People to Follow is a fast-paced and compulsive thriller. A group of influencers are chosen to travel to a remote island to film a show about unplugging from devices. But when they arrive, there’s no film crew waiting. The influencers receive watches to communicate with their mysterious Sponsor. All of the influencers have secret connections between each other, but are motivated to keep up appearances for the show. A deadly accident occurs and it becomes clear that something about the show isn’t right. When the pretense of the show starts evaporating, the influencers must work together to discover the real reason they're on the island.

People to Follow feels like a summer blockbuster thriller. It’s fun and fast-paced, but there are some twists you can definitely see coming. That said, I had a very hard time putting this book down! There’s always another twist or reveal that adds even more tension. All of the characters are morally gray and have buried secrets that are coming back to haunt them. Kira and Logan were my favorite characters, as they felt more personable than some of the other influencers. Worley creates a thrilling mystery while inviting reflection on influencer culture and the power of stories- including the stories we tell ourselves. Readers who enjoy You Can Trust Me (Wendy Heard), locked-room thrillers, and And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie) should check out People to Follow.

Thank you to Olivia Worley, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

It was just okay. I loved the concept of this (influencers on a deserted island being filmed for a reality show and someone ends up dead) but the characters were all vapid and seemed to have one voice. I would have liked them to have more depth. Great twists and unpredictability but needed better characters.

I liked this book but it reminded me a bit of ‘she started it’ that was the June book of the month pick. I liked this plot with the influencers. Something different. It was a fast read. Read it in a day. I liked Kira and the other characters were ok. Elody saying ‘babe’ at the end of every sentence really got annoying and I didn’t see the point of it. Didn’t make the story and I actually would have enjoyed it more without that.

And Then There Were None gets the TikTok treatment. Hello, yes please, that sounds fun af!

And indeed it was - good cheesy fun! A melodramatic setup (love it), a well-paced plot (no single moment or plot point dragged out too long), a surprising-enough solution (I certainly didn’t call it *all* too far in advance). Plenty of twists and turns, enough that the more predictable ones weren’t a big flaw for me because there was always something else right after. My biggest issue was that the POV voices were waaay too similar, and even with other characters’ names right in front of me, I often had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to double check whose I was reading at the moment.

Definitely escapist pool/beach reading, and I did enjoy reading it, despite some things I wish had been executed a little better.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the advance review copy!

This is a deliciously dark read! Ten teen influencers are invited to a secluded island for a "vacation" not to be missed, but they have no idea what's in store for them! And when the murders begin, they (and we) have no idea what to think as it appears to be so random and their hosts or "sponsors" are nowhere to be seen. And yes, paranoia sets in as it begins to storm (and what isn't scarier than an island in the middle of nowhere) and they are all frightened as a knife is stolen, a gun is found, and the bodies keep piling up! I loved the snarky language as they all seem to call each other "babe" and all harbor secrets that involve The Bounce House inhabitants. But the lines between on-line and IRL blur as they aren't sure who is guilty and when they might be rescued. You may delete all your social media after this!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

4 stars!

What a fun book filled with twists and turns!

This was a very fast paced and exciting read. I can honestly say I did not see the different plot twists coming.

I must admit, I did have a hard time keeping track of all the characters at the beginning, but it did get easier as the story went on. There are 11 different characters from the start, but the writer does a good job of differentiating them.

It was interesting getting a look into the lives of influencers/content creators. Their lives are definitely not as glamorous as they seem.

It is told through 4 different perspectives (Kira, Max, Elody and Logan).

I enjoyed the theme of influencers being trapped on an island, where a lot of their secrets end up being spilled.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Really fun to read! The mystery was good and the characters made me feel invested in the already interesting story. I liked the ending too, it was satisfying. I'd happily recommend this to young adults and older readers as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

I enjoyed this book bc I'm obsessed with locked room thrillers, and/or stranded thrillers. They always keep me on the edge of my seat and this book did just that.

I'm a Gen x'er so the way the characters talk was very annoying to me. However, I realize it is supposed to be that way since they're teenage influencers and that's how the younger generations speak.

I didn't figure out the twist ahead of time, but I do think others will, bc now that I read it, I can't believe I didn't even think of it.

Overall, a good book that had me creeped out and in suspense throughout.

An whodunit YA thriller/mystery focusing on the toxic influencer prevalent in today's social media culture.

Ten influencer. All with secrets. Trapped on a remote island. One dead.

Overall, I think this one was just okay. The premise and mystery kept me turning the page and I bought into the idea. I wanted to know "whodunit" even thought there were some obvious hints throughout given the very specific POVs the reader is privy to.

However, none of it felt plausible. I understand each character is somewhat of caricature, there's a broader commentary, and they all should be relatively unlikable. But I also just didn't connect to them. And it may be because half the time it felt like an older person obviously writing how they think young people talk, but really it just felt like the characters didn't feel grounded or relatable. I didn't much care about what happened to them and I don't think they did either.

Although it struggled with execution, this was an interesting take on influencer culture and how deadly people act when the cellphones are off..

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesdays Books for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book kept me guessing, whether for killer or motive, until the end. I think it makes you normalize some of the influencers and the toll it takes…people wanting relevance and what they’ll do to get/keep it.

I found myself trying to make correlations to some of the characters with real life influencers and liked how even some of the characters were influenced to make the choices they did while on the island.

Great YA/thriller.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

this book and IRL were great! It was both funny and thrilling

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.

Okay, this book had all the ingredients of something I would absolutely LOVE, and while I did have fun with it, I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. The reality TV premise that the book is based off of was barely utilized, so that aspect that drew me in felt more like a setup than an actual element of the story, so that was disappointing as far as the way the book is pitched and marketed.

I think the biggest difficulty I had with the writing was having so many characters in the cast, four different points of view, with voices that all ran together. I could barely follow the beginning with all 10 characters dumped together with very little intro and I almost DNFed in the first 10% because of that.

Then there was just a lot that I couldn't quite suspend my disbelief for--like everyone being way too casual about the increasing number of deaths. People were dying and they were just like "let's eat breakfast I guess" or "let's play spin the bottle" and it just didn't feel realistic with the tension that was trying to build.

Last, it felt like it was trying too hard to make Important Commentary about influencing and cancel culture and having a platform without really saying much at all about any of it.

All that said, I did finish it, and I found enough of it to be at least entertaining and amusing if not really impactful. It was fun and mostly fast-paced. I didn't hate it, but I don't think it'll stick with me.

A group of 10 influencers get invited to a secluded island with the intention of shooting a reality tv show about unplugging and being IRL. Unbeknownst to them, there is a murderer among them and start dropping like flies.

Even though this is a murder mystery, it’s a very light read. I would consider it a BRIM (beach read involving murder )🙃 a spin off of @beachreadsandbubbly BRAD categorization.

The reasoning behind the murders’ motive was flimsy and felt a bit forced….I never guessed the ending. I must say I did really like the ending even though it was a bit of a reach and had a few plot holes.

Overall, I would recommend to my friends who are looking for a light murder mystery with a unique plot.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for providing a free copy to read for my honest opinion!

Interesting premise for this book. Really wanted to like it but just didn’t click for me. I felt like all of the characters were so unlikeable which I think may have been part of the point but it was hard to root for anyone. I also felt like there were too many POVs

Social media influencers sign up to appear on a reality show. They all want to gain more followers. They are taken to an island and the crew is not there. There is no way off the island and they must wait for the crew to arrive. They do not like each other and their is tension. However, when one of them turns up dead is there a killer on the island?

This is an exciting read told from multiple viewpoints. There are many twists and turns and you will not know who to trust. Neither do the influencers on the island. The book is suspenseful read and will keep you guessing. It is a wonderful vacation read.

Thank you to #netgalley, #OliviaWorley, and #WednesdayBooks for a copy of this book.
#PeopletoFollow

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martins via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I am very impressed that this was a debut - it sucked me in from the first page and the plot was fast-paced. During some chapters, I did have to look back to confirm who was speaking in a couple of chapters. And being that I am long past the age called "young adult," I definitely had to look up some of the vocabulary (yeet? thirst trap?) But overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did not predict a single twist (and there were several!). I think it's timely given our current obsession with influencers and social media. The characters were spot on. I am definitely looking forward to reading more by Ms. Worley!

In this YA mystery/thriller debut, ten influencers are taken to an island to film a reality TV show about what happens when you disconnect and unplug from society (think Love Island mixed with The Real World). However, once the influencers arrive, they quickly realize that there is something more sinister at play underneath the beachy atmosphere.

From the first chapter, I was immediately drawn into this book due to the reality TV show premise and the fact that it included multiple points of view. Right from the beginning, it was evident that each character had a darker past than what they portrayed on social media. I really enjoyed trying to uncover the secrets and solve the mystery throughout the book. My one critique is that I found the pacing of the book to be a little challenging for me at times. I thought the beginning and end were the strongest parts and struggled a little with staying interested throughout the middle.

Overall, I liked this book and found it to be a uniquely unpredictable thriller. I think it would be perfect for a YA audience who enjoys mysteries and thrillers or for anyone who loves watching reality TV!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I could not finish this book. It seemed every character had the same personality with no real depth which made the different perspectives very confusing. I think the demographic for this book is on the earlier cusp of YA because this just seemed younger than YA.

What a fun, fast-paced read this was. Great for the YA audience. While I didn’t find much depth throughout, it’s still an entertaining read and kept me engaged to zoom through in a weekend read. I’d read more from this author. Thank you Net Galley for early access to this one.

This book kept me on my toes from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down!

This is a fast read that's great for binging. It's filled with mystery, thrills, twists and turns.

The plot twist at the end was awesome, I didn't see it coming!

If you're a fan of YA mystery/thrillers this is the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest review.