The blurb of this one truly pulled me in, but the execution fell a tad flat. There was plenty of drama to go around, though, because of course, with influencers, there's bound to be cattiness and drama galore. There wasn't quite as much suspense and "spooky" as I had hoped, which led to a little of my disappointment because with this type of book I like to jump a few times and feel my blood pressure rise a little lol. I appreciated the setting, multiple POV's and the big twist, however!

The premise of this book really pulled me in….. an isolated setting, influencers in over their heads, and a killer on the loose. It sounded like the perfect setup for a sharp, twisty thriller. But once I got into it, the execution fell flat. The pacing dragged, the suspense never really built, and the “big reveals” felt more silly than shocking.

The characters didn’t help either. Most felt shallow or interchangeable, and I had a hard time caring what happened to them. The setup had so much potential, but the unrealistic details and lack of tension made it tough to stay invested.

In the end, this just wasn’t the fast-paced, chilling thriller I was hoping for. I think some readers might enjoy the influencer-drama angle more than I did, but overall it left me underwhelmed.

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I LOVE a thriller. Even better if it has a unique cast of characters, since a lot of thrillers I read start to feel the same kinda, ya know?

So I was VERY ecstatic to learn about Made You Look. We follow a group of influencers at a new retreat who are the first to stay there to help add some extra buzz. As you can expect, things start to take an eery turn once they start to get there!

I absolutely loved that we had 3 different POVs because it made for a fascinating read, and I swear I started suspecting every single person at one point. Each of the characters felt different enough to me with their personalities and roles that I was able to pick up on what made each one unique pretty early on.

The setting was iconic, being that it took place at the retreat during a major snowstorm. As someone who grew up in New England, I was easily able to transport myself to the setting in the Catskills. (I know, I know, the Catskills aren't in NE buuut still, ya know what I mean.)

There was also a major twist that got me, and for that, kudos to Tanya Grant! All the pieces were there but I was so focused on other plot points that I completely missed it, and that is what makes a good thriller to me.

Now, like a lot of thrillers, this is one that you have to stick with for a bit before it really starts to pick up, so just keep that in mind. I wish that things had started to get a little more heart-pounding earlier on, because there were a few times when I thought something was going to happen, and then nothing did. But, if you go into this knowing that it's a slow burn of a thriller, then you'll really enjoy it.

This one was truly more twisty than I anticipated. A group of influencers head to a serene, secluded retreat in the Catskill Mountains, after partnering with the resort to create content. Only the trip is more than most of the participants bargained for - and there might be a killer in the midst. This one had me guessing up until the very end, surprised by some of the twists! Would love to read more from this author as she's got a great way of reeling you in while keeping you interested in multiple POVs.

One great read that will appeal to patrons of all reading levels and genres. Loved it and will recommend it far and wide!!

I was so into this book at the start, like I loved the concept, but it felt so slow and kept dragging. The perspectives weren’t different enough for me to remember who was who, and I wish there was more character backstory. It wasn’t bad but I was disappointed

This is a slow burn read full of suspense. I was easily able to dive into the story and stay invested. The slow burn aspect ended up being the best part of this book because it simmered and had me bubbling with anticipation. I love reading books about influencers even more so with unreliable narrators, and this was a great mat. While I don’t really follow any particular influencers I do enjoy reading about them. I liked the ending. It tied things up nicely while still leaving a few things open ended that I needed to fill in on my own.

Overall this is a light and entertaining read and I’d recommend it to some.

I was so excited to receive this ARC, but unfortunately it was a DNF for me.

The premise of this book is so promising: influencers at a retreat in the catskills is captivating as an idea, the introduction comes at a time of change for one of the main characters, there is decent suspense building as things begin to go wrong and fail to add up. Promising, but unfortunately the plane didn't land. I think this was an issue with pacing or lack of a strong introduction of all the characters? Things began to get confusing when POVs switched between many characters quickly for me. I was so hopeful! It feels like this is a great book just in an early draft that could use some TLC.

Look, just because I spent my entire day reading this doesn't mean I enjoyed it, okay?

Like most mysteries, the premise of this novel sounds really cool. That's what made me want to read this. However, this story requires you to suspend so much disbelief that I couldn't possible give it more than 2 stars. None of this story makes sense! So much of what takes place in this novel is either ridiculous, improbable, or entirely illogical. "Made You Look" Yeah okay, I guess, but only because I couldn't look away from this train wreck.

This could have been really good. I love a mysteries in closed off locations with a very small cast to keep you guessing. But the problem here is that I wasn't left guessing. Some of this was entirely predictable and the other twists just seem a bit ridiculous. For a mystery, there is a very distinct lack of suspense from the entire thing. I didn't wonder what was going on at all because it was quite obvious what it had to be, at least in part.

I thought about maybe giving it 3 stars just for the fact that it did keep me occupied for the day and I did finish it, but even the ending was so cheesy and convenient that I couldn't bring myself to bump up the rating.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Give me a thriller featuring influencers and I will scoop it right up. Syndey, the ultimate IT girl and a few friends are invited to an exclusive and secluded retreat in the Catskills to create content. While it starts out promising, a snow storm traps them in, the Wi-fi cuts out, and the deaths/murders start piling up. I believe this is a debut thriller form Tanya Grant and it is a great one. Fast pasted, kept me turning the pages, and unending twists. Will be recommending to my thriller loving friends.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of Made You Look. A group of influencers posting content at a secluded retreat gets snowed in with no cell service and a possible murderer on the loose - what's not to love for a mystery reader? The beginning of this book was captivating, with its portrayal of toxic relationships and the revelation of secrets each guest was hiding. However, around the halfway mark, this book lost its stride. The story was very muddled, and the pacing made me lose interest, so I considered DNFing. Although I did finish this book, I agree with other reviewers that Made You Look can be forgettable, especially for readers whose main genre is mystery/thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to review Made You Look. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I put this one down at 22%

It starts off really intense with a breast, cancer surgery, and a near death experience. Very extreme.

Then we have no less than six characters that were introduced to through multiple point of views. One of my biggest pet peeves with thrillers in particular is making too many characters.

I also really did not like how every single chapter had to start with fundamentally understanding how an influencers job works. I don’t think the reader cares that deeply about how the influencer is making their money or how they’re taking photos. I think the average person understands how that all works and it’s just unnecessary. I understand that they are likely going to do several things before taking photos. I don’t need to know all the intricate details like they’re shaking champagne bottles before taking the photo for extra drama fuzz, and counting down. This is all such filler to me.

They’re just seem to be so much fluff in this like I know that they’re gonna check into the hotel and there was so much telling over showing too?

I also really did not like the characters, especially someone looking down on someone else for going to a thrift store and I know that that was probably intentional for us to not like the character based on that but that irked me to a different level.

None of these characters are likable for the most part, which makes it really hard to root for them.

It’s overly emphasized that they are the first people that will be staying at this resort and that it’s a big deal and that they are taking photos and I cannot sit through hundreds of pages of that I will get into a book lump. It felt like trying to watch reality tv with only recaps and b roll and filler.

The first 20% I was really hoping would be more focused on them heading to this influencer retreat and it was just really depressing:
-There’s a break up.
-There’s a dog that has to say goodbye. It isn’t dying but still.

There’s just so much that was seemingly unnecessarily sad for a thriller, and it didn’t really seem to add to the plot and mind you I only made it to 20%, but I still don’t understand how those things would add to apply besides give a character dimension which, if you’re going to do that, you do not need to pull from really really dark spots.

This covers cool I like the pink font, but I did not enjoy this one unfortunately.

There were no characters to root for yet way too many characters at the same time. There was too much repetition about the fact that they are in fact, influencers, and a little details of things that they’re doing which I do not fundamentally care for. I was really hoping that this would be slightly over the top with a bit more humor and not to be taken too seriously as it’s a thriller about influencers, but instead it took a super dark turn without giving any proper conflict or buildup and in the first 20% I feel like I should be getting some of that.

Thank you for this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group, for providing the copy of Made You Look by Tanya Grant. I love locked room mysteries, and the characters are influencers, so I couldn't resist this book. It was kind of a slow starter, but it was worth the wait when the nonstop action started. I loved the claustrophobic setting and how this luxurious retreat was not as elegant as they all expected. I also loved seeing and hearing about the dark side of influencers’ lives, which is usually a standard part of books like this! I didn’t get to know all of the characters well, but the ones who were well-defined were great. If you love surprise reveals, this is the perfect book for you. 4 stars

This is my honest review for NetGalley.

This one was a slow burn for sure. The beginning took a while to build up, and some parts felt pretty predictable… BUT once the plot finally kicked in, I was entertained! It had its moments and kept me curious enough to stick around. Would recommend to a new reader interested in Thrillers

I loved this book. I'm a sucker for a locked room mystery and this did it for me. Also I love snow storms (grew up in new england) so this was right up there for me. I will say character development was good as well and I loved that I kept having to guess who the killer was because I never ended up guessing right.

Saying this is forgettable is as nicely as I can put it. This was such a slog to get through. There were too many characters and a lot of them were filler with no depth

I hate to say it but this book ended up being a forgettable one for me. While I mostly enjoyed it at the time of reading, it didn't feel revolutionary to me. The characters were unlikable and could've been easily interchanged with the characters of most other books that had similar plots to this one.

The pacing in this book felt uneven to me as well. I felt myself getting a bit lost throughout it due to the lack of interest. The pacing was struggling to keep me zoned in. These characters also felt really shallow to me. I didn't feel like I could relate, which isn't always an issue, but I also found myself not really caring about any of them. And the bigger issue was that this book felt as though it had already been written before. There wasn't a uniqueness to this story that I would've liked to see.

My review sounds pretty harsh, I realize. Flaws aside, as I stated earlier, I still did mostly enjoy reading this. It was a nice way to pass the time, it just didn't give me a "WOW" factor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Holy guacamole, this was intense! When there’s a killer among friends and everyone is shallow, vain and social media absorbed, it’s harder to figure out who it is. I don’t know how many times I suspected different people before they finally revealed the killer. And while I wasn’t completely surprised, I was definitely a little surprised. This person’s motive was obvious, but so many others had a good motive as well. If you like a book that will keep you on edge and keep you second guessing yourself, this is an excellent choice. Red it at night as it’s definitely chilling and so much better in a slightly spooky setting. I received an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Made You Look by Tanya Grant had an intriguing premise and moments of clever insight, but overall, it didn’t quite land for me. While I appreciated the attempt to blend romance, humor, and a dash of suspense, the story never fully pulled me in the way I hoped.

The pacing felt uneven at times; some parts dragged while others moved too quickly to feel believable. The characters had potential, but I struggled to connect with them on a deeper level. There were witty moments and glimpses of charm, but they were often overshadowed by plot points that felt a bit forced or underdeveloped.

That said, I can see how others might enjoy it for a light, casual read. It just didn’t leave a lasting impression for me.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Made You Look by Tanya Grant
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Psychological Thriller
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: November 18, 2025

📍 Catskills, NY
Remote Mountain Resort
Unexpected Snowstorm
Secrets, Lies + Scandals
Unreliable Narrator
Psychological Thriller

I'm a sucker for an unreliable narrator, and while I caught on towards the end, I still was in the dark when it came to the killer's motivations! The pacing was a uneven until the climax (around 80%), but I enjoyed the slow descent into distrust, the use of social media stories and the addition of the follower's POV to keep you on your toes, and the drama that just kept coming.

If you're looking for a slow burn psychological thriller and you love ALL the drama, Made You Look should be next on your TBR!

Thank you so much Berkeley Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy!