. The author kept going back to that well too often and slowed the pacing of the book somewhat.

With that being said, I would definitely recommend this book to people who are looking to read a tense, action packed, and terrifying psychological thriller that leaves them guessing until the end!

Say hello to my new favorite book of the year!

Number One Fan, has blockbuster hit written all over it and if someone does not pick this book up to make it into a movie/series, they are absolutely crazy!

This book was absolutely terrifying! What nightmares are made of!

I LOVED IT!!!

This is the book I will forever recommend to anyone who asks. After I concluded I had to call my book loving pals and tell them all about it! I was completely consumed with everything I had read and just blown away!

WOW!

It is pretty darn hard to leave me speechless, but I am struggling to come up with words just for the sheer fact that my jaw is still on the floor.

Okay, okay, back to my review.

This book was just absolutely mind blowing, twisted, terrifying, and had me biting my nails right on down to the skin. To say I was afraid to turn off the lights would be an understatement. I clearly should not have read this book before bed !!!!

Do yourself a favor, please run on over to your favorite place to purchase books, and pre-order this book. I promise you, you do not want to miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Number One Fan.

The premise is reminiscent of Misery, one of my favorite books by Stephen King so I was intrigued to read it.

Number One Fan is nothing like Misery.

Eli Grey is an unlikable character; I can't be sure what makes her unlikable, is it her flat personality, her inherent bossiness? I can't quite put my finger on it but I didn't like her.

I don't mind that she's a loner and keeps to herself; I'm similar in that respect, but I felt like she was obnoxiously proud of being a loner and keeping people at a distance.

Leonard is a one dimensional villain; there are no explanations as to his obsession with Eli.

Does he have a mental illness? I'm not a fan of using mental illness as a plot device.

Is he just a plagiarist pretending to be stuck in a fantasy world to justify his despicable actions?

Or is he just a plain old sociopath?

The writing was okay, I didn't like the tone and style; the narrative went on and on, especially the torture scenes between Leonard and Eli. It read almost as torture porn, and I'm not a fan of that genre either.

The author focused too much on the plots of Eli's books as well as another fantasy series, devoting pages of filler to the plots of these fictional storylines and characters.

It was almost as if the author was trying to test out a potential sci-fi storyline within this book to see if readers would like to read it in real life.

Then we had shifts in timelines between past and present and the segues were not well written.

Sometimes, I wasn't sure if we were in the past or present or suddenly I realized we were talking about a time in Eli's past.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an ARC of Number One Fan, but this wasn't for me.

Speculative fiction. Science fiction. Horror. YA. Adult. And now thrillers/suspense. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Meg Elison can write it all. It is a special experience to find a favorite author, especially when their skill and deft storytelling means you’ll follow them across genres just to see what new experiences are in store. Number One Fan marks the 6th book I’ve read of Elison’s and I’m here yet again to champion her writing.

Eli (short for Elizabeth) is a world famous author of a popular fantasy series. Despite the popularity of the books and the subsequent movie series, she is a singular person and does not have many close friends or acquaintances. Past girlfriends and other lovers just aren’t on the scene and the nearest person to her is her personal assistant, John. From the beginning, Eli is endearing, She’s a beautiful mess, curses just like one would expect her to, and is just an all-around believable person. She dresses how she wants, does as she pleases, and even though she’s tough, she’s vulnerable as well.

It may seem that the synopsis gives away too much. Readers will go into this knowing pretty much how she is kidnapped and have some idea of what might happen next. But stop right there - this is no Misery re-enactment, oh no. Eliosn tackles this crazed fan trope and puts a spin on it to make it wholly unique. There are plenty of things to appeal to the Misery crowd and stuff gets DARK, but there is SO much more to this story. I will say nothing else in regards to this because reader discovery is important. Just know that if I had my druthers, this would be shelved in the thriller section AND the horror section.

Read this book. Read all of Meg Elison’s books. If I had to pick a favorite author currently writing, it's her. The mixing of story with social statements is something expertly done in almost all of her writing. Don’t worry, this isn’t the Number One Fan kind of cheerleading, just a reader who knows something great when she reads it. For fans of Bracken MacLeod’s Closing Costs and all of Jennifer Hillier’s books.

This book terrified me. My absolute worst nightmare made real. I typically don’t read scary books. I have a soft heart and I get scared easily. This story is written extremely well. Elizabeth “Eli” Grey is a best-selling author who is drugged by her rideshare driver. She is then kidnapped by the driver who has an obsession with her and her books.
The book has an emphasis on consent, sexism, control, and the court of public opinion. The book felt a bit too on the nose in some cases and it honestly left me with a stomach ache.

The book is a test of wills: Eli’s, the authors, and us as readers. It messes with your read. Every page will have you gripped as Elison hits the ground running. A little nervous to get in an uber.

Read this book.

ARC provided by netgalley.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anything by Meg Elison is actually. I highly recommend this book.

4/5 stars!

This Review is Spoiler Free.

When a famous author is kidnapped by a fake rideshare driver on her way from a booksigning, she finds herself living a nightmare. Reminiscent of Stephen King's Misery, Number One Fan was super unsettling and a great summer read!


*I received an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and views in this review are my own.

Bringing several elements of today's most difficult news articles together, this book portrays a ride share going very wrong. The main character, Eli, was not at all careful when taking a ride share--she got the wrong driver--a man who so easily took advantage of her carelessness.

The characterization is well done, showing a man who is obsessed with Eli and how his delusions lead him to imagine life with her completely different than they are. However he has met his match in a female desperate to get away from him.

Living in a world where for some reason there are those who feel it's okay to do things like this to others, the story is scary and realistic.

Good read! I liked the story and the politics was okay in the story. The premise of this story is great and was excited decently. It will keep you on your toes!

Misery by Stephen King is one of my all-time favorite books, so I loved this modernization of the tale - obsessive fan of fiction writer Eli Grey kidnaps the author and holds her captive. Number One Fan by Meg Elison (out on August 30th!) brings so much of what we're dealing with today (that King did not have to address in the time of Misery), including politics, #MeToo, social media, sexuality and more. This was a thrilling story and I loved the addition of Agent Silvestri; also, as an assistant myself, I was cheering for Joe at every turn. Cheers to Meg Elison on this excellent novel, it freaked me out and reaffirmed my decision to ALWAYS VERIFY YOUR CAR SHARE DRIVERS, PEOPLE!!!!

I’m a huge fan of The book of the unnamed midwife, and while this is a completely different genre for this author, I couldn’t help but request it to see if I was going to be bowled over with this one.

This book set off creepy, horror vibes from the get-go and it definitely reminded me of going down the Misery style path. Eli is a bestselling author who hops into her rideshare from the airport, takes an offered drink and wakes up in a room chained to a bed. And from here starts the horror of her. captivity as we learn who her captor is and their fascination with her books.

Touching on #metoo and fan culture this book grips your psychologically and really makes you think. How will she get out of her captivity or will she? Overall it was a thought provoking and suspenseful book. Definitely worth adding to your to read list.

A casual rideshare turns into the beginning of a nightmare for Eli, a budding author. To my disappointment, however, this book focuses less on the crime, the danger, the insanity of the capture and far too much on the past, the books she wrote, and far too many political/social issues. This really lost its way and therefore lost my interest which was so unfortunate because I had high hopes and was so excited to read this.

Number One Fan starts off with Elizabeth “Eli” Grey, a best selling author of a hit book series leaving the airport en route to a speaking engagement when she gets into what she thinks is her rideshare. The driver offers her a beverage in which she accepts and after finishing it, she soon passes out. She wakes in a secluded room chained to a bed. She then realizes she did not get in the correct car and has been abducted by a mysterious man who is very familiar with her novels.
From page one, this story gave me all of the creepy and terrifying vibes. I found myself envisioning myself in these scenarios and scared myself silly. This book edges on the genre of horror with all of the things Eli faces and goes through during captivity. We slowly unveil the captor’s motive throughout the chapters and who he is exactly. This books also touches on the topics of consent, control, sexism, and topics of the importance of public opinion and how it affects public figures’ lives. Everything about the story was heart pounding and it is sure to get you angered and the blood boiling!
This was a 4 * read. Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!

Than you to the publisher for this ARC. This is a book that kept me reading and invested from literally the first page. It was both exciting and scary, a thriller that was very fun to read. I could have easily finished this in one sitting. I really enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a fast faced thriller. The premise wasn't original but the way the story was told kept me on my toes. I have heard tell of certain famous authors stealing from fan fiction and wondered if this was based on those rumors.

The only critique I have was that the police perspective read a little flat and without much anticipation or meat. This, plus the sections about the book weren't separated from the main storyline with different font or separation so it was a little difficult to keep characters clear, since the names of characters of the novelist's work were used instead of the characters in this book's name. I know, it's meta, I can't describe it better. I'm not sure whether this will be fixed in editing though, since this in an ARC. It definitely should though.

Propulsive is the best word to describe this book. There's a reason I finished it in bed in the dark at 2am last night.
It made me think of Misery but more so Fowles' The Collector; Elison skates that frisson of little moments of empathy with the antagonist juxtaposed with the collective fucking horror incredibly well. I was initially a little let down with the ending because I watch a lot of Law and Order:SVU and have dumb ideas about justice but after sitting with it a few hours I think it's almost more disturbing because unlike SVU, the reader has to reckon with what comes after and how trauma lives on.

An author is kidnapped by a fan who she mistakes for her driver. This is a scary, tense, read with a Misery type premise I was excited to read. However, the execution was a little off. The drama and horror of her present circumstances was diluted by flashbacks to the past, and the villain wasn't really fleshed out into a believable person.

A modern take on Misery. I liked the idea of this book, but had a difficult time liking the main characters. Eli is very cold and not likable. I did like her assistant and the FBI agent and wish they had stronger roles in the book.

Overall a satisfying read. Thank you for the opportunity for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I think that the most effective horror for me is based in reality, so I found parts of this to be truly chilling. I think all women can relate to the main character, Eli’s, fears and how she is treated by her captor. As an added element, I’m a very anxious person and force myself to imagine how I would handle being kidnapped with alarming frequency, so I was sucked into this story immediately. I will say that this started to drag for me earlier than halfway through, and it might be because of all of the stories set in the past when I really wanted to know how things were progressing in the present. This aspect really frustrated me, and I might consider this a new favorite without that.