I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. I first want to say that I think this is a pretty solid debut novel. Is it the pinnacle of fiction? No, but I wouldn't expect it to be. In fact, it didn't have to be. This was exactly what I needed it to be. It was a simple, easy read that kept me fully entertained.

This is a Young Adult novel. That is not a knock to the writing or the concept/plot whatsoever. However, if all you read are hardcore adult thrillers, this will probably depart from the thrillers that you are used to. I saw a fellow bookstagrammer (and avid thriller reader) who thought that this book was too juvenile compared to most of the thrillers that she reads. Though her opinion is valid, I do think it is important to manage your expectations. I have read some pretty dark thrillers and while this book was twisted in its own right, the target audience limits much of the content that can be presented here. For me personally, I really found this to be an enjoyable read. I just don't think that it is fair to compare a YA thriller to an adult thriller---to me, it would be wrong to expect them to be on the same level.

One thing that I didn't love was some of the dialogue. Again, with managing expectations, I did not expect for the characters to have the maturity level or vernacular that I would expect from some adult characters but the word, 'like' was used far too much. Maybe that was just a personal preference though? Also... the word, 'babe'. The overuse of both gave me the ick.

The language that the characters used was, surprisingly enough, was not the least redeeming thing about them. These characters are generally very unlikable, but that's the point. I love flawed characters and these characters were definitely flawed. They were borderline irritating but I give it pass because most teenagers are irritating---my apologies to the teenaged community but it's true. Sure they were irritating, but they were supposed to be. I would have expected nothing less.

I love the general concept of this. As an elder Gen Z, I found the cast of social media influencers to be very timely. Influencers have always existed through celebrity or public figure endorsements, but only in the past 5ish years have we really seen the emergence of influencer culture. Reading this as an adult allowed me to recognize some of the social context and covert social commentary that I don't think most teen readers would pick up on. I have read books that utilize social media for plot points, but this was one of the first books that I have read where social media plays such an integral part in the storyline.

I was so incredibly excited about this book, and was thrilled to be accepted to review it, thank you so much for the opportunity!

People to Follow is a really fun concept - 10 influencers are recruited to a private island to film a reality show, but when one turns up dead, things start going wrong very quickly.

But, unfortunately, the idea of the book ended up being the most interesting thing about it.

There were a handful of things that really bothered me - the first of two main points was the struggle of juggling ten different characters continuously interacting. The perspective switches only applied to some of the characters, not all. And don't get me wrong, ten perspectives would've been A LOT, but with how short a lot of the chapters were and how frequently perspectives jumped, some more attention could've been afforded to the other influencers, since they were equally important to the overall story.

My other main frustration with the story was the lack of logic or problem solving from the characters. A few of them proved that they weren't just some superficial internet celebrities, they had some more complex feelings and thoughts about their social media presence and personal well-being. Yet, when it comes to being confined for a length of time in a life or death kind of situation, I was confused why the characters did so little to protect themselves - they didn't think to cover or break the cameras to hide from the Sponsor (even after an individual does it to two of them, it doesn't even occur to anyone to do this with the rest of the cameras), nor did they think to just remove the watches that the Sponsor used to force these games. In the story, the watches are removed by two different characters without any other thought about it, other than just taking them off, and it seemed like maybe it would be obvious to just take them off to start with and not give the Sponsor the opportunity to push them? Or to make it more foolproof that these things can't be damaged/removed.

I really wanted to like this book, I was sincerely so excited, and I hate critiquing harshly. However, the story just lacked dimension to make it more interesting or even a little believable. It was as superficial as an influencer's social feed, and not in a fun satirical way.

This was a frustrating one for me. A very slow start that transitioned in to a far-fetched ending. At about halfway through it started to show potential but the ending was too unbelievable. I do enjoy a stranded island mystery which is why I’ll give it 2 stars. I struggled to actually enjoy any of the characters. I will say it does provide an alternative look in to the lives of modern “influencing” and the mysteries surrounding their lives helped to move it along. When all is said and done, this one should really be left just for the young adults.

This was such a good mystery! The suspense was throughout the book and the twists and turns were well thought out!
The premise of the influencers being on a desert island reminded me of Agatha Christies 10 Little Indians / And then there were None, but that's where the similarities ended. This modern day take was well thought out and I was kept guessing until the final reveal..
This is a stay up all night and finish type of book so set aside some time to enjoy!

People to Follow by Olivia Worley was a mystery/thriller book for Young Adults. The idea of using influencers and the world that teens live in to create a new reality show was a great plot. The characters and flow of the story was just okay. I wasn't captivated and at times things seemed to not work. I would recommend this to certain students, but I don't think I'd recommend they purchase the book.

The premise of this book was definitely an interesting one - mix that with the cover (I’m a big judge a book by the cover gal) and I was really looking forward to diving in. Though this isn’t a bad read, it wasn’t my favorite. Each chapter is told from a different POV and with the amount of characters, I had a hard time keeping names straight and remembering which character POV I was reading from. My only other issue is how casual all of the characters were after multiple people were murdered. I felt the book was lacking urgency, at least up until the end. After the first body, I’d have expected a bit more emotion instead of a game of spin the bottle.

A big saving grace for this read was that I had absolutely zero idea who was behind the murders or even how the story was going to wrap up. It is rare for me to be surprised by and ending, but this book did just that.

such a beautiful cover and an even better story. I couldn't put this down. the drama captivated me and the charachters kept me reading.

What a FANTASTIC debut!
This gave Fyre Island vibes, with murder mystery intrigue and I was here for it. I cannot wait to have more opportunities to read Worley's works.

Oh wow, this book was terrific! The premise revolves around a bunch of young influencers arriving on an island to film a reality show. On the first night though, they’re left all alone and that’s when the bodies begin to drop.

There were plenty of twists and turns, and I loved that almost every character got their own individual POV chapters.

Great debut from this author and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a fun, unique time of murder mystery with influencers all stuck on a fancy island together.

At first this was hard to get used to all of the different POVs but I got it figured out after a few chapters.

Overall, it was good suspenseful read.

It’s definitely geared toward a younger audience.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I had just finished reading Ruth Ware's "One by One" which has a similar theme of a getaway with members of a group being killed off one by one, but I much prefer this book. It had more dimension, perspective, and suspense. I was not able to figure out who the character was until the author revealed them, which makes for a great book to me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of People to Follow by Olivia Worley!

This entire book read like a giant guilty pleasure. Reading it was sort of like ditching all of your responsibilities to get underneath a blanket on your couch and watch a scandalous reality tv show or a new thriller movie. I can't go less than five stars on it, because once I was invested, I absolutely tore through it like I couldn't put it down.

Here are the basics. A handful of young influencers agree to go "off the grid" to an island and film a reality tv show. The producer is called away and has to leave the island immediately, leaving all of the influencers alone on the island for an evening. Suddenly, the influencers are getting mysterious messages from "the sponsor", murders are happening, secrets are exposed, and one by one the influencers are *gasp* cancelled.

There was suspense. There were characters that were so abhorrent I loved to hate them. Multiple narrators made the book fly by and kept the reader guessing. This is a great book if you don't take yourself too seriously as a reader, it's certainly not out there to win any awards for thematic prose or thought provoking characters, but it's fun and it will keep you entertained.

First: loved the cover, love the idea behind it (10 social media influencers on an island that find them dying one by one), I even enjoyed the split of POVs which usually brings me into the book faster (esp thrillers or mysteries).

But….

It was just ok. I found myself skimming, annoyed by the language or rather slang used. The manyyy POVs felt too much 🙈 even though I normally love that.
Basically the characters were twits I couldn’t get behind. But the writing was fine 👌🏻 it was more of a “not the right reader” for this one!

I so appreciate the chance to review it though. Grateful and a huge lover of Wednesday Books so thank you to the pub house for the gifted arc.

This was one of my favourite debut novels in quite a while! This book has all of the stereotypical influencers - the thirst trap, the prankster, the dancer, etc… they all come to an island together for a reality show and people start dying off one by one, and their secrets are revealed.

The twist ending was so satisfying in this book and I LOVED the characters and alternating perspectives. I felt like the author did a great job at accurately capturing influencer culture and I loved her writing!

This was a 5/5 star ⭐️ for me! I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

While I really wanted to love this book, it honestly felt chaotic to me. Sometimes the different POVs is great in a book, but in this book, it confused me and I did not feel like I had a chance to connect with the characters because the POVs kept changing. I did enjoy reading this book, but I just didn't love it like I wanted to.

Review: What I liked: Fast read, current subject matter, and short chapters. What I disliked: Too many POVs (each voice was too similar), too predictable, no connection to the character or storyline.
Recommended For: This is a young adult that is meant to be read by young adults. I was too old for this one.

Ten influencers must go three weeks social media free. In exchange, a luxurious Caribbean vacation where they'll be filmed 24/7. Ten influencers cut off from society, all with varying degrees of success and egos. What could possibly go wrong? If you've ever read a thriller, you know there's plenty that could go wrong and will go wrong.
This is a fun and wild ride, so buckle in!

This is such a fun read with plenty of mystery that left me turning the pages as fast as I could to find out who the killer/s were. The setting makes this a perfect beach read. And there's substance to this book as well.
It provided some great commentary on the pressures placed on Gen Z, the negative aspects of social media, cancel culture and revenge. There's a lot of thinking points in this, all wrapped in great writing and an intriguing plot. Olivia Worley is definitely a writer I'll be coming back to read in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

People to Follow completely hooked me with the premise: a Big Brother meets The Simple Life reality show where influencers come together to go "off the grid" while being filmed 24/7. I would watch this in real life! The book centers on a murder the unfolds towards the beginning of the filming, and is told from multiple POVs. I had NO IDEA that the twists were coming- I did not predict them at all. This was such a fun read, it would be great to bring on an airplane or something where you have time to just whip through it.

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

What do you get if you send ten influencers on a deserted island somewhere in the middle of nowhere? Survivor comes to mind, or a tropical edition of Big Brother maybe.
But what if there is a killer amongst them?
Then you will get the thrilling debut novel by Olivia Worley.
People to Follow depicts the story of ten influencers that agreed to be sent to an island with no contact to the outside world. Tensions are already running high, as some of the participants have complicated pasts with each other, but things really start to take a turn when one person winds up dead.
Who is the killer amongst them and how are they going to make it off of the island alive?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it had just enough twists and turns to keep me engaged throughout. I kept guessing who the murderer could be with every chapter and was not able to figure it out before the reveal.
The chapters are written from different people’s perspective, which adds a great dimension to the book.
Worley does a great job at giving the characters distinctive voices during their chapters.

People to Follow will be released just in time for spooky season and very much reminds me of late 90s horror movies.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book!