I relished every delusional minute of this debut!

"Bodies to Die For" surprised me with its engaging narrative and rich character rivalries. The book's portrayal of the intense world of women's weightlifting, where every ounce counts and the stakes are high, hooked me quickly. The narrative artfully delves into the lives of driven women, bringing to life the cutthroat environment they navigate.

This book is not just a thrilling murder mystery but also a thought-provoking exploration of societal issues. As the search for the killer unfolds, the book delves into topics like diet culture, fat shaming, and infidelity, prompting the reader to reflect on these issues as well.

While the book started a bit slow, it quickly escalated into a whirlwind of chaos and drama that I couldn't get enough of.

Thanks to the author and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to experience this riveting read through ebook and audiobook ARCs provided via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

#BodiesToDieFor #LoriBrand #Debut #BlackstonePublishing

I absolutely loved this book! "Bodies to Die For" is a fast paced mystery that dives into the world of Women's Competitive Bodybuilding. This is such a unique concept and unlike any book I've ever read. Issues with weight can be seen all over social media these days! Weight is a hot topic, whether it's fat-shaming, promoting new fad diets, content for weightloss drugs, or fat activists who promote self-love and body positivity. As someone who has always struggled with my weight, I found parts of this book so relatable! I especially loved the balance between the storyline and social commentary about weight and self-image.
The main characters, Gemma and Ashley, couldn't be more different, but are equally relatable and loveable. Short chapters are mixed with multiple POVs to create this quick paced read that's hard to put down.

Audio
I loved the narration by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel! The quality of the audiobook edit was a tad choppy and there were a few issues with volume suddenly increasing or decreasing, but overall it was well executed. I alternated between ebook and audio for this one. If the audio isn't for you, then be sure to pick up a physical or ebook copy of this because the writing and storyline is fantastic! If you're looking for a beach read or quick summer read that's sure to entertain you, then add this book to your list ASAP. 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bodies to Die For is such a quick, binge-worthy read. I listened to this one on audio, and thought that the narration was perfect. I really liked the multiple points of view, our two complicated MCs, the end plot-twist and the fact that the bodies just kept dropping. Aside from the point that someone is killing people, Bodies to Die For also hit on the subject of body image and despite what side of the scale you land on, there’s always the pressure from society that makes it difficult to love the skin you’re in. I really enjoyed this and will definitely read more from Lori Brand. Bodies to Die For will be published 6/11, and it’s the perfect summer read!

Thanks to Blackstone Audio for the ALC!

Gemma is a fitness influencer who has a very transformative before & after. She's determined to help others make changes in their lives and FINALLY win that bikini bodybuilding competition. Then there's Ashley, a software engineer frustrated with failed diets who joins Fat Activists, determined to destroy diet and skinny fitness influencer culture. The body image war comes to a peak when Gemma's main competition and fellow fitness influencers start turning up dead.

This is such a unique thriller! I love that it was so different from thrillers I've read before - so refreshing. The diet and fitness culture contrasted with body positivity was so well-written, and I loved all the drama interspersed with the competition, relationships, other people online, and of course, the murders. There was a lot going on in this one that kept making me second guess my theories, which is such a great element in a thriller.

I loved the narration by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel!

I listened to this book rather than read it. I like listening to books when I'm running, going on errands, or doing chores.

As a registered dietitian (who specializes in working with athletes) and certified running coach, I was really excited to listen to this book because it touches on many important issues that come up in my fields such as: diet culture, fat shaming, the impact of social media, parasocial relationships, fitness culture, wellness culture, brand transparency (or lack thereof), the lengths people go to change their bodies and so much more.

The book is told primarily from the perspectives of Gemma, a bikini fitness competitor who used to be morbidly obese, and Ashley, an IT specialist living in a larger body who launches a body positive campaign on social media. They both unexpectedly become involved in a murder mystery where various fitness influencers are targeted, including many that Gemma knows. I will not be spoiling what happens, but just wanted to say I appreciated the story, the use of satire to highlight the points of the story, and how clear it was that author Lori Brand drew on her own experiences to in these industries to write it. I was not expecting a thriller to be so relevant to my life and career and overall interesting. This is definitely worth a read or listen.

All in all, I give the audiobook narration 4/5 and the book itself 4/5, so that's where my 4/5 star rating comes from.

A complimentary audiobook copy was provided by Blackstone Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
😏 Satire
🏋️ Fitness Competitions
🤳🏻 Social Media Influencers
👯‍♀️ Social Commentary about Women
#️⃣ Numerous POV

What I appreciated the most was the social commentary that looked at the way women are pinned against each other from breaking down and commenting on others appearances, what they wear, eat, don’t eat, weigh, or don’t weigh because that truly provided an important message in this day and age of social media comparison and commentary about women, their choices, and their bodies.

I feel like in general, this is a book you have to suspend your belief for and acknowledge that it has a slower burn pace, but if you are good with those things, then I think you will enjoy this, especially if you enjoy satire along with a very serious topic.

All in all, I really appreciated what this author did, especially as someone who grew up in the age of The Biggest Loser and was in middle school when MySpace rankings of your friends and then Facebook came online which caused a greater perpetuation of the way that women, their worth, and value are evaluated based on their weight and outward appearance.

Thank you so much to Blackstone for my ALC in exchange for my honest review!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the multi-cast narration on this book! It really helped bring the characters and the situations to life and kept me engaged in the book from the very beginning! It was interesting to learn about the world of female bodybuilders, as I was completely unaware before. The characters were created well and I liked the mystery of a killer on the loose at a bodybuilding competition. I would recommend to anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers!

This psychological thriller follows the lives of Gemma, a fitness influencer, Andrew, a young boy obsessed with fantasies of Gemma based on her social media account, and Ashley, fat and frustrated with the fat shaming of the industry. Gemma becomes increasingly concerned as her fellow bikini bodybuilder competitors begin dying mysterious deaths. Meanwhile, Ashely finds herself working for Lydia, an advocate for promoting healthiness of all body types and diet culture. Their worlds collide through social media and then finally they are all placed together at the Olympia, a fitness competition and all secrets are revealed.

This is a story that dives into the realities of fitness shaming, fat shaming, social media obsession, bodybuilding lifestyles and more. I enjoyed the characters and being exposed to both sides of diet culture. I liked the relevant themes from this book, it was different and not topics you typically read about in mystery / thrillers.

I liked this book. It’s a pretty good thriller but it also touches on themes that are so very important to me, personally.

I am an overweight girly that lost 60 lbs and then gained it back having two babies back to back. So I know how it feels to have to “put your inner fat girl in a cage”, and the feeling that the world determines your worth by the size of your body. This book did a great job tackling body shaming, from both sides, and the toxicity around the entire conversation on social media, and I just really enjoyed those themes.

As for the thriller aspect of this book, I thought it was just okay. There were a lot of characters and a lot was going on, and it all got a little convoluted for me.

The narration for the audiobook was great overall. However, the narrator for Gemma had a jingly pair of earrings or bracelet or something on and you could hear it in her clips, and that got a little distracting.

Overall, this was a good thriller. The body positivity storyline really carried this one for me, and it is what will set it apart other thrillers.

This book was such a fun read with awesome narrators.. It had a very unique kind of murder mystery that will keep you guessing..

Thank you, NetGalley!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced audio book.

I wanted to like this book--a fresh setting, in the world of competitive bodybuilding!--but I just couldn't get into this one. Guess I'm not the reader for this.

"Bodies To Die For" and wow, it was a wild ride!
This book had like everything - murder, fitness influencers, drama between competitors, and a whole message about body image. It started off strong, kind of like a whodunnit with all these suspicious characters. I wasn't sure who to trust! The ending wasn't mind-blowing, but overall it was a fun and fast read. If you're looking for a thriller that'll make you think a bit about the world of fitness and social media, this is your book. Just beware, there's a lot of focus on body image so if you're sensitive about that stuff, it might be a bit much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Although this book started off, promising, it started to just fall flat for me. It was hard for me to keep up with the multiple point of views, and it was confusing to understand where the story was going. The narrators also didn’t do a great job with keeping me interested in the story so ultimately it just kind of dragged.

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
I was very intrigued by the fact that this was a thriller revolving around a fitness competition. This twisty thriller explored the dark side of women's fitness and how influencers shape the narrative of how women see their bodies. There were multiple POVs, each showcasing a different view of women's bodies and their feelings about the fitness competition. The story was super bingeable, with each chapter leaving off in a spot that I didn't want to leave at, I needed to know more. There were many twists that I wasn't expecting and the ending was definitely a shocker.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲
• Fitness competition
• Multiple POVs
• Unlikeable characters
• Influencer thriller
• Many twists

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸
The audiobook was a little spotty, and you could hear how it was edited together. The sound would get louder or softer, and the voice had a different tone as well. I listened at 1.5 speed which was easy to understand, but this might be a book you want to read instead of listen to.

Thank you to Lori Brand, Netgalley and Blackstone Audio for an ALC.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, and Joe Hempel, all of whom do a fantastic job!

Gemma is a social media influencer who has transformed herself into a sleek, bodybuilder competitor, washboard abs, a GQ husband and an incredible brand. But looks are deceiving as Gemma struggles with her inner "fat Gemma" who often gets skinny Gemma off track with a birthday cake or two. Add in the fierce bodybuilding competition with the top competitors turning up dead, the 2 Gammas soon will have a face off.

Ashley is a software engineer who is obese and has been fighting her weight for her whole life. When she somehow becomes entangled with Fat Activists that are fighting back, she comes alive and for the first time finds she likes her own skin.

This is such a fast paced, entertaining read for anyone who has ever struggled with their weight, yo-yo dieting, fat shaming, or eating disorders. The agony we put ourselves through is really highlighted in such a satirical way in this story. I loved the characters and found them very relatable, especially the 2 Gemmas.

Highly recommend!

A fun psychological thriller with a fitness influencer/bikini bodybuilding backdrop. I must say this was a first for me in reading a book set around the fitness industry but it made for an interesting read. This is told from multiple POV's which I always enjoy. This book definitely needs some trigger warnings so be wary before you read this one. I really liked both Gemma and Ashley's POV's and their character progression throughout the book. The stalker was an added bonus with the suspense/thriller aspect. This one will definitely have you guessing right up to the end. Overall it was a quick, thrilling read.

The audiobook narrators, Jennifer Aquino, Chelsea Stephens, Joe Hempel all did wonderfully and voiced their parts well.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The trigger warnings at the start of the book were not disclosed on netgalley, and I therefore cannot listen to this ALC due to my ED. I will be giving it a 5 star rating because I cannot accurately assess the book. Thank you for the opportunity, but please disclose triggers in the future.

3.75 stars

I was sold at the combined description of this novel and explanation of the author's personal experience. Folks who spend a lot of time in some element of the fitness industry will find many aspects of these characters' struggles and dramas highly relatable (and entertaining).

As the cover and title suggest, the central characters (and many secondary characters) have a specific tie to body image. There are fitness competitions, influencers, and folks with constantly scrutinized bodies. There also appears to be a serial killer on the loose who is - perhaps unintentionally - proving the unfortunate reality that you cannot work yourself out into immortality after all.

Since I do spend a lot of time in the gym and other aspects of the fitness realm, I found a lot of this relatable, and I liked that the social commentary was very much present but not didactic. What was constantly top of mind for me was how challenging this would be to read for folks who experience any kind of challenges around body image, BDD, and/or disordered eating, among various parallel subjects. That content is really nonstop as the motif clearly suggests. There's also one character who is intentionally written in a very creepy way, and the descriptions of his hobbies and what is happening with his body (often) grossed me out. I get that this is the point, but ick.

Folks who do not experience challenges around the aforementioned issues will find this an engaging, speedy read. I did and I'm looking forward to more from this author.

“My power’s turned on; starting right now I’ll be strong.I’ll play my fight song. And I don’t really care what nobody else believes - I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me”…

Fitness influencer Gemma has completely transformed herself - not only physically, but she also has a thriving business and a gorgeous husband. But behind the scenes, the cut throat environment of bikini competitions threatens to destroy her. Meanwhile, software engineer Ashley is frustrated with her failed attempts at dieting and a world that wants her to be a certain size. Then Ashley falls into a radical group of activists fighting back in attempts to destroy diet culture. But when Gemma’s top competitor winds up dead, it's clear things have gone too far.

This book surprised me in the best way possible! I was expecting a psychological thriller (which it very much was), but it also was a very eye-opening look at the fitness industry and at body image in general. I think what I enjoyed most is how Lori Brandt showed every possible side of exercise/diet culture; how it change your life for the good (such as when Gemma first got into shape), the bad (when it becomes an obsession), the ugly (how mean people can be to each other, especially women) and even the deadly! I am far from the level of fitness these competitors are in, but as someone who exercises regularly, I really appreciate what exercising brings to my life. It was fascinating to take a look at all aspects of that in this story, including body positivity (in whatever that means to you!)

And at the center of this all, is a mystery that kept me guessing until the very end! Add in a Rocky reference and you have (in my opinion!) the perfect story.

Thank you to Lori Brandt for the ARC and for chatting with me about your “why” for writing this book! It has been my pleasure to read your story and get to know you a bit :) I can’t wait to see what you write next, but I will be first in line :)

And thank you to Blackstone Publishing and my friends at The Pulse. “Bodies to Die For” releases June 11, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Wow. As a psychological thriller, this book delivered. I totally binged this one and had no idea what was coming.

It’s also a terrific satire / smart horror / social commentary on influencers, their followers, body positivity, diet culture and social media.

The author definitely has some big ovaries for writing those book! I loved this!!!