This review has been posted on Goodreads and Instagram

Brief Summary-
This psychological thriller centers around Gemma who was once “over weight” and now is now competing in a bikini competition. You follow Gemma as she gets ready for her completion but she can’t get “fat Gemma” out of head and she thinks “Fat Gemma” is going to ruin her chances to win. But when all the other fit models are being murder around her, Gemma fears she might be next.

What To Expect-
🔆Multiple POVs
🔆Unhinged Ladies Behaving Badly

Content Warnings
🔆Eating Disorders
🔆Fat Shaming
🔆Binging & Purging
🔆Stalking


My Thoughts-
This was an interesting thriller. I dont think I ever heard or read a book centered around female body builders. So it was fun to read, I think I enjoyed it because of course it was filled with drama. Just picture a bunch of girls that dont like each other in one room competing…. Then add some murder to the mix and you have yourself a fun little page turner. I was definitely guessing whodunnit till the very last chapter. I kept going back in forth with a few suspect. But everyone in this book had a motive. I think so parts fell flat for me but still and enjoyable read.

I would recommend this book to the right audience.

Playlist-
🔆Psycho- Taylor Acorn
🔆All American Bitch- Olivia Rodrigo
🔆Nightmares- Halsey
🔆Gives You Hell- All American Rejects
🔆Ignorance- Paramore
🔆Good 4 u- Selena Gomez
🔆Vigilante Shit- Taylor Swift
🔆Wishing You Hell-Taylor Acorn
🔆Get Well Soon- Ariana Grande
🔆Bejeweled- Taylor Swift
🔆Brave- Sara Bareilies

I was really excited to read this book and I wanted to love but it fell a little short for me.
Thank you netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

From morbidly obese to bikini fitness competitor, Gemma appears to be the ultimate weight loss success story. Her biggest rival at her next competition turns up dead… Is she guilty? Love this novel so much, so many twists. I was hooked from the very beginning.

✨arc review✨

Friends, I wanted to wait until closer to Pub Day to post this, but I got too excited. Mark your calendars for June 11th!

Congrats to Lori Brand (@loribrandwritesandlifts) on an awesome debut! As a person who has spent years in the fitness and nutrition world, I connected with this book immediately. I didn’t know what to expect from two of my favorite things (fitness and thrillers) combining, and I ended up loving it.

Bodies to Die For felt like the messiness of reality TV + the over-the-top satirical elements of Heathers + some thought-provoking themes about the fitness world and the gross aspects of social media. Brand doesn’t hold back in any of the perspectives presented in this book, and I found it refreshing. I was thoroughly entertained while at times zoning out thinking about it all.

Having spent time at a variety of points on the health and fitness spectrum, I understand you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. You’re judged no matter where you fall, especially if you’re broadcasting your journey on the internet. I’m curious to see how this book is received by the reading community. I hope people are able to see it and embrace it for exactly what it is. I’m putting all my supportive vibes out into the world that other readers connect with Brand’s ultimately positive message.

Overall, I loved this fast-paced whodunnit! I know no book is perfect, but it was perfect for me. I connected with the messaging, the voice, and the familiarity of each character. Even if fitness influencer murders and body positivity gangs don’t sound like your cup of tea, I think everyone can relate to this book in some way.

⭐️RATING⭐️: I loved it! (5⭐️)

After reading all the rave reviews about this one, I was so excited to read it. I loved the first third of the book it was so addictive and gripping, but then it just started falling flat for me unfortunately. It was still really interesting and definitely an original storyline.

What an amazing debut from Lori Brand! I honestly inhaled this in almost one sitting and needed to know how it was all going to unfold. I absolutely loved how the author's real-life experience was part of this twisty thriller with multiple POVs, navigating the world of body building competitions and the societal pressures of the "ideal" body. A wild ride of obsession and murder. I can't wait to see what this author does next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing an early copy.

It started off well but fell a bit flat for me, unfortunately. The first third of the novel is very entertaining and gripping. And it was unhinged in a very pleasant way from the beginning to the end. However, I did not appreciate the male characters and what they brought to the story. Some of the female characters were very interesting and enough for the story to be captivating. Ashley was probably my favorite. And some elements of the story disconnected me from the murder plot. Aside from that, it was an interesting read, and definitely one that was unique.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

3.5 rounded up to a 4. I really liked the premise of this book-- I thought that it was a very original plot, and liked how the multi-POV worked out. I think I would've liked it a little bit more if it had just stuck with the Ashley/Gemma POVs, which were the most engaging and felt like they were giving me the most throughout the whole book. I thought I had an idea of what the ending would be when I started it, but there were way more layers than I thought there would be, which was a pleasant surprise. I've read a couple thrillers recently that didn't really do it for me, but felt like this one kept me engaged the whole time, and I was very invested to see who the killer was.

My only complaints were that sometimes the writing was a tad too choppy, and I felt like the extra POVs didn't always contribute much.

I definitely would recommend this book to others!

I really enjoyed the psychological thriller feel to this book. It had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the psychological thriller. The characters were everything that I wanted and thought the characters were everything that I wanted. I thought this had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the use of social media. Lori Brand has a great writing style and can't wait for more.

Wow. This was an insightful, twisty, addicting ride! The author showed the dangerous sides of being obsessed with weight and the mental gymnastics you endure when you aren't satisfied with the way the world views your body. I really loved this! I will be buying the physical copy for my bookshelf when this comes out!

“As long as I don’t do anything stupid like let Fat Gemma out of her cage, or a serial killer into my room, tonight is looking promising.”

Gemma is a before and after success story. Once morbidly obese, she is now a bikini fitness competitor at the top of her game with a huge social media following and paid sponsorships. Gemma still has a relentless voice inside her she refers to as Fat Gemma, who is ALWAYS hungry and looking for excuses to eat, eat, eat. Gemma’s biggest rival in her upcoming competition turns up dead, and more strange deaths soon follow. Is someone killing off “fit girls”? Is Gemma next?

Ashley is fat and frustrated with her attempts to lose weight. She’s tried everything and just when she is considering bariatric surgery, she meets a charismatic woman (Lydia) who is happy just as she is and recruits Ashley into the world of Fat Activism railing against Diet Culture. Ashley finds herself empowered, even as she’s dragged into dangerous situations by Lydia. Remember Big Bob drinking the Tyler Durden kool-aid? I was gettin Fight Club vibes y’all!

Lori Brand shines a bright light on the diet and fitness industries, and the war of body acceptance in this insightful satire. She perfectly nails the internal voice most of us have that whispers self sabotaging lies. I felt like simultaneously eating a cake and doing a workout! Both Gemma and Ashley are relatable and have a refreshingly honest vulnerability while fighting to find their inner strength.

Bodies to Die For is so wonderfully deranged, you want to be ON the CrAzY train even as it plummets toward wreckage! The pure I n S a N i T y is as addictive as a sugar high. I’ve never met such a huge cast of people OFF. THEIR. ROCKERS! Multiple POVs all over the place and just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, POV shifted to an even more delusional and obsessive mind. I loved every unhinged and humorous minute of Bodies to Die for and inhaled it faster than a protein shake! Lori absolutely crushed her debut thriller!

Thank you Lori Brand, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

Scroll down for potential spoiler trigger warnings.






























⚠️Trigger Warnings: body shaming, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, sexual situations, language, violence, death, mention of: affairs, drug use, anorexia, binging and purging, stalking

Set in the world of professional bodybuilding and fitness influencing, this book has more twists than a Thighmaster! When fit-fluencers start dropping, we learn that everyone in this purportedly healthy world is hiding dark and dirty secrets. The story is told in multiple POVs, including those of a fitness influencer convinced she's living a lie, a stalkerish fan, a radical body positivity activist, and an insecure wannabe fit-girl. It's an over-the-top tale that totally WORKS thanks to Lori Brandt's propulsive writing and humor. BODIES TO DIE FOR is a super fun and original read that had me sprinting toward the finish. I'll be lunging for her next book!

I enjoyed this one. It had a bit of everything - drama, suspense, passion and crime. The book centres around Gemma, a fitness focused woman involved in a bikini bodybuilding competition. What follows is jealousy, murder, cover ups and lies. Overall, a great read that will keep you guessing. I love that the book touched on the theme of women and the body issues we all face.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. ,

In her thought-provoking novel, "Bodies to Die For," Lori Brand delves into the dark side of the fitness industry, exploring the dangerous obsession with body image and the devastating consequences it can have. The story revolves around two compelling characters: Gemma, a successful fitness influencer, and Ashley, a software engineer struggling with obesity. Gemma's seemingly perfect life is a carefully crafted illusion, hiding the cutthroat competition and body dysmorphia that plague her. Ashley, on the other hand, finds solace and empowerment in a radical Fat Activist group, but their extreme methods push her to question her own beliefs. As tragedy strikes the fitness community, it becomes apparent that the body image war has spiraled out of control. Brand's powerful storytelling and exploration of complex themes make "Bodies to Die For" a gripping and thought-provoking read, challenging societal norms and exposing the dangers of both excessive dieting and body positivity taken to its extreme.

This was unique, I feel like we rarely see novels written about female bodybuilders. For that matter, they’re often not as in the spotlight as male ones, unfortunately. So this was a fun little read.

A page-turning murder mystery that takes place during a bikini bodybuilding competition. Gemma desperately needs to defend her social media influencer status and her place in the cutthroat bikini bodybuilding world, but her progress is hampered when fellow contestants turn up murdered. Fun to read and fast paced!

In an excellent debut novel, Lori Brand manages to deftly juggle a multi-layered whodunit set inside the world of competitive bodybuilding, while sending up the excesses of the exercise and fitness industries. Understand that on their own, the mystery or the parody/expose would be fine in her hands as main story for this book. In "Bodies to Die For" she blends the two perfectly, taking the reader on a tense but rollicking journey through a potentially murderous weekend competition in no less than Orlando, Florida. The pacing was really great here, and while I'm not a fan of such succinct chapters, she manages to make it work here. Bouncing between fantastic characters with competing interests, Brand keeps you guessing and I was totally there for it. Loved this one, a lot.

Very very well done book that keeps you entertained the whole way through. The author weaves a great storyline that keeps you engaged and not wanting to put the book down,

Bodies to Die For takes a hard look at social media, the $70 billion diet industry, and the war on women’s bodies—the wars we wage with each other, and with ourselves!
Popular fitness influencer Gamma has transformed herself from heavy, frumpy, lazy, into washboard abs , thriving business, gorgeous hubby, you name it she's got it! But its not all beautiful people and beautiful world! She's in the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding! She's got a stalker, A nemesis, and some truly crazy fans! On the other side we have Ashley who's fat and frustrated! (her words) with her life! Until she falls in with a radical sect of fat activists! She thinks she met her people! This book was definitely worth reading it was different from what I normally read but I definitely enjoyed reading this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!