Its a good book but I had a hard time staying in the story because of all the editorial pieces in it

This was an ok read for me. It took me longer than normal to get through. The story took too long to unfold but it did get better.

I really enjoyed the different mediums used to tell the story - blogs, comment threads, articles, wiki like pages, etc. All of which makes it a modern, true to current storytelling methods. It also includes current media, celebrity, and tech examples to make you feel like it’s an actual experience.

What happens when your idol is no longer your idol? Or worse, when your idol does a bad thing?

Naomi Barnes grew up on the lyrics of Harlow, and as a journalist for C'Leb News, she's now entrusted with covering Harlow's murder trial. There are rumors that Harlow may be a serial killer, and anti-Harlow fans point to the way she withdrew from social media , and the new, darker lyrics of her songs.

I didn't realize until the end that I was supposed to be looking for Easter eggs, although I got the (many) references to Taylor Swift. I feel like the lyrics were a little too "on-the-nose" for me, so I skipped over most of those at the front of the book. But,by the middle of the book, things started getting interesting. There was a huge twist, which might have been the saving grace of the book, but it took a long time to get there.

Thank you to Camp NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy by the debut team of the Mancuso Sisters.

An extremely creative and fun debut novel written by sisters. This murder mystery/thriller was full of celebrity conspiracies, high profile cover-ups, hidden messages, shocking twists, and sprinkled throughout with news articles, social media posts and comment threads. I did NOT see that ending coming! Highly recommend!
4.5⭐️

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.
This was a really enjoyable thriller. It delved into conspiracy theories and pop culture. The story did not go in the way I thought it would which was nice. I like when thrillers surprise me and this one definitely did. The pacing was really fast and as soon as I started reading, I could not stop. I had to know the ending! Definitely a thrilling read.

From the eye catching cover to the tense chilling story I was completely drawn in.I thought I knew where the story was going and then there was a twist in the story and I was shocked so well written so tense.Will be reading more by the author.#netgalley #bloomsbury

Rumoured is the perfect blend of glitzy celebrity gossip, sharp investigative twists, and a surprisingly emotional core. Naomi, a gossip writer turned reluctant sleuth, is assigned to cover the sensational arrest of pop icon Harlow Hayes, a starlet accused of murder. But what starts as another celebrity scandal quickly spirals into something much deeper.

The real magic of this book? The Easter eggs. If you’re even remotely a Swiftie, you’ll catch the lyrical nods, secret symbols, and hidden messages that mirror the way fandoms analyze celebrity narratives. It’s not just clever, it’s immersive.

The mystery itself unfolds in layers: there’s the big “whodunit” surrounding the murder, of course, but also a parallel mystery tucked within Harlow’s career, lyrics, and public persona. Naomi’s voice is sharp, often funny, and totally relatable as she navigates the morally gray world of gossip vs. truth.

Is it a little over-the-top at times? Sure. But it fully embraces the glittery chaos of celebrity culture while never losing sight of the heart of the story: women reclaiming their narratives.

I've never read this author before but this book was sooooo good! The pacing was on point, the flow flowed. Perfect! Thanks for the ARC, I appreciate it!

Rumoured by The Mancaruso Sisters
Published by Bloomsbury USA | Head of Zeus — an Aries Book.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

Let’s get one thing straight: Rumoured is not subtle. It’s not trying to whisper sweet literary nothings in your ear. It’s here with a blowhorn, neon signs, and a conspiracy board made entirely of pushpins and pop lyrics. And frankly? I loved every absurd, chaotic second of it.

This book is what happens when you mix Daisy Jones & The Six with Dateline, shake in a little Swiftie stan energy, add a splash of true crime TikTok, and light it all on fire. The result? Rumoured, a murder mystery masquerading as a glittery, emotionally unstable fever dream. And I mean that in the best way.

We meet Harlow Hayes, a global pop icon with the vibe of Taylor Swift if she’d had one too many heartbreaks and decided, “You know what? Jail could be a vibe.” She’s got fame, fan theories, hit singles, and…a murder charge. Casual. Her arrest for two separate murders—because why settle for just one?—launches a full-blown media circus, and suddenly every bored internet user with a Wi-Fi connection is Sherlock Holmes.

Enter Naomi Barnes, celebrity journalist for C*Leb News, whose assignment to cover Harlow’s downfall rapidly turns into a murder board of doom. Naomi is, without question, unhinged. Not in the “cute quirky” way, but in the “hasn’t slept in four days and might start talking to walls” way. She’s the kind of main character who makes ethically questionable decisions, overshares with exes, spirals into rabbit holes, and—you guessed it—becomes emotionally entangled with her own subject matter. Because boundaries are a myth in the land of investigative journalism and trauma bonding.

The narrative goes from “hmm, this is suspicious” to “wait, did she just decode a murder from song lyrics?” in under fifty pages. You’ll be Googling conspiracy theories you didn’t even know existed. Every chapter is like falling down a different TikTok rabbit hole—one moment it’s fan reactions, then it’s cryptic Reddit threads, then it’s leaked lyrics that may or may not be veiled confessions. Somewhere in the middle of all this madness, the book also decides to punch you in the emotional gut with grief, addiction, sisterhood, and the kind of loneliness you can’t unfollow.

Now, is the structure a little disjointed? Sure. Does it sometimes feel like it was written during a Red Bull-fueled group chat? Absolutely. But does it commit to the bit? Oh, yes. It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s camp. You’re not supposed to sip this book slowly and thoughtfully—you’re supposed to binge it in one night while texting your best friend about how you think you just solved the murder through a lyric analysis. (Spoiler: You didn’t. The twist will still blindside you.)

Naomi’s voice is sharp, sardonic, and constantly teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown, which makes her incredibly relatable. She’s grieving her sister, trying to survive the toxic circus of celebrity reporting, and one bad coffee away from full scorched-earth mode. And Harlow? She’s a mystery wrapped in glitter, drenched in mascara tears, with a thousand-yard stare that could mean trauma, or guilt, or just really good PR training.

Favorite quote? Easy:
“In the age of likes, nothing dies quietly—not even the truth.”
Tattoo that on my forehead.

Was the ending a bit too clean? Maybe. The buildup was like a three-act opera and the finale landed more like a polite golf clap. I wanted explosions. I wanted gasps. I got…a somewhat brisk resolution. Like getting ghosted after three incredible dates—you don’t regret the ride, but damn, couldn’t we have had just one more night of fireworks?

Still, the ride is worth every second. The Mancaruso Sisters clearly know their way around a scandal. They’ve taken the modern obsession with fame, parasocial relationships, and clickbait culture and turned it into a smart, stylish thriller that winks at you while slowly gutting you with emotional truth.

Five stars for ambition, aesthetic, and sheer audacity. Four stars for execution. Call it 4.5 if you’re being generous, 4.75 if you read it with a glass of wine and zero expectations. Either way: I’m sold. Sign me up for whatever these chaotic queens write next.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (because perfection is a myth, but this book is close enough)

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like this book. It felt like Naomi was just going crazy & I felt annoyed by her. But once the clues started making sense & I was hooked! The twist about her sister just made me go oooooh I did not see that coming. I wish that the kindle version through here was a little better so I could see all the Easter eggs hidden throughout the book but definitely not the authors fault at all. I did enjoy this read & will recommend.

This book took me on a wild ride! At first, I was hooked, but by the middle I found myself thinking, “Okay… this is getting to be a bit much.” Just when I was about to check out, the story pulled me right back in—and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Full of drama, twists, and entertaining characters, Rumored ended up being a super fun and engaging read. Definitely glad I stuck with it!

I really wanted to like this book - the premise of a pop star murderer is right up my alley! Plus the format of using articles, social media comments and interviews to tell the story is something I adore. However, all these techniques just ended up repeating the same information and the story just dragged.

The FMC felt very inconsistent in her thinking as well - sometimes she would put together two puzzle pieces that were wildly far apart and then other times she would need the simplest information repeated over and over.

Great premise but it just didn’t work for me.

I loved the cover and the bright colors that aligned perfectly with the tagline and was excited to dig into a murder mystery about a pop icon. It kept me guessing, but sagged a little in the middle. It finished stronger, but I never felt completely hooked by it, so I’m giving it four stars.

This was a fun book to read. It was twisty, but fell a little flat for me in the middle. The ending wrapped up quickly with not a lot of angst. I wanted to sit more on the edge of my seat. It was a unique story, however, and one that did hold my interest.

Thank you to Net Galley and The Mancaruso Sisters for an ARC of their thriller debut, “Rumoured” which is set to publish in October 2025.

First of all, without giving too much away, I absolutely love the reference to one of the strangest and biggest musical conspiracy theories of early rock and roll. I am a huge fan of that band in particular so I have done a deep dive on the topic. I love how Kelly and Kristina intertwined this within this storyline.

A mystery thriller featuring pop culture as the star of the show was a really entertaining way to write a story! A very famous Grammy award winning female singer is arrested for murder and it shocks everyone until she is released due to her DNA not matching what was found at the scene of the crime. There are breadcrumbs of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes as you follow celebrity journalist, Naomi and her journey to report the story. She never anticipated that she would uncover something else entirely.

These sisters did a great job incorporating their bond into the storyline. I think that's what made me give a 4 star rating overall, because I can appreciate how much this book kept them communicating OVER THE ATLANTIC and not drifting apart. I'm sure there were times where they wanted to be in the same room working together when manifesting this book... great job ladies!!

I loved Naomi's character for majority of the book; I wasn't thrilled with how she treated Leo. I really smiled reading about her spinning conspiracy theories because it was an excellent job executing how fans do this in the 'real-world.' I wasn't a big fan of Faye, or how she gets away with her situation in the end. It also made me disappointed in Naomi. I ended up falling out of interest once I connected the meaning behind the Beatles to Harlow and the connection to Faye. So, once I started to read it unraveling in the storyline as I predicted, I was a little rushed feeling to finish just to get it over with, especially since the characters all became morally grey, fast.

The Easter Eggs were a bit much. I enjoyed the anagrams but all the clues in Harlow's albums leading Naomi to her conclusion was trying. I also think "fanatics" would've figured it out, not just Naomi, but nonetheless it was nice to see the authors' lived experiences shining in these moments.

Leo was too much of a plant for the book "to work" and less of a love interest. I would've enjoyed more shared chemistry between him and Naomi for me to buy that Naomi really did care for him. Plus, him just "coming back" in the end after hearing Amelia share that Naomi was psycho at Harlow's mansion was an eye roll. The entire ending felt wrapped up to meet a deadline versus planned plotting and execution of finality.

Joel was well-written and placed. I liked him the best and would love a spin-off story about him!

I think there were missed opportunities for Sam and Colten. Meaning they were absolutely a "face" for revenge to be sought, but it didn't really give "villain" vibes since everything about them in the book was shared as gossip. I needed more context for them so I could've properly rooted for Faye/Harlow/Naomi's end result. Instead, the ending wrapping up with their demise being the "justice" while all the victims remained silenced, Well... that's the main reason it falls short of 5 starts.

I will definitely recommend the book to Swiftie fans and I wish the authors a GREAT release!

The bold cover and intriguing tagline—“She’s a pop star. She’s an icon. But is she a murderer?”—pulled me in right away. I expected a fast-paced, glamorous mystery filled with scandal and suspense. Unfortunately, Rumoured didn’t deliver the I felt it would. The story felt slow and uneven. I kept waiting for something to truly hook me, but it never happened. I like what they were trying to do with lyrics and articles, but it seem to take up space rather than truly tell a story. I found the characters to be flat and unrelatable, especially for a plot centered around a supposedly high-profile pop star. There wasn’t enough depth or emotional investment to keep me interested the way I wanted.

In Rumoured, Naomi, who is a journalist for C*leb, is sent back to New York to cover a surprising story - pop star Harlow Hayes has been arrested for murder. Then it comes out that she's been arrested for TWO murders. One victim is her ex and Hollywood hunk and the other is an aspiring model from several years ago. After talking with the aspiring model's sister, Naomi starts to suspect that Harlow may have also had something to do with her own sister's death from around the same period. Once she has that thought, she can't let it go and becomes obsessed with finding out the truth.

Rumoured starts out told solely from Naomi's POV, but switches to also including Harlow's in part 2. As the pacing of the story ramps up, the viewpoints switch faster and faster, adding to the pacing of the story. One of the things that I thought was especially cool about this book is that the authors (a sister team) add Easter Eggs throughout the book so the reader can interact with the book a bit more than normal. It was fun to get to solve puzzles that the narrator doesn't even mention on top of the ones that they do. As Naomi goes down rabbit holes in her online research, I did start to feel like she may need to get some mental help as some of the conspiracy theories that she started to consider as she found clues to back them up were preposterous. And I don't see how one of the articles she publishes doesn't get her immediately fired, sued, or dumped without a backwards glance. But hey, the world is full of unbelievable things, some of which turn out to be true, and I felt better about Naomi's mental sanity in the end.

This was an interesting book….more of what I’d consider a popcorn thriller with some really wild twists & turns. The lyrical Easter eggs throughout were a fun addition & something unique to this book. I’m a huge Swiftie and this reminded me of so many things Taylor related. It was a good book but I will say it was executed a little awkwardly. I’m not sure if it’s because it was written by 2 authors or not. All in all I did enjoy it. It was a unique read for sure.