This is a debut novel, and I was shocked at how much I liked it because I usually don’t like when books have modern stuff in it like Instagram and TikTok, but I really enjoyed this. I didn’t figure any of the twists out either which is rare for me. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for reaching out to give me this book, and I really can’t wait to read more from this author. Also, thank you NetGalley for giving me access to the arc!

Okay, so first I want to acknowledge I am friends with Olivia! But regardless, this review is my 100% own thoughts and opinions. :-)

I loved this book!! It’s a young adult thriller about teen influencers (ya know, like ex-Dance Moms girls, TikTok singer dudes, vegan food influencer, fitness girly, etc.) who all go to a remote island for a reality tv show where they’re challenge to live IRL. Except not long after they get there, there’s a dead body (no spoilers I promise!) and things start getting a little chaotic.

I could not put this book down! I was so invested in the drama between the characters, trying to figure out who the mysterious and creepy “Sponsor” is and needing to know what was going to happen next.

I loved that this book was not just a fun-to-read thriller but also a close look at influencer culture, asking questions about what it means for individuals to have that much influence online.

I sure do love a locked door mystery type of read. However, the way these characters speak make it extremely difficult to read. I understand these are all young influencers and of course they’re going to use “like” or “babe” in every other sentence…but to read their dialogue both with each other and internally was at times quite annoying. I am so sick of those words now. There’s really no one to root for here, as they’re all completely unlikable. Even if you want to lighten the mood, when you have people dying and decide to play spin the bottle, it really shows how ridiculous they all are. And perhaps that’s the point, these kids are terrible humans, okay. But it was an aggravating read when you don’t have any hope for redemption. It was also difficult to differentiate who was who when the chapters change POV, because they all sound the same in the way they think and speak. I honestly still do not have all these characters straight. I gave it 3 stars because it’s certainly not a BAD book, but it’s definitely a book I didn’t personally enjoy.

4.5⭐️

When I picked up this book, my eyes saw a thriller involving influencers, and right away, I knew I needed to read it. I missed that they were TEEN influencers and that this was YA, but that just made this so much better. You actually forget that they are teenagers until they remind you. I got so invested in each one learning what they did IRL and who could possibly be the sponsor. I definitely did not figure it out! Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I’m enjoying the books about social media influencers, they feel very relatable right now! Kira, Logan, Elody, and Max were invited to star in a reality show, one where they have to access to technology or their social medias. Along with 6 other people they’ll spend a few weeks just relaxing on a remote Island. But when they’re alone it’s clear that they all have secrets how far will they go to keep them? And when someone knows their secrets how dangerous can it get? I enjoyed all the twists and turns in the book, couldn’t put it down and didn’t see the ending coming! I also think there were some good points in there, how far will people go to maintain their status quo? What do influencers owe their followers? This is a great mystery and I highly recommend! Can’t wait to read it again!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was a fun, thrilling read but there wasn't anything unique about it. I didn't particularly care for many characters and I felt like I've read a similar book before. It was interesting just not for me.

I have to start by saying that this in an intricate plot with a lot of characters and a lot of possible motives. Each person has their public and private persona, and this means that each person actually has dual motivations and behaviors. The danger builds just as the storm on the island does. There were some elements that I figured out, but there was an explosive revelation at the end that not only surprised me, but also reminded me that Karma has her own plans. Now for the characters: this doomed experiment couldn't have included more deserving people. What a bunch of shallow, narcissistic and waste-of-space people! Their whole existence was promoting their self-importance, and that is why the IRL experience was perfect for them! I loved the characters (and I did love that I hated most of them) and all of the little plot twists! There is a lot of action, a lot of backstabbing, a lot of decoding true nature, and suspense aplenty to keep you turning just one more page until you reach the end!

Are you as obsessed as I am with those trashy reality tv shows that are filled with beautiful people and juicy drama?
If you answered yes, then add this to your TBR pile!

10 influencers are cast on a reality tv show taking place on a remote island, with no access to the outside world. When the production crew doesn’t show up and one influencer ends up dead, the others wonder if it was it a drunken accident or something more sinister… As the bodies start to pile up, everyone has a motive, but who is the killer?

Secrets, lies, drama and murder…. I could not put it down!

Told from 3 different points of view, it was easy to follow and kept you guessing.

People to Follow is Olivia Worley’s debut novel and I’m excited to read more!

Setting: Caribbean private island
Rep: one of the Pov characters is Black

This had a solid premise but unfortunately the execution was lacking. It didn't ramp up the tension the way I needed it to and there were way too many characters. I think we start with ten, and it's only after about 5 deaths that I started to realize who was who. And by then the book was almost over.

This was such a page-turner for me and I will be recommending it to everyone! Definitely recommend - so much fun to read.

My first Agatha Christie book was And Then There Were None. People To Follow had the same mysterious vibes, except with young influencers, 10 of them to be precise. They will be forced to endure each other’s company with no phones and no connection to the outside world, all while being filmed for a new reality TV show, In Real Life. But things start to go wrong from day one. Each of these influencers hide at least one career breaking secret and soon one of them is found dead. The question is was it an accident or has the first little influencer been murdered.
Told in alternating chapters by four of the little Indians, strike that I mean influencers, Max, Elody, Logan, and Kira, we learn that it isn’t easy always worrying about your brand and your likes. Oh, and some of the people on the island are not exactly friends( what a surprise). When the production crew doesn’t show up, they have no choice but to try and figure out what is really going on, before there are no more influencers left.
This was a page turner and a mystery that kept me guessing, trying to figure out whodunnit and why. When I finished, I thought, beach read, but this actually doesn’t publish until Halloween so strike that thought.

Free eARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes!

3.5 stars rounded up.
This book was super entertaining- the premise is that a group of influencers are taken to a private island without their phones to film a reality series. When the crew doesn't show up, and the influencers start discovering their castmates' bodies, they figure out they're being cancelled- their darkest secrets revealed to the internet, and then being murdered!
I really enjoyed the first 70% of this book: we get varying points of view, it feels a little like And Then There Were None for a modern age, with a little Pretty Little Liars thrown in, but some of the drama feels a little teenager-y (although the influencers are so young this makes sense, it just feels a little incongruous with the murder plot). I didn't love the ending, but overall this is a fun time. If you liked the move Bodies Bodies Bodies, I bet you'd love this book.

Olivia’s debut novel is the kind of thriller we all love. Characters who jump off the pages and the suspense to keep you turning pages. I had a fantastic time trying to figure out if my suspicions were correct (they were not) in this modern day Agatha Christie-style book that gives all of the Influencer/Dance Moms vibes. It also didn’t hurt that so many issues were tackled (which I refrain from mentioning, because no one likes spoilers). Highly recommend to all my thriller lovers out there, especially those into YA thrillers.

This is a must read YA thriller! The writing and characters are on point. The "Then There Were None" with reality TV and influencers on an island is brilliant. This book is hard to put down. I needed to know what happened next!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lot of fun! I never knew who the “sponsor” was, and from chapter to chapter I kept changing my guess.

People To Follow is destined to be your next reading obsession. Utterly addictive, mix of a thriller with juicy reality TV vibes. This page turner is fire. Don’t gate keep this amazingly talented author, Olivia Worley, with this unforgettable debut.

At first the book is a bit slow to start but once you get into the understanding that there are multiple narrators and they all have a bias about what they're experiencing it turns into a wild ride. There was a couple times where I had to pause and check whose point of view I was under because I got confused or would pick it up in the middle of a chapter and have no idea who I was under. It was a good read all in all, there were so many twists and turns that kept me guessing and gasping as each thing happened. It was truly so hard to put it down. It did drag a bit for certain sections feeling more like a revamp of a pretty little liars style book but wow wow wow, I was absolutely not expecting all the twists and turns that were in it. Overall I'm giving it 4 stars!

A great read what shows the seedy underbelly of so-called influence and fame in today’s society. Highly recommended to all!

And Then There Were None meets 21st century social media. I really enjoyed this updated take on one of Agatha Christie’s most famous works!

You’ve got the secrets, you’ve got the motives, and you’ve got the person steadily taking them each down. I liked how the author was able to juggle the thriller side of the plot while also tactfully shining a light on the darker side of social media and the challenges of influencer fame.

The fast moving plot and multiple POVs kept the story interesting and engaging - I read it in one sitting. People to Follow is pure guilty pleasure and I loved every page.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

It's a picture-perfect retreat built for influencers—three weeks away from the world, without phones or social media or follows or likes. But there's a catch: the ten influencers will be filmed 24/7 for a reality show.

And then there's another catch: Everyone has a secret to hide, and somebody is determined to expose all their secrets to the world...and when bodies start piling up, it's clear that the remaining influencers are at risk of far more than being cancelled.

I'm starting to think that I'll have to set a Goodreads shelf for #influencerlife or something—it is a such a specific/weird subgenre, but for the time being at least I'm completely here for it. (Is it weird that I'm even more here for it that authors keep writing #influencerlife books in which influencers get murdered? I don't want that in real life—if it needs to be said—but I'm never going to say no to more fiction with camp and murder and over-the-top-ness.) "People to Follow" has some heavy Agatha Christie vibes (and I'm here for that too), but set at a modern, sub-drenched retreat and, you know, with cameras everywhere. Plenty of red herrings to keep a reader busy.

There are ten influencers on the island, a few of whom serve as narrators throughout the book. I have some mixed feelings about that (all you have to do is scan the chapter headings to see who survives until at least late in the book, and I did have to keep checking the chapter headings to see whose POV I was in), but I also enjoy the sense of not being able to fully trust any of the narrators in addition to wondering, you know, whodunnit. Very enjoyable quick read (I blasted through this on a very long bus ride), and very much a read for fans of "Live Your Best Lie," "Killer Content," et cetera.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.