May “Mother May I” Iverson has built an empire on broadcasting her daughters’ lives to the world—think perfect outfits, choreographed moments, and endless sponsorships. But when her husband dies under suspicious circumstances and the family mansion burns down, the Iversons’ picture-perfect life crumbles into a true-crime spectacle. The sisters—April, June, July, January, and the mysteriously absent March—are suddenly left to reckon with the lives they’ve lived under their mother’s obsessive control.

Through the sisters’ eyes, you get a raw, unfiltered look at how race, gender, and family expectations are shaped and warped for the public gaze. Not every subplot works, and some side stories feel like overkill, but the heart of the novel—the messy relationships between the sisters—keeps it compelling. I really appreciated the frequent juxtaposing of what the audience sees and what was really going on. The level of calculation which we all know, intellectually, is hard at work on shiny social feeds, but our capitalist little noggins are conditioned to respond to the gloss. I liked being reminded, again and again, of the reality.

This isn’t a thinly veiled Kardashian spoof – though the parallels are there, including the five sisters, selective racial identity, and questionable endorsements. It’s a surprisingly (surprising only because this degree of brand name dropping seldom happens outside of wish fulfillment Chick Lit) sharp commentary on the weird, unsettling ways social media can both connect and commodify us.

this was meh for me. sadly i didn’t enjoy this like i hoped i would unfortunately. often felt a bit lost and confused. it felt things were very dragged on and unnecessary.

3.4 stars for this semi-take off on the Kardashians…if any of them had a soul.

Mom/influencer May Iverson has big problems. Her new husband August (nee Augustus) has been killed in their home and she and her daughters that she brought up in the spotlight are the prime suspects. April runs a successful business, twins June and July are influencers themselves, January works in stagecraft for a theatre and March…well, March left home as soon as she could and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Now May’s hard fought for empire is at risk and who killed August? The collective view of the audience chimes in throughout.

This book isn’t about the Kardashians, obviously, but if you look at it is an indictment of Kris Jenner, the momager (autocorrect made this “monster.” Perfect.” I don’t think you would be wrong. A bunch of confused, miserable, unhappy people here, all because of social media and the desire to be seen. I have the desire not to be seen. By anyone. Really ever. In fact, I might take to my bed right now.

April: “I don’t want to do what you do. I don’t want to be you. I don’t want to be anything like you.”

“…in the process of becoming Mother, May I, May Iverson had turned each of her children into more consumable versions of themselves.”

“How little she had known her children.”

May Iverson, also known as Mother May I to her beloved followers, is a popular influencer who built her brand from the ground up while using her 5 adorable kids to draw people in. Now, years later, May’s new husband is found dead in their mansion leaving May and all her adult kids under suspicion. This story offers a unique perspective on the potentially exploitative nature of family vlogging and how it can negatively effect relationships, self esteem, and personal growth.

I loved this book. Part of what made it so interesting to read was that not only was it told from multiple characters’ points of view; it was also told from the perspective of May Iverson’s “viewers”. I thought this was very unique. It made me think about the parasocial relationships people build with popular influencers. The author did a great job writing the characters; specifically, May Iverson herself. I almost felt sorry for her at some points while reading from her point of view because it was so well written. I wish we had more information about Luke’s backstory.

I wouldn’t consider this book a thriller, but I would recommend it to people who enjoy a slight mystery.

This book’s release date is April 15th, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really just struggled with this one, I just couldn't get into it. Everything felt a little gimmicky and I just didn't care to find out who actually did the crime. It was a DNF for me, but think it mostly felt like it was character driven, while I prefer plot driven stories.

DNF at 10%

I love the concept of this book and I'm super intrigued by the chapters told from the perspective of the royal "we". However, this book has far too many perspectives which in turn is contributing to a slow pace that I know I will not be able to handle in a book of this length.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This book gave a really interesting insight into what we might see, socially, in the next few decades as children of influencers become adults themselves. I was completely fascinated by how the author explored the intersections of living life online with consumerism, family relationships, race, and parasocial relationships. I loved the chapters from the point of view of the characters’ followers — it really opened my eyes to how much we can convince ourselves we know someone through their online persona and how wrong we are.

It was a mystery, yes, but there were also so many other intriguing elements that kept me reading. This was my first time reading something by this author but I’ll definitely be checking out their other books.

I have an obsession with any book that includes influencers, so I immediately knew this book would be perfect for me. I like that this brought up a huge issue - mommy influencers. Msg has her daughter set up in multiple social media platforms and curates everything so her whole life looks perfect. A murder occurs and it unfolds from there.

✨ Just finished The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore, and I am completely captivated! This book is a stunning exploration of identity, fame, and the power of connection that left me in awe. 🌈💖Very easy to get hooked on page turning. From the very first page, I was drawn into the vibrant world McLemore creates. The characters are beautifully complex, each navigating their own struggles and dreams in a way that feels so relatable. I loved how their stories intertwined, revealing the impact of social media and the search for authenticity in a world obsessed with image.

What really stood out to me was the lyrical prose and the way McLemore captures the nuances of friendship and self-discovery. The themes of love and acceptance resonated deeply, making this not just a story about influencers, but about what it means to truly be seen. If you’re looking for a book that will make you think and feel, The Influencers is a must-read!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I found this book very hard to enjoy. The characters were all just terrible people and the plot was very flat.

This one sadly missed the mark for me. I love stories about influencer culture but this one was just too slow paced and repetitive for my liking.

I had SUCH high hopes for this, but sadly, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I initially hoped I would.
 
A lot of the time, I was awfully lost at what was even happening. Being in confusion was a constant. Things were dragged on for far too long that I almost didn’t want to finish this. Much of this book was not necessary; it was essentially rambling.
 
Even so, I did like the premise of this storyline a lot; it shined a much-needed light on the dangers of having children grow up as influencers on social media, and the mystery surrounding it all was fascinating!
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy. This is my honest review.

This was one of the more interesting books I have read. It's a story about a mom and her 5 (now grown) daughters and what she put them through growing up (and now) as a mom influencer. It's in inside look at the life of those whose put their entire lives on the internet, with the additional mystery element of who set fire to Mother May I's mansion, resulting in the death of her newlywed husband, August and the missing in action younger daughter, March. Add in the closer look at racism, family traumas, and the multiple POVs of all the daughters PLUS the people watching their lives unfold, and you got yourself a very interesting read.
I do wish that it did not drag on as much in some places, and I wish I saw these girls stand up for themselves even more than they did.
Thank you for this eARC - NetGalley, Anna Marie McLemore, and the publishers.

I am a firm believer in saying that God gives us our family because he knows we wouldn't choose them. And that is definitely the case here. This family is chaotic and toxic and ain't no one coming out of there well adjusted!! May (Mother May I) Iverson is the worst of the bunch. Oh, I suppose she had good intentions and thought she was doing right by her children, but she fully immersed herself in the Influencer lifestyle and dragged her kids right along into the thick of it, pretty much ruining anything that even approached a normal life. I am of the opinion that social media has been a major contributor to the current mess of a world we live in, and this story showcases the worst of it. Definitely a read that gives you a lot to think about.

The Influencers is an interesting book that examines the parasocial relationships viewers form with influencers while centered around a murder mystery. The characters in this book are May Iverson, a wildly successful mom and lifestyle influencer who has built an empire around her "Mother May I" brand, her 5 children who have been part of her brand and influencer lifestyle since birth, her ex and current husbands, true crime influencers, and the viewers who follow Mother May I. After May's second husband dies and a mysterious fire is set in her mansion, the viewers and police are struggling to figure out if one of the Iversons did it and why.

The book alternates between the perspectives of May, each of her children, and the viewers. The primary method of information being released is through a serious of mysterious behind the scenes recordings that are shown as a steady drip as the investigation is ongoing and serves to show the ugly truth behind the Mother May I brand and how she treats her family behind the scenes. While initially it was an intriguing choice to share information this way in a book about influencers, making the point that reality is almost certainly very different than what is shown in reels/photos/etc., this plot device was overused to the point where it became tedious. Who was releasing these behind the scenes recordings was an interesting secondary mystery, however it could have been scaled back.

To complement this plot device, there is also a true crime influencer who is breathlessly following the case and sharing all sorts of wild theories. It was interesting to think about the comparison between May Iverson exploiting her family and the true crime influencer as an outsider exploiting their family tragedy.

Another mystery surrounds a character who is revealed to be transgender which is why their identity was initially unknown. I appreciate when authors address transitioning and approach the topic in a positive and respectful manner. I think this was also included to make the point that this is a subject that can be exploited by influencers and they can use people as tokens to show how progressive they are and this was a rejection of that.

In addition to addressing transitioning, this book also addresses to a degree multiracial families and racism/colorism. The children of May Iverson have a Latino father (who has rejected the influencer life and had divorced May years prior) and some of them clearly look Latino and some don't. The plot addresses how this impacts how they are perceived by the public and also how their mother interacts and treats other Latina women who she views as "less than" along with how their mother engages in cultural appropriation.

The other aspect of this book that I disliked is the chapters are very short, which is not always bad, except very little happens in each one and it seems more about the characters being cryptic and mysterious with each other to try to build suspense and similar to the overuse as videos being released as a plot device, it just ends up dragging and being tedious.

Overall this is not a bad adult debut at all for an author of YA and generally speaking, these are good topics to explore, I just think that the plot needed to be shaken up a bit.

Many thanks to Random House/The Dial Press and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion

Unfortunately, the most interesting character in this book, Luke, gets the least amount of page time. The characters all felt very one-dimensional while also being frustrating and hard to like. With the length of this story, that was extra disappointing. I did enjoy the formatting and the differing POVs, especially the ones from the audience. That was a unique and fun approach with pondering the theories and making observations while in other chapters we are behind the curtain with the characters themselves.

May Iverson is an influencer with 4 daughters who are a part of her empire. She is very successful and rich until her home is burned and her new husband murdered. The top suspects are the family themselves. They are Kardashian-esque in their branding and personal empires, there are increasingly more and more ways to make money and build their brands.

This book was not my favorite, I found the characters to be one dimensional and the pacing I found to be slow. I love the idea for the book and the characters having month names, especially March. The set up and first couple of chapters were intriguing but with a lack of descriptions or believable dialogue the book started to drag. It doesn’t help that the victim is someone we don’t know or care about at all. A twist at the end that fell a bit flat.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the ARC. Opinions are my own. Book to be published April 15, 2025.

*The Influencers* is a deliciously addictive, campy rollercoaster ride through the messy world of influencer culture, family drama, and a juicy murder mystery! When May Iverson, the queen of online fame, finds herself at the center of a whirlwind involving her estranged daughters, a dead husband, and a mansion gone up in flames, all bets are off. With a cast of eccentric, complex sisters (and a mysteriously vanished youngest), this novel serves up a sharp, witty evisceration of race, gender, and the price of fame—while keeping you hooked with twists, turns, and plenty of snarky, escapist fun. It’s a smart, satirical commentary on how the influencers of today might just have their own messy reckoning tomorrow—and the perfect read if you love a story that's equal parts biting and binge-worthy!

It took me a while to understand what was going on because how the book was laid out took some getting used to. Once I got to that point (let’s call it 20% in). The story line was great, I just wish it was easier to follow.

I really hoped to love this book but found it to be a little lackluster. I really appreciated the idea behind this book, focusing on the impact of social media on kids who are often turned into their parents' content. However, I think it fell short of its potential! I was eager to enjoy it, but I struggled to get through the pages. There seemed to be an overwhelming number of characters and plotlines. At times, it felt like there was a lot of unnecessary content, and I believe it could have been trimmed down by at least 100 pages.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book